And then that happened

Some things are inevitable. I live in LA, I've been driving for over fifteen years, and I drive nearly every day surrounded by wackos. Friday, it happened: I was in an accident that took out not one, not two, but three cars, two of them completely totaled. One of the destroyed vehicles was the car I was driving and it wasn't my car. Good news is I'm ok and the dog that was in the car with me is ok.

That is the dog, being OK. My airbag didn't deploy and my brains are pretty rattled but China, who was in the passenger seat, flew straight in to hers, bounced gracefully off, then slid gently down to the floor of the car. When I could finally come to a stop, I was frantically pushing airbag out of the way to find her confused and happy, hanging out under the dashboard.
I've been in a few accidents, mostly fender-benders here and there and a couple big ones when I was a passenger but this is the first time I've been involved in something like this as a driver and I'm still waiting to find out what I'm going to need to do (pay) and how I do it. It's all very exciting (nerve-wracking).
I'm ok, sustained no permanent damage, just some whiplash and muscle pains. I should be as right as rain in a couple of weeks. And if you're in the LA area and need to go to emergency care, go to Cedars Sinai. I cannot recommend that place highly enough. I was in and out within three hours, everyone was kind and professional and, given the situation, it was a remarkably pleasant experience.

That's it really. That's the big news. Car accident.
I did a photo shoot the week before and I'm pretty happy with how those came out.

The model was a doll, super fun and easy to work with, despite the fact that she was sick. She was a trooper. People like that make me look good. Here's another of my favorites:

She's all super-model styles here.

Some days, I love what I do.

There have been happenings. Many concerts, some movies, a few parties, a Fourth of July. I saw The Murder City Devils in.... May, I think? Cursive, Sage Francis, Gogol Bordello (Hooray!), some local bands, some friends bands. It's been a good summer for music, so far. There are a few more concerts I'm looking forward to this year, Muse and Crooked Fingers being the most notable - those are my number two and number one favorite bands, in that order, and I've never seen either of them in concert before. My head might explode from the excitement.
I had a little notebook with a couple of notes I'd written for the express purpose of remembering to blog about them and now that I'm sitting all comfycozy, I'm too lazy to reach across the two-and-a-half feet span between me and my purse, which has the notebook. I'm pretty sure I was going to mention something about Facebook but now that I'm sitting here and doing the typing, I'm thinking that the Facebook story is not so much 'funny' as it is 'whiny'. The facebook story will not be told.
The BFF and I spent a day in San Diego a couple of weeks ago and it was fantastic. We took lots of pictures and did lots of talking and I thought about how wonderful it is to have such a great friend to grow with.We started the day at the San Diego County Fair and made a beeline for the food carts. I wanted to try the deep fried butter but when it came right down to it, I chickened out and had deep-fried apples instead. It's the healthier deep-fried alternative. We went on my favorite ride, the Ferris Wheel, looked at some of the vendors booths, ate some more, and left. It was kind of ideal, really. I'm not so big on trudging around in the dust and the heat and Charles, she is exactly the same way. From the fair, we went to a local cemetery, took some pictures, ended up at the beach for dinner (pasta!), took some more pictures, and I went home. We're going to try and do these photo field trips at least a few times a year. It's great practice for both of us and an even greater excuse to hang out.


Another great day was Universal Studios - I hadn't been in years and it was really cool seeing all the changes made to the park. It felt much more Theme Park-y, with the kiosks and booths and themes, less like a working movie studio with a couple of attractions. It was fun but not the kind of place I'd visit regularly. You, Universal, are no Disneyland.

There was this guy, though. That's definitely a point in Universal's favor. Also, margaritas. More points to Universal.



MY CAT IS A JERK
My mattress is pretty hard and until recently, I liked it that way. I was comfortable, sort of, until suddenly I just wasn't. Lying on my back was exactly like sleeping on the hardwood floor, it was impossible to get comfortable on my belly, and my poor hipbone had no idea what to do with itself when I lay on my side. Because I am a Problem Solver, I betook myself to Target and bought a thick, comfy mattress pad. Target being what it is, I also walked out with a shower curtain, bathroom floor mat, a kitty litter box with a lid and swinging door, a couple of dresses, and a book (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. It was good). I got home, cleaned the apartment a little, arranged my purchases around the place, forced the cat in and out of the litter box a few times so he'd know how to use the door, got ready for bed. The mattress pad, it was heaven. Squishy and soft and comfy and I got exactly two hours of slumbering bliss out of it before a horrible smell forced me awake. Startled and completely grossed out, I started to look for the source of the smell and found it almost right away and it was coming from the bed.
The cat, confused by the new litter box, peed in the bed, soaking the sheets, the comforter, and the BRAND NEW MATTRESS PAD. His first accident, ever, and it's on the one item I can't easily clean. I couldn't even get mad at him. He was confused! The door on the litter box defeated his tiny, tiny brain and my lovely mattress pad paid the price.
The smell was foul. Just brain-searingly awful. It's been a couple of days now and I've done everything I can think of to get rid of it, up to and including spraying the mattress pad down with Very Expensive Perfume. Funnily enough, that's what seems to work best. I've been drifting off to sleep lately in a cloud of Chanel and cat urine.