what's up?

deadly

so, school shooting yesterday in florida. my niece and nephew were there...that's their school. they are ok, spent time hiding in the dark, under desks. saw stuff, heard stuff.

nephew has been doing interviews on tv; niece spoke to abc london. four of her friends died.

other nephew on swat team, clearing classrooms.

scary stuff.

quiet, early morning, waiting to head in at the bomb club show at santa anita last summer.

bitch

i like my doctor. really i do. but she pulled out my stitches today, so i'm kinda hating her ass right now. she coulda numbed it out first. now this bandaid she slapped over the holes is a bit tight.

going to go to sleep now. won't feel it or think about if i'm unconscious. at least i'll be able to scratch that skin soon. better half was threatening to put one of those cones on my head...like a dog. who's the bitch? i guess i am.

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almost didn't go to the fundraiser at montebello park. got my taxes done in the morning, and didn't get back home until after noon as it was. it wasn't far, i wanted to shoot, and if i couldn't find parking, i could just turn around.

and my better half decided to join me. he wanted out of the house, and left his sister to care for his mom. he also needed to stop at the market for a few things on the way back.

shockingly found a spot in the little parking lot. lots of cars still there and arriving though it was after two o'clock when we got there.

he got to catch up with people he hasn't seen in a while, and i shot more cars i probably otherwise would have skipped, because they were parked across the street from the crowd, and i didn't know them.

afternoon light and shadows were what they were, so shot around it or just said fuck it, and shot into the sun. a few lens flares don't bother me, if the best angle happens to get pegged by the sun.

the car next to this thirty-nine just happened to pull out as i was walking up to it, so i had a little extra room to play. the trees blocked a lot of the direct light, but couldn't filter it all, so a few flare spots here and there.

at least no camera errors yesterday. afraid i'd be cameraless for a couple of months while they get repaired--but not really; my better half is already letting me use one of his...and i hate it, as he predicted. though it is a better camera.

lunch break

sitting outside, seventy degree temps, on my brother's bday. guess i better call him. he's east coast, so i guess he's already three hours older than he would be here.

time really feels like it is racing by lately, and there's just not enough of it. one of these days i should actually get around to writing a will. would be nicer to leave someone an old chevy, rather than here's a well-used honda, right? better start looking for my fleetline now--think they'd trade me for a well-used honda? lol.

anyway, sun came up pretty quick last sunday. couldn't get to a lot of cars fast enough, or they just weren't in a good spot.

liked this one ok, but that damn pop-up sort of ruins it. guy was selling matchbox cars.

xmas is almost over

it's happening. it's finally happening. the xmas tree is coming down, and all the whimsical holiday stuff is going back into the garage.

better half would leave the tree up year round if he had his druthers, but his mom wants it down now, so sir, yes, sir, may i have another?

still half a tree to denude of lights. maybe i'll help tomorrow, just to make it go away. fake needles really do beat your hands to hell though.

i have a whole lot of cars parked in draft mode, waiting to be posted here. sad, really. haven't had much to say, or that i want to share now.

i figure the cars got posted on instagram fairly quickly after their respective shows, so if i take my sweet time posting them up here, it doesn't really matter. except maybe if they wanted to see them a bit bigger. want to see it optimally? buy a print. seriously. i'm down another camera already, with the other starting to show the same error message, and don't know when i'll take the time to ship it in for fixing vs just buying another body.

i do have chuck e cheese points in the reward program at work, which i was saving up to buy a full frame body, but i could get two crop bodies with the points i have now. i dunno what to do. haven't gotten any more points lately. i could pay the difference, but i don't wanna.

better half's sister is back at her home for the weekend, and his mom mostly sits in her room watching tv all day. hoping to just sit around the house at least topless all weekend, so my stitches can get some air. lol. it's been hot all week, so the house is overly warm anyway.

better half has to work all weekend at his desk. ya, i won't be distracting.

in fact, he's in the kitchen doorway smiling right now.

night and day

not really night, but still dark enough. i've seen this chevy a few times over the years. these pics, a week apart. the difference in the light, and how much i like it is night and day.

dramatic sky of the sunrise is preferable to high noon, though the overhead lighting kinda ruins the effect a bit.

at least the daytime shot, the owner came over after i'd already shot it, and dropped it for me. i like them better that way. with the front end up, it's almost like looking up someone's nose.

nooner

another promised pic.

that noontime sun...just isn't the same as morning or evening shooting into that flaming orb. so harsh. camera sensor really doesn't like it.

hit-a-thon

woke up today at eight a.m., thinking someone had called my name. no one had. really wanted to roll over and go back to sleep—it was so cold in the room, and the bed was so warm.

