get out from behind

1959 oldsmobile ninety-eight

still feel like i've been smacked by a baseball bat in the face, but don't look as much as if i did today. seriously thinking of going to legg lake and seeing what's up. >>update: went to legg lake, scoped out all different lots, both sides of freeway--no good times being had. too tired to drive over to lincoln park, so my weekend is done before it begun. shoulda gone out yesterday. 😞<<

wondering if my arms will work, and let me pull my bag and carry the tripod from one end to the other, and have the energy to make it back to the car. seriously. wtf is wrong with me?

i'm supposed to take a portrait of an exec at work this week, and i'm outta practice on taking any type of picture. 

but the sun is soooo bright in my eyes, and it's hard to focus with sun glasses on. at least the weather is perfect.

lately, i've gone uptown about once a day or so, to get lunch or dinner, but mostly to scope out any old cars that may be parked there. if i can't get to a show, i go look for any that may come to me. there are the usual few, belonging to people who work uptown, and then there are always classic cars and harleys that drive through daily. shoot em with my phone, and post on instagram...better than nothing.

saw a poster yesterday for the annual dia de los muertos show uptown. last year was more car show than art show. hoping for the same this year. at least it's down the street and i can go home if i don't feel good.

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i've shot this car before. friendly father and son usually go along with it, but didn't see them this day, at the uptown show. it's an unusual car, and i can't recall seeing another one like it, so i always take a shot of it when i see it. such a nice back end.

shit happens

i haven't posted much or been out to shows the last few weeks. got a lot going on at home with family and health issues.

heard last night that my daughter had been in a car accident in oregon. she was driving back to washington, it started pouring rain, her car and others started hydroplaning. guess she slid/spun out into a guard rail, crunching the front of her car. said a semi truck came close to smashing into her car, but stopped a few feet short of it.

she and the three friends with her all had seat belts on, and were all bruised but otherwise not broken. she had one of her dobermans in there too, and while not belted down, he mostly bounced and seems ok too. 

they had to stay overnight in a hotel, and get the car towed home today. last i heard she was waiting for he boyfriend to get home from work and take her in to a doctor to be sure she didn't have a concussion or anything else. 

trying not to worry when your kid is so far away, and you're helpless to do anything is not that easy. someone will let me know if i need to jump on a plane, right? 

in addition to that, my younger brother was in the emergency room last night, about the same time. his issue was a kidney stone. they sent me a video clip...he's high as fuck on the morphine or whatever they use for that. i guess he passed/birthed that stone and got sent home this morning.

then his kids had to go to urgent care. both have sinus infections, one has bronchitis and laryngitis. all because they evacuated florida to stay with relatives, who i guess gave them their colds. awesome tradeoff. 

for myself, went back to the doc today, got more blood tests, because i'm "a mystery." this one is guessing an allergy, like the first two did. anyway, this is not a good look, but mostly my big frame glasses hide the obvious swelling. 

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saw this ford at the sonic show a few weeks ago. about the most interesting part of this car is the grille, and the reflection across the hood. wasn't much there to shoot, so was trying to be open minded to these types of not quite so classic cars. not feeling the love i have for a fleetline, but more about practicing photography i guess. i'm so out of practice now...

hellbound

i must say, life keeps on keeping on. car shows come and gone, and i missed them, and it doesn't matter. got other things on my mind, and there's always another show, another year.

mother-in-law in, then out, then in the hospital again. supposed to get out later today. guess that's how it's gonna be for a while. that's what we all have to look forward to, if we're lucky enough to live that long. my dad is up to bat next, just needs to get that scheduled. 

myself, got stuck for lab tests today. annual physical coming up anyway, and to see if there's something i might be allergic to, though that has never been an issue, like, ever. [say it like a teenage girrrrl] 

anyway, things may be going to hell in a handbasket, but i got my hairs done red again. kept that appointment; if anything happens, it doesn't matter if i was there or not. 

so i'm gonna look good for about twenty-four hours, then i'll just go back to shabby old me, but with red hair. sometimes i wish i was good at girling...make-up and hair...but i just can't. i'll just keep looking like a pudgy long-haired version of my brother. 

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hoping to head back to whittier tonight, and post more pictures. that i can do.  

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here's a shot of something different from my usual. need to clear my head. fugly, but interesting at the same time, these beaters are distinctly unique [redundant?], and can be slightly challenging to frame up or find which point to focus interest on. 

sprinkles

1941 pontiac

shot this earlier in the year at frisco's anniversary show. overcast skies and random rain showers. alternated between shooting pictures and hiding from the rain under building overhangs.  

gave the owner a print of this one...he always gives me cold water when i am in most need of one. thanks so much! 

