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a weekend | part 4

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

after the show, i sat like a zombie in the hotel room for a few hours. watched tv, my head bobbing many times, as i'd temporarily fall asleep, but i didn't want to sleep.

finally hopped a red train out to seaport village, mid-afternoon. too early for dinner. zombie walked over to the ben & jerrys and got a scoop of strawberry ice cream in a waffle cone. yes, overly expensive ice cream, was what hit the spot. sort of a tradition, but my better half wasn't with me, so it wasn't as good.

i settled down on the edge of a planter to eat it, and watched the provided entertainment—a pan pipe whistle blower guy. if you watched that episode of south park, you know he's keeping the world a safer place.

back at the hotel, watched a couple of hours of mindless repeat episodes of some show i used to watch, to kill time. also took a great deal of pleasure staring out the window, watching the stumbling drunk bimbos trying to walk down a small flight of steps, and into the street. total strangers having to stop them from getting hit by cars, or getting into cars with random men. never understood the need to drink to get blitzed that much. hope they enjoyed waking up the next morning.

didn't know where to go for dinner, but knew i was running out of energy to get it. finally decided i was on vacation, so just roll with it, and not worry that anything was going to cost too much. i wanted meat. not going to be an in-n-out anywhere nearby. decided i'd just find a steak. looked up menus of nearby restaurants, and the price of little eight-ounce chunks of cow were forty bucks and up.

i remembered we used to have a joking argument with a former coworker about who had better steak—ruths chris or mortons. he argued mortons because it's where his family had always gone, had gone for his engagement party, etc.

we argued ruths chris because of the food. it's great, even if it is pricey.

san diego has both. ruths chris was just a red train and a bit of a walk away. been there. it's excellent.

mortons happened to be about a block away. have never been, so went there out of curiousity. no reservation and just after five, so took a chance they could squeeze in a single person. they did, in spite of my scruffy car show jeans and t-shirt outfit. seated me at a nice table in the back. very dark in there. restaurant still pretty empty, but noisy nevertheless.

like ruths chris, everything was a la carte. they brought out a loaf of bread while i looked the menu over. like the diameter of an elephant's foot loaf of bread. sliced off a chunk, and slapped some butter on it. and was disappointed that it wasn't the best bread i ever tasted. took a few bites to be sure, and no, didn't like it.

ordered just a steak and a baked potato, and a coke. turned on my ipad and waited. i'm sure they don't often get a patron lighting up an ipad very often, so i got a few awkward stares from other diners. they were loud, and rude. i ignored them.

the food shows up. waiter stands by with the condiment thingy, wanting to load up my potato to my satisfaction. he seemed disappointed that i only wanted butter on it. then when i started to add salt and pepper from the shakers on the table, was sad that i did want them to run off and fetch the big pepper mill.

my final opinion of mortons: the food was average. the steak wasn't flavorful, the potato was huge, but it was just a potato. i skipped the creme brulee that i would usually have. i could have had the same meal for a fifth of the price, albeit less salty, at sizzlers.

so eric, i think i will just stick with ruths chris for special occasions. you should try it sometime. even the garlic mashed potatoes will rock your world.

after that very pricey meal, back to the hotel to soak my disappointment out in the tub. packed up my bags, so i could sleep in, and be ready to go quickly.

to be continued...

a weekend | pt 3

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

had the best intentions of being out in barrio logan before sunrise. set my alarm for four-thirty. snoozed it until five-thirty, dressed quickly, ate a bowl of cereal.

i started worrying about catching the red train out the barrio—not the actual ride out, but the standing in the dark waiting, plus switching trains and waiting some more. lots of homeless types zombie-ing around ya know.

i needn't have worrried at the first station—wasn't dark by six anyway, but there were at least five cops just standing around. same at the next station, plus plenty of people. but i totally would have been fine taking a swing at someone with the pointy end of my tripod, if there was any trouble.

so really the only thing about having to be off on my own, is worrying about my safety in the dark. that sucks. i miss my favorite light because of that. stupid.

i hadn't been to chicano park in a couple of years. i think last time it was or threatened to rain, so many cars just didn't bother to show up, and there was so much room on the grass, that vendors had set up out front, where cars usually get packed in.

