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winter of my discontent

quick look through some of my favs from the dia de los muertos show in whittier, and this one caught my eye today. looks clean. didn’t shoot it from the back, but the itty bit of the placa i can see, i’m saying it’s a 13 gents club car.

so i have so many things to do, i hardly have time to look at my pictures now. i guess i should put time down on my calendar to do that for myself. everything else is just exhausting and stuff i don’t want to deal with physically or emotionally.

it’s been raining the last couple of days. i laid around in bed this morning looking out at the overcast sky and waiting for some promised drizzle that really never happened in this part of town.

i have been starting to sift through better half’s stuff, deciding what to keep, what to give away, what to try to sell. it’s xmas time, so maybe people will be looking to spend some money anyway.

hoping to reclaim his office and make into a guest room again. i need to get his nephews or take the neighbors up on offers to help, to come over and break down his heavy oak desks and get them out of here. they’re too big for me, too big for that room, actually, but were perfect for a big guy. not sure what i’ll do with the really big monitors he had. they hurt my neck to sit in front of to hack into his computers. i want to be able to get to the window and open the blinds. maybe a smaller desk and a queen size bed will do. he had a big ass tv screen hung on the wall too; i guess i’ll leave it there, but it limits where the bed can go.

i want his bookcases downstairs, so have to pull everything off the shelves. his nephew expressed interest in selecting from his collection of out of print space and airplane books. otherwise, i guess i’ll try ebay.

my daughter wants *those* magazines *wink wink, say no more)*, as well as his mom’s national geographic magazines, to use for her artsy collages. otherwise, to the trash they go. libraries don’t want the nat geos, but i suppose it wouldn’t be hard to find takers for the naughty mags.

not sure what i’ll do with all his camera equipment and lenses. i don’t use all the various bits and pieces he has. shame he’d just bought a few lenses to experiment with and didn’t get a chance.

i need to pull down all those offensive t-shirts he liked from the closet, as the hang bar is about to pull loose on one end from the weight. the full length is packed with shirts and a few pants, and he really only ever pulled from the same small section of shirts anyway.

i’ve got three bins of his family photo albums, and there’s still more loose photos in his file cabinet.

i guess i’m trying to remember this place as it was before him, and reclaim some of that space again. i’m not erasing him, just finding the new me, without him.

much ado about nothing

here’s another car from uptown whittier. yes it was chillin’, just like the sign says. too early to be the happy ending after a massage.

caught it early morning, and before too many people showed up. i want to say i’ve shot it before, and probably here in whittier some other year.

so i have spent the last few weekends out in temecula, watching my grandkid play soccer. she’s more of a defensive player, and otherwise off in her own little world, but still aware enough to run back and forth on the field. first try at a team sport. maybe it’s not her game.

have also spent a lot of time at my mom’s. she came down with walking pneumonia. we think the antibiotics have knocked that down quickly, so that’s a win.

i’m about done with the checklist and mountain of paperwork that i needed to get through since my better half departed. weird to think in past tense. he died at home, so i prefer to think he’s still here in some fashion or other. he is, at least, in a little box. i pass by and tell him he’s lost a lot of weight since i last saw him. he has no clever response to that one, and the house is a whole lot quieter without the laughter.

i need to copy his website, or let it go. i managed to find the password after i’d already let the host know he’d died, and damn, if they didn’t lock that down so fast, i wasn’t able to retrieve the backups i’d requested. pretty sure the site will die this month. i’d put in my credit card to pay for another year, but i think that got cancelled, and the annual payment is due. oh well.

next project is to hack into the new mac mini had bought a month before he left. he’d moved all of his photos, family pics, etc. over to it, and pretty sure i’m going to have to erase it to get into it. i think the photos are mostly backed up on external drives, but the photo library probably isn’t backed up onto the cloud. same with his ipad—too many guesses and now i have no choice but to take it in for a wipe of it’s memory.

it also brings into question of what to do with his car pics, and someday my own. my kids won’t want them; they mean nothing to them. could say that about our belongings as well. i know i do not look forward to the house full of stuff my mom will leave behind. got no room for it, no matter how sentimental. my own stuff sits in storage as it is, so that’s another project for me to keep me busy — sifting through that and donating a lot of crap from a past lifetime ago. hopefully i can at least downsize the storage unit, since they keep upping the cost to keep it.