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busy night last night. no sleep until four in the morning. 

started off unable to sleep...because of the heat, or more likely the two hour siesta my body decided to make me take earlier in the day. 

tossed and turned, punched the pillows, rambled expletives about this house and this bed, whose mattress seems to hold the heat while it molds to your body...sucks. wanted to sleep, couldn't.

about twelve-thirty in the morning, i'd just stood up and had my phone in my hand, looking at the time, when my better half opens the door and says an ambulance is on the way for his mom. went through this before, probably around the same time this picture above was taken.

i get dressed and wait by the door for the fireboys. they'd just arrived. some of them had been here before not too many weeks before. 

ever watch sleepless in seattle? that babysitter just walking around 'helping' to find the kid--randomly walking around saying, "jonah?" ya, i felt like that dork, walking around this house, getting in the way. 

enjoyed sitting like a zombie in the emergency room, between a woman who seemed intent on coughing up a lung [note to self: do not take up smoking] and someone who only knew how to grunt and moan. knowing i was running on empty, decided to head home around three-thirty in the morning, to catch a few hours of sleep, which i could definitely do by then.  sister-in-law stayed behind to handle admitting paperwork.

my question, as i drove home on deserted streets, is who the hell is washing their car at the coin wash at that time in the morning? and getting "chatted" up by the overdressed "lady"...interesting neighborhood. 

when i woke up a few hours later, had to contact coworkers to get them to turn on my puter so i could connect remotely, mostly to set up my out of office greeting. ended up working half a day, while i waited for fedex deliveries for my better half and for his sister. 

actually sprinkled outside for about five minutes. that cooled things down, but the clouds went away, and someone turned the sun up to full blast, so yucky hot quickly. 

better half came home for a snooze and a shower, so i went to the hospital, to take my turn, and so his sister could go home for some sleep too. 

better half showed up soon after, but i stayed there until evening. he'll stay the night...doesn't trust the nurses to care for his mom like he does. 

so, anyway. i feel like crap. doing laundry at eight at night, and now i'm amped up on orange juice. i was thirsty. it was cold. oh well. 

it's the medicine

1947 chevy fleetmaster

i've decided that i feel like shit because of the meds i've been taking for the past week. three more days to go. because if it's not that, then there's something else, that i will not want to deal with, things being so beyond my control just now.

my dad says his one doctor is recommending that he opt for open heart surgery vs the up the leg bit that he'd settled on. i know he has more appointments scheduled to discuss it with several docs this week, so we shall see what happens.

we had been talking our tenth anniversary/vacation just a couple of weeks ago, but that is totally on the shelf now. life happens. as my better half says, it's the tenth year all year, so we can go some other time.

still hoping to squeeze in some car shows when i can, when i feel better, when it's not so hot out. i still have time to get over to legg lake, if i just feel a bit more myself. i'll think about it. batteries charging, just in case.

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saw this car out at the bomb club show at santa anita. here it is, sitting out in the parking lot, waiting for them to open the tunnel to the infield. interesting paint job. color coordinated hood ornament. nice car, overall.

psyclero

harley davidson

there's a car show going on right now at slick's customs. goes until ten p.m. i've been to a couple of shows there, and they usually have a good turnout, and people i know.

just not feeling it today. still feeling like crap. and my face, though not puffed up like last week, hurts. ya, take that joke and run with it.

tomorrow is the belmont shore show. i've never been. kinda interested in going for a change, but being that my better half can't go, and lately, i'm always afraid i'm going to faint, i just don't want to go by myself. 

there's a picnic at legg lake—that's closer, and easier for me. if i go out, i'll probably go there.

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saw this bike a couple months ago now, at the viejitos show. i think it belonged to one of the vendors. really incredible engraving on the chrome.

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btw, both of my brothers finally had to evacuate their homes in florida. they are safely out of the way, but one of them has a kid who decided to become a cop. guess who is required to stay behind? no worries, right. i feel for them.

on a streak

randomness:

• women who can't walk in high heels. sort of just stomping their feet up and down instead of normal steps. they sound like horses walking across the marble lobby floor. but they look good. 
• two weeks / three doctors: latest guess is that i have a sinus infection with none of the standard symptoms. still look like i got slapped in the face without the red hand mark.  yet another med to throw at it, and the side effects... oh and the male receptionist looked just like the weeknd...i so wanted to tell him, 🎶 "i can't feel my face when i'm with you..." 🎶
• dad made his decision for surgery, now just has to schedule it. 
• one brother in the path of hurricane irma but hoa won't let him shutter windows until last minute--likely to pull a leiutenant dan to get it done; other one thinks it will miss him, so goes diving...logic? 

when it rains...