this day, the weather was perfect. just a little chilly, but not enough to wear a coat. would have gotten too warm quickly, and my bag has no room for stuffing a jacket.

started over by the skateboard park, with a line-up of impalas—sixty-twos/sixty-threes/sixty-fours. then caught the end of the line of cars on dewey street, heading to the grassy knoll.

quickly headed through the park to start on the street side this time, assuming it would be much hotter later, and the pavement would be too much. usual clubs in their usual spots: pachucos, viejitos, majestics, klique.

turned right, up toward the majestics' big blue club house. i don't think i've ever seen it without the yard packed with people, but it still was early, so just a few setting up tables.

made quick work of the length of the street, then up on the back patch of grass. i skipped cars i'd seen before, had hoods up, or just didn't like the shot. i can be choosy, when i'm running against the mental clock in my head.

took a break, chugged a bottle of water, and went around the front lawn i'd skipped through earlier. after all that, about ten, it was starting to get crowded, and the sun had come out and was feeling warm. i decided to stop, head to the market, use the facilities, and grab me some carnitas.

unusually, the carnitas sucked. they usually are the most tender, flavorful pieces of meat you could wish for; this time of day, i got a plate full of brittle, bristly meat stumps. best part of the meal was the tortillas. sad.

i had mentally called it a day, and had even texted my better half that i was done. he basically said what the hell...his weather app was telling him the day was perfect, so why stop? i thought about it a little, and figured he was right. especially, when right out the door, between the stores and apartment complex, the impala car club had set up in the middle of the street.

so shot a few of those cars, then headed around the far side of the building, toward the end of the road and the freeway on-ramp end of logan avenue. come around the corner, to the shouts of a group of christians of some sort shouting from the right hand side of the on-ramp at a group of people on the opposite side, backed up by a contingent of cops and their cars just standing around, just in case. whatever.

cut through that mess, figuring i'd just quickly run through and see if anything drove up that i might have missed earlier. unfortunately, by that time, all i could see up the road was a river of people. bad news for me and my tripod.

i still shot quite a few cars, but i had to wait out the shot longer than before, between the flows of people. to the point that i was just done, and pulled off to the side to pack my shit.

even then, there were so many people in the park, under the overpass to coronado, that i decided to not go that way, and turned around back through the cops and on-ramp drama to get out of there.

to be continued...

a weekend | pt 2

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

arrived in san diego around five, and only needed to cross a set of tracks to catch the red train to my hotel. i still had a fare card for them from a year ago, so just needed to add days to it.

the train was due to arrive within minutes, so i hurried through the add days menu. paid for a one-day fare, then thought, duh, here for two more days, and added a two-day fare. that gave me a dollar off vs what i paid for a one-day fare. wonder if there was a three-day fare, now that it was too late to fix.

whatever. figured i had a total of three days on the card, so the fare-checking police could scan away and pass me by.

this time around, i stayed out in the gaslamp district, since they had lower rates then where we usually stay. nicer neighborhood too. since my better half couldn’t go, i’d offered up a free weekend with me to my daughter and her dog...city is very pet friendly...she had to work, then hit a funeral the next day, so no. mom wouldn’t go and leave my dad behind, since he’s feeling poorly healthwise, and he just might burn down the house if left on his own. sister is on a group vacation in peru, apparently. son and his wife had relatives visiting. even mentioned it to my bro on the east coast, but he wasn’t flying this way until next month.

i’d reserved a basic room, with an option to upgrade if the executive type rooms were available. with the padres on the road, of course the upgrade was available. pretty sure that room had about the same or more square footage than my condo. at least it felt that way. king-size bed, sunken tub, separate sitting area with couch, chair, big screen tv, bigger than a mini fridge, dresser, marble shower with marble bench, high ceilings, and overlooking the main drag of the gaslamp. pretty damn nice, but sucked since it was only me in it.

being that i’d only had about three hours sleep the night before, i set out across the street for dinner, then back to the room for a shower, and a hot bath. checked the cameras, charged batteries, and pretty quickly passed out in that king-size bed.

to be continued...getting ready for work...

make a choice

asked my boss about going to a conference, if there was any budget for training. yes, he said to pick one and get him an estimate for travel, etc.

