fundraiser for big manny

has it already been three weeks? time is flying.

better half had an itch to go play with his new lenses he bought used online. needed to find out if they worked or send’em back. only thing i could think of was a fundraiser that i’d seen a flyer for on instagram.

garden grove isn’t crazy far for us to get to, even though we didn’t leave the house until almost noon. the typical fundraiser has a lot of the memorialized person’s friends and family showing up in their rides, meeting up for food and memories of the dearly beloved.

this particular meet up was at a small neighborhood bar, in a little industrial hood. though i used to have relatives in santa ana/garden grove, i can’t say that i’d ever been in this area. it wasn’t bad, as compared to some neighborhoods i’ve accidently turned into.

the parking lot was small, and there was a post office we parked in, just across the street.

as we drove up, we only saw a few cars. good enough. i always feel a tad odd showing up for some of these fundraisers. i didn’t know the person much, if at all, but i am fairly sure that i’d seen them, their car or club in the past. better half made a donation toward the collection for the funeral expenses, and gave our regards.

i haven’t seen my better half’s shots, and it’s been a while since he had a chance to turn on his computer, and not be working on work work versus fun work. he still has the lenses, so i’m guessing they performed as expected.

instead of just posting one car, i’ll post a few of the handful that were there, and maybe add more if i get a chance. people seemed to have just shown up, which is of course, more important to the family than whether they came to a fundraiser in their classic cars.

change of plan

1954 chevy

saw this chevy at the latin gents toy drive the other day. I think it belongs to the vintage ladies car club, if i remember correctly. the lady’s husband caught me on the way back to my car, to ask if i’d shot it, so yes, i guess i did.

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better half has been doing so many extra hours lately. he’d expected to work all weekend, and had gone out and done his shopping super early in the morning on saturday. found himself five cans of lysol or some type of cleaning thing, which somehow makes him feel like the king of the world. he got his car washed. he called about cars without permits on our block and watched the tickets get put on the windshields.

when he logged on to start work and checked his mail about six a.m., he saw that the sob had been cancelled; stop all work. almost immediately, his body was telling him to sleep. he called me first, at my mother’s, where i’d spent the night.

he was telling me the thing had been cancelled, he was getting paid for half a day anyway, his weekend was free, he planned to relax. i half jokingly asked where should we go? then he was all about it. he started looking for hotel deals while i wrapped up whatever it was i was doing at my mom’s.

he calls back and says there are great deals in san diego, but covid is rampant there. same goes for san fran, and really he only has one night to get out of town. we finally settled on solvang, since i’d gone there the weekend his mother passed, looking for a getaway that wouldn’t be crowded with people like a big city. he hadn’t been there in years.

our favorite hotel was sold out. other hotels were too run down or had bad ratings. he finally found one that was recently renovated.

i got home an hour later, threw a change of clothes in a bag, and we were on our way. for the two and a half hour drive from whittier, we never turned the radio on. we talked the whole way there. anything and everything. we haven’t had a lot of time just us, no work, no distractions. it was nice.

solvang was busier than i’d expected, but you can still avoid the people if you want to. after checking into our hotel, the sun starting to go down, we headed over to tower pizza. we hadn’t had it since the last time we’d been there together, as it was already closed when i passed through town months ago.

we took it back to the room, as we didn’t want to sit outside. i was wearing a long sleeve jacket, but also the shorts i’d been wearing that morning, and the temp was dropping quickly down to the lower forties pretty quickly. the pizza was so good. better than i remembered it.

we thought about going out for a walk around town, but decided it would be too cold.

he fell asleep, i sat in the big bath tub of hot water for an hour and watched tv until i got tired.

in the morning, we took that walk around the town. he wanted to shop for xmas gifts for the little kids in our life. my sister wanted some handmade chocolate stuff, and after waiting for the store to open, to be told it was already sold out, was kind of a bummer. guess i need to go back. that and he has a cuckoo clock that needs repairing from the store where he bought it. if you have to, you have to… ; )

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we stopped at in-n-out on whittier boulevard before we got home. spied a group of classic cars at a rite aid parking lot. better half wanted to turn around. no cameras, what’s the point. looked like a meeting anyway.

sitting in my car in the ino parking lot twenty minutes later, enjoying our food and watching the traffic on the boulevard, we see lots of classic cars driving by. those same group of cars too. at least one was from the bomb club. i guess that there is something going on at montebello park, which is not far away. better half says we might as well go look, but i say no, i don’t have my cameras.

