what's up?

touchy feely

so i went to the uptown car show yesterday. didn’t get down the street until fife-thirty, and the sun was already coming up. oh well. better half walked me down to where the first bunch of cars were parked, to make sure i’d be safe. when he saw tudy, there, he knew i would be ok. familiar faces make him feel better about leaving me alone so early at a show.

intended to head out to the other end of the street, by the hotel, in the staging area, but the sun was already up, and those typical sun behind the car shots i get there, were not really going to happen. different day of the month, different month than they have done in the past.

besides, i got distracted by the big, shiny things parked along the way. volunteers get first dibs on parking early, and there were a couple of clubs that i saw—originals and socal tribe. so i shot some of their cars first. tried to take advantage of where the sun shown down between buildings and hit the cars. a few of those were busily being polished before they headed off to direct traffic, or whatever they were told to do. others, the guys were in the way, and it’s not my place to tell them to move...it’s their show, they’re doing a job, i’m just a fly on the wall, so to speak. i just come back for the shot later.

finally got to the staging area, shot the few cars i liked there—usually they are packed in and overflowing to side streets by that time, but this year they’d moved drive-in to eight in the morning. that’s ok, whittier shows always seem to be let in late...usually by the fire marshall’s hold up.

anyway, retraced my path back up the street, shot cars i’d passed up, and decided to head home for a break. it was already getting warm, and i was thirsty. convenience of having that option is nice.

noticed the groupe car club cars had filled in one of the last side streets i had to pass on the way, and decided to get some of them too. there were a lot of them—i think i heard someone say they had at least thirty or forty members there, and it looked like most of them where on that block.

unfortunately, it was after eight by then, and they were beginning to let them in to the main drag. i hurried up, but once they get going, they move too quick for me.

i spied this impala a block down. just by itself, the owner and another dude standing by, a street closed sign just beyond. i took a short break in the shade of an overhang, expecting them to get in the car, and head up to the line of incoming cars. i really didn’t want to head down the slight hill for nothing, only to walk back up the incline.

after a few minutes, him not moving, but rather talking on the phone, i headed over.

the other guy came over and watched me set up. he hovered around, out of the direct shot, but his shadow kept moving across the car. finally started talking to him, hoping he would move to a different position, but no. i think i’ve talked to him before...can’t quite remember which show, or maybe it was at pomona, but i did remember the accent. from the follow up email he sent me, and his email address, it must be french.

anyway, i moved to the other side of the car, thinking at least i’d get him out of the path of the light, and that did work, but he continued hanging around next to me. finally asked if he wanted to be in the picture, which really was what he wanted all along.

so this is how he wanted to pose for the picture. does the owner know him? i wouldn’t touch someone’s car without permission. at least it was just the tip of his gloves. not sure if they were for weight lifting or bike riding, but when i reached over to shake his hand, he stopped to remove the glove first.

i left to walk up the hill, and he went back to the car and the owner. he had told me that the battery had died, and the guy had been calling for a tow truck, which arrived by the time i’d reached the next corner. hadley tow must love these shows, as there are always cars that overheat or otherwise not start.

ruined

here’s an old impala, with the morning sun hitting it just so. there was a line up of an impala club, just under ther coronado overpass, waiting for their turn to get into the show at chicano park. i think this car was near the end of the line, so his back end was hanging out in the sun—-lucky for me, i saw it.

———

today is my son’s birthday. i’m sitting down in san clemente, outside some random restaurant his wife selected, waiting for them to show up. got here early to avoid the worst of friday southbound traffic.

almost tempted to keep on going to san diego, but the uptown show is tomorrow, and my better half would miss me, so i’ll head home tonight.

for my kid, i have a small gift, as well as some cash—what the kids always ask for—not enough to help them move out of my condo, but enough to go to get him into disneyland for one day...so not really that much.

i’d stayed up late last night, making him some pan de elate, a sweet bread thing, his tia used to make him when he was a kid. it’s sort of like a yellow cake, cut into squares,and drowned/soaked in sweetened condensed milk and brandy. i used to make it for him often, but now he tries to keep in shape and so hasn’t had it for a few years.

i was at my parents’ house. my daughter is currently living there with her dog, waiting for her brother to move out of my place. sort of musical chairs, where i probably will never live in my own place again.

like i said, i was up late baking. left the pan of bread on the counter to cool. my mom said she’d cover it before she went up to bed, so up i went to sleep.

