what's up?

dankness

nice fleetline from a few months back. car show at salinas tires. too many cars for the little parking lot, so this was further on down by the no-tell motel. don’t care that there are imperfections; they just make it more interesting.

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been here and there, no time or energy left to write much. but i do observe, and if my mental notes don’t disappear from my head, i can usually pull some random topic out of my a$$.

currently at my condo, where there is no kitchen and no water, but at least there is no more mold in the wall from a pipe leak months ago. goobers said they were done for now and that the house key was under the mat. thanks captain obvious. would have preferred they toss it in the back yard. so had to drive out here for that. time to change the locks anyway.

they say there is another slow leak that needs a plumber’s attention, before they put things back together again. just don’t know if the hoa will pay for that or if i have to. which means more time out of the office because the lock box is gone.

at least the plastic breaking bad “meth lab” drapes are gone from where the kitchen was, and instead, i have plastic covered framework where a wall used to be. and a bucket for the slow leak.

this would be a second weekend with my kid unable to stay here with the beast. she tried, but unfortunately discovered that without running water, the toilet would not flush, after an unfortunate situation, if you know what i mean. her friend was there, so she had used the bathroom in my room, to top it off.

her dad told her to fill the tank with water, but i guess she only put a gallon, so was unable to flush the evidence. and left it there. she called to let me know, and apologized, as she was late for work.

fine. i go over the next day to see if it would actually flush, which it did when enough water is in there. i was worried that she put water in the bowl vs the tank, which i still suspect she did, since the tank was pretty dry.

i noticed a smell coming from her room. a stench that wrankles the nasal passages.

now, her shit didn’t stink, so what was it? was one of her other critters dead in their cage, a desiccating carcass?

first thought was that the dog had pinched one in there. he’d done it the week before. maybe he’d done it again. too stupid to let you know he needs to go outside if you don’t see him gazing longingly at the door.

but no. it’s worse.

hiding in that bathroom is a bowl of the foulest of the foul, even andy dufresne would not swim out of shawshank in it. really permeating, like it had stewed for days.

the snakes were not loving it. the tarantulas could care less, being that they don’t really move all slithery and such.

i make some calls.

kid swears she didn’t do it. friends swears they didn’t do it. which leads me to believe one of the kitchen worker bees took a dump knowing the water is off, and forgot about it. wtf. wtf is he doing upstairs? there’s a toilet downstairs.

holding my breath as i fill the tank. standing by with a plunger, as that toilet likes to back up if you use too much paper, and i don’t know what might be under all that.

on the other hand, what am i to do if it does start pouring over the lip of the bowl? towels, i’d build a dam with towels before it got to the carpet.

luckily, i didn’t have to shift to plan b. down it went, but the smell lingered. i hate lysol, but i had to spray that stuff in the room, past the sink, into the main bedroom. the snakes were going crazy for the lemon scent.

opened the window, air conditioning be damned.

really hoping they do a follow up survey on the quality of their work. “a” for effort.

so today, hot and humid, with smoke from the fire drenching the sky and surroundings in an eerie tan color, i had to go shower at the pool in a bathing suit. took a swim first, which was lovely, as i haven’t used the pool in a year or two.

guess i’ll brush my teeth with bottled water, and hope the burrito i ate earlier stays put.

sonic

it has been a hell of a week at work. sometimes being salaried sucks.

on the plus side, working late on monday, afforded me the opportunity to stop by an evening car show for a change. i'd been forwarded a flyer for it a few weeks ago, but usually, my schedule just makes it impossible to get to weekday shows anymore.

out at the sonic in anaheim, i initially pulled up and only saw a few cars under the drive-in lights. that's disappointing, i thought, but figured i'm here, i'll shoot what there is.

one old chevy, i'd seen before, and initially skipped it. i went to the other side, to shoot a nice mauve colored thirty-eight olds. of course, as i set up, the owner decided that was the time he wanted to leave. he did wait for me, so that was nice of him. as he drove away, i noticed another parking lot behind some bushes. that's where the action was, so i headed over.