so, i need to decide on new orleans, orlando, boston or los angeles. here's the thing: the useful one is in new orleans, and i really have no interest in going there, so i'll wait until next year and hope they move it somewhere else. the other one i want to go to ends on the same day as the uptown whittier car show. sort of rather go to that.

i could skip the last day, and fly home the night before. i'll have to think about it.

this car was the last one i shot at the chino show. owner said i'd need to see it in the sun to really appreciate the paint job. the roof has some faint airbrushing going on.

i can see it. true, it would be more vibrant in the sun, but it may also be more glare-filled, because of the glitterizing in the paint.

still, pretty cool car. lots of engraved chrome.

club guys were friendly too.

sunday sunday sunday

spent the day at home, watching my mother-in-law, whilst the better half ran to the market(s), and playing with pictures. ordered some more business cards for my non-business...one hundred new ones...collect the set.

here's a motorcycle for a change. it was highly detailed, with etched chrome all over, airbrushed and pinstriped, custom leather-worked seat. well worth a look.

cornfeed run

early light makes getting out of bed in the dark worth the trip. out to chino, for the cornfeed run. heard they had maxed out at eight hundred cars, and were turning them away. saw quite a few random, beautiful cars parked on the residential streets because of that.

better than last year, when it was overcast and started to sprinkle.

when the sun gets going, you really just have to get in front of a car and start shooting, or it's gone. this will do.

i think i was there for about four and a half hours, before i started to overheat, and felt the need to chug a bottle of water and get something to eat.

really only went around to all the route of cars and parking lots once this time. the light changed, and it wasn't fun anymore.

pretty sure i'm going to need to get a new ball head for my tripod pretty soon. i've pretty much worn it out, and it's a bit on the loose side. so, one camera repair, one new ball head—time to dip into the rainy day money, i guess.

looking forward

a shot from last year's whittier car show. been seeing the flyers posted uptown for june second...on my calendar...on my street. i think the owner of this car stopped polishing it long enough for me to get a picture.

always up and out early, before the crowds. later in the day, it just gets packed, and typically really hot, so i'm done by ten. head home, download pics, then head back, with the macro lens, looking for hood ornaments and detail shots—at least no need to bring the tripod.

planning out my weekend, assuming all the elderly peeps in the family stay healthy and out of the emergency room. my dad has been there several times in the last month; patch him up, send him home, not really solving the problem. really frustrating.

mom just sits there, quietly supportive, not really challenging the doctors with questions. i usually don't pipe up, but it's getting kind of ridiculous, so i'm asking for second opinions, other options, tests.

my dad has his own theories, and it's interesting to hear him telling the doctor about anatomy and how things work, the cause of his issue, and how they could fix it quick. doctors really have a lot of patience for their patients...don't know how he kept a straight face.

but anyway, hoping to get out to the chino cornfeed run on saturday, and if i have any energy left, up early on sunday to pomona swap meet. we'll see.

waiting

sitting in hospital er, waiting on my dad. i think he will be ok soon. probably going home soon.

had just driven an hour home to whittier, and got the call they were going in. so, packed a bag and turned around drove an hour back. oh well.

———

here’s a lovely fleetline to contemplate while i wait. better than pondering my navel.

back to real time

vacation days are officially over. back to a normal weekend, back to work on monday. wonder if i'll remember my password.

i used to check work emails while on vacation. they blocked that ability, unless you have official work-supplied phones or computers, so, now i can actually forget about work. kinda nice, i suppose, not knowing what minefield i'll return to. whatever. just another day in the life.

back end of a cadillac from the hillco fasteners show. i liked the color of the car, the fins of the car, and the shadow play back there.

week off

i got back from my road trip two days early. caught up on some sleep today.

i should go for a walk, but i've only been out of the house to drive somewhere to pick up lunch. so tired of the food places uptown, but i don't know what else i'd have. kinda craving a salad right now. one out by house, not here in whittier. maybe when i go visit my parents...

i noticed some bananas getting over-ripe in the kitchen, so i guess i'll make some bread. way to spend some free days, right?

truck from the veteranos' kick back at in-n-out...was just a week ago now? two? haven't seen one of these models in a while.