this morning, i go to the kitchen for a bowl of cereal before work, and the pan has been covered with foil. atop that is a post-it note warning that is not to be eaten, it’s for my kid—this pointedly directed at my dad, who will help himself to anything in the kitchen.

knowing my boy will not want to eat the whole thing, and likely to take it to work or relatives to share, i added to the note, that it was ok to have some pieces. i left it there and headed to work. figured i’d pick it up on the way to dinner, placing some chunks into a gift box of some sort, that i’d buy at lunch.

got a call today frm my daughter around eight a.m. she seemed distraught, as she said something terrible had happened.

being that both of my parents have fallen recently, and have health issues, i began to worry instantly. you know, the adrenaline build up kind?

she began to tell me how she had awakened and realized she needed to go buy some dog food or something for the beast’s hungry belly. she assumed my mom and dad were still sound asleep.

she locked the dog in her room and left for the store. she got back about a half hour later, and the dog was waiting inside, by the front door. my mom was not home, so she figured she had gone to run errands.

in the kitchen, she put the food in the dog’s bowl, on the floor.

he’s usually like a vacuum, always famished, and inhales food in minutes. this time, however, he seemed uninterested. weird.

then, she noticed that the foil was slightly warped up at the corner on the bread dish. she hadn’t thought much of it before, as foil is bendy and the bread was still covered.

as she pulled the aluminum back, she realized why the beast wasn’t hungry. the mofo had helped himself to the bread!

i’ve mentioned before this dobie is tall enough he can just rest his chin on the counters, but he’s never done anything to stuff on the counters before.

and it turns out my mom had been out all morning, so the little bastard had also figured out a way to open the bedroom door. is he some sort of velociraptor from jurassic park? did he learn?

we are guessing he just stood on his back legs and helped himself to breakfast. no paw prints or things knocked on the floor. and he hadn’t knocked the glass pyrex bread dish on the floor, so there’s that.

he conveniently had only eaten most of the soft center of the bread, leaving the crusty edge pieces behind. no one is going to eat that—he probably still licked it.

anyway, my daughter was distressed and had cried before calling me, knowing that i’d stayed up making it for her brother’s birthday.

i just kept laughing, picturing that dog doing his thing. she kept saying sorry, and not understanding why i wad laughing. what was i supposed to do? i couldn’t fix it, couldn’t go home and make more at the moment. it is/was going to make a good story tonight at the dinner table.

captivated

another picture promised to post from last week. pretty sure it was white, but the overcast turned it as gray as the clouds above.

————

stuck here at my kid’s home with his dog, waiting for them to come home from solvang. i’d have left by now, but then he asked if i wanted any danish for my mother-in-law...so, like i said, waiting.

dog woke me up before six. i guess he either had to pee, or thought i was rather late for work. i turned over and tried to ignore him, but i could feel his beady eyes staring at me in the dark. oh well, at least everyone else is asleep, so i could take him to the park, the school, anywhere, and no one will care if i let him run around off leash. pesky rules, pesky people.

took him to the park, walked over to the junior high school, so he could sniff out lacrosse balls in the bushes. walked around the track. everything dewy and wet from the overcast. he tried to catch a canadian goose randomly dipping for bugs on the centerfield of the track. not fast enough, and the goose honked away overhead.

back home for breakfast. then what. figured i could kill a coule of hours by taking him to my parents’ house.

didn’t realize my other kid was back from her trip, and was just heading off to work. so, from the front, upper window, her own dog howled and barked hearing us outside. idiot, shut up before you wake the neighborhood. spastic, tall, gangly horse of a two-year old dobie ball of energy. had to run upstairs and let him out of the room. hot in there, for the snakes, who just stare at you with dead eyes. creepy fuckers.

anyway, these two dogs don’t really get on well. the older one tolerates the dobie, but their personalities are opposite. the older, shy and only like certain dogs, and the dobie, who is gregarious, and would play with any dog, as long as they want to play chase.

took a while to calm dobie down to a tolerable level, the other mostly trying to stay away, and/or hide under my legs. my parents didn’t hear a thing, and continued sleeping, in spite of me yelling, “asshole” around the house, trying to get the beast to stay out of things. food works. pretty sure he got fed, but i gave him more.

i’d take them both to the big dog park, but i would not be able to wrangle both, the older not really wanting to play with other dogs, only dutifully walk the perimeter and take a requisite dump, then head back to the car. he’s only really happy at home.

the other beast loves it there, and will run until he’s tired or overheated, whichever comes first, and never wants to leave. he does not come when you call, and mostly either have to pull him off some other dog, or wait him out. pretty sure one of these days i will break a finger twisting in his collar. little bastard.

