Many TI’s spend more time then they’d like to admit trying to figure out why they have been targeted. Some know, some really don’t. We’re all pretty sure we did something to piss someone off (9/11 truther, won workman’s comp claim, refused to join the masons, etc.), but some of us may have been chosen randomly.   I am not yet certain why I have been targeted or even when exactly it really first started. I come from a large, Irish Catholic family, the youngest of 11 siblings. We grew up in a small town in Fairfield County, Connecticut. My Dad was a physician, my Mom a housewife, both born and raised in Brooklyn, NY.

Some TI’s I have spoke with think it may have something to do with a man named S. that I dated in 1998. He was Afghani, I met him at work. He was dark, handsome, charming, and mysterious. A little too mysterious. I fell in love with him but he kept me at arm’s length, never introducing me to friends or family. I never even got to see where he lived. I always sensed a deep tension inside him, that he was holding something back, trying very hard not to get too attached. He made frequent trips to Mexico and Canada, and also traveled to San Francisco , Florida, and Mammouth mountain in the time we dated. Aside from Mexico (40 minutes away), I did not accompany him on any of these trips. After 6 months I grew more and more suspicious about his marital status and he admitted he was married but said it was ending. They did not sleep in the same room. I was devastated.

There were other red flags I ignored. A large silver and onyx ring he wore on his right ring finger that looked like it was there to cover something up. A small, rune shaped scar (Algiz) on the webbing between his thumb and forefinger. He bought a different used car every 6 months or so, selling each one. When I think back he may have been involved in color harassment as well. He wore a lot of bright, vibrant colored polos, usually at work. I now wonder if he had been stalked at some point. I remember him repeating things like “I am a law abiding citizen” and “I am completely sane…” At times he did seem paranoid and nervous. And he had a bunch of aliases.

We broke up shortly after I found out he was married. I was so hurt and angry. I moved to the East Coast and had him investigated. I found out his SSN matched the same one as a deceased man in Tennessee. S. onced lived in Memphis. I considered sending the P.I.’s report to S.’s new boss for revenge, but I never did. I did call the FBI after 9/11 and told them about him. S. ended up on the watch list, making those trips across the Mexican border a little longer than planned. I don’t know if this had anything to do with my call to the FBI. I regret doing it but I wanted to get even with him so badly.

But within the past week, I realized my harassment started before dating S. In 1997 I moved to California for a job in Palm Springs, CA. The company put me up in an apartment. A roommate, A., showed up a day after me. She was from Alaska. She was pushy, rude, and hostile from day one. Very sarcastic and demeaning. She talked loudly when I was on the phone with my family. She spoke about me within earshot while she was on the phone with others. She left her clothes to air dry all over the dining room table. She shared my personal info/habits with coworkers. She made offhand rude comments about my body while talking to others.

She was tall and thin with light brown hair cut just above the shoulder and wore eyeglasses. She was frequently mistaken for being a male. Her Mom died when she was young, and she had a drinking problem in college. I think her Dad was a pilot.

A couple of other things happened during this time that were pretty strange. I bought a newspaper that had info about the new Getty art museum in L.A. I wanted to go badly and I saved the magazine section. I left it on the coffee table. A few weeks later I tried to find it but it was gone. I later found out A. had taken it, gone to L.A. and invited a bunch of friends to go. I never told her I wanted to go but I think she knew and excluded me on purpose. This is VERY similar to what the perps are doing to me now. At Thanksgiving, I told A. I was going to see my family in L.A. and that we we planned to go to Disneyland the day after, which is a VERY busy day there. When my family and I got to the the front of the line to enter the park, I turned to my right and A. was standing right there in the next line with her friends. My brother and I later marveled at the coincidence. To see someone you know entering Disney at the same time as you on such a crowded day. I am now pretty sure it was not a coincidence.

A. also invited me to go to Las Vegas once with her and her friends, I said I couldn’t get the time off and I remember her being very hostile about that. Another one of our neighbors, a female coworker from Ireland, went with A. After they returned, I found out A. had been very rude to the neighbor the whole trip. I felt sorry for the neighbor and glad that I didn’t go.

My bedroom also got flooded by the sprinkler system during this time. It was on the ground floor and the entire carpet was saturated, including the closet, ruining a pair of leather shoes. I then got recurring upper respiratory infections from the mildew for the rest of my stay there.