what's up?

souvenir

throwback to an uptown whittier car show. i missed the dia de los muertos show this past weekend for reasons, so found this one on standby.

old cars are so much more elegant than cars of today. love those curves and details. i like this one parked in front of the facade of the old whittier village movie theatre.

————-

here’s a game for you. i’ve started a list of possibilities. wanting something more interesting and bad ass than what actually happened.

became the fifth ninja turtle, and i gave shredder the first, and last, move
really like freddie kruger
embroidered the “L” from happy days in the wrong place, while looking in a mirror
trampled by over-zealous chicago marathon runners
went one round with mike tyson
took up hockey
getting ready for halloween
hit by a bus
played patty cake with the jolly green giant
took a meteor shower
wrong side of a curveball
amazon prime day
sleepwalk into a doorway
participated on one of those game shows with rotating obstacles
a cane corso thought i was dinner - i’m not ramsey bolton
opened up a can of whoop-ass accidently
turns out i’m not a gymnast
you should see the other guy
shuttlecock
here’s a piece of my mind
t-rex attacked
caught the tshirt at a baseball game
edward scissorhands is my friend
embraced by a facehugger
lobotomy
got in the way of a touchdown/excessive end zone celebration
enter the dragon - i didn’t win
tareyton smokers would rather fight than switch
started a buffalo stampede
took a long walk off a short pier
godzilla!
none of the above

graphic warning - avert your eyes if you’re squeamish.

nothing that exciting. get your coffee, if you have nothing better to do than read this account. snippets of memory.

tl;dr: i tripped and fell on a sidewalk

recently visited chicago with my better half. he wanted to take pictures of boats at sunset, playing with the lenses he brought with him. he wanted to see beautiful bokeh of twinkling lights.

we were staying in a hotel in the loop, near union station. the walk towards the riverwalk and navy pier was about a mile away, maybe a twenty minute walk.

i didn’t feel like shooting, so was tagging along. my back was tired from carrying a camera around the previous days, at the science and industry museum, architectural tour via boat, and earlier in the day, the field museum.

i’d wanted to get out earlier, and have dinner first, then thought better of it, that we might miss sunset, so were going to the river first and pick up dinner on the way back.

we hadn’t quite reached the iconic chicago theatre sign, it’s neon lights already on. chatting about nothing.

then, i felt my shoe catch, an uneven sidewalk crack, and in spite of another step to try and avoid a fall, it was inevitable. i don’t think i quite windmilled my arms. i just remember a steel grate coming towards my face.

yup, a header into a serated sidewalk grate over an air vent. better half describes it as an industrial-strength cheese grater.

better half says i passed out for a few seconds. he and the three people behind us on the street got me turned over and sat me up. says i was a blood fountain. when i came around, i remembered i had saved some extra napkins from breakfast, so was able to apply pressure to my head, while better half and the other people tried to think best what to do. i wanted to just walk back to hotel, but after he showed me a picture of my head, i knew i needed to see a doctor.

then the question was ambulance or uber. i’m still just sitting on the ground meantime. probably in shock. better half called for an uber to the nearest hospital. better half has used uber maybe once, long ago.

better half and the older guy in the group of three got me up off the ground. no way i was getting up otherwise. my knees are scraped…i can feel it…but don’t seem broken.

he spots the black suv uber xl across the one-way street. they gimp me over there, profusely thanking the people for helping and waiting with us.

the car gets rolling while we buckle up. off we go. better half is asking if the driver can hurry and get us to the hospital.

when i hear the driver ask if we’d changed the destination, followed by “is your name mike?,” i already knew he got us in the wrong car.

driver refused taking us to the hospital, that his customers were waiting and that he would be fired. we’d only gone a couple of blocks, so a couple of turns later, we were back where we started. our uber was waiting for us, since better half had called to explain.

that driver was good. skipped the high traffic route and opted for lower-level streets and tunnels to the other side of the river. made it to the emergency room door in under ten minutes.

let me take a breath, and sip this strawberry-banana smoothie my better half brought me…

where was i? we arrived about seven p.m. usual city hospital on a saturday evening—busy. triage. people with sneezes, broken bones that have been temporarily set, homeless people looking for something, random aches, and here’s me with a butchered head. temp and blood pressure taken, and sent to find a seat.

they called me back for a second triage session two hours later. also to determine if better half had something to do with the injuries. he had no scrapes or other “evidence” so took me at my word. sent back to waiting room.

