what's up?

one of these days

one of these days, i'll get to the weekly cruise out at the in-n-out in covina. i did make it out to this show that happened on a weekend back in march. good weather, lovely sky, beautiful cars. in some ways, way better than summer and it's heat.

veteranos are good guys. as long as they were parked altogether here, and not too many people walking through the shot, did a quick pano of the group.

i have such a headache today, and i'm tired. shocker, huh? better half still waiting for a call to head in to the office for a photo shoot. might not happen if it gets too late.

wore a dress and heels to work yesterday. just bought the outfit the night before. two gift cards burning a hole in my purse for a year, plus me trying to avoid hanging out with a doberman all evening, so i ended up doing my least favorite thing...shopping.

best part, was that since i hardly ever wear more than jeans and a casual shirt to work, the reactions are priceless. especially, since they've said we can all wear shorts on fridays for summer, and here i am dressed up.

i believe that one of my coworkers drew the short straw, and when i walked back to my desk, asked why the dress? all i could say was that i felt like dressing like a girl for a change. that was really too obvious an answer, but i was not on my toes to come back with a more interesting response. at least i still didn't bother with makeup.

hardly ever wear heels, so i tottered around stomping like a horse. maybe it was just because they were new. more likely, i am just out of practice, and walking like a kid in mom's shoes.

someone said there were bagels on the next floor down, so a group of us took the stairs. glad i didn't fall on my ass or twist an ankle.

melting

nice to look at pictures from the winter months, and think how cold it was, or the rain and the clouds, on a sweltering day like today.

really hate summer. in whittier. no air conditioning in this house. fuck.

i like how this picture turned out. i want those clouds in the sky. not just for the added drama, but simply because california blue skies are boring.

was sitting in traffic on the way home today, listening to the news on the radio about how the latest way state government is trying to twist the truth and bend taxpayers over a barrel—squeal like a pig, boy. wheeeeeeee! started thinking where else would i move, if i ever decided to leave this place. not really sure.

figured i'd have to schedule some reconnaissance vacation time in various cities, at different times of year. don't want to end up in florida like my brothers, and then act all surprised by the weather and hurricanes and bugs and gators.

i'm thinking someplace cold. just walk out into the snow and disappear. maybe not into a little cabin, typing out my silly manifestos here. i ain't that crazy.

rain is nice too. barefoot in the mud.

maybe i just have a travel bug without the funds or the better half to cure it.

happy dance

got up early and drove to riverside today. as usual, not early enough.

did not know the bo huff show was going to have as many cars as there were. we left after noon, got something to eat down the street, and still saw old cars heading for the show. so i'm busy sorting them and trying to figure out which are my favs. no one really talked to me, so there aren't any i promised to do for a change.

so for now, posting this one from st hilary's in september. early, empty parking lot. overcast skies and wonky trees. and a fleetline. happy dance.

betty boop

hard to pass this plymouth by, it being so red and all. i stopped. i saw. i took a picture. well, actually a few.

i liked this one best. shows the sky, the car, the bridge, the mural...what the show is all about...and the location. or maybe just because it makes me laugh because the guy in the painting looks like he's about to write all over the car. furiously.

show me the way

i've been incredibly busy this week at work. so much so, when i get home, i just have no energy to think much about playing with my pictures.

in fact, a couple of days, i drove home, booted up the computer, and continued to do work remotely. even spent last saturday doing work work instead of fun work, just to try and get somewhat ahead of the backlog at the office.

did no good, as i had to reswizzle what i did to work in some edits the following monday. oh well. such is the life of a graphic designer, right?

i had tweaked this picture over a couple of days, while waiting for the work i was doing to process. had it finished last night, but was too tired to post. back at an xmas show in santa ana. was threatening to rain, and the clouds overhead were just reflecting the heck out of some of the paint jobs.

i like this picture of a car show. the packed in cars waiting to be admired. the cars i passed by because the hoods were open, still caught because of the angle. they must have been doing the raffle, since there are so few people milling around in this shot.

anyway, got dead presidents day weekend to look forward to, with monday off. getting my taxes done too. i so hate making that annual trip to the preparer.

then, my son has decided to go ahead and set a date for his wedding. don't know why they can't wait until they've graduated from college and gotten some decent jobs. isn't that what all parents always ask? why can't they just stay small? why do they have to go and grow up?

he wants me to take engagement photos. told him i'll try now, then he still has time to get a professional to do them. i'm just more comfortable in front of a car then the happy couple.

