what's up?

jack sprat

feel like posting something different. saw this ford last week in south gate. the car was just a car, but it did stand out just because the entire body of it was covered in airbrushed figures and skulls. big modern wheels, with tires so new, the sticker is still on that front tread.

the little back lantern lights remind me of the haunted mansion, or maybe herman munster.

better half has been working from home for over a month now, with a couple more to go. he has his reasons. he has taken advantage of the time to also eat better, since the kitchen is right there. he has a lot on his plate, so to speak, but is dealing with it in healthy ways.

to get to the point, he's lost more than twenty pounds in a month, mostly by eating vegetables and fish, and avoiding sugar. and he likes it.

me, i never liked veggies, and barely can stand to eat a salad once a month. and i think i easily gain five pounds in the same amount of time, without trying, especially since i hit the last big birthday milestone.

don't know how many nights i go to sleep, thinking tomorrow will be the day i will stop drinking coke, only to fail by lunchtime.

i cannot imagine how he can say he likes eating vegetables, it's just not in my vocabulary. they're just gross. maybe my mom just didn't cook them right or just overcooked them to make them unappetizing. maybe i was a picky kid who has become a picky big kid. mentally i know i need to make lifestyle changes to kick my metabolism back into gear, but i never had to think about it before. and i don't know how. how do i say no to the random craving for cookie dough? just don't, i know--diversions.

trying to walk more, now that i have changed my work hours, but i'm inconsistent. mostly, i just want to sleep.

so what i'm trying to say is i'm happy for my better half getting healthy. sorry i've gotten so squishy the last five years; time has caught up with me, and i guess i will have to figure out how to do better just to keep up. it sucks getting old.

goals

appropriate signage, no? i'll add this to my annual review goals: work hard and get me a stylish old chevy. think they'd go for it? nah. but they might be interested in this picture if the little in-house photo competition actually happens, unless they make me be a judge. then i couldn't participate, right?

i'm kinda thinking i got better shots out in the parking lot than inside on the grass. mostly because i got the early morning light here versus later, harsher light. pfft. it happens. i say i got lucky; better half says the more i shoot, the luckier i get.

i've shot this car elsewhere, but i do kinda like this one now. and if i shoot it again in the future, i'll probably like that one better too.

limping my way through two more weeks until vacation. though the time off i have scheduled this month for vacation and business trips will make me miss a few of my favorite annual car shows. that part sucks, that and traveling without my better half; hoping to spend some time with my brothers, so i guess that will make up for things somewhat.

early and late

had a choice of two shows i wanted to go to today. just needed to pick which to do first. pretty much knew which would have more cars, so decided to start with the other one, just to be ornery.

past years' at this show in south gate had been quite busy, with an abundance of cars waiting to get in before the sun was up. so based on that thought, i was there by five-thirty.

aside from the people working the show, there was exactly one impala, which turned out to belong to one of the workers. so i sat in my car and waited. i watched the lone guy waiting to check in cars that were late registers, observed the trash collectors.

it was almost an hour before the next show car drove in, then another fifteen minutes before the first club showed up. by then the sun was up enough, the "golden hour" was about done.

got out and started shooting anyway. more arrived, so that was good, though still not the consistent numbers as before.

when they opened the gates of the golf course, i headed over and took some video of cars driving past. i suppose i'll post some clips when i have more time.

once there was a lull in the drive-ins, i tried to talk my way in, expecting to pay and get in as usual. but noooo, the lady at the gate said i had to buy a ticket at the ticket entrance. problem with that plan was that the entrance didn't open until ten and it was only about eight.

i should have taken that as a point to head over to lincoln park there and then. but i was tired, and hopeful that one of the other workers would take pity on me and help me out. a couple said to talk to jackie. i was about to head over to watch the girls' softball game for a while when one of the groundskeepers offered to chat with the lady at the gate. by the time i figured out who jackie was, i was being helped out at nine-thirty by that guy, who got me in the ticket gate only a little early. good enough.

just a photographer, feeding her habit, i mean hobby, doesn't always work at the gate. if i'd said i was with a magazine, i wouldn't have been on the list, so why bother fibbing?

