what's up?

trippin'

1948 chevrolet stylemaster panel truck

saw this chevy panel truck at the duke's display at relay for life. this was one i shot fairly early after arriving.

i passed by later, and the owner lowered it down, and leveled it out, but there were more cars, pop ups and people to contend with, so those. shots are just ok, but not my favorites.


so we're finally taking one of those elusive/dreaded things--a vacation. and of course, it's all been a little bit off since it started yesterday.

been busy all month at work, leading up to it. worked late on thursday, trying to get the big stuff mostly done, to spare coworkers a lot of pain. that forced me to stay down at my mom's for the night, instead of packing, etc., as i had planned. then worked at the office in the morning, and raced home at lunch time to work four more hours from there, to finish out the clock, and miss friday traffic. did my time, and got packing.

better half worked at home all day, and had also been working like crazy before the trip. he didn't pack or get the supermarket shopping done in advance of the horde of family coming down to keep his mother company while we're gone. also means we don't get to see the two babies of the family, who are both now walking. it's a trade off.

after much running around, i got us going out the door just before eight p.m., to catch a red eye. he thought it was a bit early, but it turned out to be a good thing. traffic around lax for last mile before our exit was terrible. we had to drop off the car and catch one of the shuttles to our terminal. the shuttle took it's sweet time getting to the garage, but we still ended up with the recommended couple of hours to spare.

enjoyed the airline pilot on the shuttle ride from the garage to his flight, entertaining the captive audience with historical knowledge, as well as hitting on a random travel agent headed to new york.

checked the bags, got through security fairly quickly. didn't even have to remove our shoes, which is a plus, because i don't even want to think about what the sticky stuff on that linoleum is every other time we've had to go through security. just no.

had about an hour until boarding, and started noticing delay times dominoeing through flights ahead of ours. our crew was on a delayed flight coming from san fran. ultimately, we were listed as the last flight out, leaving at one a.m.

then came the announcement that the flight had been cancelled, due to the crew being timed out on their shift or one of them not feeling well...depends on who you wanted to believe. that was followed by the mad rush to the counter for rebooking. briefly thought of just heading home, but then they put us up in a hotel, to get a few hours' sleep--it was two-fifteen a.m. by then--before we had to be back at seven.

we'd settled on a one-stop trip, instead of the direct to the east coast, which would have meant just sleeping in the terminal. so i'm sitting here in san fran typing away, waiting for our connecting flight, while my better half is getting his ya-yas out, geeking out watching planes and shooting a time lapse of the runway and the really awesome clouds.

double whammy

1949 desoto

it happens every once in a while. that one day of the year. it's mother's day—and it's my birthday. sort of the same dilemma as the kid born christmas day. and the double hassle of trying to take/be taken out to dinner...ya, good luck with that.

i'm not big on birthdays. i don't care about the number. i just don't like the attention. and i don't need anything that i don't already have. besides, i have no place to put anything. whatever. game of thrones is on tonight, and it may rain, so there are my gifts.

i've spent the morning sifting through pictures, trying to decide what to enter in the fair this year. i've narrowed it down to about twenty so far. letting my better half have his vote, as usual, then i'll go ahead and enter what i think is good, but you can never tell what the judges will like.

i don't think i will enter as many as i usually do. aside from the entry fees, if they pick a bunch to hang at the fair, then i have to get them framed, and then after, i end up with a lot of pictures, and not enough wall space. i'm thinking i'll set up a page to sell some of the framed pictures from past fairs—they do no one any good sitting in storage.

anyway, my alarm just went off, to go pack up and head down to meet my kid for dinner, and a game of thrones viewing party. i'll just put up this shot from a desoto wagon we came across in buellton last month.

good morning

it's just after six in the morning, on a monday. sitting here, at a fast food joint, not wanting to go to work.

survived another journey down the five freeway, with assholes driving / flying by at one-hundred miles an hour. can't believe anyone needs to drive that fast to get to work, so they are just assholes. went by so quick, didn't actually see their puckered faces. all i can say is, stay in your own effing lanes when you're trying to kill yourselves! i don't want to go with you.

apparently, seventy isn't fast enough.