i joked about going back after we got home, but as it was almost four in the afternoon, and i was tired from driving, i didn’t. but i saw you guys, so i was happy.

toy test

so i bought a couple of external hard drives the other day. better half said they were on sale at the lowest price he’d seen in a while. perhaps he was hinting that i should buy my own, instead of taking his.

i haven’t shot much in the last eight months or so, and had recently spent a lot on our trip across the country, and then getting an oil leak fixed on my car, so wasn’t too interested in spending more. but i did finally, which shocked my better half immensely.

as usual for cracking open a new drive, he said i should test them, meaning copying files on and off them, shutting them down and starting them up. i didn’t want yet another copy of files i already had, so finally got my butt up out of the lazy boy chair, and out to a car show.

i’d seen flyers online lately, but finally decided to go see what would turn up at the gents’ show. didn’t know if it would just be a drive thru thing, and therefore, nothing for me to shoot, or as the flyer noted, cars were welcome to stay and hang out.

i needed to get lunch and put gas in my car anyway, so figured i’d drive over and see what was up.

a lot of cars was what i found. hadn’t seen their show this busy for over a year, so was pleasantly surprised.

promised my better half i’d keep the mask on, but wow, it was difficult. the past week had been so cold, then today, in the eighties. so, i had to move quickly, because i can’t take the heat much, and i was wearing jeans.

was greeted warmly by a member of the latin gents. saw several guys i hadn’t seen in a while. everyone was in a good mood.

did i mention i’d chopped off my hair again? was half-way down my back, and just getting thrashed by seat belts, and hair-ties, so i had it cut to just below my shoulders. went back to red too. i started to imagine that i was sweating so much that the red was dripping down my face. it wasn’t, but it should have. haven’t decided if i should go shorter, but didn’t want to look too much like a karen, so i’ll just leave it for a while.

saw this green truck in the corner. i don’t remember if i’d shot it before, so waited for some guys to move out of the way so i could take some pics. it belonged to one of the guys, and he hurried to move a towel and some junk to the back of the truck, out of my shot. thank you. nice truck, nice guys.

after that, i really started to skip cars i would have otherwise have shot. hadn’t had lunch yet, and the heat was making my head swimmy. and the damn mask didn’t help.

woulda shoulda stayed longer, but headed out instead. blasting the air conditioner, and hoping tomorrow will be cold again.

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hard drives are working so far…

53 truck

1953 chevy truck

waiting at the dmv to get the new fangled driver license. got a timer running to see how long it takes with an appointment. fun times. the bingo number keeps just being a digit or two off from mine. why can’t it go in a logical order?

like the waiting room in beetlejuice. just need the guy with the shrunken head. this music sucks.

coming direct from a fire drill at work. they emptied the building and kept everyone outside for half an hour. glad i took my keys with me so i could just take off instead of waiting forever for the elevator or climbing the stairs.

lunch after this hell. then i guess back to work.

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haven’t been to a latin gents show since summer. sometimes they’re packed, sometimes, not so much to choose from. but the club members do have cars, and i think this is one of them. light was hitting it right and made the color pop.

mine eyes have seen the glory

1948 chevy fleetline

felt bad, but went out to the latin gents’ monthly car show last night. whatever aches and pains i did have managed to disappear almost the whole time i was taking pictures. don’t worry, if i shook your hand, it’s not a cold.

was a pretty sparse turnout, but the heat dissipated, and a cool breeze came up. my hair, in spite of a headband, insisted on blowing in my face as i tried to focus, but i stood far enough back, so as to not have it in my shots. not ready to chop it off yet, but sometimes, i’m close to calling it for this reason.

anyway, mostly enough space and freedom to take as many shots of each car that i wanted. i was waiting for the sun to head down, and had already been around once, before just standing and watching what the light was doing to the cars. didn’t see anything really spectacular, but there were a few i liked well enough.

here is the back end of mr blvd’s fleetline. better half thought this was a better shot than the one from the front. i think this is the second time i’ve posted this point of view of this car. it just has a nice ass, i guess.

i should have stayed until the sun actually hit the ground, but my insides started to hurt, so i packed it in. had fun anyway. thanks everyone!

post thanksgiving

1962 chevy impala

here’s a majestics’ car from this past summer. a latin gents show out in cypress. don’t see too many yellow impalas. maybe i just don’t notice them.

thinking about this latin gents show, makes me wonder how ernie is doing…he had some news that day. been too busy to get out to any of their shows since then, so haven’t heard from him since.

