what's up?

baby, it's cold outside

twenty-sixth of may, cold, rainy, gray. i love it. memorial day weekend, and haven’t really ventured very far from the house, except for my search for avocados yesterday.

i don’t want to deal with holiday traffic, so typically don’t travel to anywhere. better half can’t hardly get out to the supermarket while tending to his mom, so i feel guilty when i just take off to do whatever.

my kid seems to hit up solvang for an overnight every memorial day. something about picnics at vineyards. not sure if he went this year or not, since it was supposed to rain. i only know that he didn’t ask me to watch his dog, and if they did go, it was going with them.

other kid supposed to hang out with my mom for a few hours, so i don’t feel under pressure to not leave her alone for all three days this weekend.

trying to talk her into going to vegas later this summer, but really she’d be on her own there for several hours a day, while i attend some classes.

i want to take a vacation, but don’t want to go alone. i mean it’s great to go off on your own, and sleep in or do whatever without taking into consideration of another person. but there’s that desire to share the experience with someone else, and pictures don’t do whatever justice when you get back.

i’m feeling the itch to go back to canada, climb the mountains, sit in the meadow and look down over one of the many turquoise blue lakes. wondering how many more trips i have in me.

corvette hood from last year’s old memories pancake breakfast in montebello. used to be one of my favorite kind of cars as a kid, nothing unique.

was an overcast day there as well, but the clouds had a little more definition than today.

pretty sure i was attracted by the reflection for this shot at the time.

family first

so many car shows yesterday, and i did not go to a one. sucks. as my better half says, "responsibility is a heavy responsibility." meaning, work and family before fun.

family is in town with a new baby - one that was kept secret from us until i noticed a facebook post on another family member's post. better half's mom just had her ninety-first birthday, so i guess the baby was somewhat of a surprise visit.

at least having other people in the house, allowed my better half and myself a chance to go out to dinner for the first time in months.

better half's mother still a priority. so i made another batch of enchiladas.

better half bought a new carpet cleaner. it really sucks. i mean it really cleans. literally did half of the carpets to see comparison of before and after and wow, even on this old crap carpet it's like night and day. wish the landlord would just tear it out and let the wood floors be.

meant to go to pomona this morning, but we were up so late last night, it didn't happen, and now it's already too hot for me. i am considering maybe a show in lakewood, where i know there is some shade, and better half can go shop at costco. i suppose next month the fair is in town, so no swap meet, right? maybe by the next one, it will be cooler? ha!

cool bike from the bomb club show. out in the parking lot, waiting for the go ahead to head to the infield. interesting airbrushing, and leather seat - is it ostrich? slap a few skulls on it and call it done.

deferred

i guess my impromptu roadtrip will be put off until the end of the month, or even to next month. looking forward to it even less them, as the weather will only get worse through oregon and washington. i wonder how much it is to just ship a car north. or my ex could just fly up and find something local, but he doesn't have time or trust the cars up there for some reason.

at least my boss is cool with whatever i need to do, whenever i need to do it. so many things intersecting, i don't know how i'll get through, except to just do it.

-------

pretty bel air out on the street at the old memories' pancake bfast a couple of months ago. almost kinda want one, just this color. but then i remember i'd rather have a fleetline.

got out

went out to the old memories show this morning. close enough, so that if i didn't feel good, i could get home quickly. on my own, i waited until the sun was already coming up, as it was overcast and there wasn't going to be any dramatic lighting happening.

this one was down the street on the corner, and i wasn't sure if it was going to be moved later, so i walked over and shot it first. love me a master deluxe. this one is a beauty.

i did manage to stay and shoot pictures for about three hours, with a break after a couple. the sun came out, and i started to overheat. sat in the auditorium to cool off. really wanted a water, but didn't want to buy a ticket, i assumed for the entire breakfast, which i didn't want.

the front lot got too packed, and so many people in the way, so i made my way to the back parking lot. veteranos parked back there, and no people in the way after they all went off to eat.

i was done after that, and packed it up and called it a day. went home and took a nap.

saw you

was out for lunch today, mostly for the air conditioning. went to chipotle, because i guess i'm looking to get food poisoning once in a while. should have gone to vallarta market and got my carnitas fix, but some other time.

anyway, had a book with me—i know, who reads books anymore, right? read a few chapters in the back corner, while enjoying said air conditioning and a coke. finally decide to leave. on my way through the parking lot, this here car drives by me.

i guess he turned the wrong way, because his friends in another old chevy were honking at him. ya, he did a u-turn, and headed back the way he had come. my hands were full, or i'd have snapped a pic with my phone.

saw them all parked out back of pollo loco, on my way out of the lot.

figured, since i'd just seen it last night at a nearby park, i'd just post that one. if i remember right, i think he showed up relatively later than the other cars, but i still got a few shots before my better half came back to pick me up. i wasn't sure about the parking sitch, so he offered to drop me off/pick me up. it all worked out, even if he did get himself lost or something, coming back for me. thanks d.

countdown to game of thrones...now if i can get my sister-in-law away from nascar on the big screen...

i gotta go

one of the many things i hate about this old place we live in, is that there is only one bathroom. my sister-in-law just got in for a shower. i just woke up. i gotta pee something fierce. lol. not thinking about it while i type here. the sound of that running water tho...

one of the many things i like about this old chevy is that tattered old window shade. this looks like they just pulled it out of some grandpa's garage after fifty years. i like that it has dents and crusty windows, aged with perfection.

i'd be worried about the suitcase flying off on the freeway, but i'm sure that bracket is holding firmly against that back skirt--it ain't going anywhere.

and neither am i. staying in whittier for fourth of july, though there is a perfectly good fireworks show fairly close to my place in the oc. better half is here, the only reason i am too.