saw this car while waiting for the dam(n) show to open on new year's day. early, freezing outside, we parked the car and took a turn about the streets, taking advantage of the parked show cars. this one had its lights on, so that was different. i suppose the people inside were just trying to keep warm.

wishing i'd done my usual ten shot exposures, instead of this three shot my better half said to try. i think even he admitted later, that maybe he should have just let me do my thang, as his shots weren't as great as he thought they'd be either.

no mad

i really hate going to walmart. well, i hate shopping, but walmart is a special hell. i'll go there maybe three times a year, usually just tagging along with my better half, who is a frequently visitor there.

tonight, he wanted to pick up a space heater, since he is about ready to call for a young priest and an old priest, to exorcise the ghost of the ancient wall heater in our room, which doesn't work, and the landlord won't fix it, but it is just perfect for hot flashes.

our last space heater went to his mom's room after her own heater crapped out. gotta keep the little old ladies toasty warm. myself, i prefer piling on the blankets, and adding or subtracting clothing as necessary.

anyway, walmart sucks. from the people zooming the wrong way in the parking lot, not stopping at stop signs, to people selling tamales out of their back seat. nah. didn't really see any outstanding 'people of walmart' oddities, so that entertainment was missing.

we wandered around the store, picking up items from his mom's shopping list. better half wanted hair goop for his long hairs (because he has hairs like a woman). turns out, they lock up the fancier stuff, in hair goop prison. then you have to hunt down an employee, who inevitably doesn't have the key with them, only to be told that if you aren't done shopping, they will have to leave it a particular register. same with razors. 

we wander around some more, do not find any heaters at all, which was the whole point of the trip. will either buy one online or i'll pick one up down in orange county, where most homes have built in air conditioning and heating, so more likely will have one in the store.

up to register fifteen, to free the prisioner hair goop. longish line, relative to the others. shopper currently being rung up, is staring blankly at the cashier for a minute after being given the total for her purchase. blink blink. then she slowly starts to dig through her purse for a credit card. fuuuuuuucccccckkkk.

after waiting for five minutes, the cashier lady is turning off her register sign, and we are being told go to the next one. better half is asking about how is he going to get his hair goop. he is assured that they will get it for him. he was ready to throw a tantrum he said. i asked if he would also add throwing himself on the floor and banging his head around, like his niece did the other day. he thought that might be a little too much this time.

i just want to leave. it's getting late, and i still want to post a picture. haven't been to many shows lately, so haven't really got anything to write about, and nothing else is pissing me off, so this will just have to do for now.

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haven't posted one of these in a while. mostly because i haven't seen one in a while. or one as nice as this. not quite sure i like the cadillac lights sticking out like cold temperature indicators, if you know what i mean, and they're just asking to have a baseball bat swung at them.

memory lane

busy weekend. following a damn busy week at work. several twelve hour days. i'm way behind on playing with my pictures from recent shows. several people i talked to, so, as usual, i said i'd post their cars, so i'm behind on that. and i'm tired.

was out both days this weekend. i've had too much sun, and today, i'm really feeling it. and sore from pulling my bag and hauling my tripod around both days. standing up, squatting low, my legs are feeling it. it's a good sore. now i have another couple of very busy weeks, then a business trip to vegas. any car shows coming up, there?

went to oldies san fernando car show today. missed it last year...was sick as a dog at the time. i'd heard of a few other shows going on today, so had to pick one. knew it was going to be another hot day. can't stand the heat. can't wait for winter to come back.

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anyway, i'll start with this car from today in san fernando, since they sent a kid over to ask for my card. nice suburban. i've seen it before. caught here fairly early, sun still going up, making cars glow. this field was still pretty empty in the middle. cars were clustering along the fence, mostly by club. this one belongs to memory lane. memory lane was rather short this year...i vaguely remember a few more cars in previous years.

