what's up?

i can't even

beautiful oldies chevy from the front street car show in norwalk last summer. i wouldn't mind having one of these in my garage.

so, i've made it to washington state, on my mission to test drive and deliver a new used car to my kid.

weather has been perfect the whole way, and here just in time, as it is supposed to start raining tomorrow.

she'd been texting me all morning, asking how far i was. so when i finally got to her hood, i drove directly to her place. a bit before check-in anyway.

never had been to this apartment, and got to see the spot where i'd been sending ubers for the last month or so.

anyway, parked the car, and her boyfriend walked the dog out to get me. turned out my kid had been up so early, and had been waiting to have lunch with me, though i told her not to, that she was in bed taking a nap. didn't even get up, though she did wake up when i peeked in the room.

uh, hello. i just drove eleven hundred miles to bring her a car, and she can't be bothered to get up and/or go check out the car. ugh. not out of character really, but still pretty rude.

pet the dog, got clawed by the cat, ignored the tarantulas and snakes. decided to go check in at the hotel and go back later.

she did apologize. said she'd drank two beers on an empty stomach, and about the time i arrived wasn't feeling good. well duh.

anyway, back a couple hous later, out to dinner with them and a couple of friends. (i drove). then out to point defiance zoo in the dark. it was decked out with xmas lights and music; a few animals were out in the cold. most were in for the night, but the small aquarium was open.

pretty cool, pretty cold--being right on the edge of puget sound.

back in the hotel, late and tired. not sure what i'll do for a couple of days. kid will be working, so i'm on my own.

one day in, then off again

i like this picture, lens flares and all. let's just say there's a ghost in the driver's seat.

i've been away from home for two weeks probably, taking care of getting my dad to his hospital stay, followed by another week of getting over the worst cold i've had in a long time.

now i've been back in whittier for about twenty-four hours. enough to get some laundry done, and walk uptown for lunch. heading off to work in the early morning monday, doing a couple of rescheduled doctor appointments of my own in the afternoon. then tuesday, i'm off on a road trip to seattle.

small window of good weather before xmas, so off i go driving my kid's car to her. better half can't go with; mom won't go with, dad won't go with, bro isn't in town, sister busy, so me, myself and i keeping company in an untested car.

and then i'll still have a bunch of vacay hours i could take...

uneasy

my dad was hoping to go home today. but, nooo. xray shows one of the wires from the pacemaker came loose and they won't fix it until tomorrow.

so i had to book another night in the hotel. means hauling the suitcase back over there. we've been leaving the car at the hospital since he has a pretty good spot and it's a lot cheaper per night. i checked, it's ok with the hospital.

seems i've picked up a cold being here, so today i'm wearing a lovely yellow facemask while visiting.

holiday weeked in a hospital seems quiet in the midst of all the activity. most food places closed, waiting rooms are empty. really weird.

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just waiting to get this behind us and go home. like the backend of this impala...leave all the doctors in the rearview.

alls good

my dad's surgery went well yesterday. currently getting a pacemaker. they say he can go home tomorrow most likely. good news, right?

missing some good little shows while taking care of business, but enjoying other photographers' pictures from them.

loved this tovars' car. it drew a crowd when they drove up. family and friends took time to pose by it for pics. had to wait a while to catch it alone. shooting into the sun...screw the rules...screw the sensor on the camera. just take the picture already!

toy drive

made it out to the dukes/latin gents toy drive yesterday. more cars than i expected. several people i've gotten to know a bit, even just on a passing hello basis were there. always makes me happy that there are familiar faces where i go, since my better half can't go with me much anymore, ya know, in case anything happens.

ernie, with the latin gents, always comes over and says hello. happy belated birthday, ernie! perfect day for a show, perfect weather...you guys lucked out.

several well known cars made appearances too. this master deluxe is one of them, in all it's stretched glory, sitting down practically on the ground.

even after being there for about three hours, stopping to eat across the street, and the sun going down, i still saw cars driving in as i headed home.

i saw the sun was starting to set, and that the sky's colors were going to be beautiful, but i didn't have the energy and my legs were pretty stiff from sitting a bit, to stop back over there. things to do at home, getting ready for whatever happens with my dad this week. and apparently, better half is about to start decorating for xmas, as he's pulled all the stuff out of the garage already. my yearly grinch is already percolating to the surface...grumble grumble.

few more days

looking a wee bit back a few months. so many shows i've shot, and haven't posted much from them at all. always a happy surprise when i find a set that i've completely forgotten about—usually when i've gone to more than one or two shows on a weekend. that's not many, compared to what i was shooting a couple of years ago.