there were about twenty cars over there, and a lot of people. the flyer mentioned all photographers and models were invited. needless to say, there were at least two crews of full up lighting and camera gigs trudging through the cars. big friggin octabanks of lights, and additional light peons, serving the man behind the lens.

only a few models sitting on the vehicles, though i heard the week before there had been more. i really don't care, as i'm more interested in the cars, but there are definitely a few photographers more interested in the models. hope they got lucky, for what it's worth.

the overflow from the lights and activity surrounding them, messes with my shots, so i mostly went to cars opposite side of the lot from them. and the darker it got, the more the people walked through my long exposures.

all that is to be expected. i haven't been out shooting at sunset in a while, so i'm rusty on my settings, and determinely persevered with my typical setup, whereas i should have turned the dial a bit. i really hate the noise bumping the iso up though.

anyway, i waited out the people, and managed to get a few decent shots that night. here's danny's car. pretty sure he and his friends took off not long after i got it.

the only one

yesterday there were several car shows to consider. i can only pick one, since my better half has things he has to do, and i need to stay with his mom while he's out.

the big shows were mooneyes and the viejitos annual show. mooneyes is closer, but i've been several times, and find it hard to shoot what i do, and the cars are so spread out along the main street, with intermittent parking lots jammed with cars. there's a wide assortment of cars, to be sure, and if you're looking for the noisy cruise-bys, that's the place to be.

i chose the viejitos show. i wanted the bombs, the low lows, the big curvy-bodied cars. and a lot of them before any crowds showed up.

i arrived there in the dark. i always expect there will be cars from the host club very early, for the set up. there were two cars at the far end of the lot, but i didn't see any people, except the random homeless guy picking at trash at my end of the lot. i'm by myself, and i just wasn't going to walk over there in the dark with my camera bag, until i saw faces i recognized, or more cars anyway.

so i sat in my car, watching the sky start to turn orange, instead of watching it color up behind a car, as i'd wanted. pretty, but not a very dramatically intense sunrise.

about sixish, more cars started to show, and vendors started setting up, so i headed over. several of the club guys were there, and the president, raynbow, who shook my hand and welcomed me.

started shooting the club cars as they arrived. then there was a lull in new cars. pretty sure i leaned up against the chain-link fence in the shade for at least fifteen minutes. consoled myself that if everyone was over at mooneyes, i still had shot enough pictures of the cars i liked to keep me happy for a while, right here.

the pity party didn't last long. the closer to the real drive-in time it got, the more cars and groups of cars began to show up.

watched this cherry fleetline show up on the back of a truck. after it was unloaded, they parked it in the corner by itself.

it's a show stopper to be sure, but obviously not a daily driver.

the owner seemed to not want me to shoot it, as he said it was still all covered with dust from the freeway. i argued that if i waited, the light hitting it would be gone. i told him i'd come back around when it was as pristine as he imagined it could be and shoot it again.

i don't know if he understood, and i went ahead and shot it then anyway. he went ahead and started setting up a pop up tent right next to it, so i'm glad i got my shot before he moved the monstrosity up next to it.

i did go back later. he had moved it over a bit, another car parked in next to it. monstrosity of a pop up right up next to it. shows up in the reflection of the perfect cherry red paint. light was no longer specifically hitting it, just busy getting more generically applied to all of the cars.

as always, i liked this show. as always, i was up against a time limit, the heat, and the need to pee. i needed breakfast and to get back home, so i was on my way about start time.

all the other photographers must have been over at mooneyes. sort of missed those familiar faces; can't wait to see pictures from whatever event they were at. always good to see different points of view, how different people see the same subject. i have seen some other pictures from this show, so they did eventually turn up, but i was already gone.