had better half call my mother. said she cried. was my sister’s birthday, so he talked to her later. i let my kids know first via text. i didn’t feel like talking.

hour four, there was a fight outside the er door, all security guards outside to break it up.

they came for me at hour five, put me in a wheelchair, as my knees were really stiff by then, and put us in a room. it’s a hive of activity behind the scenes.

a nurse came by to take some notes. another nurse rolled me out for a ct scan, since i landed on my head. only minimal scrapes on one hand, so i stopped my fall mostly with my forehead. i got uncontrollable shivers…adrenaline coming down, i suppose.

an hour later, they came for xrays of my knees.

soon after, the doctor came by to shoot up the cuts so it could be cleaned out and to decide which way to repair it. no concussion or broken bones. could have been so much worse. i have thought of an assortment of different endings, but better half doesn’t want to flounder in those thoughts.

about that time, five gunshot victims were heading in, so they had to move me out to the hallway, my forehead numbed and ready. waiting. dude was rolled into my previous location. he’d been shot by the girlfriend. she rolled in down the hall, screaming. he’d shot her in the foot. he wanted his phone to call her. then to call his mom and dad. then his people. denied. denied. denied. both were ultimately “relaxed” so work could be done.

i could only see the girl’s room. her screaming lasted ten minutes before they put her out. didn’t sound like it felt good. better half said the guy had a quick chat with the cops before he started telling a nurse about flowers growing out of his hand and quieting down.

nurse came by after a couple of hours and most of the craziness had died down. gave me some jello to eat. i got a tetanus shot in the hallway. i had to have more lidocaine shots in my head as too much time had passed. got the cuts cleaned of dirt and hair and dried blood.

two doctors consulted and decided crazy glue for skin would be best in this case. going to have a lovely scar.

finally released at sixish in the morning. over eleven hours. no dinner. still dark.

better half called an uber. security had blocked the driveway to the door, so we limped down to the sidewalk. watched the map say he was nine minutes away. then twelve. then nine. then eight. then three. and wouldn’t you know it, he pulled up to the opposite side of the driveway. gimped over there.

remember i mentioned the chicago marathon? yup, every which way this guy tried to go was blocked. after ten minutes of u-turns, we ended the ride, opting to walk.

had to climb up some stairs to street level. we were close to navy pier, and got our bearings. surrounded by people heading towrds the starting line, coming back in search of coffee or friends. and there we were, me stiff-zombie walking, a big bandage covering my forehead and dried blood in my hair, and my big, long haired better half…my hero.

i pointed out, that here we are crossing a bridge over the river, at sunrise. look at the lights on the boats. the twinkling in the water. the warming light. there. there was the shot he was looking for yesterday, i giggled. he still had the cameras with him. there was an empty viewing space in front of us.

he didn’t take the shot. he was tired and stressed, and wasn’t interested anymore. just wanted to get me back safely. it would have been perfect. oh well.

took about an hour to get to the hotel. i can’t remember if we got lunch before or after we crashed in bed for several hours of sleep.

the past couple of days, the swelling has moved south, giving me black eyes. when we’ve finally headed out for meals, better half has been getting big stink-eye from people. they only half believe the story, and i am not being beaten.

we ultimately decided to continue with our planned and paid for return home on the train. i wouldn’t have been able to stand bending my knees for that long on a plane, and better half can’t fit a plane seat, being so tall. thought about driving, and stopping as needed, sleeping in real beds each night. he thought there were too many stretches of nothing, had there been an emergency.

figured we could get off a train at a major stop for help or to get to an airport if needed.

i have to work monday, and my eyes are already opening up again, so i guess i will work, back into the frying pan…

so i have a permanent souvenir of our short-lived vacation.

back to it

i went to a couple of small car shows this weekend. better half had to work, and otherwise was unable to join me. he thinks the transmission is going out on his car, and is spending a lot of time researching cars to buy. should just go to pomona swap meet…

drove up to the show at foursquare church in whittier on saturday, for which i had considered waking up early, to drive an hour and to find parking, since in the past, it has been a busy show.

it got hot so early, but also, because of the temperature, i knew i wouldn’t be able to stay very long. can’t take the heat. i should shave my head, and get rid of this mop on top that holds the heat in, but my better half kinda likes it.

there really wasn’t much there, so it was probably the perfect size for the time i did spend. this beauty was sitting up at the front of the parking lot, with the kustom oldies cc. basic black. nice. took a few shots, came back around later, took a few more. i liked this one best.

