what's up?

i see what i see

 

finally, the weekend. not too much going on car show-wise. some standard weekly shows. not sure if i'll go. probably should, as i'm out of practice again. can feel myself closing into my shell again. gotta get out to shows frequently to feel like i'm getting any better in my photography and/or getting out of that comfort zone they talk about.

got netflix playing in the background. watched a couple of stephen hawking shows, which were kind of interesting. how he explains the world and how we see things. we all see things differently. just ask my better half, he'll tell you about going out on photo shoots when we travel, and how i'll see stuff he just never noticed. is it his height, or just that he doesn't notice things i don't know. is it the difference between boys and girls and what catches our attention? don't know. just know it's fun to compare what we take when we go shooting in the same places.

-------

saw this bomb at the latin gents show. i don't think my pictures have captured what i saw. i'll have to try again if i see it. 

loved the details—the engraved scrolling on the metal trim, the pinstriping, the paint—all good. not quite loving the window etching. did he do it himself? kinda ruins the perfection of the rest of it, but maybe it balances it out as well.

have a happy whatever

to each his own.

been too busy to think much about it. getting overworked and burning out.

had an opportunity to do a long weekend trip to san francisco, and unexpectedly, also yosemite, but backed out because i'd been sick, and just didn't feel i had enough energy to enjoy it. ended up dog sitting instead. yes, the beast thing. oh, and i'm stuck with feeding over a dozen tarantulas, two gecko things, a disgusting millipede, two cornsnakes, a beta fish, and some kind of carnivorous frog with teeth—my daughter's strange zoo, while she's traveling for the holidays. all creepy and mesmerizing at the same time. hoping she gets home sooner, rather than later.

got arm twisted into attending the annual holiday lunch and gift exchange at work. i've managed to miss the last few, as i go on auto-pilot and head to lunch...they schedule the thing to start while i'm out usually. not this year. secretary wrangled me earlier in the week, asking if i was going to be there.

so i brought a gift for the exchange. something with my sense of humor. consider it a gag gift. but something i would have bought for myself.

so we were treated to a fairly good meal, but the host was big into singing christmas carols. so they'd have everyone singing songs every once in a while. i just don't sing. at least in front of anyone. didn't in elementary school, ain't going to start now. 

one coworker offered up cash to hear me sing. no thanks. i just can't do it. won't do it.

after a food and a nice speech, the gift game got underway.

among all the obvious bagged bottles of booze, the thing i brought was the first gift chosen by the first person up to bat. is it that she wanted something more festive? or did she really dislike it? i dunno. she just seemed so disappointed.

then another seven or eight people, being ever so polite, passed on stealing anything from anyone, and pick gifts from the pile.

so my turn comes, and i take back my gift, telling her to go find something she'll like better. and she did. then someone stole that gift from her and she had to go steal another from someone else.

got better from there on out, as everyone started stealing gifts from each other. no one was ever gonna take mine from me, and i was fine with that.

but you know what? after it was all done and back at our desks, most every single person stopped by my desk to see the thing. even had an offer to trade for it.

that's ok. i wanted it anyway.

---------

been sick with a cold, so i haven't really been out and about much. this impala was from the old memories toy drive over at bruce's. not overtly christmasy, but there's a big bow on the back, so that will do for me.

see you all around some time. looking forward to some good shows in the coming year.

green day

chevy deluxe

ok, this one has just been sitting around in the files for a while. rarely go this show in garden grove anymore. aside from me enjoying the parking lot that is called a freeway on friday evenings, it really hasn't been all that busy and/or interesting the last couple of years. 

but i can pretty much count on finding at least one of the latin gents cars there. nice bunch of guys, almost always go out of their way to say hello. pretty sure i've posted this car before, but i like this one too. 

think i'll go to bed early. 

by cracky

 

pontiac hood ornament

i've stayed in the house all weekend. alternated between being too hot and too cold, depending on which room i was in. planning on going to work tomorrow. just been kicking back watching netflix, posting random stuff in my flickr sets.

finding it hard to decide which car to post tonight, so i'm putting up this pontiac chiefy guy, because my skin feels as dry and cracked as the amber of his face.