1954 chevy truck

labor day weekend. welcome to hell. this weather. this house. no air conditioning. fuck.

stayed at my condo on friday, to enjoy the new air conditioning i had installed recently, and also to avoid friday, holiday weekend traffic. it sprinkled and there was lightning, but no thunder. the sky must be constipated.

then i went home to whittier.

welcome to the sleep deprivation test lab and now an additional wing, ye olde sweat lodge. i am tired, but do not feel spiritually cleansed. only words in my head are, "fuck this shit." not ommmmmmmmmm or namaste.

sometimes an old house is just an old house. i suffered through it yesterday, truly. wanted to be here to support my better half, run errands as needed, while he cares for his mother. pretty much have decided to pack my bags, and head south. just online paying some bills, now writing this bit up quickly. too hot to do anything i would normally do on a holiday weekend.

top that off with my eyes still being all swole and not in a good way. totally look like i have allergies, but i don't. then add food poisoning, let's just say i'm just not going to any shows this weekend.

oh, and an even better kicker to cap off the summer: my dad needs heart surgery. open heart or up through the leg...his choice. now i really get to be simpatico with my better half. i should take that vacation now, while there's still time to go...

ya, no stress here. i should just keep sweating it out...out with the bad air, in with the good...

a surprise

1962 chevy impala

so got my better half away for a night. didn't go very far away, but he got the rest he so much needed.

we were out in fullerton, picking up some breakfast/lunch at a northgate market before heading home. this particular location doesn't really have a dining area, and it was way too hot to sit in the car under a blazing sun.

so i suggested we stop over at the sonic around the corner, order drinks and just eat under the overhang. that, or go to a local park, or we wait to eat until we get home. we pull into the first spot, roll down the windows, and just order drinks.

roller girl waitress brings the drinks and goes away. we start eating our carnitas, listening to the music in the background. then better half notes that they don't seem to be able to select a song to play.

i'm looking in the rearview mirror, and note that there are two lowriders back there. figure that the sonic employees are playing more appropriate music for their customers, or are taking requests.

then i note that there are pop up tents, and i see a guy in a club shirt seeming to be setting up traffic cones in the lot, and carrying caution tape. i joke with the better half that i believe a car show has found us, and i don't have my cameras with me.

from my window, i ask the club guy if there is a car show today, and he explains, yes, he's the club president, he actually works at the establishment (he didn't use that word), and they're just setting up. hoping to get it to be a more regular show. maybe start with a flyer?

then a couple of viejitos cars pulls up. my better half is finding this all very humorous, as he starts thinking i'd planned it this way. come on, if i had, i would have brought the cameras! lol.

anyway, we get out and walk around. say hey to the viejito that i have met before. he said other guys were going to show up. the club president hosting the show said they expected up to seventy cars. i think that should always be taken with a grain of salt...it's more of a hope.

anyway, we tell them we are going home to fetch our gear, and we will be back.

i don't think they believed us, and better half said they seemed surprised to see us again when we showed up a couple hours later.

hmm. not so many cars as mentioned. no additional viejitos, or either of the other two clubs that had been mentioned. 

oh well. we're there. we take some pictures.

found this one on the other side of the building. told the owner i'd post it. i want to say we've shot other cars from this club elsewhere. i think i may have even shot this one before...go look on my search page, type in 'one family'...i think it's the first one that pops up.

viejitos in a row

disneyland...pfft, you charge too much. early morning in anaheim isn't so bad, when there are cars to be seen. i see it as somewhat of a challenge to make a pretty picture from an ugly parking lot. not that hard really, when you have lights, camera, trees, and old cars. pavement cracks to add some character or sense of time passing.

caught this line up of viejitos' cars along the fence, amazingly without people or other cars passing in front of me during the five minutes or so that shot this. well, there was one guy walking behind the cars, but he's mostly a blur, so he doesn't count.

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got home from work yesterday, and was totally going to go to ruby's. had passed a few old cars heading in that direction, a couple that i'd never seen before. 

but then i got home, and started talking to my better half. i kicked back on the bed, which was a mistake, cuz i started feeling sleepy. so i never did end up at a show at all.

then i didn't get up for a show today. i suppose i could go now, high noon light and heat. ick. supposed to get hotter this week, so yay.

have plans to go out with my better half tonight, which really haven't done since at least before february. as ferris bueller said, "life moves pretty fast. if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."