there were a few cars from clubs i recognized, and a couple of new ones i’d never heard of. all huddled under pop ups, or watching the live band. they were live. i’ll leave it at that.

also a few guys from a club that i don’t post because of a past incident i posted about at the time, and also because the guys that were there were being creepy in a joking way. i ignored them. nice to know it wasn’t just the one guy that was a swine; i’ll just steer clear of their cars in the future. deleting the one picture i did take. take that candy, and suck it. you ruined car shows for me for a long time, i’m so over you.

had a short chat with a guy inside the break room, selling model cars, and with a display of his hot wheels collection. they all looked well-loved. he said he liked the red baron the best, of which he had two. none for sale, just to look at. better half still has his collection somewhere in storage. has one of those old cars with the little surfboards that one of his coworkers once offered to take off his hands for ten bucks…then one hundred. he thought better of it, and locked it out in his car for the day.

i am guessing that a good majority of people went to the roadsters show in pomona. thought about going, but instead walked around in my old hood in uptown whittier. the restaurant i’d intended to have lunch at was gone, and replaced by a much busier establishment with a line of people waiting to get inside.

also nice to see greenleaf is open again. didn’t see any flyers for the uptown car show on business windows, but one can hope they’ll start up again. just won’t have a home base to head back to when it gets to hot.

ended up at california grill. the renovations that started at the beginning of covid are complete, and nice to see they are still in business.

well, back a week from my trip and already back to the grind. i think i have three calls scheduled for tomorrow, as well as a rush job for the ceo. fun times.

such a mess

1941 chevrolet special deluxe convertible

brother and his wife were in town this past week. each day, as soon as i walked in the door from work, the wife would put me to work clearing junk out of the garage and attic. she’s a teacher, and very used to bossing people around.

finally had to start telling her i needed a moment, i just got off work, lemme eat something. junk can wait.

she didn’t realize how traumatic it was going to be for my mom, clearing the clutter, and filling two big junk trucks and a dumpster with stuff, and it barely put a dent in the garage junk. there’s still another attic to do as well.

the stuff is useless, but mom still would pick through the trash bags and pull out arbitrary items. i doubt she needs video 8, beta or vhs tapes of the gulf war or some cartoon my kids used to watch, but they’re sitting upstairs in her bedroom now. maybe it’s that the sticker has my dad’s handwriting on them. i think the players for them already went into the trash, or otherwise didn’t work and went into the trash.

was a battle of wills clearing out the pantry of out of date food items dad had bought over the years, and promptly forgot about. he used to eat stuff no one else would touch—oysters, anchovies, sardines, pickled pig parts, etc.—and yet she wanted to keep stuff in case anyone ever asked for it. i had to ask her how often a guest would arrive and ask if she had any prince albert in a can? never, but she doesn’t want to waste anything. well finally said, stuff is way out of date, and you wouldn’t even be able to donate it to a food pantry, so it needed to go.

sure, we’re disturbing her comfort zone. all this could wait another decade until she’s gone, but we’re trying to make some room, make it safer, make it her own.

took a few days of her in tears, and cussing—which she doesn’t do—for her to mourn her lost stuff. sister-in-law has said she is done, and probably won’t be back. she’s on her plane home by now.

my brother stayed behind, so they are still emptying stuff from the garage attic. his find for the day so far was my dr suess lunchbox from first grade.

i’m in whittier, for what seems my weekly cry. somehow we end up talking memories of my dad, so then the tears come again. it’s ok.

better half got out in the morning and got half his shopping done. i should be able to be home a little more often while my bro is staying with my mom. she was telling me the other day that she is perfectly fine being left on her own, but, when i called her earlier, she asked if i was coming back tomorrow. and she isn’t on her own.

looks like it wants to rain, and usually looking out this window, i’ll see old cars driving by; not one has noisily rumbled by today. we’re also in the flight path for LAX, but the planes must be coming in from the other direction—not seeing those either—and they would typically be coming in low, under the clouds on a day like this.

good car shows coming up. already booked a hotel for chicano park show. wonder if my bro will still be around, so he could go with me; doubt my mom will. padres are in town that weekend too; hoping to hit up a ball game while i’m there.

looking at the calendar, and some days have several shows. flip a coin, throw a dart, pull a show from a hat…need to decide somehow and get out and shoot.

shot this car at last year’s whittier uptown show. early. best early. the light and no crowds yet. and no heat…some years get so dang hot, i can’t even get around to all the cars before i start to feel ill. not tolerating it well anymore.

