11,579

so much walking around here, i’ve done just under five miles, or 11,579 steps.

was just stepping into my meeting, when my phone rings. had to step out to take the call. it was the guy from the rental car agency asking a favor. he was wondering if i might go to the car and check to see if there happened to be a passport in the glovebox, left by the previous renter of the car. the renter was in tears, going crazy since he needed it for his travels. told him i’d look later. he asked how far away i was, in case i did find it, and coincidently, the weepy guy is also here in vegas, in case it was in the car.

so about halfway through my meeting, during a break, i had to go back to my room, get the keys from the safe, and hike out to the car. hot furnace blast of hot air heading outside to the parking garage. hundred and six this afternoon, so quite a shock, coming out of this air-conditioned haven. up the elevator, too early for parking sharks, past some dude sitting in his car smoking some devil’s weed.

i get the rental guy on the phone and check the glovebox, center console, under the seats, and in the trunk. no luck. feel sorry for the guy.

late, i rushed back to my meeting, now overheating, to find they have continued without me. no big, they didn’t notice.

anyway, back in my room, watching the weather channel, thinking about sleep.

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here’s a hot rod from mooneyes, for something different.

not all those who wander are lost

my alarm went off before four am today. had hoped to go to pomona, but my body disagreed with me, so i went back to bed.

when i woke up again, i decided to drive over to santa fe springs, to see what might be at the rotary club show. not too far away, and could turn around if i started feeling hinky. either way, was going to leave when it got too hot. my eyes seem to be sensitive to the bright light lately. i just hate to shoot with sunglasses on; makes it hard to focus, and i end up lifting them or looking over them anyway.

well, the rotary show was pretty small. not a very big parking lot. a mix of everything. lots of hoods up, so that made my stay a bit shorter than it would have been otherwise.

i saw this car last week, uptown at the dia de los muertos show, but it was tight between other cars. 

here, it was on the end of the row, a little more room to see it better. has some interesting little details, as well as some painted on messages. the title of this post was painted over the rear driver side wheel; "don't fuckin' die" was painted above the steering wheel.

hellbound

i must say, life keeps on keeping on. car shows come and gone, and i missed them, and it doesn't matter. got other things on my mind, and there's always another show, another year.

mother-in-law in, then out, then in the hospital again. supposed to get out later today. guess that's how it's gonna be for a while. that's what we all have to look forward to, if we're lucky enough to live that long. my dad is up to bat next, just needs to get that scheduled. 

myself, got stuck for lab tests today. annual physical coming up anyway, and to see if there's something i might be allergic to, though that has never been an issue, like, ever. [say it like a teenage girrrrl] 

anyway, things may be going to hell in a handbasket, but i got my hairs done red again. kept that appointment; if anything happens, it doesn't matter if i was there or not. 

so i'm gonna look good for about twenty-four hours, then i'll just go back to shabby old me, but with red hair. sometimes i wish i was good at girling...make-up and hair...but i just can't. i'll just keep looking like a pudgy long-haired version of my brother. 

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hoping to head back to whittier tonight, and post more pictures. that i can do.  

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here's a shot of something different from my usual. need to clear my head. fugly, but interesting at the same time, these beaters are distinctly unique [redundant?], and can be slightly challenging to frame up or find which point to focus interest on. 

uptown show

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1964 chevy nova

went out at five-thirty am today, up the street to the car show. better half walked me uptown, and pulled my camera bag around for a while. sun was already coming up.

noticed a bunch of classic cars in the rite-aid parking lot. went to shoot them, but they soon started to move over to the main street—they were there to volunteer to help set the show up and direct move-in, in exchange for prime parking.

strangely, as compared to prior years, they weren't starting move in until eight-thirty. we're used to a zillion cars lined up down the street waiting. nope, not much there.

spent time shooting the cars that were there. then noticed cars showing up further down, and went off to get those.

really love to shoot at this time of day, prior to move-in. fewer people, cool, overcast, everyone happy with anticipation. i really took the majority of my pictures waiting for eight-thirty.

then the time came, and it went very slowly. not sure what was going on, but it seemed to take forever to get cars moving. i took the opportunity to get some bfast.

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i'm starting off, not with my favorite, best pics, but with the cars of people who talked with me, or asked about what i'm doing with the pics, as usual.

this nova was owned by the first guy that really chatted us up, mainly my better half, of course.

he popped the hood to show us what was hiding there, in spite of me wearing my infamous hat. whatever. here's a shot of the engine. dare a cop to try to catch up with it.

exhausted

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rat rod

quick post; i've been up and running since four am. not unusual for me on a weekday, but weekends, i prefer to sleep in. and i've been so busy at work, doing extra hours to meet deadlines—i hate tradeshow season.

anyway, made it out to garden grove and the hillco annual super cruise before the big game. was somewhat disappointed this year in that the turn out at five thirty in the morning wasn't what it's been the last few years that we've gone. add that it was overcast and really a nothing sunrise, with a hint of drizzle, i suppose that could be the reason. loved the overcast though, the big softbox in the sky. kept it way cooler than the average year at this show.

i'll write more on my next post, on another day. supposed to rain the next couple of days, so i will probably stay down at my mom's, away from the computer.

owner of this rat was curious, but only barely. asked if he would be able to search for a picture of it on the net. he could, but that would take way more time than just looking me up. tossed one of my cards through the roof hole...lol.

this shot shows a more overall view of the thing, but i kinda like the profile picture, which maybe i'll put up another day.

off to bed now...

not normal

if anyone is not normal, that'd be me, but in this case, i'm referring to this truck. not one i'd normally bother with, but the owner seemed really hopeful that i'd take a shot of his baby.

only one i took. kind of wishing for a slightly different and higher angle to show more of that engine.

they all head south for the winter

so, i'll get back to riverside in a couple of days, but i wanted to put one of this beauty up before i forget. my better half talked the owner into closing it up later that afternoon.

i basically stare at cars with their hoods open if i really want to shoot it, and hope the owner notices and offers to close it. i've only asked owners to close it a couple of times because it was too good not to get it, and most typically will just walk past a few times and hope to see it again some day.

of course, i took advantage of the hood closed, and took several more shots. but i thought i'd share this one, just to show that i sometimes break my own rule. i think my better half mentioned that it's rare to see one in such immaculate condition, but if memory serves, d, there was about five of them in a row down at chicano park, each just as delicious as this one. but i did skip most of those, since they had one side up and one side down.

ok, this one had a nice engine, so i guess that was part of the reason i went ahead and took this shot. my better half liked this one better than the others i did, so maybe that's why i'll share it with you.

out of town tomorrow, so riversiders, hold your breath until wednesday. unless i go to big boy...

buy a print here

blazing saddles

so why not post more flamey cars? why the heck not? i have quite a few in my collection.

found this one out in riverside at a charity show. saw several cars that i've shot before, but there was an ok turnout considering other shows i've been to recently.

hey gary...i remembered you...just had to place the face with the car. and so sorry, your hood was open, so i didn't shoot it this time.

this one, well, it didn't have a hood, but it did have glittery flames, so why not? it's got a wall-e engine. that thing must block your view while driving.

fussy britches

t buckets are interesting beasts. they're old, but you'd never know it, they way they're polished up and perfect. all angles and chrome and wire rims. much too fastidious or should i say meticulous? not a bad thing, but i think you'd have to be a little ocd to keep this type of ride this clean and spotless. not for me, but thanks for letting me park my tripod in front of them.

what happens in vegas...

geez i'm tired. wanted to post something though. this good enough?

i was taking a picture of another car when i heard this one pull up behind me. easy enough to just do a 180 and i'm set to take another picture, thank you very much.