these are both of my furry grandkids, all i have for now.

anyway, parents finally came downstairs, mom cooked bacon and eggs, and defended that from the tall beast, who can reach right across the counters, if you’re not paying attention.

hung up the flag outside, for memorial day. mom was afraid she’d fall off the step stool. i was almost too short to do it in spite of the step.

finally, judged the older one had enough of the younger dog, and headed back to the house.

now watching game of thrones episodes, made chocolate chip cookies, and ordered dominos pizza, the whole time being stared at by this dog. no, wait, he’s taking a nap finally.

kid still an hour and a half away, but traffic still seems to be moving. let’s see how it is when i finally head back to whittier.

not there

memorial day weekend. i should be at a car show somewhere, but i just don’t feel like it. my head hasn’t been in the game lately. other things occupying my thoughts, so cars and pictures have been pushed to the wayside.

was approved to go to a conference the end of this week, but after still not booking the trip or registering, finally told my boss i just couldn’t go...both parents had fallen recently, and i just couldn’t be two-thousand miles away just now.

on top of that, doctor prescribed some med that makes me sensitive to sunlight, so thanks for that dude. morning and evening shows for a while i guess. he said i’d be ok if i just cover up, long sleeves, hat, sunscreen—i guess he wants me to have a heatstroke too. maybe it’s the meds making me not care about anything too.

have spent yesterday and this morning sifting through pictures to enter in the oc fair...deadline coming up. hard to decide, since i haven’t done anything that spectacularly stands out in my mind, or again, maybe it’s just my attitude. better half helped narrow down my picks. just went with most of his favs for a change. got those uploaded this morning.

at least i’ll be in town for the uptown show next weekend. hard to not go to that, when i just have to walk down the street. and i can leave if/when the sun comes out...hoping the overcast of the last couple of weeks continues...

my kid took off for solvang today. invited me to go, but i don’t enjoy sitting in traffic on holiday weekends. first he said he was taking his dog with, then last night let me know that he was leaving him at home. his dad would stop by and feed and walk him, but otherwise he’d be alone. not fair to the dog, and i almost wish he’d not tell me when he decides to do that kind of crap. probably knows i’m not going to leave the dog alone all night. pretty sure his dad won’t just take him to his own house.

guess i’ll start packing for one night. better half will be ok for one night.

——-

still need to post a few cars from last week’s show at whittier high school. love fleetlines, so this will do.

next best thing

there were so many good shows to choose from this weekend. but i really couldn’t get out for long, so i went to the closest one—so close, i could walk there. and knowing that the majority of cars and people would be elsewhere.

this one was a fundraiser for the whittier football team. don’t worry if you missed it; they will have another in july. small show, home team, someone should document it.

i got there later than the ass crack of dawn, knowing the overcast was going to be around all day. the last couple of weekends have been so wonderfully cool and overcast, and i have been unable to partake much in car shows, so kinda bummed about that.

reflections were the host club, better half had mentioned he’d seen a couple of their guys hanging up a sign very early, on his way back from the market.

during the time i was there, maybe about thirty cars had shown up. a few had driven by and kept going. there seemed to be one or two from other clubs, there to show support: viejitos, old memories, kustom, dukes, groupe, and several others i can’t recall without being at my computer.

this one was one of the first i shot. had his blue lights on, which glowed a bit in the gloom. owner asked if i had an instagram, so i suppose he already saw this shot there. told him and his friend i’d post pics of their cars. still need to get around to the other car.

tyson

shiny back ends from pomona a couple of months ago. pretty sure my better half was with me that morning, so this must be from march, actually. before his sister took off, and didn't come back to help with their mom. seems to be how we tell time around here...days blur together anymore.

queue the long, poorly told tale of yesterday evening—in case you want to opt out, and continue to some other post. i'm pretty tired.

took me an hour and a half, at least, to get home yesterday. i left work at three on a friday. just my daily hell.

ordered some dinner from one of the uptown restaurants. fuck cooking. didn't even want to walk over to pick it up...drove over to get it, and the order was just being brought out when i walked in the door, five minutes before it was expected to be ready. sometimes things just work out as they should.

then my daughter sends me a picture of my mom.

she had just gotten home from work. she walked into the kitchen, where my mom was apparently behind the doors of the pantry, trying to figure out dinner herself.

kid calls out to her, and my mom peeks out from around the door. she has a black eye.