home, sick

1940 chevrolet special deluxe

apparently the office cold has caught up with me. was able to work from home yesterday, and enjoy coughing up a lung without glares from coworkers. really not that bad, at least yet. i was going to go to several car shows this weekend, but i think if i made the move to head for the door, my better half would tackle me.

i think he's testing me now. he slathered me with vicks vaporub, and hoped i'd stay put while he took his mom to disneyland. i could just take a shower and go to one show, and be back before dinner. but really, i already have a few pictures i can play with, and i guess this is just one of those days i save them up for, right?

so i'll spare you my cooties, and stay put. i'll probably take a shower, and wash off this sticky stench of vicks. so gross. if they run too late, i will go uptown and find some dinner, but i will otherwise just stay here watching old reruns and looking through my files for some other cars to post.

saw this one last weekend at the classics/temptation show in santa ana. so glad the clouds started rolling back in half way through the time we were there. skies and the reflections on the spit shined cars are always so much better. and as always, the hood ornament.

1940 chevrolet special deluxe

outside looking in

1947 chevy fleetline

i go to your car shows and take pictures. i am acutely aware that i don't really fit in, never have. i'm still the wallflower, observing from the sidelines, only now, i'm in the midst of things, yet still trying to be inconspicuous. doesn't really work with a bag and a tripod, so i just do what i do and sometimes you say hi.

only had time for one show on sunday, so i picked the classics/temptation toy drive at the santa ana elks club. i got there and realized it was at the same show, the year before, i went over and introduced myself to jae bueno.

i'd seen him around, but never had the nerve to say anything. but at last year's show, i found myself standing right next to him, so what the heck. he was very nice. he was there with his family. he was so fully there, healthy and enjoying the show; he was getting ready to head out to another event or family thing. so that memory was happy, but also bummed me out. so...

------

i think this was the second or third car i shot. the owner, or at least one of the club guys came over and asked where they'd be able to see the pics, so lucky you, here's one. gave him a couple of cards. hope they see it and like it.

i never get tired of these cars. just love the lines. my better half is more of a '39 master deluxe guy lately, but i think i'm a fleetline girl right now.

my better half went with me. he was done taking pictures way sooner than i was, as usual, but said he was fine waiting. really, he wasn't. he was ready for lunch, and started getting a headache, so i kinda had to be more selective and hurry. i'll post more soon. it's late and i gotta sleep.

was nice chatting again with danny from the fleetliners...he knew i didn't shoot his car, because his hood was open...offered to close it, but we really were on our way out.

hey to the temptations guy who reminded me not to write a bad review...didn't know i was doing that...and don't worry...it was a good show. just close your hood all the way next time...

sweet pickle

chevy panel truck

totally rained on the parade today. but they did it anyway. doesn't start as early as it did a few years ago, and it is also not as good. and the few cars that were in it, sucked. my better half says there are probably different people organizing it than there were a few years ago. same can be said for the uptown car show, but that's a different post.

anyway, i took some stupid pictures. the camera body is waterproof, but the lens isn't, so i couldn't get out and get shots i would have liked. then, duh, i went inside and grabbed a longer lens. but still, didn't get what i wanted. you can see some of them over at my flickr page.

and wouldn't you know it, the rain stopped after the parade. made my day. and then i didn't want to go out to the car shows. the house was too warm, and it was too cold outside. so i missed moon eyes again. and the latin gents show. and something over in lakewood. ya, i totally would have done them all not too long ago. i'm just out of it.

there are a couple of shows i'm thinking about tomorrow, but i don't know. toy drives bring out some great cars, but rain drives them away, so we'll see...we have to be somewhere in the evening. also hear there's the parts show out in pomona, but gonna miss that one too.

this is one of the old memories cars from last week. hard to believe it was pushing 80 last week, and this week, maybe 60. the lady selling the blankets would have sold so much more now.

hooters

1933 hupmobile

pretty sure i've seen this one before. just been a year or two.

interesting car, kinda like a wanna be rolls royce shape. i could have posted the typical full car, but there was just something more special about the front grille and the lights.

it has eyes. couple more round shapes (two are the horns), i'd call it a spider.

and of course, i like the ornament.

1933 hupmobile ornament