...gotta go...the shower just stopped...

have a happy whatever

to each his own.

been too busy to think much about it. getting overworked and burning out.

had an opportunity to do a long weekend trip to san francisco, and unexpectedly, also yosemite, but backed out because i'd been sick, and just didn't feel i had enough energy to enjoy it. ended up dog sitting instead. yes, the beast thing. oh, and i'm stuck with feeding over a dozen tarantulas, two gecko things, a disgusting millipede, two cornsnakes, a beta fish, and some kind of carnivorous frog with teeth—my daughter's strange zoo, while she's traveling for the holidays. all creepy and mesmerizing at the same time. hoping she gets home sooner, rather than later.

got arm twisted into attending the annual holiday lunch and gift exchange at work. i've managed to miss the last few, as i go on auto-pilot and head to lunch...they schedule the thing to start while i'm out usually. not this year. secretary wrangled me earlier in the week, asking if i was going to be there.

so i brought a gift for the exchange. something with my sense of humor. consider it a gag gift. but something i would have bought for myself.

so we were treated to a fairly good meal, but the host was big into singing christmas carols. so they'd have everyone singing songs every once in a while. i just don't sing. at least in front of anyone. didn't in elementary school, ain't going to start now.

one coworker offered up cash to hear me sing. no thanks. i just can't do it. won't do it.

after a food and a nice speech, the gift game got underway.

among all the obvious bagged bottles of booze, the thing i brought was the first gift chosen by the first person up to bat. is it that she wanted something more festive? or did she really dislike it? i dunno. she just seemed so disappointed.

then another seven or eight people, being ever so polite, passed on stealing anything from anyone, and pick gifts from the pile.

so my turn comes, and i take back my gift, telling her to go find something she'll like better. and she did. then someone stole that gift from her and she had to go steal another from someone else.

got better from there on out, as everyone started stealing gifts from each other. no one was ever gonna take mine from me, and i was fine with that.

but you know what? after it was all done and back at our desks, most every single person stopped by my desk to see the thing. even had an offer to trade for it.

that's ok. i wanted it anyway.

---------

been sick with a cold, so i haven't really been out and about much. this impala was from the old memories toy drive over at bruce's. not overtly christmasy, but there's a big bow on the back, so that will do for me.

see you all around some time. looking forward to some good shows in the coming year.

sweet pickle

totally rained on the parade today. but they did it anyway. doesn't start as early as it did a few years ago, and it is also not as good. and the few cars that were in it, sucked. my better half says there are probably different people organizing it than there were a few years ago. same can be said for the uptown car show, but that's a different post.

anyway, i took some stupid pictures. the camera body is waterproof, but the lens isn't, so i couldn't get out and get shots i would have liked. then, duh, i went inside and grabbed a longer lens. but still, didn't get what i wanted. you can see some of them over at my flickr page.

and wouldn't you know it, the rain stopped after the parade. made my day. and then i didn't want to go out to the car shows. the house was too warm, and it was too cold outside. so i missed moon eyes again. and the latin gents show. and something over in lakewood. ya, i totally would have done them all not too long ago. i'm just out of it.

there are a couple of shows i'm thinking about tomorrow, but i don't know. toy drives bring out some great cars, but rain drives them away, so we'll see...we have to be somewhere in the evening. also hear there's the parts show out in pomona, but gonna miss that one too.

this is one of the old memories cars from last week. hard to believe it was pushing 80 last week, and this week, maybe 60. the lady selling the blankets would have sold so much more now.

hooters

pretty sure i've seen this one before. just been a year or two.

interesting car, kinda like a wanna be rolls royce shape. i could have posted the typical full car, but there was just something more special about the front grille and the lights.

it has eyes. couple more round shapes (two are the horns), i'd call it a spider.

and of course, i like the ornament.

wax on, wax off

got home in only an hour today. did everyone call in sick today? recovering from the drive home in holiday traffic? i don't know, but i can only hope it continues being a relatively shorter and easier commute in the afternoon. though there were still those a--holes that feel the need to weave through the lanes at the fastest speed possible. idiots. go pull your head out, you won't get where you're going any faster, unless you are looking for the pearly gates...or maybe the fiery stank below, which is where i like to mutter at you as you whizz by.

blah blah blah. weird day. and i'm tired anyway. so i'll keep it short.

i'm not sure of the year of this beauty, but that's no surprise. anyone care to help a lady out, and let me know, so i can make a note of it?

i like how the sun is glinting on the squiggles left by the buffer and of the last vestiges of wax on the hood. otherwise polished to perfection. liking the honey tones here. more frequently see these all in one color, so nice for a change.

i'm thinking the blanket vendor behind the car there didn't sell as much as she had hoped, being that it was so hot outside. no worries. cold weather is coming.