got to the los angeles bombs' cinco de mayo show a bit early, and was able to shoot a few cars with few distractions and all alone. got this one in a seemingly empty lot.

clouds in the sky are similar to what's out there now. a bit of sprinkly stuff here and there...same as that day.

time winding down till my dad gets his date with destiny. one more test—an angiogram—then they'll decide what they want to do to him. hoping they can go up his leg, and not have to fillet him to get to his heart.

i'll be working monday, then taking off the balance of the week to get him to his appointment and back home again. they tell him it will be an outpatient thing. i don't know about you, but if i was getting a camera up my veins, i'd say give me the good stuff, and keep me overnight, if not a few days.

so i'll pack a bag for a few days' worth of clothes. should bring a pillow for the uncomfortable chair that converts into a 'bed.' going to wear stretchy pants, no point in being uncomfortable sitting on my ass all day, on my day off, right?

thinking about going to one of the toy drives going on tomorrow. no, not first thing in the morning...don't think i can do that...better half probably can't go, and i haven't been out for a while, so i'm not sure i can actually carry my tripod and camera or pull the bag out of the car. maybe if i go later in the morning, i won't feel so sore and stiff, and i'll be ok. mostly just ignore the aches in my joints. still a few weeks until a see a doc about that, so i just cope and ignore.

why bother?

beautiful fifty-eight last month at the veterano's show at the whittier elks' lodge. with these, it's either the back end or this side panel that's worth the shot. kicking myself, that i didn't move my pesky camera bag somewhere else.

please excuse, the following rant:

i see a lot of flyers posted online that are barely legible, and more than a few where the date has been cut off, but that was just the poster's fault.

some make my eyes metaphorically bleed, trying to pick out the important info. they make me want to cry, as i'd really like to share the info, but they're almost too painful to look at.

too many fonts, too many "special" effects, too much, too much... more stuff doesn't make them more cool; they are just cluttered and less useful for the purpose they've been created for.

not calling out any particular show/club, but omg.

thanks, and sorry. been a long day at work, and my eyes are tired.

uptown

so while i haven't had the energy to get out to any shows lately, i did walk uptown today for lunch. pretty fortunate that whittier is a popular place for low riders, and i can pretty much count on at least one car cruising by the house on the daily.

usually post walkabout cars i spot on my instagram, since all i have on me at most times is my phone. not much lately, since i've been out of town a lot, but posted a fifty-six bel air today. i drove past a thirty eight chevy out on whittier blvd, i didn't shoot it. being in a moving vehicle kinda makes it a bit difficult, though i have been known to pull over and walk back once in a rare moment.

anyway, this here car is from uptown, but on purpose. once upon a time, there was the low down in uptown store on the corner, and a couple of times they invited their friends to town for a little car show action. usually until the cops showed up and mentioned the fact they hadn't pulled permits or the neighboring businesses didn't appreciate the type of crowd or just the crowd that came with the cars.

if this is the car i'm thinking of, i believe it's sailed off across the ocean, to japan or australia or some other far away place. shame. it was such an interesting car.

deferred

i guess my impromptu roadtrip will be put off until the end of the month, or even to next month. looking forward to it even less them, as the weather will only get worse through oregon and washington. i wonder how much it is to just ship a car north. or my ex could just fly up and find something local, but he doesn't have time or trust the cars up there for some reason.

at least my boss is cool with whatever i need to do, whenever i need to do it. so many things intersecting, i don't know how i'll get through, except to just do it.

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pretty bel air out on the street at the old memories' pancake bfast a couple of months ago. almost kinda want one, just this color. but then i remember i'd rather have a fleetline.

sweet

saw this truck at the dia de los muertos show last month. that paint is so cherry red and delicious...so appropriate it's in front of the candy store.

my kid had spun out on the freeway on some ice last month, and insurance totaled her car. her dad has been looking for a decent used car for her—he said on friday that he may have found one. i'd previously offered to help drive it up there, but now he can't get the time off.

so i may be taking a not completely unexpected road trip north to washington state this week. just wasn't expecting to have to go so soon. i guess i'll have to tell my boss as soon as i know for sure.

then i need to get a one-way ticket back asap, before the price gets much higher.

my brother may go, or i'll just drive it alone. either way, i like being on the road. he's gotta be back by a particular day, cuz he needs to get somewhere else, so timing will be tight.

just saw my kid last week, and pretty much will be handing over the keys, and maybe get a meal, then outta there, and back to work by monday.

they've said i need to use my vacation time anyway.