Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Mawage...

...That bwessed ewent.
It's wat bwings us here toogeder, today.

I knew something was amiss when after the loud bang I calmly kept the pedal down and eyes down the dark road known as the PCH. It was like a flash...a little yellow flash in front of the passenger side headlight on my pride and joy; no time to react, except let out a girlish yelp knowing that I sent that poor little fox to its untimely demise. We were late, and I was hustling a bit on the stretch of Highway 1 just out of Manchester, CA, only a scant 10 miles south of our destination on Irish Beach...a quaint private rental tucked away in the windswept cliffs above the crashing waves of the Pacific.

A few minutes after the incident, I found a safe spot to pull over and braced myself for the inspection of the damage...surprisingly, nothing too severe: a broken high beam lens, a cracked bumper cover, a chip on the plastic passenger door sill lower extension, and the pièce de résistance: a big freakin' dent on the fender. It could have been much worse...a busted oil cooler, bent control arms, etc. Luckily for me, it was relatively manageable. But it appears that the terms "matching VIN" and "original paint" are now officially lost forever...



Not wanting to dampen the mood of our mini-honeymoon, I (uncharacteristically) locked this incident away in that growing file cabinet of "little things in life that are really annoying but don't mean a damned thing in the grand scheme of things". It was wise, too, for our little private getaway was incredibly relaxing. So much so that despite the grandiose plans of driving up the coast to see Mendocino, hiking the various trails, eating at fancy little restaurants, we elected to stay indoors our entire time there. With a room like this:

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and the non-stop sound of waves crashing in the distance while I tended to the wood-burning stove (some day I'll have one!), it was a no-brainer. After a mad few months of planning a 275-person event and seeing all those wonderful friends of ours celebrate the big day with us, the quiet solitude was a refreshing change.

And the it didn't stop with the fox incident...The next morning, we decided to hustle into town for some ingredients for dinner (they had grass fed steaks!!) So we hop into the car parked out front on the dirt driveway, and I proceeded to turn the car around in a 3 point turn to head on up the access road...

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If you look closely, you'll notice something a bit strange...the back end of the car is just a little too close to the steps to the house... Being the proud city boy, I had neglected to realize that the ground had indeed been soaking in rain the night before. And covered in moss. And sloping downhill in that area approaching the house. Needless to say, those all-season Michelins gave all their might to will my 4000lb german slug up onto higher ground. It was no use.

All I could do at that point was look at my lovely bride sitting in the passenger seat and just laugh.

One phone call to AAA and 40 mins later, we were back in business.

So I think that's what marriage does to you...beats you into submission, forces you to think bigger than just you. Let all those silly little things go, and enjoy the true happiness that life has to offer, revel in the new perspective that someone can offer you for the rest of your life...

Yeah, I think I just might enjoy this.
pic 839

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4 Comments:

At 2/08/2008 10:23 PM, Blogger Gary said...

Sorry about the car / fox incident.

Love the photo of you two!

 
At 2/09/2008 8:43 AM, Blogger VirtualErn said...

Thanks! I'm realizing now that I really want to get a strobe...the built-in flash is not tall enough for the 12-24.

 
At 2/22/2008 8:08 PM, Blogger Gary said...

As always, I love watching for your food photography. Have you seen this guy's food photos?
http://www.loumanna.com

I was just listening to a podcast about his work. Every photo makes me hungry!

 
At 2/25/2008 10:07 PM, Blogger VirtualErn said...

I haven't seen those yet...absolutely wonderful shots. Thanks for the link!

Talk about dream job, I wonder if he gets to eat the food he shoots? :)

 

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