daughter is like, "wtf." my mom said she'd gone for a nap around four, just fine. apparently, she woke up like that. slept on that side.

i previously mentioned that my mom had fallen backwards on the driveway. so that can't be a good sign, right?

thinking something bad was going to happen, kid sent me the picture. she tried talking her into going to the hospital to get checked out, since she'd refused the day she fell.

she wasn't having any of it, very, "it's nothing." really didn't want to go to the hospital.

i, of course sent the pics off to my brother and sister. other bro is off on vacay somewhere or other.

sister got on the phone to her before i could. brother responds with a comment about maori warriors. i say mike tyson.

i call my kid, who says gramma is on the phone with aunty. i can hear in the background, that my sister is having no luck convincing her into going. my dad, is meanwhile, upstairs sleeping and unaware.

finally, she's off the phone, so bye kid, calling gramma now. my turn goes better. point out that she may be bleeding into her head, and the pressure is building, she may have a concussion, she could lose her eye, she could have a stroke, and any other outcome i have seen on all the medical shows i've ever watched.

she was still saying no, that it will be too busy on a friday night, but i just said that i was coming down there, so she might as well get ready, make a list of her meds. i was going to be there to check her myself. she relented for whatever reason, and agreed to go then.

notified bro and sister that i'd gotten her to agree to go to the emergency room. back on the road south within about five minutes. sister calls about twenty minutes later saying she was going to meet up at the house and go with us.

blah blah blah. cutting to the chase, because i assume everyone knows the drill at a hospital. she'd fallen, so that called for x-rays, blood work, ct scan.

while she's off doing her thing, kid sends another picture. dad this time. he's got his own issues. he'd also fallen down earlier in the week, but hadn't told anyone until the day before. without going into specifics on him, he's got some bleeding going on somewhere, and it looks worse then ever. so we're off showing the pictures to nurses, asking their opinion on if we should make him come in. nurses do not want to give legal advice or opinions, but would say that is not normal.

we're on the phone with him, saying we'll come pick him up and bring him in, there isn't much waiting, and we could have both parents in the hospital together. we know how to rock a friday night. he refuses, saying he has doctor appointments lined up already for the week, and it can wait. he says no, it's a no. men. pfft.

meanwhile, mom is returned to us in the waiting room.

she'd landed on her ass, so that's bruised and sore. she walks slowly, and refuses to really be pushed around in a wheel chair. she'd also bumped her head on the cement. under her queen of england helmet hairstyle, she's got quite a pointy bump growing as well. i think she's going to be a unicorn if she doesn't get some ice on that.

only really waited about an hour to get an exam room. doctor comes in, with his dictation lackey behind him, typing up everything being said.

tests are not showing anything that would cause the bleeding. he keeps saying it looks like old blood, and that it will probably look worse before it looks better. says had i brought her in the first day, he'd have kept her overnight for observation because of the meds she takes, but now that it was several days later, he could see what's going on easier.

all in all, unless she feels worse, starts throwing up, feeling dizzy, vision problems, she should be ok. rest, and ice packs advised, and we're sent home within two and a half hours.

it's after midnight. kid has been up, keeping an eye on grampa, waiting for us to come home. he's had a late, late dinner, and is going to bed, not the hospital.

that late, i'm staying there, knowing my plans to go to one of six or seven car shows is blown. funny how easily it is to know what and where is more important to be, and how often lately i have had to skip anticipated car shows. next year, they will always come around again. parents, are on a limited clock now, so priorities.

this morning, i was awakened around eight by my kid's dog, who is barking out the window of the next room. kid has left for work already.

figured he needed to go outside, and/or eat his food. i slipped on the top stair, but luckily had my hands on the rails for a change. i totally would have fallen on my ass, and broke something otherwise. must be a ghost tripping people in the house, right?

i intended to wait until my dad got up, see how he was doing before making a decision on heading home. better half needed/wanted to get out of the house and to the market.

dad came down the stairs on his little mobile stairs chair thing around noon. made him a deal: mom would call his doctor's office, tell them what's going on, and if they said he needed to go to the emergency room, he would go. he agreed, just said he wasn't going to make the call.

his doc is out of town for the weekend, so she talked to the other guy. had to tell the whole story all over again. both times i hear her just throw in at the end of the story that he'd fallen, might that have anything to do with this bleeding?

they end up agreeing to see the doctor on monday, since he is otherwise not having any other symptoms or pain. like moving a mountain. at least he'd agreed to go if they'd said to.

i was free to go. day half over. stop for lunch. freeway traffic sucks. made it home at almost four o'clock.

