misty morning

this chevy was from the old memories show out at st hilary's in october. the misty morning sprinkled the cars with dew. i liked it best on the hood reflector thing. what is it properly called?

i wanna say it is an originals car, as it is parked next to others, but i can't find the plaque or other note saying for sure. my apologies, if not.

only remember that while taking some pics of it, some dude was busy pacing in front of it on a probably unimportant phone call. i don't think this one was his, but he did get in the way.

i am loving cars parked next to large overhanging trees, for the framing quality, as well as the reflections. best to be a car that i really like, not just the tree, because that's just sad when the foliage makes the picture rather than the other way 'round.

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so we come to the end of the year. and again i've run out things to say.

can i complain about advertised shows that upon arriving, i and several hapless others find that the hosts have canceled and not bothered to remove the advertised date. unfortunately, they do not stay long enough for me to get my cameras out, so i've nothing to show for it.

though, it's happened before in previous years, so i am not that surprised. holidays always make shows and/or attendance spotty if anything. i enjoy the drive, investigate different ways around cities i know nothing about, and make the best of it, and take a turn around the local mall.

oh, how i hate shopping. i enjoy the exercise, and leave empty handed. a fine reason to get out of the house before i become a hermit. meh.

is it just me, or does anyone else find the orange chicken at panda express to typically taste of dessicated cat scraps dipped in a tangy sauce?

we're thinking of going to the majestics show tomorrow. earlyish. we'll see.

have a happy whatever

to each his own.

been too busy to think much about it. getting overworked and burning out.

had an opportunity to do a long weekend trip to san francisco, and unexpectedly, also yosemite, but backed out because i'd been sick, and just didn't feel i had enough energy to enjoy it. ended up dog sitting instead. yes, the beast thing. oh, and i'm stuck with feeding over a dozen tarantulas, two gecko things, a disgusting millipede, two cornsnakes, a beta fish, and some kind of carnivorous frog with teeth—my daughter's strange zoo, while she's traveling for the holidays. all creepy and mesmerizing at the same time. hoping she gets home sooner, rather than later.

got arm twisted into attending the annual holiday lunch and gift exchange at work. i've managed to miss the last few, as i go on auto-pilot and head to lunch...they schedule the thing to start while i'm out usually. not this year. secretary wrangled me earlier in the week, asking if i was going to be there.

so i brought a gift for the exchange. something with my sense of humor. consider it a gag gift. but something i would have bought for myself.

so we were treated to a fairly good meal, but the host was big into singing christmas carols. so they'd have everyone singing songs every once in a while. i just don't sing. at least in front of anyone. didn't in elementary school, ain't going to start now. 

one coworker offered up cash to hear me sing. no thanks. i just can't do it. won't do it.

after a food and a nice speech, the gift game got underway.

among all the obvious bagged bottles of booze, the thing i brought was the first gift chosen by the first person up to bat. is it that she wanted something more festive? or did she really dislike it? i dunno. she just seemed so disappointed.

then another seven or eight people, being ever so polite, passed on stealing anything from anyone, and pick gifts from the pile.

so my turn comes, and i take back my gift, telling her to go find something she'll like better. and she did. then someone stole that gift from her and she had to go steal another from someone else.

got better from there on out, as everyone started stealing gifts from each other. no one was ever gonna take mine from me, and i was fine with that.

but you know what? after it was all done and back at our desks, most every single person stopped by my desk to see the thing. even had an offer to trade for it.

that's ok. i wanted it anyway.

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been sick with a cold, so i haven't really been out and about much. this impala was from the old memories toy drive over at bruce's. not overtly christmasy, but there's a big bow on the back, so that will do for me.

see you all around some time. looking forward to some good shows in the coming year.

sweet pickle

totally rained on the parade today. but they did it anyway. doesn't start as early as it did a few years ago, and it is also not as good. and the few cars that were in it, sucked. my better half says there are probably different people organizing it than there were a few years ago. same can be said for the uptown car show, but that's a different post.

anyway, i took some stupid pictures. the camera body is waterproof, but the lens isn't, so i couldn't get out and get shots i would have liked. then, duh, i went inside and grabbed a longer lens. but still, didn't get what i wanted. you can see some of them over at my flickr page.

and wouldn't you know it, the rain stopped after the parade. made my day. and then i didn't want to go out to the car shows. the house was too warm, and it was too cold outside. so i missed moon eyes again. and the latin gents show. and something over in lakewood. ya, i totally would have done them all not too long ago. i'm just out of it.

there are a couple of shows i'm thinking about tomorrow, but i don't know. toy drives bring out some great cars, but rain drives them away, so we'll see...we have to be somewhere in the evening. also hear there's the parts show out in pomona, but gonna miss that one too.

this is one of the old memories cars from last week. hard to believe it was pushing 80 last week, and this week, maybe 60. the lady selling the blankets would have sold so much more now.

hooters

pretty sure i've seen this one before. just been a year or two.

interesting car, kinda like a wanna be rolls royce shape. i could have posted the typical full car, but there was just something more special about the front grille and the lights.

it has eyes. couple more round shapes (two are the horns), i'd call it a spider.

and of course, i like the ornament.

wax on, wax off

got home in only an hour today. did everyone call in sick today? recovering from the drive home in holiday traffic? i don't know, but i can only hope it continues being a relatively shorter and easier commute in the afternoon. though there were still those a--holes that feel the need to weave through the lanes at the fastest speed possible. idiots. go pull your head out, you won't get where you're going any faster, unless you are looking for the pearly gates...or maybe the fiery stank below, which is where i like to mutter at you as you whizz by.

blah blah blah. weird day. and i'm tired anyway. so i'll keep it short.

i'm not sure of the year of this beauty, but that's no surprise. anyone care to help a lady out, and let me know, so i can make a note of it?

i like how the sun is glinting on the squiggles left by the buffer and of the last vestiges of wax on the hood. otherwise polished to perfection. liking the honey tones here. more frequently see these all in one color, so nice for a change.

i'm thinking the blanket vendor behind the car there didn't sell as much as she had hoped, being that it was so hot outside. no worries. cold weather is coming.

daddy's girl

i wasn't sure what to expect at this show. if i had just listened to my better half, we'd have been there earlier. last show i went to in this parking lot was pretty sparsely attended, and figured the same for this one, or at least that people would show up later, being that it was a sunday.

another photographer introduced himself because he recognized me from my flickr page. he said it all depends on which club is hosting and their connections, for pulling in cars. looking back at the good shows i've been to, i'd have to agree. i can be stupid sometimes. 

was unexpectedly hot outside for a december day. being late, i'm only going to have so much time before i get too overheated to stay and shoot all the cars i'd like.

there were a few impalas amongst all the other chevys. i can't pass up the swoopy back end, especially on a ’59. because it was midday, i was having to work around the harsh light and keeping my shadow out of the picture for a lot of the cars.

the only person who came over and asked for a card happened to be the daughter of the owner of this car. couldn't really decide what shot i liked the best, so i'm posting the one i liked the most. no people milling through the background is nice, but the modern suv thing next to it isn't my favorite. i'd have the door closed, but at least the hood was down.

pretty maids all in a row

its nice being at a show early. guys park their babies and go off to socialize or find breakfast. and i can pretty much futz around with my camera without interruption, or lots of people wandering into the frame.

sometimes its more interesting with a couple of people in the frame, helping to tell a story about a car show. but this time, i preferred the fog.

i've managed to take a few rows of cars like this lately. just haven't had time, as usual, to do anything with them.