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death becomes her

i find myself spending at least one day each weekend in san diego lately. so, a quick revisit to last year’s chicano park show is in order.

get there early. less people. sunrise shots. no interruptions.

viejitos always seem to park at this end of the street, near the basketball court. no doubt i’ve taken pics of these cars in previous years. just liking the sunrays behind the hood ornament on this lovely packard.

drove my mother, sister, and older brother down very early this morning to visit my younger brother in the hospital. was a beautiful sunrise over the waterways down towards del mar. the bluish cloud layer in the sky gave way to a bright orange sun and some unusual orange rays…not the typical god rays…but somehow nicer.

found out the other day, that they will be sending him to hospice in the next couple of days.

i had visited last week, in the afternoon, and he was already sedated, so i mostly did what older sisters do to little brothers—poked him, flicked his leg, called his name, trying to get some flicker of recognition from him. he half opened an eye, but that was about it. left after a couple of quiet hours.

we went first thing this morning, hoping to catch him awake and/or before they knocked him out. success. had an lovely, and emotional visit for a couple of hours. he was unable to do much, but we did get him talking a bit, cracked some jokes, got him to smile a little. dredged up old memories from childhood and his days in the navy. got some sips of juice into him. he started drifting off to sleep, so we said our goodbyes, promising to be back.

at the same time we were entertaining my brother, my better half was up in northern california, with his sister, in a hospital.

unfortunately, she passed away, soon after he arrived to her room this morning, almost as if she had waited for him. she was surrounded by family, and went peacefully.

perhaps he will write about it on his own blog. perhaps he’ll ask me to edit my post.

she was well-loved, and will be missed by many.

addlepated

early morning in barrio logan / chicano park. all the cars polished to a mirror finish, as shown on this bel air. always a good show, and hoping to go again this year.

missing some car shows. the concussion has been making me dizzy and tired, and i think i’ve got a damaged nerve in my arm, making it difficult to carry my camera and tripod very far.

my brother was in town earlier in the month, so better half wanted to take him to some nearby airplane museums in chino. i went along, knowing it would not be a long day because of my brother’s health issues.

i prefer the planes of fame over yanks air museum, but better half started with yanks. i brought my gear, but left it in the car at this museum. i used my phone for the few shots i did take.

my brother was out of steam by the time we got to the other, though the MiGs did perk him up for a sec. i brought my camera and tripod in with me, intending to take some pictures that i mostly would not care about – i take them, then generally do not post most of these things.

i moved slowly, wore a dorky hat to protect the scar on my head from the sun, and took some pics. i did feel an ache in my arm, that one of the doctors believes to be a damaged nerve from the fall and landing partially on my hand, breaking the fall not at all.

so, i’m basically grounded as far as going to car shows for some period of time.

i guess it’s a good thing i have more than fifteen years’ worth of old pics to sift through for a while.

hot in the city

here’s a more recent car, from chicano park day. i know of a similar one, but it is a convertible, (not quite twins, basil. twins). this one is very clean. almost like it just rolled off the lot.

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today has been a repeat of the last few days: up early, hoof it a mile to the meeting rooms, same bfast everyday (scrambled eggs, some variation of potato cubes, and some fruit). again passed on the unappetizing vat of oatmeal, sausages or pale patties of mystery meat, and the starbucks coffee.

to a change it up, i took the plate of food and a drink over to the main meeting room to sit in on an early presentation. i’d managed to walk a city block with my hands full without spilling a drop, only to splash the juice all over the tablecloth when i sat down and bumped the table leg. tried to blot it a little with my cloth napkin, but now i just had two wet cloths in front of me. ate my food and left the room. i assume the staff changed out the cover during the extended break, when they split the space up with divider walls.

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i feel like i’m getting strung out on the constant availability of sugary snacks and sodas that are always just outside the door. pretty sure that i haven’t lost any weight in spite of the mileage of walking around this place.

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got out of the last morning class a bit before the surge to the free lunch. yesterday included mac n cheese and a drumstick, and today was rice and vomit. i mean it was chef prepared vomit on a lovely serving tray. the little sign said it was chicken and broccoli, but i swear i saw the same come out of my old dog when i was a kid.

i ate the artisan dinner roll. my lunch took about five minutes. managed to leave the room, just as the hoarde was lining up at the buffet tables. i was not in the mood to network. i dashed out a side door, into the hot sun.

i’m really not sure who thought it was a good idea to put astroturf in this particular area, in a desert—it smells vaguely of melting plastic in the heat, while being gently sernaded by a recorded loop of wavery indian reed flute music.

