what's up?

asshole

excuse the title, it’s not about this beautiful car, out at mooneyes open house in 2019. slammed to the ground. would win the dollar contest between the car and the ground. shiny as shit too. nice nice nice.

no, i’m still fuming about a neighbor who seems to think the open parking spots next to his condo are his personal spots. he came out to bully me after he saw my better half drive away. they’re first come, first serve. if unavailable, drive to the back of the complex, sir. a little walk might do him good.

said he was going to complain to the hoa. i told him i was going to complain about he and his wife always parking for hours in the fire lane next to the fire hydrant.

useless security company won’t come out except if they have a car in the area, and cops won’t come into the “private property, ” so what are we paying for exactly?

i’m sending a strongly worded email to the hoa contact. he won’t do anything, but at least i’ll have it documented in case the guy decides to do anything to our car. better half had been covering his, but thought someone might have pissed on it last night.

so mad. and now i have a headache. never had issues before, when i parked out on the street. newer cars now, one goes in the garage, one in the complex. space happens to be open, we’re going to park there, asshole.

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.

got it

knew it was going to be hot today. almost just stayed in bed and rolled over, but the quality of the light coming through the blinds refused to let me sleep. so i got up and dressed. figured i’d drive over to mooneyes open house, since it was close enough even though i’d gotten out later than i should.

really wasn’t a lot there initially, not like there used to be. i suppose i should have gone to one of the other shows to find the cars i really like, but i didn’t.

that’s fine. still enough cars to shoot, and more slowly turned up.

even that one a-hole who picked up his friend on the corner as i was about to cross the street, then turned the corner and did a few circles in the empty lanes and burnouts. probably the people waiting for the red light on the other side didn’t enjoy how close he came to hitting them. you’re aren’t that good buddy. he drove by again later, minus the friend and the spins. still revved his engine. compensating much?

went down one side of the street shooting, back up the other, then crossed the road and started again with anything i might have missed.

i’d seen this truck earlier, but the owner was pulling drinks or something out of the back and had skipped it. second time around, he came over to ask if i’d taken a picture of it. hadn’t, but i did right after that, now that no one was in the way. ;)

like, totally arrrr

i guess i need to think about finding a dress for a wedding. it's only next month. plenty of time. ugh. girl clothes. i hate shopping. been so long since i've had to wear a dress and heels. no idea what to do with this stupid hair. and makeup. i fail at being a girl.

at least i'm not high maintenance. lucky for my better half.

anyway, he's going with me. says he's bringing his camera. he actually likes watching me play dress up, but that's another story for another day.

i've seen this car around a few times now. shot it a couple of times, and now i'm bored with it.

i think i like these pictures from the first time i saw it at mooneyes open house, when i was still all, like, totally, wow, dude. still had some enthusiasm for it.

the details are really fun. a pirate theme going on. nuke the pontiac hood ornament, and put in this skull. should probably paint the screw in his nose black, so it doesn't show so much. maybe people with macro lenses shouldn't shoot up the nose shots?

i liked the pinstriping of pirate wenches, and the stick shifter inside. lots of details. nice paint job. and low, so low on the ground.

upside down

saw this cadillac out at the moon eyes open house. seems to be a work in progress, and i'm not quite sure where its going. bits and pieces sliced and spliced, and chopped.

someone said that back bumper is just a cadillac bumper flipped upside down and stuck on there. it is quite different, but can only hope they have some good air bags to keep them from dragging the ground going up a driveway.

the watchers on the wall

winter is coming...just not for another few months, here in cali. it's been humid the last couple of days, with short, funky rainstorms during the day, and crazy winds at night. puts a crimp in the car shows, but the diehards still go.

i didn't go out this weekend. things to do, and then sunday was my dad's 82nd bday...yay dad! growing old is no fun, and watching every one around you grow old, is almost worse. watching your parents...you're looking at your own future. he's finally accepted that he needs to use a cane, possibly a walker. yee ha.

ordered more business cards, with new pics on the back. well, not business cards, since i'm not running a business, really. should i just call them info cards? handouts? they just give people my website, so they can possibly go see a picture of their car. i like the feel of the paper. i get to see how pictures print, in case i want to get bigger prints.

still just sharing pics as a hobby, or until i get tired of paying to keep this site going. there are about nine hundred and seventy posts since i started, no ad space to annoy you. when should i stop blathering on—one thousand, fifteen hundred, two-thou?

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typical scene at a busy car show. wait for a pause in the crowd, so they don't get in the way of the car. then, notice the group of people, usually against the wall, or sitting behind the car, under a pop-up.

i like these guys hanging by the building. dudes. i see this a lot. they watch, they whisper. sometimes, they send out a representative, to talk to me. i wonder do they pick straws, flip a coin, rock-paper-scissors...how do they pick? maybe one is just brave enough. inevitably, that's the guy whose car i'll post.

no, none of these guys left the safety of the wall. i like walls too. i'm a quintissential wallflower; at least, when i'm not hiding behind a camera and a tripod.

mooneyes

busy weekend. mooneyes saturday; imperials show sunday. all i can say is, wow. more than enough cars to get my yayas out. i'm sooo tired...too much sun, i guess. after a week of cooler temps, the weekend had to heat up, which seems to be the one thing that forces me to leave early--from the house, and later from the show. sucks.

people have told me i need to go to mooneyes. i think they mean the xmas show, but open house gave a good idea of what shows up at xmas. might have to make the trip this year, wherever it might end up...didn't they close irwindale speedway?

anyway, made my way down one side of the street, through several small parking lots of cars and people, crossed the street and back up toward mooneyes, itself. always a challenge shooting in crowds, and next to a busy street, with traffic in the background. depends on my attitude that day whether i give a shit if there are people milling around a car, or a blur of traffic in the background--either can be fine, especially if no fucks are given about what's going on...focus on the car. ahem, i ramble...

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i am a fan of pinstripes. sometimes shoot a car just for the pinstriping, even when the hood is up ;) saw this car near the street, but more away from the main crowd. not so many people in the way. interesting colors and liked the flames. owner came over and introduced himself. i think he said he was a student at cerritos college, and that he'd done the paint and pinstriping himself. nice job!