left it alone

been having hot flashes. nothing new; i've had them for a few years, and thought they'd stopped finally. but here they are again. hot flashes on hot days, and i want to be like pedro and shave my head, because it was hot.

pretty sure i'd look a bit funny with no hair. i like being able to hide behind it, or tie it up when i want. really wishing i hadn't let the hairstylist cut so much off last time, but it's growing back out.

anyway, i want to go to shows this weekend. i will get to at least one. thing is, i have people wanting a piece of my time here, and at my house, and at my mom's. so, shuffling, juggling, prioritizing, however you want to term it.

i do not feel good, but i'm pushing through it, and ignoring it most of the time.

was leaving the show at chicano park, and came across a club and some few solo riders parked in the street by the market and apartments. i liked how this chevy was parked, probably deliberately, next to the big arrow, pointing out a nice car—shoot this one. ok, i did.

fourth of july

away from my computer, and not finding any pics on my ipad with flags waving, so i’ll just put up this old one.

early morning out in south gate, waiting to go onto the golf course at the azaelia festival. pretty sure this was a majestics car. very nice, with the sunrise orange sky behind it.

standard airbrushed, large-breasted women painted down the side. at least they are fairly well done—kudos to the artist—i’d be afraid i’d fuck up a paint job on a car. same goes for all the pinstripers out there. cuz omg, there is definitely really bad work being done, and what are you supposed to say to the owner? blow sunshine up in there and say, “yes that’s great, definitely looks like your kids and/or wife/side chick.” nah, i just don’t take pictures of them...too tempting to me...if you can’t say anything nice...

i think this was the year they wouldn’t let me in early, so i had to fend for myself in the parking lot until almost the time for spectators to be let in. that really sucked. if you see me sitting out there, let me ride in with you in your car; otherwise, i may just go find another show to shoot.

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holiday, and here i am, sitting in a pollo loco, josé feliciano singing soulfully, “light my fire,” while i enjoy the air conditioning. no one here, except the employees, and i guess a kid that belongs to one of them, quietly staring at a cell phone.

woke up this morning in my half emptied house. kid still has a lot of stuff to get out of here. he’s leaving the beds, a kitchen table, and a desk behind...won’t fit in his new apartment, or has otherwise upgraded with new. ok, i can use the beds, since mine were tossed during the six years he was in here, but i have a table and desk elsewhere, so need to decide what to do with them.

can always put them in the alley in whittier—lots easier and quicker than trying to sell stuff. i have no patience for it. or i can continue to have them in storage until my other kid moves out and give them to her.

very quiet and cold at my house, which my deeply introverted self is enjoying, almost like a vacation, from the house in whittier.

a large number of porsches, ferraris, and lambos roared by early morning. never saw so many pns cars on the road before. must be an old douche white guy car club, out being weekend warriors, taking advantage of a holiday mid-week. all going over the speed limit, engines roaring, but no cops around, of course. if i drove eighty in a forty zone, no doubt one would happen to be around and give me a ticket.

there is a lot of fixing to do here after this kid is out, but the other is impatient to get in, so we’ll see what i bother to get done. her big beast dog will hinder remodelling; probably will have to send him to stay at my mom’s while anything is done.

pretty sure i’ll rip up the flooring and replace the cabinets, especially since a pipe burst last month, and there seems to be some issues with the wall behind the dishwasher. you know the drill, replace one thing, and soon you’ll be replacing so many other things, so it all looks good. don’t know the first thing about doing these things, but my ex has offered to help or at least find people to do it.

i need to walk back to my place, but the sun is full up, so will be flitting from shady spot to shady spot the whole way. if i start feeling too ill, i’ll get an uber.

now that the eagles are singing, “peaceful, easy feeling,” i will be on my way. have a great holiday!

one of these days

one of these days, i'll get to the weekly cruise out at the in-n-out in covina. i did make it out to this show that happened on a weekend back in march. good weather, lovely sky, beautiful cars. in some ways, way better than summer and it's heat.