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i did not go into a turkey coma yesterday. my sister bought a full dinner from gelson’s or some such whoop-di-doo market. mom has had enough to deal with lately, so giving her a break from cooking the traditional dinner. pretty sure her time for cooking the big family meal is done, and future holidays will either be bought or i will have to volunteer to do it.

i sort of half assed said i’d do it, but was happy my sister just picked one up.

i’ve cooked a turkey before, but i’m not all about the bird, so i guess it turned out ok. i want to say that was decades ago, for my ex and his parents. gosh, my daughter was probably only a year old…time flies. i get no joy from cooking, and avoid it when i can. anyway, they always dumped hot sauce on anything i cooked, so, i just didn’t bother the next holiday. they are happier with tamales anyway.

this year, as usual, better half stayed home with his mom; he sent me to my parents house…”never know how many more holidays you’ll have with them.” my bro showed up; wife and daughter stayed up in los angeles with their friends. dad initially wasn’t feeling well and wasn’t going to join us, but he did come down the stairs just as we were sitting down to eat.

the company was good, but the food was unremarkable. only a few bites of turkey, and the pathetic mashed potatoes. i’d brought a cherry pie, but it sort of tasted like they’d given me a sugar free version, so disappointed.

bro is in town without a return ticket home. they’re looking for a house, and he is spending time with mom and dad. wife and kid going home sunday. they wanted to go to disneyland today, but pretty sure they bailed on that black friday hell.

i drove home this morning, expecting to see store parking lots full, but noticed them to be only part full. did people go shopping at midnight? was happy to find no one at in-n-out, and no one in the drive thru, so went there and grabbed some burgers for my better half and myself.

have otherwise, not done anything or left the house today. hoping to sift through the nine-thousand plus photos from my trip this weekend.

i’m blathering, so i’ll just stop.

off to a start...

harley davidson heritage softail

new year. new day.

started well so far. for some bizarre reason, i thought i had january second off, same as we had the day after xmas off the week before. and i was enjoying it; slept in until nine, had breakfast, watched some inane youtube videos, and was about to start working on some pictures.

then i went back to the bedroom to get my ipad and phone. picking up the phone, noticed i'd missed an hour old text message from one of my coworkers asking if i was ok. wtf?

texted her back asking what/why? ten minutes later she responded asking if i was coming in or taking the day off. i'd missed a telecon, and no one had heard from me. 

so after pleading idiocy, told her i'd be there by noon. first time i'd ever ever screwed up like that in all the years i've been working.

then i get to the office, and by one o'clock, i'm being asked/told i need to do a photo-shoot of someone for a press release—and they'll be there at two.

i haven't touched a camera in three months. hadn't set up the lighting equipment in three months or more. my brain is not thinking clearly. i looked at some old notes, then texted my better half for what camera settings i should use because he is a tech and camera geek, and dragged the equipment out of the closet.

asked if the other designer could come help me set up. he usually does the videos, and had used everything recently. he was out to lunch, but would be there soon.

so i set stuff up from memory, and it was mostly fine. only the camera was set up for video, and i had to surf through the menus, to make sure everything was good for a portrait. but it was still set for video, blinking standby.

the other guy shows up, i explain it isn't doing what i want, and that i haven't touched a camera for a while, and i'm sort of already having a weird day. he walks over and turns the dial on the camera from movie to manual. omg. duh, so basic.

manual setting wasn't working for me, lights weren't bright enough, didn't want to crank up the iso and add noise. flipped to aperture, like i'm used to shooting cars.

by then, i realize i've left my ipad in my car, because my day is already screwed up, and i have ten minutes before the person is supposed to be there. got there and back with a few minutes to spare. and i have to pee. no time, don't think about it.

then, i hadn't had lunch, so i start feeling dizzy. i think now, it was mostly nerves. suck it up, it will be over soon.

next, i hear the guy will be half an hour late. whew. more time to worry, but at least i can go take a leak.

when they finally do show up, it takes all of five minutes, got the shot, and they were gone. all that for a quick shot. and it turned out all right. i even managed to seem cheerful, to undercut how uncomfortable i was with humor. told them about my day so far, and got a smile from them, so it worked. i'm an idiot, nice to meet you.

so i guess, when i do go out to a car show again, i will be ok. muscle memory will kick in, not to worry. just got to get my eyes refocused, and get my head back in the game.

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shot this bike in late november, at the latin gents/dukes toy drive. i think it might be with the majestics club, or maybe it was just parked near their pop-up. mostly, i think i liked the paint job, as it was otherwise, just a harley.

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.

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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

1961 chevy impala

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.