walkabout

my better half has gotten it in his head to make a concerted effort to do ten thousand steps a day. for the last couple of weeks, he has hit that goal or exceeded it every day.

i started it, i think i even wrote about wanting to do it, but i just don't have the time. except on weekends. i did the three mile round trip out to jersey mike's on beverly blvd one day. the thing about beverly, is there isn't enough sidewalk, and at some point, you have to walk on people's yards or on the street. stupid, really. so walking back, i decided to walk through a neighborhood i was unfamiliar with, and stumbled upon the bike path that cuts through whittier.

pretty lonely on some parts, but bike riders were frequent enough not to get too paranoid.

anyway, told my better half about it, and the next weekend, we were both walking over to jersey mike's. on the way back, we talked about how far the trail went. he said it's the same one that snakes down lambert, down past the two felons skate shop, one of his favorite stores to shop for boards at.

the next day he wanted to go try out some stuff with his camera over at the bridge above five points. instead of walking back on the path, we cut back up the street toward uptown, on greenleaf.

he was slightly ahead of me, when i hear him say, "i'll just wait over there." not knowing what he meant, until i passed a building, and saw this chevy, sitting in front of a repair shop.

i had taken my camera and little gorillapod to shoot pictures of the wind sculptures on the trail, but i was too shy to go over to the car, and just shot with my phone from the sidewalk. knowing i would do that, my better half, walked right on over to the owner and asked if he minded if i took a few shots. no problem.

he chatted the guy up, while i had to change all the settings on the camera, and then shoot. turned out, the car shop guys called the owner over to bring his car in for his smog or whatever, so i only had time for this one picture.

better than nuthin. always like shooting the random car i come across out and about. they just usually aren't this nice.

chopped

dear specific whoever is reading this blog and hitting the refresh button repeatedly, you get to the other pages by scrolling down, and using the numbers at the bottom to navigate through these pages, or go to the search tab.

there are two hundred and nine pages, at this point, so it might take you a while. if you're looking for a particular car, send me an email, i'll see if i've done anything with it, and maybe i'll put it up. i'm just afraid you're going to wear out that f5 button on your keyboard...i don't get any brownie points for page views, and neither do you...you'll just get frustrated.

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i've got things to do, and will be away again tomorrow, so i'll just put this chopped bel air up for now. don't think i've seen anything like this one before. wonder how far they are going to take it.

in the burbs

i should say, burb.

saw this one back at the whittier uptown show last summer. shiny, isn't it?

waiting by the hotel, in the staging area. they always seem to open the show for entries late, so people get out of their cars in staging, leaving the cars alone, and i take advantage of the opportunity.

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slept in, instead of going to pomona, my bad. apparently, my better half was really looking forward to going; but then i said i wasn't, he didn't want to go by himself.

he then felt inspired to go climb that big hill that i stare at from the window, while here playing with my pictures. i've been here eight years, and it was the first time up there. nice view.

then, my younger brother is town for a couple of weeks, so we went to take my parents and him out for lunch. fun time.

my better half really enjoys when my brother and i are in the same room, says we both are cut from the same cloth. our sense of humor is twisted, and once we get going, everyone will be laughing. we enjoy making mother shake her head, and ask herself where she went wrong...

one more busy week, then i'm off work for two. so yay, and prepare to spike the football...

damn pop ups

i really hate pop up tent things. i know they are used for shade, but couldn't they just move them off to the edges of a show? they do kind of ruin a decent shot. as an added bonus, the people go to the sidelines with the tent.

maybe i should just make peace with them, and start just incorporating owners into the shots.

i think the other side would have been the better one of this bike, the way it was sitting, but i couldn't get back there without invading pop up space, and the sun was hitting this side. shoot them as i find them...