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my dinner adventure started with a quail family that ran that across the road in front of my car. i’m really hoping the tiny baby ran fast enough—they are colored similar to the pavement, and i couldn’t see it in my rearview mirror. i did see the bigger parents running back, with the black head feathers bobbing. they run really fast on those little stick legs.

i decided to get mexican food. looked around on google maps, and selected a random place, that was easy to get to, three miles away. was more of a fast food place, though a huge step up from taco bell. i wanted carne asada, but apparently my mouth said carnitas, since that’s what i got. super shredded up, with a bit too much onions and tomatoes atop the pile. i’m not sure if it was too salty or just too spicy. they had a line out the door by the time i left, so it’s very popular at a minimum.

i also didn’t notice there was a small step down into the inside table/dining area, and almost twisted my ankle, or at least almost fell on my ass, but i recovered it nicely, and pulled off a smooth i meant to do that face, i don’t think anyone noticed, or even cared. lol.

by the time i got back to the hotel, it had gotten to a more reasonable upper eighties degrees, so i decided to take a long walk back to my room, around the outer perimeter of the building. it has two long wings, that follow along a river. there is an interesting variety of birds, lizards, tiny prairie dogs, and cacti.

between the wings, they have three swimming pools. if you’ve ever watched bride and prejudice, you’d giggle a bit at the thought. also a couple of small, kiddie pools, i assume. i doubt they have heated jacuzzis.

hardly anyone in the pools. must be casino time.

i noticed some brave souls out there earlier in the day (from the air-conditioned comfort of the lobby window), i can imagine the sunburn. and heatstroke.

kids don’t care. they’ll jump in ice water if you say they can go swimming.

at night, the pools are lit up, turquoise jewels in a sea of darkness. and all of the rooms and lobby-side restaurant can watch you perform your underwater ballet, like you’re in a flick with esther williams.

i’d really like to go swimming, but feel too much like a potato in a swimsuit to go. i bet if my better half were here, he’d ask the front desk if the pool was heated.

one more day. one day more…

red

ya, ya. i had this picture ready a week ago. i got busy, places to go, people to see. forgot.

just getting back to sifting though pics, before i have to run off to my mom’s house. going south again to have mothers’ day dinner with my bro and his wife and friends. really not looking forward to sitting in traffic.

nice car. red. does this look red to you? bane of my existence. red cars are a hassle for my camera. does this look a tad orange to you? my eyes are getting old and tired.

giving you the bird

been a busy few weeks/weekends.

to san diego three times: to take my brother home from a visit with mom; then the following weekend just because; then the next week, for chicano park, followed by a week vacation and visiting with my brother and bringing him back home with us. probably enough of sd for a while.
spent this past friday and yesterday in riverside, at the show and go.
thought about heading to lincoln park on the way home today, but i think i sprained my knee a little yesterday, so unfortunately had to skip it. perfect weather for los angeles. really wished we could have gone. :(

regardless, i have a zillion pictures from the two shows my better half and i did get to, so if i told you i’d post your car, be patient. really busy at work on weekdays, so it may take some time, but it will get up here eventually.

here’s a t-bird from the grassy knoll at chicano park. dappled shadows on a rough paint job—it’s seen better days, with that post-sunburn peeled look, sort of like my face—but the car itself is otherwise in pretty good condition.

next post is almost ready, of that red pontiac next to it. both of the lady owners asked to see the pictures. i’ll get that ready while i import my riverside photos this afternoon.

into the frying pan

better half and i spent last week in san diego.

busted our asses at work, for the weeks leading up to time off, lots of overtime and stress. it’s almost like we shouldn’t bother taking any time off, as we’ve already made up the week and then some by the time we go. same when we come back. we’re both getting burned out, and were so ready for time away.

should change our titles to design jugglers.

anyway, our mini vacation really started about six in the morning on a saturday, with chicano park day. first in-person show in a couple of years. heard they might limit the number of cars to something ridiculous like one-hundred and fifty. by the time we left around eleven, there was at least twice that, a hot sun, and thousands of people.

didn’t even get to shoot the cars up by the majestics’ house…just too many people. walking in front of the camera, almost knocking over our tripods, bumping into the lens…and it got so hot out. day before, and the days after…all ten degrees cooler. figures.