almost like they purposely parked that red car under those red banners for a reason…so color coordinated.

mfeo

my dad was happy to see me the other day.

middle of the night he was so sure that my sister had called to tell him that i’d been driving to whittier late at night with my daughter’s dog beast, and that i’d fallen asleep behind the wheel half way there. apparently i’d plowed into a divider at an off ramp, and both dog and me presumably died instantly.

he had the phone in his hand and was going to call her back to see if it was a joke. then decided maybe he was just imagining it.

my mom came upstairs to bed soon after, and was able to confirm it was just a really vivid dream. i guess a few days earlier it had been my sister’s turn, but i can’t remember how she met her fate.

he has been hallucinating lately, probably a side effect of one of his meds. doctor had him stop that med, so they are not happening as realistically anymore, hence he is able to stop and recognize it may just be all in his head.

but still. i don’t remember most of my dreams anymore, but when i do, a lot of them do happen. deja vu? so i sort of don’t like that he’d told me about it.

on the other hand, there is no reason i’d be driving up there with that dog, as he wouldn’t be allowed in the house. but i have driven southbound very sleepy before, and that isn’t good either.

———-

anyway, la patina and his friend here, parked in the lot behind the whittier cinemas a few months ago at the uptown car show. they seem to be made for each other, studies in rust, perseverence, and restoration.

though old, they get around easily, so probably didn’t need to park in handicap spot.

father's day

old plymouth from the uptown show. i like that even though i walked up there relatively late, around six-thirty, the street was still pretty empty. i've shot this car several times over the years, but this is probably my favorite picture of it so far.

a relation of the owner inquired about some editing on it, and inserting parents into the shot...sure i can do that, for a price...but they never got back to me, so i'll leave it be.

hey dad, probably won't make down to your house today. restaurants are busy anyway. we can go out tomorrow, mkay?

another perfectly, cold june gloom day. i really should go out to one of the parks around here, for any one of the many car club barbeques happening, but judging by the last holiday park show i went to, finding parking and dealing with the crowds, make it so much less fun. unless you're there first thing at dawn. which it isn't now...well into the afternoon, so there you go. i'll stay put. better half has marketing and probably heading to the office to work stuff, so here i am again.

i will just sit here, play with pictures, and watch as numerous people park illegally in the street, and walk up to the neighbor's door. usually towards evening. they don't stay long, so nothing nefarious is going on.

money is exchanged and they return with bags/boxes of something or other. we suspect it is some type of unregulated food prep for restaurants, cuz they're always cooking in the kitchen with the windows open. this being father's day, i expect quite a number of pit stops to happen.

we don't really talk to them, as they've been assholes since they moved in over a year ago. really surprised the old curmudgeonly neighbor hasn't call the health inspector on them yet.

used to be a drug dealer living in the house next door, and long after they were busted, strange people continued coming around, but i don't think this is the same thing.

we do like to make up stories about what might be in the plain brown bags though. i'll go with homemade playdough today, in hot pink and neon green. buyers will go home and open the bag, stick their faces in the top and take a big whiff, sending them back to their childhoods.

just close your eyes and open a can of playdough...sniff it...it totally works, assuming you played with the stuff as a kid.

but that homemade shit, probably not the same...might not take you back that far...and who wants to be a teenager again? ick, no.

whatever; i can't think just now

when wondering around city-sponsored shows, be sure to look down side streets...usually you find cars that did not register, or do not want to pay the fee to park in the main areas.

in this case, i spied a few cars down the space between the movie theatre and the building next to it. walking to the back of the theatre, in the overflow parking lot, were several cars parked near the barbershop. this year, the barbershop did not drag their barber chairs out to the show as a vendor to do some barbering, but people went to the back to their shop. seemed busy in there too.

this cadillac was parked next to it, in the alley.

later in the afternoon, there seemed to be an after-party going on back there, as i walked home from an afternoon movie.

i suppose i should write something. i didn't go to any shows today, a perfectly cold, overcast photo-loving weather day. better half joked that i would write about why i didn't go out, and what excuse i would use.

well, since no one reads this but him, and some lurkers, the only excuse i will say, is i took some me time. the blankets were too comfortable, i hadn't slept well all week, and the show would go on without me. besides, i spent most of the day hanging around the house with him, so he can't complain too much.

i did go uptown to mail a letter, and get a late lunch. an old chevy from the kustom oldies car club drove past me, on the way to the post office. it stopped momentarily on the corner by central park, and drove down the street before i could get my phone out for a picture.