my daughter wants me to drive up to her place and take pics of her and the boyfriend and her dogs for an xmas card. told her i’m not so good at people, but maybe if they can hold still as a parked car…

had a doctor tell me he fears i may become a hermit. what’s so bad about that? i think that won’t happen until i decide to retire. still have a few years to go, or at least until i have a bad day, and the ‘i don’t give a crap’ wins out over the ‘i have nothing better to do’ thoughts.

seriously though, i’m doing ok. i’ll keep telling myself, i’m doing ok. and i am.

life goes on

and so it goes…

i went out to the dia de los muertos show in whittier. safe. familiar. we used to live down the street. better half had been gone three weeks by then.

we also used to go uptown at five in the morning, and find at least a few cars to shoot, people organizing things, etc.

so i park in the public garage just after five, and pull my bag out of the trunk. walking over to greenleaf, nothing there. the street cleaner, spinning his bristles, cruising up and down slowly.

i walk down towards the theater and rick’s. still nothing. now i’m starting to get creeped out. fortunately, the starbucks was open, and let me hang out in there for an hour sipping a bottle of water. not a coffee drinker, so it was a trade-off being cold and leaving vs smelling the coffee fumes.

eventually, i’m wearing out my welcome, and seeing some people starting to head out from casita del pueblo (the host). out in the street, vendors are arriving, but still no cars. i know that rick’s is open now, so i walk down there to have a breakfast i wasn’t hungry for.

eventually, i left to walk back uptown, hoping maybe something has shown up, or i’d be heading home. there are only memories in this town anymore, and it feels strange every time i come back.

luckily, i spied a handful of cars up by the winchell’s. they kept me occupied until others started showing up.

found the bomb club setting up cars on philadelphia, in front of the tarot card reader’s now shutdown shop. i wonder if the old woman that used to sit in the window knew she’d be out of business? always used to joke with my better half that she knew we’d never stop in, as we went to get a slice of pizza from marco polo.

they have a bunch of cars i like to shoot. this one was lovely. i was trying to stay out of everyone’s way, as they set up their ofrendas, as i was super early.

the cameras haven’t been used in a while, and though they aren’t that old, my main camera was acting a little screwy. hoping it isn’t the camera itself, and just some wonky knock off battery issue. they really are if you don’t use them, you lose them, in terms of holding a charge.

anyway, i don’t think as many cars as in the past showed up. the day stayed relatively cool, so i managed to stay long enough to shoot all that i wanted. still, i had been awake since threeish, so by eleven, i was done.

hoping i’ll still have the nerve and desire to continue doing this. it’s just harder and different without my better half by my side. still missing him, and mad at him at the same time, but that’s another story i’ll probably not tell.

i don't know jack

all work and no play make jack a dull boy. all work and no play make jack a dull boy. all work and no play make jack a dull boy.

all work and no play make jack a dull boy. all work and no play make jack a dull boy. all work and no play make jack a dull boy. all work and no play make jack a dull boy. all work and no play make jack a dull boy. all work and no play make jack a dull boy.

all work and no play make jack a dull boy.

all work and no play make jack a dull boy. all work and no play make jack a dull boy.

yes, i’ve been working too much lately. better half needed a ride to whittier yesterday for some business. just coincided with the car show at ruby’s this time.

i had taken the day off, because we had originally planned to be up that way all weekend. but, his work had too many people out on vacation, so he had to get back home to make up some time.

i could have just worked, but, pfft, i needed a break. feeling a bit like a functional zombie, everyday the same, so stopping to snap some pictures was something i’d been missing.

it wasn’t too hot, but i still turned red. wasn’t as many cars as i remember it used to have, but probably just the typical turnout for end of summer, and fairly early.

i briefly thought of stopping at another show heading home, but i was already tired. how did i used to three or four shows on the way home when we lived in whittier? those were the days…

got a lot going on recently, so i keep being unable to get back to posting. rinse and repeat. maybe this space has outlived it’s usefulness, since it’s being neglected. i don’t know. i am distracted. i’ll think about it.

missing shows due to other things popping up, keeping me from them. woe is me.

there were only a few cars i liked from ruby’s yesterday. this zephyr was very nice.

