Everything was going better than planned. Although I was back at work, my body was still tingling from the nostalgic euphoria of the recent Falls Creek road trip over the weekend.

Eric called up the night before to organize a social group movie session in the city.

Obligingly, I agreed.

The recent release of the movie Rise of the Planet of the Apes was one not to be missed. Amiss its concurrent prequels and dodgy remakes, its spectacular feedback on IMDB & Rotten Tomatoes suggested a possible top-rated summer blockbuster.

Not forgetting the gorgeous Frieda Pinto who also stars in the smash hit Slumdog Millionaire.
 

Javier dropped by at my place early in the evening, and we were to meet the rest of the crew just before the movie started.

But as we were about to leave, I received an alarming phone call from Micah. The mobile reception was horrible, and what I initially heard was “… Tish… Car… Smashed… Help!”

My pulse gradually hastened. I could hear Tish’s sobs in the background. I didn’t understand, but I knew I needed to get to the scene of the crime as soon as possible.

Quickly, I called Eric and told him what had happened.
 

As I hopped into the car, I quickly Googled Tish’s location. Thankfully, she wasn’t too far away; probably a 15 minute drive tops.

Driving up the alley way in which she parked her car, my suspicions disapparated as I drove up the dark dingy alleyway.

Getting out of my car, I saw Tish still sobbing in the corner of my eye. I walked up to her and gave her a hug, but my eyes were only focused on one thing.

It was very dark. A glowing street light flickered on and off in the background. Glass was everywhere. Tish’s voice projected through the echoes of the alleyway as she spoke to officials over the phone.

She wasn’t hurt. Nobody was hurt. Thank God.

There were no traces of blood on the ground or on the window pane. Using my deductive skills *cough*, the culprit would have smashed the window by covering his elbow with a thick piece of cloth (possibly a sweater), stuck his hand in through the window, grabbed the laptop bag, and ran off. (That’s some NCIS shit right there!)

A Digital SLR camera sat underneath the front seat. The thief didn’t see it and it was left untouched. Phew!

“At least you’re still in one piece,” I smiled consolingly at Tish.

Tish was still sobbing. “They took everything. My laptop. My hard disk. Mister Mode…! It was all in the one bag…” she wailed.

Tish had spent the last two months building the Mister Mode: Fasion Night Market brand from scratch. Every piece of document, image, link & video was stored inside the laptop and hard drive.

With less than 3 weeks to go until the launch of the Mister Mode event, it was clearly more devastating for her to lose the data & information she had invested so much time on, than the cost of the repairs.

Today, it’s already been a week since the incident, and I’m proud to say that Tish has recovered very well. Mister Mode is running smoother than ever, and there’s only 11 days to go until the big event!

This just shows you that sheer diligence overcomes whatever life throws as you.

As the saying goes, when life gives you lemons… you take those f*cking lemons, chuck them into the shaker, add some strawberry vodka, and make yourself a sweet Strawberry Lemon Drop Martini.

Be sure to check out Melbourne’s very own Mister Mode: Fashion Night Market – happening on the 3rd of September 2011 @ 20 Garden Lane, South Yarra.

Visit http://www.mister-mode.com to find out how you can stand a chance to win Free Drink Cards on the night!