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been a little busy lately, with my son's upcoming wedding. out of town a lot, so my posts have been a bit inconsistent. if i haven't got something to say when i have a picture ready, i have at least been posting them over on instagram...most people don't want to read about the trivialities of my life and my warped sense of humor that unwinds from my mind to this digital diarrhea anyway. maybe it's time to stop paying for a blog and just post pictures for free there, or just on flickr.

i know my better half reads this, and sometimes it's easier to write about things than to just tell him. i get tougue twisted and i'm often hard to understand when i do talk. fun game for him to repeat back what he thought he heard me say. must be because i didn't have many girl friends growing up or being the type of girl that was a non-stop chatterbox. whatever. i'm perfectly happy with my own company...

an aside, to said better half..."i am lobo marunga. i hunt alone..." i'll be home later, gotta go to this party first.

“love you so”

saw this beauty drive in to the lot, and followed it here. didn't even wait for the dude to get out before i started shooting it from the other side, fearing he'd jump out and open the hood.

he didn't, do i came around to the sunny side.

says "love you so" on the back fenders on both sides.

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anyone else bothered by the overly done light display at dunkel brothers, on the south side of the five freeway? the garish blinking stops traffic on my drive both ways each day; really surprised that it doesn't cause epilectic seizures from passerbys.

can say i don't mind the old car they have put out for the past several years.

a negative times a negative is a positive

so i didn't get back to my post yesterday...got busy...(mind in the gutter)...working on a few more pictures before bed.

negative: neither of us slept well the night before huffarama, so when the alarm went off at four a.m., my better half decided he was too tired to go. also, he had started taking his camera equipment apart late in the evening, so he could experiment with his setup; it got too late, and just left everything spread out all over his desk.

since he wasn't going, i was going to sleep in, and go later. of course, i couldn't get back to sleep, so around five, i was up, and by five-thirty, on the road. ontario is out in east jesus nowhere, right next door to fontucky. just kidding. i like roadtrips, especially when there's no traffic.

we had originally planned to stay out in a hotel near the mall, and make a weekend of it. better half's sister didn't come down for the holiday weekend, so we didn't want to leave his mom alone for a couple of days either.

negative: was shooting away at the show, zipping from car to car, was just about done, focusing on a mercury, when the camera made a weird noise and gave the dreaded "camera error." fuck. did a few things to it, off, on. off. on. fiddle with settings. switch out the lens. nope, it was giving me the finger, wouldn't focus, and just saying, in other words, "bite me."

had to find a curb to do a bit of camera surgery, to change it out with the spare. the spare has a big vertcal grip attachment, that is too heavy and unnecessay for the tripod. to remove it also required detaching the camera strap, which is a bitch, as it's meant to stay on there.

would have just used the newer, smaller, better camera, but i couldn't find the cable release in my bag, and it was probably sitting at home in a drawer.

not too surprised, as it has been acting up the last few times out. better half says i've probably maxed out shutter activations. all i know, is that when i got home, several hours later, the body of the camera was hot to the touch, in spite of being in the trunk, in a camera bag, then sitting in the house for a bit.

nuff blather...

positive:

-- i got there early, in spite of leaving later than originally planned.

-- the guys let me in the gate, so i was able to get a lot of shots while the sun was still rising and there weren't too many people in the way.

-- i had expected more hot rods and mercs to go with the rockabilly theme, but was pleasantly surprised with the variety of cars and clubs, that showed up to show their support

-- took a quick tour of the vendors, and food booths, but didn't see anything i just had to have, but stuff was there, especially if anyone was looking for xmas gifts

overall, it was a good show. the music was good. i left by eleven, but i assume the live band was good too. i'd go again.

i grabbed lunch, before heading home. i was toast by the time i got there, and was finally able to catch up on the sleep that eluded me the night before.

the end.

huffarama

quick post. better half needed me to rip my computer apart to make room for xmas decorations and rearranging furniture. had this pic ready to go when he asked. probably be down for a couple of hours.

i'll write more when i get the puter running again...made it out to the bo huff show yesterday...it was a good show...dead sled guys--thanks for letting me in early!

armando’s bel air

armando is one of a very few car owners that will stop and chat with me, even if i look busy, or pissed, or whatever you want to say my face looks like. i'm not pissed. usually just have sun blazing into my eyes. hate wearing sunglasses taking pictures.

he usually drives a thirty-nine pontiac.

this show, i see him, but i dont' see the pontiac. he walks over to say hi, shakes hands with my better half and myself, and points out this bel air. oh, and that they've made their plaque fancier.

never did mention whether this is his other car, or if he got rid of the pontiac.

this is nice, but i see them all the time. pontiacs are harder to come by.

feel the power

really liked the color on this chevy. so polished, the sky reflected and it seemed to really glow. that tower of power behind it almost seems to be frankensteining it, amping up the color from a dingy brown, to a more vibrant sienna with copper undertones. maybe it's just my eyes.