home, sick

apparently the office cold has caught up with me. was able to work from home yesterday, and enjoy coughing up a lung without glares from coworkers. really not that bad, at least yet. i was going to go to several car shows this weekend, but i think if i made the move to head for the door, my better half would tackle me.

i think he's testing me now. he slathered me with vicks vaporub, and hoped i'd stay put while he took his mom to disneyland. i could just take a shower and go to one show, and be back before dinner. but really, i already have a few pictures i can play with, and i guess this is just one of those days i save them up for, right?

so i'll spare you my cooties, and stay put. i'll probably take a shower, and wash off this sticky stench of vicks. so gross. if they run too late, i will go uptown and find some dinner, but i will otherwise just stay here watching old reruns and looking through my files for some other cars to post.

saw this one last weekend at the classics/temptation show in santa ana. so glad the clouds started rolling back in half way through the time we were there. skies and the reflections on the spit shined cars are always so much better. and as always, the hood ornament.

quick stop

i've been working so many hours this past week, that i hadn't even been home until last night. stayed at my parent's house, which is closer to the office, but the mattresses there are so fred flintstone. and to top it off, i ran out of the spare clothes i keep in a closet, and almost had to wear my mom's clothes to work. not ready to give in to that yet, so ended up wearing pants i'd worn on tuesday and a clean shirt that happened to be there.

had to go in to the office today to meet some deadlines before i head to san fran for some business meetings later next week. i'd been told about this show off imperial and valley view, but it wasn't supposed to start until 10am. i headed out later to the office than i'd hoped, but earlier than start time for the show, hoping some cars would be there at least. mostly just stalling on going to work, i really didn't want to, but things have to get done. at least i didn't have to be there at any particular time.

there were a couple of clubs there, midnight oldies and the solitos. this one belongs to the solitos. you can see the guys' reflections on the side, as they had their tent right next to it. oh well.

but i had to shoot it from this angle...just look at the clouds. and hey, earlier equals no people walking into my shot. so yay.

hey to the guy who said he had gotten up before six in the morning to clean his car and put it back together. get some sleep.

so, i finished the things i needed to do at the office, and won't have to work tomorrow...any good shows going on ?

ford play

if only more of you would just ignore the clouds in the sky. it wasn't going to rain today. driving west on the 605, it got less cloudy, and more beams of sun peaked in and out through them. come on, the overcast sky makes for better pictures.

out at the fuddruckers in lakewood, i can never guess how many cars will show up. there were only about a dozen here for the show today. ran into angel, who said it was too cold. i think it was the clouds. he said there'd been way more cars just a couple weeks earlier.

i figured i'd shoot at least a few shots of the few cars that didn't have the hoods up and/or owners standing in front or in the shot. mostly trucks.

actually, i shot this one down low, not only to snag the clouds, but because there was three or four dudes on the other side of it talking dude talk. that's ok. i like this angle better anyway.

put my gear in the trunk, as another primer covered ghost pulled in and parked and dropped down. was tempted to get it all out again and shoot it. but no, i needed to eat a very late lunch. real bangin' headache today. mostly gone now.

thought about driving to another show in anaheim, but heading back east on the freeway, the clouds really were darker and more threatening to rain, so i just went home and did a few of the things i keep saying i gotta do. my better half said it was sprinkling over at the frys off the 60.

sunshine, on a cloudy day

been busy again at work. coworker on vacation, deadlines for tradeshows; i've done a bit of overtime. while i've been to a few shows the last couple of weeks, i've yet to really get a good look at them and decide which ones i want to work on. so, i've dug this one up from february, since i'd already started on it.

still without hot water, and also busy packing up my stuff into big plastic bins. who knew one could collect so much sentimental junk over so many years. trying to sift out the trash from the useless stuff, and still having a hard time throwing out perfectly good junk. there's a community garage sale coming up, but i hate doing those too. think i'll just put the good stuff out in the alley–there's lots of people that would love to have it, and they comb through the garbage several times a day. let them keep it or make it worth their while. i'm too tired to deal with it now.

rumble

the thing i really like about being at a car show—apart from the taking of the pictures—is not even having to look around to know when these beasts are rolling in.

i can be low to the ground, focusing the camera, blocking the shot, and i can hear the low rumbling, like those dinosaurs in jurassic park, of the old cars blocks away. i don't even have to turn around, to know by the rumble if my next picture is driving up.

there's a big difference in the deep, low growl of old chevys, from the high pitched whine of the rodents running in the engines of say, a civic, driving down the street—eeeeeeeeeee—you know what i mean.

those lovely clouds...oh these are the kind of days i wait for all year.