veteranos are good guys. as long as they were parked altogether here, and not too many people walking through the shot, did a quick pano of the group.

i have such a headache today, and i'm tired. shocker, huh? better half still waiting for a call to head in to the office for a photo shoot. might not happen if it gets too late.

wore a dress and heels to work yesterday. just bought the outfit the night before. two gift cards burning a hole in my purse for a year, plus me trying to avoid hanging out with a doberman all evening, so i ended up doing my least favorite thing...shopping.

best part, was that since i hardly ever wear more than jeans and a casual shirt to work, the reactions are priceless. especially, since they've said we can all wear shorts on fridays for summer, and here i am dressed up.

i believe that one of my coworkers drew the short straw, and when i walked back to my desk, asked why the dress? all i could say was that i felt like dressing like a girl for a change. that was really too obvious an answer, but i was not on my toes to come back with a more interesting response. at least i still didn't bother with makeup.

hardly ever wear heels, so i tottered around stomping like a horse. maybe it was just because they were new. more likely, i am just out of practice, and walking like a kid in mom's shoes.

someone said there were bagels on the next floor down, so a group of us took the stairs. glad i didn't fall on my ass or twist an ankle.

on the inside

spend the day at work, screaming on the inside. fuck, fuck, fuckity fucksticks. i’m tired, but it’s probably just stress.

i usually have a constant stream of work, and/or multiple overlapping deadlines, and i usually thrive with that. after all, idle hands, find trouble.

also years of being busy in front of a computer, have gotten me curvier than i want to be, so i really need to do something about that...doesn’t help that my better half gave me a bag of m&ms, though it’s the thought behind the gift that matters. thanks, d.

i’ve had a couple of slow days, and i’m fighting to stay awake, and just want to go home. i find something to keep myself busy, but i can feel my eyes wanting to close.

it’s almost a holiday weekend, and summer, so a lot of people are probably on vacation, hence no work or responses to my emails.

didn’t want to fight traffic home to whittier, so staying close to work, and heading to bed early.

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i see someone has been searching my posts for a particular name. he is in my thoughts and prayers, but i don’t think it’s my place to share his challenges here. you know who you are. take care, hope to see you soon.

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this shot was from a cruise at in-n-out in covina. i seem to be shooting a lot of steering wheels and dashboards lately. probably subconsciously intending to make another book to go with the one i gave away at xmas a few years ago, of hood ornaments.did you get one? probably not. they are still for salesomewhere...probably on amazon...they own the world, don’t they?

out there

quick post. stayed out all evening trying to find new outfits. i hate shopping, and clothes are cheap and poor quality. i'm such a failure at girling, i guess. whatever.

mostly was trying to avoid having to walk/watch my kid's dog until she got home from work. got to my mom's only to find she/it wasn't there--staying with a friend for a few days. oh well.

----

saw this forty-one at santa anita the other day. for some reason it was sitting off to the side all by it's lonesome, instead of in line with all the other cars waiting to go into the tunnel.

didn't really like the color version, so tweaked it to black and white. sort of looks better this way, somehow more dramatic. like, "here i am."

i'll bet

great show yesterday at santa anita. bomb club has a lot of friends, i guess.

second time there for me, but i could only stay a few hours, as i had to be elsewhere, and my better half had things he needed to get out and do.

yet, i almost hit the snooze button, which would have led to me blowing off yet another show. so, tiredly, i talked myself into getting out of bed ten minutes later, still before five a.m. i'd spent the week trying to figure out how i could do this show, and get from there to the other places i needed to be, and then back in time at home for wherever it was my better half had to go, which was, initially, to his office.

weather had shown it was going to be in the nineties this weekend, and i really dreaded being out in it. instead, it was overcast and cool. the bomb club was just being allowed into the tunnel to the infield when i got there. couple of the other photographers were already busy shooting the lineup, well before i arrived.