then, by the time i got to the corner, i spied it coming back down the street towards me. so i got my phone out, ready, and snapped a quick shot as he sat at the stop sign. got a wave from the owner too. i think their club had one of the shows i could have gone to today.

also saw an edsel uptown too. you can see both on my instagram.

a few thoughts from a week of long drives home:

i'd rather spend time in the evening working on a picture, then go to sleep, rather than trying to think of something to write about here. does that make me a terrible blogger, or just over-tired? i have plenty of pictures ready for a write-up, but not a lot of time to spend thinking of what to write, hence i spend my afternoon drive-time writing fun stuff in my head, with the best of intentions, only to not be able to remember most of it when i get home.
there's a person in my office building with a tuft of hair on their mostly balding forehead, and all i can think of is that he represents the lollypop guild...and to welcome me to munchkin land. terrible of me, i know, but it makes me giggle every time i see them. there used to be a girl that wore a big military overcoat looking dress, and she was one of the witch's guards...i might be working in oz without knowing it.
i need to improve my attitude at work, kind of an i don't give a fuck mood. i've been in this state of mind before. one of my better half's favorite memories is of sitting in on a meeting with my former manager and team at a former job, telling that manager to his face, in front of all my coworkers, that his idea was stupid. mostly because i didn't want to participate in that particular project. better half called it a career enhancing move on my part. manager did turn a lovely shade of red, and the vein did bulge on the side of his neck. coworkers looked at the floor, the ceiling, elsewhere. ultimately, nothing happened, but i didn't have to participate on that project, which was the point anyway. i think the mood is from all the other stuff going on in my life; it will pass, and hopefully, i'll still be employed this time.
my kid is going to move out of my condo soon. i fantasize about gutting it, and putting new flooring, cabinets, bathrooms fixtures in. then remember my other kid is moving in, with her big beast of a dog, and half of that fantasy gets put on hold. still might replace the fixtures or the kitchen. figure by the time she moves out, i'll be too old to live there anyway, too old to climb the stairs...the next person can replace the flooring.
randomly, the lowercase m will not type while logged in to this website, so i'm having to type it in a different program and paste it in here. wth, squarespace?
why does the uptown rite-aid blast barry manilow tunes outside 24/7?
did i mention my dad has been in the emergency room and/or hospital at least twice more since the last time i mentioned it? he seems somehow less than he was each time after. tomorrow is father's day. i hope he doesn't spend it there. best to go give him a hug while i still can...
oh, and i got three pictures accepted into the oc fair this year. already have the framed prints ready to go. my problem is that i have to drop them off next saturday, and i really want to go to the bomb club show at santa anita. and i think my better half has to go in to his office to hob nob with some executives, so i have to be here while he's gone. yet to see how the schedule will go...

dream big

i had a dream last night. usually don't remember them very well, but i guess this one happened right before i awoke.

a giant t-rex stomping down our street, casually chomping on the big round-topped trees, as if they were giant broccoli. and i was happy about it. along with the trees, the damn, noisy, now-wild parrots went with them.

what i want to know, is, who released the first couple of those things, rather unleashed them? all summer, the flock flys around uptown, squawking from sunrise to sunset. keeps me from sleeping in late, with the windows open on the hottest days.

i don't sleep well as it is. summer here is hell, with no air conditioning, but there are those fucking parrots.

guessing the t-rex came from a parody i watched on youtube. at least i didn't have to play the part of genarro in jurassic park, hiding in the bathroom stall.

maybe it's my reaction to some bad news i heard from a friend yesterday. the kind that sucks the big one, and you just want to strike back at the universe, for dealing a shit hand to good people.

now, in this scenario, who is the t-rex, and who are the parrots?

caught a fellow photog's car at the uptown show. should i be jealous of his ride, or should he be jealous of mine?

really, is there any comparison to a honda? nah, his is more photogenic. and a wee bit cleaner than mine.

touchy feely

so i went to the uptown car show yesterday. didn’t get down the street until fife-thirty, and the sun was already coming up. oh well. better half walked me down to where the first bunch of cars were parked, to make sure i’d be safe. when he saw tudy, there, he knew i would be ok. familiar faces make him feel better about leaving me alone so early at a show.

intended to head out to the other end of the street, by the hotel, in the staging area, but the sun was already up, and those typical sun behind the car shots i get there, were not really going to happen. different day of the month, different month than they have done in the past.