the illegales car club includes the car above. i’ve been acquanted with the owner for several years now, and i found him later in the day, over in the grass field surrounded by cars, and chatting with some people, as usual. i butted in to say hello.

known as el abuelo, he had two of his cars there that morning. i think he said he arrived at four a.m., and always seems to get spots by the freeway on-ramp.

here’s another shot of it from a different angle. the sun was coming up, and there is some lens flare, that sort of bugs me here.

feeling generous, so here are some other random pictures i shot until i find some time to work up some other cars to share, starting with the few people that did chat with me, or my better half.

the street was full, the lawn around the playground was full; the grass near the basketball courts, had very few cars, which was odd. i know there were plenty of cars driving round trying to get in, but either didn’t have registration or just showed up too late. just weird. all the space available is usually just crammed with cars and bikes.

also, for chuckleberries, i found us in the crowd of the headline pic in this article, better half talking with someone about his lens collection, in front of the chevy truck, in the sea of people.

all the time

really nothing of interest to share here. still kickin’. still so very extraordinarily busy at work. sort of hating it right now.

landlords slightly freaking out as they have been told that we will probably be moving within a year. then there was a rented trailer outside the house. saw the landlord drive by a few times, but we’re not leaving yet; just relatives taking away some furniture and such.

from the street, the place seems pretty empty tho. lol. we just haven’t caught them on the porch, peeking in the window. yet.

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here’s a shot from last year’s chicano park day. cute lil special deluxe just down the street from the blue majestics’ house, waiting in line to get in. there are several colorful murals down that way, and this one just looks out over the cars and the park.

i don’t recall things being as hectic as usual. maybe it was better organized than previous years?

historical reference

going to shoot cars tomorrow. which show, i’m not sure. i’ll probably just flip a coin.

really tired. i’ll catch up on sleep some other day. got things to do, places to go, and it’s going to be a hot weekend. i miss winter.

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liked this chevy parked up next to one of the many murals at chicano park. this mural is along the street, and is quite frequently seen in pictures on the internet. a plethora of mexican historical figures. a plethora.

bigger isn't always necessarily better

my better half bought himself a couple of new gigantor computer screens. Actually just some tv screens, that with a little hacking are now working as computer screens.

yesterday, he decided that i needed bigger screens to work on. nothing wrong with my current screens. threw in a better graphics card he had sitting around as well.

he was being nice. cleaned off the desk i work on, polished the wood desktop, dusted off all the fans and guts of my computer, and spent several hours figuring out why the new screens weren’t working properly with my computer. updated the drivers, wiggled wires, did some research online. needless to say, i was unable to use my computer yesterday evening.

this morning he told me that he had figured it out. he had two screens for me. one is ok, one is better. the better one is incompatible with my graphics card he installed. now he is online looking for a better card for his computer, and then i would get that hand-me down that he knows worked with these monitors.

so currently, i am working with the one big screen that does work, but not at it’s optimal resolution, but at least it isn’t flickering. i’m not as tall as my better half either, so this is probably the maximum size screen i’d use here, as i can’t adjust my chair any higher to find that sweet spot on the screen and not be straining my neck to view it.

the vibrancy and color are more muted on this screen versus my old one as well, so i have to calibrate my eyes for editing on this monitor.

this olds from chicano park is the first one i’ve fiddled with on this screen. what do you think? too dark, too light? sort of think too much shadow on the wheel and on the door. i’d rework it, but i’d rather start another car.

quiet

currently sitting on my bed at my mom’s house. same bed i used to sleep in at my grandmother’s when i was ever so small. seemed much bigger then.

worked a little bit late today. grabbed some dinner and took it back to my condo, where i ate in silence, amongst my kid’s piles of junk. i’ve given her a deadline to move it out. she hasn’t said much to me since then.

thought about going for a walk, but i’m so very tired. so back here at mom’s, and she is off at church. sings in the choir. gives her something to do.

but the house is so quiet without my dad shuffling around, though i hear every creak. said hello to his box of ashes, which isn’t the same. one of these days i’ll have a good cry, but the slow tears work just as good.

today was back to gloomy, sprinkly weather. i like that just fine.

have to take some pictures tomorrow for work. i don’t have time for it, but will do it anyway. it’s payday, so i won’t stress about it too much.

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thought this plymouth turned out ok. should have rubbed out those bullet hole stickers…they are so stupid…but i sort of didn’t care to take the minute to do that. this club has cars painted with the brightest colors of the rainbow; maybe it’s a requirement to join?