so, with the light changing already, i got to work. there wasn't much really, that i hadn't already shot in the parking lot. there was plenty of room, as they hadn't even filled half the field, but the weather was perfect, with lots of shade, so i made the best of the situation.

couldn't decide which picture to post, so closed my eyes, and picked this one. it's a buick, but i can't quite figure which year from the fifties it is specifically.

only stayed inside until a little past noon. decided to skip the other show, as i needed lunch and kinda felt icky. my guts hurt. i suppose i should see a doctor about that.

thinking

thinking of which show to go to tomorrow.

...probably both.

thinking of what to do for vacation.

...home, north, south, east?

thinking of how to get through the next two weeks until vacation.

...no fuckin' idea. just will.

just finished sorting and stacking pics i shot on friday evening at a couple of shows i haven't been to in a long time. had my cameras with me, so i stopped on the way home. now it's late, and i should get to bed if i'm actually going to get up and go to a show in the morning. and it's so tempting to just keep the blinds closed and hide from the world for one more day.

guess i should have gone to manny loco's today...i've seen some excellent pictures on insta, but i didn't so i won't dwell on it.

i suppose i'm just burned out from work, and need to recharge. just gotta make it two more weeks...

not sure if this is a mercury. can someone tell me? here i'll show you the sideview, with the suicide door. does it help?

splintered

anytime i haven't been out shooting regularly, it takes a few shots to get into the swing or rhythm of setting up, framing up and firing off shots. i don't expect the first few to be good.

this was the first car i shot the other day at workman high school' fundraiser. was already overheating.

it's a little distorted, but i like it anyway. it pops a little. and i love the hood ornaments on these cars. wishing the little palm tree head wasn't behind the yellow reflector thing on the hood, but oh well.

reaching for a cooking pan in the lower cupboard, trying to not force my better half to move away from the sink, i tried to reach through a slightly open cabinet door. it's an older house. the cabinets have layers of paint and wobbly pull handles. and rough edges on the bottoms of shelves.

so yup, my knuckles slide up along the bottom of the upper shelf and i got the pan and several long splinters in my finger. one i pulled out with my fingernails, just because it was sticking out of the skin. the longer one seems to be just under the skin, with either a smaller third beyond that, or just a cut.

i don't like digging for splinters. probably had one as a kid that my mom went after rather unpleasantly. so i'll just put a band-aid on it and let it work itself out.

didn't hurt at first, but within about five minutes, it started hurting like a mofo. oh well. hope it isn't lead paint.

meet the palms

honestly, this was an accident, but it does make me laugh. beautiful cadillac convertible, trying to find any angles to shoot cars and not have a basketball hoop or pop-up tent in it.

to do so, many times, i have to get the tripod down lower. the first twenty minutes i was there, i could not loosen the screw on the center post, couldn't get a good grip on the twister. almost felt like when my better half tightens up all the bolts on the thing, and i can hardly move the legs. he is the brute squad, and doesn't know his own strength sometimes.

at some point, i finally was able to loosen the damn thing and to get it down fairly low, but not as much as i would like. palm trees and cars were preferable to the hoops.

did not purposely, nor did i realize i'd lined this one up so mr and mrs palm are in the front seat, and the twins are in the back (or is it triplets?). lol.

having a hell of a time deciding what to do on my vacation week. everywhere i'm thinking would be interesting is about to be snowed in, or it's raining. was considering a road trip back east, but i don't want to drive in that by myself.

i will either end up in san diego, san fran, monterrey, or just sitting at home. anywhere is fine, as long as it's away from work. need to clear my head.

nice to see you again

so, in spite of not feeling too great (again), i went out for a short while, to the fundraiser at workman high school.

for fuck's sakes, man, it's winter. why the hell is it in the eighties in march? and the cars are on blacktop. it was in the forties and raining a week or so ago. i really hate california sometimes.

photo courtesy of jim diaz—thanks jimbo!

