Four-thirty in the morning sounds like a gruesome time to be up and about, especially in the pacific northwest in late December, or even in California, where such times are only reserved for catching flights or driving across the desert. Here in Queensland, which is much like Arizona in that it is an hour behind the rest of the country, it the most plpeasant part of the day, the horizon turning pink, the earth cooled from the night breezes. It is the only time to be out if you're a jogger, to beat the 100 degree heat, or a surfer, to beat the onshore winds. And unlike at night, visibility is great. I was up wandering about the sidewalks looking for something that had been taken from me but had no value to the thief. Although being a light sleeper has its drawbacks, last night it probably saved my camera and wallet. Unfortunately, my sleep was not light enough to save my cash, traveler checks and passport. It was 2:30 am and I woke wiht a start, seeing something that wasn't right at all- the feeling like evverything is wrong at that moment, but feeling powerless to change it. With my 20:800 vision my brain recognized the silohuette figure of a man, crouched down in the corner of my bedroom near the sliding glass door, the door I thought was latched, but apparently was not. I was sleeping in a t-shirt and underwear and nothing else, and the thought of giving chase in this condition did not enter my sleep fuzzy brain. I did manage a couple of HEY! HEY!s and started twoards him but it was too late; my little black Royal Robbins bag, a gift from a friend in Seattle, was gone. Along with it, essentials for returning home.

In a state of disbelief, mild panic, and shock, I tried calling the police from the button on the phone that says "POLICE", and nothing happened. I pulled on some shorts and ran barefoot around the block to a payphone. 15 minutes later an officer arived and I showed him what had happened. Too upset to go back asleep, I called the traveller's check company for a refund. I want to know how you are supposed to know how much of something you don't have. Again this call was from a payphone and they wanted all this information I didn't have on me; the hotel room was incapable of 800# calls. 4000 mgs of a non-aspirin pain reliever, I tried to sleep but was unable to. I gave up and discovered the pleasant pink sunrise, a $10 bill in the landscaping, but no passport.