Panic!

So for the holidays my mother brought me back this obscenely expensive reversible Tanzanite-Diamond ring. It has 2 gold bands which swing out and around so that you can show either side of the ring's focal point. One side contains 2 grade A trillion cut Tanzaites (the rarest gemstone in the world) and 6 diamonds. The other side contains a cluster of 15 or so diamonds. Very sparkly. Very pretty. Worth more than my house.

It was a strange present to receive, since she usually gets me something like video games or coffee mugs, but I was very pleased with it. A gift is a gift after all. I can't stick it in a console and play with it, or drink delicious java out of it, but I can stare at it for hours like a parakeet looking into a mirror. There was only 1 problem: it was too big. My fingers are very slender, only a size 5 on the biggest. So I had to give up the ring for a week to have it sized at a local jeweler.

I hadn't taken it off since I had gotten it back with the exception of when I showered or did dishes of course. It was well made, clearly expertly crafted, so I didn't see the need to. Which is why this next part is so shocking. While modding GD, as I normally do -- no flailing or kung fu involved, I glanced down and noticed one of the Tanzanites missing! I immediately panicked. The jeweler must have loosened a facet when remolding the length of the bands. I felt like I had swallowed an apple whole, and the feeling only got worse as I realized the next day I had dinner planned with my mother and she'd be curious as to the whereabouts of my ring. I'd have to tell her I lost it. I wasn't afraid to tell her I needed a stone reset, I was afraid to tell her I needed a stone reset but didn't have it.

I felt like a little kid again. I haven't feared my mom's reaction in something like 15 years.

So the desperate search began. First I searched all around my laptop station, as that is usually where I do my modding from. It wasn't on my laptop, my laptop's minidesk, underneath the minidesk, or on the coffee table behind it all. It wasn't in my blanket, the cushions of my sofa, under any of the sofa's too-numerous pillows, or my slippers. I looked in my pockets, my bra, the sleeves of my sweater, the legs of my pants, and even my socks... nothing. I began retracing every step I took that day. I knew I had it after Tai Bo, so it had to be somewhere in my house. I just didn't know where.

My biggest fear was that maybe it had fallen into the sink and down the drain -- but remember? I always take it off to do dishes, this also ruled out the drain in the shower. I broke a nail searching the bathroom tile and cupboards. Great. I groaned. My second biggest fear was if it had fallen into a toilet. If that was the case it was pretty much lost to me. What a devastating thought. So I decided to ignore that possibility and continue searching my house.

I looked in my bed, through the sheets, pillowcases, and comforter... nothing. I looked under the bed, under my desk upstairs, all around my computer and dressers. I even looked in all of the drawers in the off chance that it somehow fell off the ring ricocheted off something and managed to slip into a drawer like some sort of ninja... nothing. I checked every nook and cranny of my stairs, under the rugs in front of the doors, in the trash can, and pretty much any other place I could have possibly been that day... nothing.I even had a friend come help in my search but not even the 2 of us could find any trace of the missing gem.

I had basically given up entirely and resigned myself to my fate when I returned downstairs. I moped over to my sofa and just as I was about to plop down in despair and cut all my nails short to match the one I'd broken something sharp was impaling the ball of my foot. Could this day get any more loathsome?! I lifted up my foot expecting to find some misplaced PC screw or something when low and behold: my Tanzanite!

Now all I have to do is break the news that it needs to be reset, but at least I have the damned stone! Words cannot express how relieved I am.