April 02, 2004

Stalkers, Take Two

I had hoped that after all the publicity associated with my rant on stalkers last fall, I would no longer have to deal with it anymore. But when I returned to Berkeley after a Spring Break spent at home, I found a message on my white board, informing me that a note had been slipped under my door. I didn't pay much attention to this fact, considering that this is not entirely an uncommon occurrence. Entering my room, I noticed a small, yellow flier right beneath my feet. Turning it over, I realized that this was no ordinary note.

Below is a scanned copy of the initial note, dated March 27, 2004:

The surprising part of this note isn't its ridiculous pickup lines or the fact that I don't know anyone named Karen Z., or even the fact that the word woman is spelled women. The part that stands out in this note is the reference to Capri, which up until this blog entry, was a nickname of mine that few people were aware of. (It originated during CalSO last summer and has no significance, despite what some people may tell you). It was immediately apparent that this was a joke and the reference narrowed down the suspect list dramatically. I began my investigation immediately, contacting potential culprits. Although this initial inquiry proved to be less than productive, it did allow me to narrow the list further, eliminating people with alibis. This past week, I have been drowning in school work, and thought no more about this incident—that is, until today.

Returning home from an exhausting day, I happened to check my mail, finding an envelope with no return address and my name scrawled in a vaguely familiar handwriting. Not in the mood to deal with nonsense, I ripped it open on the spot, and found yet another love note from my secret admirer.

Now, I'm no expert, but this second note clearly seems the work of another person. How do I know? Well, there are a number of indicators. For one, the handwriting shows distinct differences in certain places. Look at the s character: on the first note, the s's slant to the left, while the second note they are less round and also do not exhibit the same slant. Furthermore, the tone of each note is slightly different. The first is more facetious, while the second more serious. Also, the second note assumes the first note provided a phone number, which it clearly did not. Finally, the business card (see images below) confirms the prank-like nature of the second note and distinguishes it from the first. Looks like there's a copycat stalker out on the loose now.

I understand that by publishing this entry, I am inviting myself to yet more copycat stalkers, but the appearance of the second note made the situation too funny not to share. While most people's friends write them emails, I have friends who write me surreptitious love notes. I guess I should be flattered. Let's just hope things don't get scary like they did this summer with Phil's stalker!