glad i brought my hat. sometimes i worry it may be too offensive with it's pinstriped message on the brim, but then i hear the lyrics of the music being played, and it seems rather tame in comparison.

took a quick round of the show, then went back for a few more particular cars.

i think this was the second or third car i shot. the owner is actually just peeking into view behind it. he came over and re-introduced himself, saying we'd met at a previous show. guessing that would be one in covina, back around halloween.

told him i'd post his car; i try to keep my promises, if i can keep my memories straight. so hope he likes it.

my head got swimmy soon enough, so i packed it up and left to find lunch. pretty sure i'll faint at a show one of these hot days. i do hope someone friendly will watch over me and my gear until i wake up.

hangry

still sifting through old pics. recently got the call for entries for the fair, and can't decide what to enter.

this one's nice, it seems to pop enough, but i don't know that it's in my top ten. that's the other thing--if i enter as many as i usually do, i end up with several being selected for showing. then after, if they don't sell, i'm stuck with them.

this is fine, as i really like what i shoot, and enter; the problem lies in the lack of enough wall space to display them all. and also the money spent framing that could have been used elsewhere.

maybe i should post them for sale. i'll think about it. they're just taking up space in storage otherwise.

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i've had such a rough week at work. the pace has been brutal, and in spite of more outside help coming, we're being warned that the workload probably won't let up anytime soon.

on the up side, it sounds like i may be adding company portrait photographer to my resume, with them reviewing my wishlist of camera gear, to see what kind of budget they really want to throw at the project. as long as i just pretend the ceo is an old chevy, i should be ok.

i also received a bonus, so to celebrate that this week is almost over, i'm sitting in a restaurant, treating myself to a nice piece of steak, a rare treat. too bad i'm by myself, except for the happy hour patrons, who aren't far enough into their cups to be loud and rude yet.

emerald city

one from about this time last year--at dino's bomb squad's blessing of the bombs. haven't seen a flyer for this year, or i'd add it to my calendar.

they said it usually gets packed, but not last year, not while i was there. not when the priest went around flinging holy water around. beaded right up on those shiny polished cars.

i'm sure there was something else going on, so a lot of cars were siphoned off there.

still, nuff pretty cars showed up. reviewing old files, and saw that i hadn't posted this one. i like the color, but it does take some getting used to on this model, being so different from the typical/traditional black.

so close...

dear gary,

i haven't seen you since last year. i was out in chino this morning, in what turned out to be a wasted trip. i thought of you for some reason.

different cities, different car shows, different people get associated.

though i only know you by acquaintance, and you always saying hello, at least to me, (not so much to my better half whom you had never met, but gave a huge stink eye to last year), and dropping a joke once in a while, you are the one that comes to mind when i pass through riverside or chino.

i haven't been out toward your part of town much this past year. i haven't been out much at all. life gets in the way, and all else falls to the wayside.

i was not far from the main drag where the corn feed run will be soon enough. wondering if you are well, and if you will bring the ford or the chevy out this year. the last couple of times it has been the ford, which is nice, but much too perfect and electric green.

hoping the chevy is up and running. maybe you finally sold it. i much prefer a chevy anytime. here's an impala, that was just down the street from your car. nice, no?

it was threatening to rain that day, same as today—maybe it is always cloudy in chino? and probably reminded me of last year's show.

i briefly thought of taking the fifteen minute drive out to belatedly shoot some pictures at the pomona swapmeet. had my bag and tripod with me, in case there was time after my appointment. when that went south, i looked toward the sky and seeing the airplanes, heading toward lax, flying so low they might as well have landed on the freeway, i took that as a sign of impending rain, and headed home.

only rained for about an hour here in whittier, so i don't know how it went out there, but of course, i now regret not going. well, maybe next month—oh wait, shit—i'll be on an airplane then. fine. june fourth.

looking at my calendar, i see i still have time off from work scheduled, ending the first week of april. so if i travel anywhere, i'd be coming home the day of the corn feed run. what to do, what to do. already going to miss the chicano park show because of another trip.

well, things are spinning every which way around me at work and at home, so until we meet again, take care old man.

kathy