besides, i got distracted by the big, shiny things parked along the way. volunteers get first dibs on parking early, and there were a couple of clubs that i saw—originals and socal tribe. so i shot some of their cars first. tried to take advantage of where the sun shown down between buildings and hit the cars. a few of those were busily being polished before they headed off to direct traffic, or whatever they were told to do. others, the guys were in the way, and it’s not my place to tell them to move...it’s their show, they’re doing a job, i’m just a fly on the wall, so to speak. i just come back for the shot later.

finally got to the staging area, shot the few cars i liked there—usually they are packed in and overflowing to side streets by that time, but this year they’d moved drive-in to eight in the morning. that’s ok, whittier shows always seem to be let in late...usually by the fire marshall’s hold up.

anyway, retraced my path back up the street, shot cars i’d passed up, and decided to head home for a break. it was already getting warm, and i was thirsty. convenience of having that option is nice.

noticed the groupe car club cars had filled in one of the last side streets i had to pass on the way, and decided to get some of them too. there were a lot of them—i think i heard someone say they had at least thirty or forty members there, and it looked like most of them where on that block.

unfortunately, it was after eight by then, and they were beginning to let them in to the main drag. i hurried up, but once they get going, they move too quick for me.

i spied this impala a block down. just by itself, the owner and another dude standing by, a street closed sign just beyond. i took a short break in the shade of an overhang, expecting them to get in the car, and head up to the line of incoming cars. i really didn’t want to head down the slight hill for nothing, only to walk back up the incline.

after a few minutes, him not moving, but rather talking on the phone, i headed over.

the other guy came over and watched me set up. he hovered around, out of the direct shot, but his shadow kept moving across the car. finally started talking to him, hoping he would move to a different position, but no. i think i’ve talked to him before...can’t quite remember which show, or maybe it was at pomona, but i did remember the accent. from the follow up email he sent me, and his email address, it must be french.

anyway, i moved to the other side of the car, thinking at least i’d get him out of the path of the light, and that did work, but he continued hanging around next to me. finally asked if he wanted to be in the picture, which really was what he wanted all along.

so this is how he wanted to pose for the picture. does the owner know him? i wouldn’t touch someone’s car without permission. at least it was just the tip of his gloves. not sure if they were for weight lifting or bike riding, but when i reached over to shake his hand, he stopped to remove the glove first.

i left to walk up the hill, and he went back to the car and the owner. he had told me that the battery had died, and the guy had been calling for a tow truck, which arrived by the time i’d reached the next corner. hadley tow must love these shows, as there are always cars that overheat or otherwise not start.

looking forward

a shot from last year's whittier car show. been seeing the flyers posted uptown for june second...on my calendar...on my street. i think the owner of this car stopped polishing it long enough for me to get a picture.

always up and out early, before the crowds. later in the day, it just gets packed, and typically really hot, so i'm done by ten. head home, download pics, then head back, with the macro lens, looking for hood ornaments and detail shots—at least no need to bring the tripod.

planning out my weekend, assuming all the elderly peeps in the family stay healthy and out of the emergency room. my dad has been there several times in the last month; patch him up, send him home, not really solving the problem. really frustrating.

mom just sits there, quietly supportive, not really challenging the doctors with questions. i usually don't pipe up, but it's getting kind of ridiculous, so i'm asking for second opinions, other options, tests.

my dad has his own theories, and it's interesting to hear him telling the doctor about anatomy and how things work, the cause of his issue, and how they could fix it quick. doctors really have a lot of patience for their patients...don't know how he kept a straight face.

but anyway, hoping to get out to the chino cornfeed run on saturday, and if i have any energy left, up early on sunday to pomona swap meet. we'll see.

sweet

saw this truck at the dia de los muertos show last month. that paint is so cherry red and delicious...so appropriate it's in front of the candy store.

my kid had spun out on the freeway on some ice last month, and insurance totaled her car. her dad has been looking for a decent used car for her—he said on friday that he may have found one. i'd previously offered to help drive it up there, but now he can't get the time off.

so i may be taking a not completely unexpected road trip north to washington state this week. just wasn't expecting to have to go so soon. i guess i'll have to tell my boss as soon as i know for sure.

then i need to get a one-way ticket back asap, before the price gets much higher.

my brother may go, or i'll just drive it alone. either way, i like being on the road. he's gotta be back by a particular day, cuz he needs to get somewhere else, so timing will be tight.

just saw my kid last week, and pretty much will be handing over the keys, and maybe get a meal, then outta there, and back to work by monday.

they've said i need to use my vacation time anyway.