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turkey day. family. no kids. they've grown up and have other plans. better half at home with his mom, i'm here with mine. his sister was supposed to come down from northern cali, but weather and other drama changed those plans.

my sister and her daughter coming for dinner here later. her daughter just got a new job and will be moving to japan soon, to teach engrish or some such thing. languages are easy for her--she can read, write, and speak japanese and spanish--so yay for her.

my son missed passing the bar by about forty points. he was really bummed for a few days, then got the written results. he knows what he needs to really study now, and feels positive he can pass next time. at least he scored better than his friends. he'll be having dinner with his fiance at his dad's, along with a zillion relatives. not really missing that part anymore...long ago, and lost in memory.

took a long walk at lunchtime. stopped at the atm, pulled some cash. was intending to not exactly feast at taco bell, but nope, closed. so, walked even farther, thinking maybe weinerschnitzel, since usually there's crap food open for half a day on thanksgiving somewhere, but nope, closed. carwash on the corner was open for business, with the guys waving their towels when finished. the mickey d's next door was open, and starting to get faint, settled for that.

have not been in one in a very long time. this one has been remodeled a few times since i was a kid, and since my kids were little. drive thru was hopping, but no line inside. big mac sucked, same as always, but at least you know that going in. filled that grumbly rumbly space in my belly anyway...take that stop growling.

thought about taking a really long way back, but the clouds overhead are really awesome, and when they blocked the sun, totally looked like rain coming.

so here i sit, all downhearted...

no computer, already read all the magazines, guess i'll watch youtube stuff or netflix on my ipad, and wait for turkey.

going home tonight, drive safe everyone!

false alarm

i've been staying at my parents' house the last couple of days, because it's closer to where i work, and i just didn't want to sit in holiday traffic, and enjoy everyone's holiday "cheer" on the freeway.

plus it rained in the middle of the night, last night. and it got slightly weird.

i get up for work before sunrise on weekdays. i had my alarm set for four-forty a.m.

so the alarm goes off. i do my usual inner argument about how nice and comfy the bed is, versus how cold and dark it is outside, so i would probably be better off staying under the covers, and hiding from state taxes. that took five minutes to convince myself to get up, i checked the time again.

into the shower, scrub, scrub, wash everwhere, and rinse off. thought i heard someone outside the door. my dad is a bit of an insomniac, so i am not too worried.

wrapping the towel around me, i peek down the hall. the light is on in my parents' room, which is unusual, since my mom is not an insomniac, goes to bed around midnight, and doesn't wake up until eight or nine most days.

i hear my dad downstairs. he had been installing a new kitchen faucet when i went to bed last night. i hear drilling and the sound of metal wrenches being rifled through in the toolbox.

i go into my parents' room, to find my mom, in curlers, fiddling with her hair. i asked her why she was up so early.

she looks at me strangely, and asks me why i'm awake so early. she'd been helping my dad with the sink, and putting everything away, and was just getting ready for bed. she says it's only almost two a.m.

what the actual fuck. i go back to my room and check my phone. yup two in the morning, and i've just taken my morning shower.

was i dreaming that i'd heard the alarm, had my inner argument, and checked the time again?

fuck.

so, i dry my hair, and go back to bed. change the alarm to five-forty...already took care of shower time. then, i can't go back to sleep. rolled around for an hour or so, and just drifted off to sleep, when the real alarm did go off.

at least it was a short day at work. at least i hadn't gotten fully dressed, had bfast, and driven to the office way too early.

still, what the hell? so, so weird.

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i liked this car. a little difficult with it half in shade and half in sun. not really sure why the shoes are sitting there. i'm going to say they're more stylish and subtle than your typical chock block.