junk in the trunk

it's been a crazy week. got back from my trip up north, home for a couple evenings, then out of town again. 

so, friday finally rolls around, when i finally make it home again, i'm too tired to head out to either of the car shows i wanted to go to. hung out with the better half instead, since i hadn't seen him much since last week.

then today, the annual running of the idiots, before six in the morning. i mean, <clearing throat>, the halloween 5k fun run. seriously, why do they need to shut down all the streets, and have idiots running past the house so early? mostly, the "serious" "marathon" runners. the people that just have to win the little trophy. followed later by all the average schlubbs dressed in anything from blue jeans and t-shirts to full on halloween costumes. aren't those costumes going to stink later, when you really need them? polyester 'breathes' so well, you hardly even sweat. actually, no, you're just glowing. pfft.

better half left me the driveway to park in, while he had to park a couple of blocks away. been too warm to hike back over to the plural zed alpha to retrieve it. maybe later.

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all i have for halloween, is stuff from the day of the dead show.

figure a trunk full of skulls will do. not sure who the guy in the picture was, as no one was there to tell me about him. i'm sure he is missed.

ninja turtles

i'd like to think that manhole cover is about to fly several feet in the air, and leonardo is going to spring out and kick shredder's ass. but only if it's the turtle from the original movie, not the roid ragers from the reboot. really, can't hollywood do anything new, without creaming themselves on updating old, perfectly good movies in search of an easy dollar?

hopefully, said manhole cover won't hit that pretty chevy back there. from a hot day in los angeles, at a church show i'd never been to, and only did because i had other plans cancelled. i think i would go again, earlier, if they host the show again next year.

burnt

waiting at sea-tac, watching planes take off. has been mostly perfect weather until today. light rain and about fifty-four degrees out. heading home, where it's about eighty-eight. better half would say it's about one-hundred, since his air conditioning in his car isn't working. so not missing the heat.

been a good trip. daughter's birthday was just us two, since her boy toy had to work. she had a larger karaoke party the next night with her friends to make up for it.

took her car in for maintenance as a gift, since all she ever does is change the oil. ended up being more than expected, of course. worth it for piece of mind, and not imagining her stuck on a highway in the snow this winter.

anyway, got to the airport too early, and not much to choose from to eat or to look at in this terminal.

one more show on my show calendar this year. guess i'll look back at what i've been to that was any good and start building a tentative schedule for next year.

already see that work is busy and plenty waiting for me at the office tomorrow. yay.

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interesting car color here. at least i was able to shoot it without too much of the pop-up in the shot. no way to avoid the port-a-potty, though.

uptown bombs

better half accused me of being like a squirrel, hoarding up nuts for winter. because i have been prepping a bunch of pictures to post, but only posting them up one at a time.

so? i can.

sometimes i'm holding them until i have something to say. other times, i'll put up a couple, and have nothing worth mentioning for the day. does it really matter?

this one is going up because i'm out of town, and away from my puter.

saw an awesomely old rusty chevy nomad in an overcast field today. drove past it twice, but couldn't really park on the side of the road to shoot it. but it was really cool.

also missed a trunk n treat in town, because i decided to get a late lunch, and then had to wait for a ferry boat. that's ok. probably would have been a bunch of packards anyway.

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this owner was the reason i had to stop and shoot several more cars, after i had decided to head home. he really liked the picture i shot of his car at another show, so he talked me up to his buddies, and they all wanted me to shoot their cars.

i like this shot, maybe better than the previous picture i took. the other had some funky clouds above, but this just seems like a cleaner shot.

deluxe

didn't sleep well last night. no reason. just made me not want to wake up and go to pomona, knowing i wouldn't want to pull my bag around the miles of cars there. and of course, any time i decide to skip it, it turns out it would have been a perfect day.

stayed overcast in whittier for most of the early morning, so i can only make assumptions about pomona. well, i've got a few pictures saved for upcoming rainy days.

spending the day working on a few pictures i promised from recent shows, kicking back with the better half, and whining about having to go to work tomorrow.

just as well. doctor told me to keep taking it easy, since my cracked rib is still not completely healed.