but i got up. was too late to head out for a sunrise car show, but knew about this one out at jfk high school. i'd gone last year, on a much rainier, cloudier day. today was boringly, clear, blue skies, and warmish.

was practically noon, by the time i arrived, which i hate. the full on sun, harsh shadows, just aren't my favorite. but i'm just out, getting back into a groove, and it isn't a broiling summer day, so i'll take it.

saw several guys/clubs that i know from past shows, many i haven't seen for a while, and made a few new acquaintances. also saw a few cars i recognized, but didn't see the owners. oh well. a familiar place, with familiar faces, i was ok without my better half. sent him a text not to worry. he does that sometimes. well, most every time.

i have a few pictures i told people i'd post, so i'll start with this one. owner asked for a picture, because, you know, cell phone pictures just aren't that great. told him i'd post one, to see if it was any better. so what do you think?

maybe i'll go

i haven't been out and about much when i'm not at work. just have other things i've been dealing with, and just haven't.

there's a cruise tonight, and a show tomorrow that i'm thinking about going to, for a change.

i was out at pomona last weekend, and i noticed my tripod is a bit wonky, and one of my cameras definitely is out of commission. camera i think is still under warranty, so i need to look into sending that in. the other camera needs the sensor cleaned, which i can do at home.

when i find myself looking back at years' old pictures for something to work on, i know i need to go out and find something new, or a fresh look at an old car.

so maybe i'll go, out to covina before it gets dark, and shoot some cars until sunset. better half isn't going, so i won't be out late. EDIT: didn't make it. :(

now to motivate myself to get my shit together and go.

pic above from the bomb club show at santa anita. that was a fun show. i overheated before i could get to all the cars. really need to head out early to summer shows, so they don't kill me.

early bird gets...

...the shot.

one more for today. for the one guy that came over to talk to me briefly, and pointed out his car and one next to it...his brother's or cousin's, i can't remember. i suppose i should put that one up too.

it was a spectacular sunrise, so this shot was more interesting than the other direction. didn't quite catch the slightly earlier, more reddish and colorful sky, as i couldn't find and decide on a single car in a good position to catch it in time.

looking back

my thoughts have bounced around in my head a lot lately, to the point i don't know any one thing i would write about, that might be of any interest to any lurker who may be reading this on a somewhat irregular basis lately.

if you've never met him, my better half might be considered imposing, especially when he has a 'stache and goatee, and his long hair. when he's clean shaven, he just seems more friendly and younger, rather than tuff. he's a big guy, six-five, hovering around three-hundred pounds most of the time.

big enough to stare down the little shits that block sidewalks when his mom used to roll her wheelchair uptown. he would politely 'suggest' that they make way, and when they'd turn their back and stay put, he'd 'make way' for his mom. fucking little posers.

there's a new generation that hang out uptown now, only i think they are wannabe drug lords, making their little drug sales out in the open. i have my own little bitch face that moves them out of my way when i go uptown by myself.

he's mostly a big, friendly bear of a guy. i really don't know why he picked me, but i'm happy he did, and that's all i'll say about that. no need to get mushy here, and i really am not that gushy kind of girl.

there is one car club guy, i'd like to sic him on, but i'd prefer to keep my better half with me, than to visit him behind bars, so there's that.

better half has tossed a more than a dozen memories at me, to write about. we laugh about each recollection, giggle at the details of what people said or did, and how we ended up where we are today. then i say i've already referenced most of these stories at some point, and how a lot of stuff is inside jokes, or too gross.

i haven't been anywhere lately, except work, my parents' house, and picking up mail at my house. boring, but i gots things on my mind.

i could bitch about stuff i see on the freeway every day, but there hasn't been too much going on with the holidays, and i assume people home with the flu. traffic has been really light in the evening, so the few drives to whittier i've done the past couple of weeks have only been about an hour.

i'm hoping to get up in the morning and head to pomona for the swap meet. was thinking, it's january, it will be cool outside, everything will be great. summer is hell out there, and i usually can't / don't stay that long in the sun there.

it was fuckin' eight-five degrees outside this afternoon. it's going to still be in the eighties tomorrow. so it will be a short day as usual, in spite of being the middle of winter. really is no winter in cali, so what am i thinking?

one of these times, i'll have to actually walk the aisles of parts and stuff for sale, but i never seem to be able to tear myself away from the cars themselves. maybe next month it will be cold again. next week it will be sixty again.

so, long-windedly, i have no stories to blather on about, or that anyone might care to hear anyway. not feeling very enchanting at the moment, though my better half seems to still be stuck under my spell. who knows why?

here's a lovely back-end of a fifty-seven bel aire. it's all about the fins on these cars. the fronts are pretty generic and boring.