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.

new beginning

i’m in a mood. things on my mind. gloomy outside. change is in the air.

starting with a new camera and lens. the brownie points program at work has informed us that we were going to have to use it or lose it, as it’s being revamped. they use this instead of just handing out cash when you get commended for working hard.

well, i’d saved up quite a large number of points, and wasn’t about to get screwed over that way, so finally was forced to get something. most of the stuff up for offer is crap, but they do have some slightly out of date camera gear. so i picked up a sony a7r iii body. really not my fave, but sony seems to be moving to this smaller size thing.

then, my birthday was a week ago, so my better half got me a new wide angle lens.

took this set up out for a test drive this past friday, out to ruby’s, since the season has started.

the main feature i hate is the screen doesn’t flip and twist like my old cameras. so when i set it up high on my tripod, i really need to stand on tip toes or a curb to see the screen somewhat. or just shoot blind.

still not too sure about the lens. going to have to shoot some more, and get a bit more pissed at it. at least, my better half says that’s what happens every time i get new equipment.

i think i need to tweak the settings as well. some images came out fairly in focus, and others just missed it. makes me want to bust out the other camera i have in the bag, but i need to break this thing in, while i can still return it.

and the files are so big, i’m going to need a bigger boat, err, hard drive/more back up drives.

i dunno. it didn’t seem to like being pointed into the sunset, as you can see. the lens distorts a bit, so will have to go find a lens profile for it.

next up, in the summer of fun, will be finishing packing, and moving soon. not too far.

one thing at a time. one thing at a time.

party on

it’s after one a.m. and the neighbors are still having a very loud party. or maybe it’s just several very loud drunk people. yelling about the dumbest things, while a couple of drunk women cackle like hyenas, and hip hop plays in the background.

their parties usually wind down about three in the morning with loud goodbyes in the street.

really just big a$$holes.

——

oh dear, the cops just showed up and they all ran inside and turned the lights off.

——-

here’s the tail end of an impala from a show last year at the roadhouse in whittier.

——-

party over theoretically, but they are now cackling and howling in the house. i guess i’m tired enough to sleep now.

2012 | SHARP

supposed to get some furniture delivered this weekend. we’ve been using better half’s mother’s mattress and mountain of pillows as a sofa for the past few weeks. would rather it was in her room, with her still sitting on it, watching her tv, but…

he has declined my offer to get a kitchen table and chairs from my storage unit, as we will only have to move it again in a year. so, tray tables and a desk, if i want to get fancy. but i am still going to be using her good silverware. so, another empty room for the time being. maybe i’ll bring my trampoline back here and put it where the dining table had been.

a little less busy at work, but only minutely so. i’ve done a few projects that will get some notice around the offices and online, but then, i could say that about most things i work on. seems like all the jobs are becoming more of a competition, or at least, team efforts lately. it’s a good thing. spreads the stress around, divide and conquer. learn from others.

better half used to look forward to me asking, “why the hell are you doing it that way?,” when i used to work with him, as i would glance at what was on his screen. he’d also tell you that was my way of saying “i like you” to him, or some other nonsense.

looks like the earliest i’ll be back at the office will be sometime before year-end. have been there several times this past couple of weeks, and it is pretty much a ghost town. it did make it ideal for a photo shoot i had to do of a bike, with no interruptions, and no issue getting the room i wanted to shoot in. only problem was the key to where we store our lighting equipment was at home with another designer, who had shot some video the week prior. fortunately, the receptionist had a spare.

i’d rather be shooting a car…

———-

my niece finally went home, so i was able to get to my computer the other day. only had a couple of hard drives there, so pulled up some old files, shot with my old cameras and better half’s lens. he’d say he lent it to me, and never got it back until i’d worn out the parts in it.

pretty sure i posted a similar shot of reine’s cadillac, but i haven’t seen it for a while, and it was in the first bunch of pics i saw on the hard drive, from 2012. back when the whittier uptown show was packed with cars waiting in staging areas for several blocks, before the sun came up. it was my favorite car for the longest time. such pointy back fins, and ghost flames on glittery paint.

his cadillac was one of the first i shot, in the early 2010, over at the broiler in downey. that place used to be where i’d be every wednesday evening for a for at least a year. good times.

lil josh fundraiser

got my taxes done saturday morning. always gets my stomach up in knots prepping for the yearly appointment. no reason. always have everything ready sorted, the important papers in a large envelope, relatively painless. write the check, carry on.

