another damn tuesday.

this one was

especially fun ’cause we

survived an earthquake

&

a car accident.

(more on both later).

1.5 hours of sleep for daddy

and madeline was ready

to party.

we hung out together

on the couch until

awesome auntie deb woke

up and joined us.

suddenly it was time

for my second favorite

part about tuesdays…

parent’s group in the park

at the end of the 2.

we arrived a few minutes

late but still

found a spot on one

of the blankets in the shade.

everyone talking,

we felt the earth shake

and then move

back and forth

underneath us.

the wrought iron fence

shook and made

and awful sound.

nothing to worry about.

we were in pretty

safe spot,

sitting on our asses,

in the park,

under some pine trees.

none of us even

go hit by a pine cone.

the movement did

make me feel a little queasy.

this was the biggest earthquake

i’ve ever felt,

and this the first earthquake

madeline has experienced.

tons of fun,

until i started to worry

about our house.

nothing we can do

about it now,

so we continued to

hang out with

to the moms and kids.

lasted about an hour

before my worrying

got to me.

we have to go and

see just how many photos

fell off the walls.

said our goodbyes

and headed home.

nerve-wracking drive

in near silence.

made it home and walked through

the house,

checking each and every

room for damage.

nothing.

so awesome.

a huge sense of relief,

a stroke of good luck

from a situation

that could have been devastating.

i suppose i could

use this natural disaster to

explain the current state

of my house…

(a total mess)

spent a few hours

hanging out with awesome auntie deb

and madeline then drove

to the pasadena to

pick up a battery

for my light meter.

found what i needed

and we drove toward the

atwater village

on the 134.

then it happened.

i looked to my right

and saw a car coming

at us from the 2.

it jumped the median

hitting my car,

spinning us about 90 degrees

and knocking us into

the next lane.

somehow i avoided getting

hit by anyone else

on the freeway.

i made eye contact

with the woman,

and pulled over to the

shoulder.

she kept driving.

yeah.

she fucking fled the scene.

multiple cars on the

134 at the time,

yet

no one else stopped

to check on us.

no one stopped to act

as a witness.

not awesome.

sitting on the shoulder,

deb unbuckled her seat belt

and checked on madeline

without getting out

of the car.

she was smiling away.

she had no idea

what just happened.

(thankfully).

deb called 911.

they were too busy to

take our call

(earthquake calls were keeping them busy).

rather than sit on the

freeway and wait

for help while

risking another accident,

i drove to the next exit,

pulling over at a gas station.

got out of the car,

checked on madeline.

still okay.

then i looked at the damage.

fuck.

front end is not looking

so hot.

called 911 again.

this time deb got through.

they were on the way.

i sat there in disbelief.

madeline just sat and

smiled at me.

my car is sort of fucked

but really,

i don’t care.

all that matters is

that we are safe.

madeline didn’t make a sound

during or after the accident.

awesome auntie deb

was fine.

so was i.

just shaking a little bit,

thinking about what

could have been.

we waited for at least 20 mins

before anyone arrived.

first, three chp officers,

two of whom took our

statements

(for some reason no one asked madeline what happened).

the officer that talked

to me asked me why

i didn’t follow the lady

who hit us.

seriously?

um…’cause i had a baby

in the back seat

and ’cause i didn’t

think it would be a good

idea to chase

down a driver that

had already decided to

flee the scene of an accident.

no need to be a hero

in a situation like this.

then we heard

the sirens…some firemen arrived,

talking to us

and checking out madeline.

she smiled almost the entire time.

they said that

we were great,

but they did send out another

vehicle with two more

firemen to check

on madeline.

again, they said she

was fine.

best news i’ve had all day.

we drove home,

happy to be safe.

we sat on the couch

trying to not think

about what happened,

but made plans

to pick up a new

car seat for madeline

as soon as possible.

(i understand it’s necessary to replace them after an accident).

7:00pm arrived

and we headed to the

eagle rock for dinner

with laura.

shared with her

the story of what

happened.

she couldn’t believe it either.

we talked about lots

of other stuff,

taking my mind off

of my awful luck

for nearly 2 hours.

time to head home.

walked out to the car,

saw the damage,

and was reminded that,

yes, we did indeed

get in a hit-and-run

accident today.

sweet.

got home and spent the

evening hanging out with

awesome auntie deb and madeline,

listening to some not free-jazz.

enough though.

seriously.

i thought 2008 pt. 2 was

supposed to be better?

i guess today wasn’t

as bad as it could

have been.

and for that i’m

truly fucking thankful.