i chose to follow the cars inside, rather than be kept out like last year. the security guard chose to tell me the tripod was ok on the infield, but i couldn't take it up into the stands on the other side. told him not to worry on that, as i wasn't going up there.

spent my time staying out of the way, shooting cars already parked, before people and cars got in the way, or the owners moved them or started polishing them. shot them again, when i found them in another location, sometimes minutes later.

liked this chevy parked here, near the track and the pop-up betting info tent. i like the curves of the back end [that's what she said].

took my time walking around the bomb club's cars. then headed over to the other areas, as they started letting in groups of cars to stake out their clubs' spots on the grass.

even stopped to play with the big lens i borrowed from my better half. i used to use it when my kid played college baseball. it'd been a while. thought i'd try it on the horses. i'd asked what settings to use on it before i headed out, as i'd forgotten what i had done years ago. wasn't that impressed, and obviously i'd set something wrong...more noise on the shots than i like, and too dark. switched it from the full-frame camera to my crop sensor, and still didn't like it. maybe next year, if i am not in a rush, i'd fiddle with it more.

upon deciding to leave the infield, and passing through the tunnel back to the parking lot, i found an equal number of cars still waiting to get inside. someone said they were being held up by the movement of the horses. i didn't understand why, since the ponies had been on the track warming up and exercising all morning.

it seemed, as soon as i stepped out of the tunnel, the sun also decided it was a good time to come out from behind the clouds. the medicine the doctor has me taking, makes me sensitive to sunlight, so that was going to end my fun soon anyway—could already feel my skin tingling.

still, i picked out a few cars to shoot, stopped to chat with a few people i hadn't seen in a while, such that, one of them had a baby that was already a year and a half old...last i saw him, it had just been born. time flies.

was nine-thirty when i finally left...an hour and a half later than i had scheduled myself. had called my better half at eight, and he said all was good, take my time, he wasn't in a hurry. so i had.

i like the venue; hope they have it there again next year. will cross my fingers for another gloomy morning, and get there before sunrise next time.

dreaming

digging down to one of the older pictures that have been sitting in draft mode.

i like this picture quite a bit. probably would like it more if i just rubbed out those two modern cars on the right.

out by legg lake, so it must have been one of the los boulevardos' barbeque picnics; i'm just too lazy to look up the file right now.

well, my software is doing updates, so i can't work on a picture now. tired anyway. busy day, not enough good sleep at night.

we have baby monitors in all the rooms of the house, so we can hear if my better half's mother calls. her inner timer is screwed up, so she is often up all night watching tv, and randomly asking for coffee or meals at two, three, or four a.m., then sleeping half the day.

lately, he's had many all nighters, then full days of work, so he is mostly just stumbling through the day. he calls this place his sleep deprivation lab.

i have a hard time going back to sleep once i'm awake, so my better half pretty much sleeps in the front room, so as not to disturb me. i'm supposed to leave the volume up at night, so i can be the back up, should he not hear her.

once in a while, we both are just unconscious to the world, and she has to resort to the alarm on the monitor, and even that doesn't work sometimes. when you gotta go, you gotta go. fortunately, one of us has heard it eventually, before she has tried anything stupid, like trying to stand up by herself, and into her wheelchair.

apparently, i only hear her half of the times she calls at night. wasn't a problem when i was young, with little babies, but i guess i've lost that sense of hearing, and remain solidly asleep, especially since i don't get there until after ten most nights. maybe i have insomnia.

long ago, not long after i married my better half, said he tried to wake me up one night. he claims i told him, "shhh." he tried again, but this time i said, "kathy's sleeping." pretty sure there was a variation he likes to tell people, where he said i told him "kathy isn't here right now," but not in the current iteration.

he thought i was fucking with him until i went on snoring or whatever. strange that i left a keeper at the gate to warn him off.

well, he dreams, vividly. he once told me he went to germany...