i haven’t been out to a show since early january, and even then, not that often recently. mostly have sat in the house on weekends, bingeing the sopranos, and wondering when the xmas tree would be coming down. sort of don’t care, since i’m hardly ever at home. just a lot of stuff going on on the homefront and at work, i’m just kind of numb by the time i get to a weekend.

got a granddaughter coming this week for sure, so there’s a bright light for this week. a happier reason for a hospital visit than the last couple of months.

timing of this year’s tax appointment coincided with the start time for a fundraiser for a kid i’d never met. originally planned months ago as a fundraiser to help the boy in his fight against cancer, it became a memorial fundraiser instead.

roll-in wasn’t until well after sunrise, so i didn’t bother to get up early, only to have to leave when cars would show up. so, got up, ate breakfast and headed off to my thing. was not feeling well on the way there, and made a pit stop on the way back.

thought i’d drive by the show, see how i felt, and decide then whether to stay or go. it was pretty busy, and i lucked out and got a parking spot quickly. so i went through the motions, and got my bag out of the trunk, and headed over. paid my donation at the front table.

figured i’d stay until my stomach started to bother me, since it was close enough to home.

the show had a good turn-out, even though it was already several hours into it.

owner of this car said i’d shot his car previously, and was hoping i’d shoot this one that he’d bought for his wife. said he’d found it online, from the state of rhode island, i think it was. most everything was still original to the car, and in excellent condition. someone must have hidden it away in a garage. lucky find.

had several people come over and say hi, whom i hadn’t seen for a while. it is nice that people still remember conversations they’d had with my better half years before, come up and send him greetings. that is why he is my better half, he is memorable and diplomatic and a social butterfly. it comes easy to him, and people like him.

i do miss him going to shows with me, but he has other responsibilities right now. he gets to see all the pictures you never see, so he gets a virtual car show when i do go out.

nice to know there are those of you who keep an eye out for me when i’m out there by myself. thank you. you know who you are.

the air was cool, though i felt warm, and i managed to shoot most of the cars i wanted before i really started to feel faint. there were a few i missed, but i was there long enough to hear most of speech the boy’s parents gave, thanking everyone and recalling stories of their son.

i seem to do some calculated gambling on how far my car is from where i am and how long i can keep shooting and still get back to the car. somehow, if i can make it to the car, i can get myself home and be ok. probably the main reason i don’t go out much. also, what fun is it to have all these pictures and not have them with me to fiddle with at my mom’s house. wouldn’t be able to do much anyway with the big dog there wanting attention all evening.

i’m just feeling in a morbid mood this evening. i think i’ll stop here for now.

parading?

the uptown parade was this morning. don’t really care about it, but it is right outside the door, so i take the opportunity to shoot the cars that show up. i mean, they are at my doorstep, so how can i not?

this year, they staged it farther down the street and around the block. it also lightly rained early in the morning. the club that drove the pretty pretty princesses down the street last year didn’t participate this year. cars weren’t really parked right at our curb, and didn’t see many that i was interested in.

there were no horses either, which are kind of fun to take pics of too.

i was about ready to forget about it, then spied an old ford across the way. i’d just gotten out of the shower, got dressed quickly, and i went out thinking i’ll just quickly shoot that one car, and didn’t even brush my hair.

after a bunch of shots of that one, i noticed a car at the far end of the block, but by the time i got there, the parade had moved on some more, so i figured i’d catch it when it came around to the main street.

walked back toward the house, and saw that there were some cars down the street by the mortuary. so that’s where they were hiding a few that i’d seen earlier.

that’s where i found this convertible. it seemed to have been meant to be in the parade, but as i walked up to it, they were peeling the parade poster off the side of the door. maybe they had to leave, maybe it broke down, i don’t know. this end of the street is still part of the staging area, and they weren’t going anywhere, so i took a few pictures. pretty sure i’ve shot it before, if i really looked through the archives, but i don’t think i’ve ever posted it.

better half had asked if i’d seen a black one with pinstripes after i’d gotten home—he’d seen it drive past the window. i totally blanked that it was this one and said nope, being all disappointed that i’d missed it. then he walked behind me while i was working on the picture and said that’s the one i was talking about. so duh.