 

chrome and paint

the show last night at lowdown in uptown was fun. it was well attended, and drew so many classic cars, that the cops wanted to shut it down a few times for having an unauthorized car show.

i got my better half and went down there just when it was technically starting at five. only a few people inside, so actually could check out the artwork. the last couple of shows, it's been so jammed with people, i couldn't really appreciate the show. better half tried shooting a picture of me by my pieces, but i hate being in front of a camera, and just feel like a dork, and can't crack a smile. and he does a three shot burst with his little camera...and i'm supposed to hold still for all three shots. nope. i'm not sure if he got any worth keeping. whatever.

myself, i'm a big, shy, introvert, and just get very uncomfortable in a big crowd like that. instead, i can get behind the camera, and take advantage of the party goers' cars. we walked back to the house and got my cameras and headed back over. i can focus on the cars, and ignore the pack of people staring at me, and whatever i'm doing. not being a big old bitch, just coping.

anyway, i think this car belongs to the shop owners, so i'll start with that. best angle i could get, without standing out in the street, which wasn't closed...because it wasn't a car show, remember? thanks for letting me participate, and sorry for pestering you, to the point of just walking some pictures into the store to get an answer. the fun part of taking the pictures, is sharing them, so thanks for the opportunity.

dud

purposely drove out to the broiler yesterday. i'm in the mood to shoot, and was hoping there would be some cars in downey to help me with that.

i go there rarely anymore, mostly because i have farther to go after work, and just can't bear to sit in traffic that much longer. and the last four or five times i have decided to go, disappointed by how few cars are there. it used to be so packed, even the back lot was full, even when i got there early.

well last night, got there about five-thirty. only a handful of cars there for the "show." small group of regulars, and i wandered over to the few i've met before. they joked that they didn't remember my name, where have i been, etc.

they talked about another show going on at the same time. mentioned that at the show i used to go to off alondra, they had torn down the building and were putting in an in-n-out or something.

anyway, i give up. this show is off my list, not worth the stress of the traffic. i liked the cars that were there, but too far for too few. sorry.

spent an hour with what there was and bid it goodbye for wednesday night shows.

wishing this woodie wasn't next to the t-bird, but apparently the owners are buds, so oh well.

suburbia

i'm tired. servers at work never came back up today, and i've got rush jobs that i can't get to the files. so fingers to the temple...POW.

hopefully, the system will be up and running in the morning, so i can rush to meet the deadlines. yay. probably won't be able to sleep, my mind is racing. should have gone and walked my kid's dog today. he wears me down and out.

i'll just put this chevy up for the night and head to bed. let it speak for itself. nice car. wish the back window was closed.

olde wagon

so i skipped a small car show today. busy all week, and had things to do. like laundry. something to wear might come in handy sometime.

gotta get back out there, i don't have any stories to share that you'd care to hear. or maybe i'm just too tired to think right now.

planning to get up really early, before the butt crack of dawn and head to southgate tomorrow, for the azalea car show. always a good time. all the cars we like to shoot in one place. just need to be there before the sun comes up, and early sun, before the heat starts to evaporate the dew off the grass. then it's like a sauna.

haven't had time to work on my pictures all week, so i'll just pick a few to make up for it. how about i just post a few and just shut up?

nomadder what

stopped by original mikes yesterday, on my way to my parents' house. still hadn't made my dad his xmas taffy. it's his annual thing. first time i didn't have it ready for him on xmas day in like, forever. just ran out of time. figured i'd just make it at their house, it would be as fresh as can be.

i got there, and he had the idea in his head to use some of it to make popcorn balls. wtf. couldn't argue it out of him, so why not experiment.

i boiled up a double batch. he popped a bag of popcorn. burned it. he can't hear it stop popping, didn't notice the smell. so he did another, and i told him when to take it out.

i poured about half of the sticky tar into the bowl of popcorn. told him to let it cool a bit, so he doesn't burn his hands. typical guy, doesn't listen. he only waited a few minutes. then started shaping it into balls.

it worked in theory. it formed into balls, and held the shape. only when he was done did he realize he hadn't separated out the unpopped kernels.

the rest of the taffy, i pulled after it cooled off a lot. still not sure that it turned out as brittle as it should have been.  either way, brittle or soft, he usually ends up each new year with a dentist appointment to reglue a crown or two, and has been known to use super glue or epoxy to do it himself. but he wouldn't have it any other way.

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oh, and the lot was pretty full at original mikes. got there at almost one. lots of hoods up, so that winnows down the selection i'll bother with. this one had the hood up, and there was a group of people up at the front. so screw'em, i just pushed in on the part i like anyway, and ignored the parts i don't care about.

on 56, 57, 58, 59 chevys, it's all about the back end anyway. i'll shoot them, no matter what's going on up front.