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another one that goes with yesterday's story, one of the last group of cars i shot last week.

nice car, liked the location. would have otherwise skipped it at the end of the day, because there were too many people passing by. but since the owner asked, i shot it as best i could. just takes patience, shooting in between people passing by.

up and down

quick post, since i didn't realize it was sooo late, and our intention is to go to pomona first thing in the morning. totally should be asleep now, but i've been away from my pictures for so many days, i was having fun.

from last week. i was almost totally done with the show, physically—i was overheated and tired...not physically—i hadn't gotten a good look at all the cars...so many showed up. i had just took a long look down the street, and decided not to walk to the end. i had just enough energy to head back to shoot the buick over by rocky cola, when a guy, whose car i'd shot out in walnut earlier in the year recognized me, and called me over.

he was telling his friends about the picture i'd done of his car, and they both wanted me to shoot their cars. happy to oblige. took a few shots of each.

this one started out like this. then one of his friends said he should drop it. so i shot it again.

then, because i think impalas are really plain in the front, i went around to the back, and took one more.

clean car. i think i like it down better.

in memorium

so, i've been out of town most of the week. still am, but i had this photo here waiting to post. actually, i have a few ready, just waiting for time, and something to blather on about, neither of which i have lately.

another from last weekend's dia de los muertos show. i have several more i have promised to post, so they'll be up this weekend, when i get back home.

i've seen several other pictures of this same car, by different photographers. they all look pretty much the same. so, here's my shot for consideration. ya, the hood is open, but the show was supposedly less about the car, and more about the celebration, so i made an exception.

a lot of cars had their memorials in the trunk, but many more elaborate ones, were placed out front, or beside the cars. meanings were all personal to the owners, and however they chose to honor their much missed loved ones.

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since mostly nobody reads this, and just quickly flip through the pictures, let me just jot this down, mainly to my better half:

getting old sucks. not sure when it happened, so gradually, and while i wasn't paying attention. now i look in the mirror and see my mom looking back at me. my mind feels young, but this body must belong to someone else. always tired. i put on weight just looking at a hamburger, and if i'm interested in taking some meds to help with hot flashes, the side effects include even more weight gain. if only kids knew, they'd spend less time wishing they were grown up, and spend more time being a kid.

i spent the last day and a half starved, in preparation for a colonoscopy. yup. gross, but i've reached that age, where it's recommended.

had a coworker die a few years ago of colon cancer, because he didn't get one done, being a guy, until it was too late, and only after he was feeling really bad. if he had, they would have found it early and been able to do something before it took over and killed him. he was only in his fifties, and left behind a wife and a handful of kids, including a special needs kid. so that sucks.

my better half hasn't got his done yet, and probably won't. what is it about guys and doctors anyway? good thing they don't have to pop out kids, right?

seriously, the worst thing about the procedure, after the "cleansing" or more like "butt tsunami," is the iv. i hate needles. and then they wanted to stick it in my hand, which gives me the heebeejeebees. never have let any nurse do one there before, but for whatever reason, they had to. this nurse was excellent, and used a baby needle. i didn't look, and it was done quickly. not as bad as i imagined, but nothing i want again, when i have the choice.

they rolled the bed into another room. i remember that part. once the stuff in the iv drugs got flowing, that was it. i was out. they did what they do, and i woke up back where i started. i don't feel any effects of what they did to me. not even sore. even got some nice pictures from up in there for souvenirs. lol.

so, i guess, what i'm trying to say, mainly to my better half, and to anyone, just do it already. your ass isn't a sacred vessel, and you won't feel like you've been part of a prison movie, in a cell with a large inmate.

it doesn't hurt, so if you've gotten old, like me, just get it over with. they probably won't find anything, but if they do, you will have time to get it taken care of, and more time with me.

red vine

quick post. it's late, long ass day. i'll write something more later...meanwhile, beautiful car...

lighthouse

today was our eighth anniversary. made it past the seven year itch. (just keep scratching it😜)

better half was on call for work, and i had to drive out to pick up my daughter at the airport, so we spent several hours apart.

was over a hundred degrees outside, so no point going anywhere not air conditioned in the middle of the day. we did manage to walk uptown in the evening for dinner. still nice to find stuff to talk about after this many years.

letting my daughter borrow my car for the weekend...i hope to see it again on monday.

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this truck was at the legends show at point fermin. nice spot near the lighthouse. not sure why there weren't as many cars parked there, aside from not being out where the majority of people will pass by. this is nice near the tree, and without all the electrical wires that show from other viewpoints of the house.

i can't decide which i like best--this show or chicano park--both get a crap ton of cars and are fun to make a weekend getaway. point fermin is literally on a cliffside by the ocean in san pedro, so some years it stays cool and overcast in the morning and through the day, gets a good breeze.

chicano park is good for a roadtrip or train ride weekend.

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getting up early for the dia de los muertos show down the street in uptown. it's grown quite a bit since the first year, with maybe ten cars and a short row of vendor booths. now it's an equal part full on car show and art show with some vendors in between, all decorated with skulls and shrines for the celebration.

out early and mostly done by ten, when it heats up, people start showing up and the show officially starts.

showlows

wishing i'd pulled out a different camera/different lens right about now. wide-angle distortion is interesting and aggravating at the same time.

early on, just club guys and vendors there. their show, their line up, my shot. thanks, guys!