around noon, today, i was accosted by bandits while i was pumping gas in issaquah. the ONLY reason i did NOT lose anything is because they started out by being INCREDIBLY creepy, and doing things that i KNEW were NOT the kinds of things people who were in the situation they claimed to be in, would do…

i had just finished pumping gas, when two guys drove up in a black SUV, and started trying to get my attention. the guy driving did most of the talking. according to him, they were from dubai, and didn’t speak much english… then he started GIVING me his jewelry, and kissing my hand, and saying “gift, gift”… a large ring with a square of “diamonds” was first, then a “gold” chain from around his neck. what he said wasn’t immediately clear, but i got the impression that they wanted to trade the jewelry for cash, so that they could buy gas, but i don’t carry cash, so then they tried to get me to go to an ATM.

i don’t know much about jewelry, but i can tell you that the ring he handed me was NOT the “gold” that he claimed, nor was the “gold” chain he took from around his neck. they were just not heavy enough. 😒

the whole thing was INTENSELY creepy, and the guys seemed to be in a huge hurry, which, naturally, made me very suspicious. i said, no, i can’t take this, and turned around to put the gas fill hose away, and when i turned around again, they were gone.

there were two or three other people pumping gas, so there were a lot of witnesses, which is probably why they didn’t hang around… which added to my suspicions… but it was only after i had driven away, and was on the other side of issaquah before i realised that they were trying to rip me off.