better half is out driving around somewhere. i'd suggested he hit up the santa fe springs swap meet, see if anyone is playing a concert. he seemed more inclined into going to fry's or guitar center. will probably end up at in-n-out, since it's open late. or, for all i know, he's just in the back of his car sleeping.

i don't know how tomorrow will go. it's already almost eleven pm. i want to go to a car show in the morning. there are several. i'm tired. pretty sure i will just go to the closest—up the street at the high school fundraiser.

better half needs to do some overtime for work, so i will also probably have to get to the supermarkets. hate shopping. oh well. priorities.

different

i’m in a mood today. so many things going on at work and home, and can only be in one place, dealing with one thing at a time. and there’s not enough time.

several deadlines today, yet i’m sitting here, waiting at the doctor’s office. for me.

my mom fell yesterday; probably should have made her go to get an xray on her butt, arm and noggin—everything she landed on, hitting the driveway. she seemed ok and of course said she was fine.

——-

don’t usually shoot or show these types of cars, but like i said, i’m in a mood. maybe something different can correct my attitude.

interesting paint job, no?

bbq

better half went to the market yesterday evening, while i stayed home with his mom.

got a call from him about an hour later—his van wouldn’t start, called aaa, but had frozen food, etc., melting in the back. so i had to make sure his mom was ok to leave alone for about ten minutes, with her pain pills, a phone, and wheelchair nearby the bed.

start to worry that i’m going to get in an accident, then he couldn’t get home, and she’d be stuck in bed for days...cuz his sister still isn’t back...and probably will never be...

i got there and we threw all the groceries in my trunk and back seat. just finished when the aaa guy showed up to check the battery. i took off, and was back at the house within about ten minutes, unloaded the car and got the cold stuff where it needed to be within another ten minutes.

better half calls and says battery is fine, driver thinks its a fly wheel or some other original part that has worn down. repair shop closed for the day, and they’re getting a tow truck to haul it home.

they show up and he wants it put in the street, in case i need to go anywhere, as parking is hard to come by. neighbor shows up, and wants the same spot, and the tow truck is blocking the driveway. she takes off pissed. roommate does the same minutes later. whatever.

so, didn’t make it out to a fundraiser in covina after all.

this morning, he had the van towed to the repair shop, only to be told there were no service people in on sundays anymore. so he left it there, and called me for a ride back. i guess he could have ubered, but it wasn’t that far. same deal—meds, phone, chair, and on my way. we’re back in twenty minutes. she didn’t miss us, just watched tv.

i decided to drive over to montebello park to see if anyone showed up to this first annual barbeque on an overcast mother’s day...because that’s just where mothers want to be on mother’s day, right? well, i do, and it’s my favorite weather for pictures, overcast and cool, but the parking lot was mostly empty, and the few cars that were there parked mostly around the edge of the park and across the street. oh well, at least there were some. shot the ones i liked, or were interesting, and had to head back.

as usual, as soon as i packed my bag, more cars started to show up. driving down whittier boulevard, saw several very nice cars going the other way. damn, i wanted to go back, but had other things and people to worry about. but it was nice to shoot for about an hour.

i’ve seen this rumberos car elsewhere. i kind of like this shot of the profile. looking at it again, i think i need to tone it down a little; too rough looking i think. maybe i’ll remember to fix it when i get back to my computer.

down at my mom’s for the night—my kids took me out for dinner—and now i’m done for the night.

avatar

got some new prescription contact lenses on my eyeballs today. haven’t worn contacts since the ninties. didn’t realize my better half had never known me without glasses...time flies.

got one eye tuned in for closeup stuff, the other for distance. guessing this must be equivalent to that corrective surgery they do for vision. my sight is pretty critical to my work, and my photography, so i’m a little paranoid to ever want to do that surgery. former sister-in-law went that route, and is basically blind today. others, still need to wear reading glasses, so what was the point?

my glasses have been bugging me lately, just a dead weight on my face, so i thought i’d try something different. probably should just pick different frames, but that doesn’t help when you want to wear sunglasses too. limited selection of styles with magnetic or attachable sunglasses. color changing lenses i think would affect how i see color on-screen at work too much, so no to those coatings.

anyway, my reason for mentioning this at all, is i‘m out, walking uptown today, and it’s really weird.

ever see those cartoons, where the characters are real small, in the driver’s seat of a robot’s head? shifting gears, pushing buttons, while looking at big screen tvs of the surroundings?

well, i’m sort of feeling like that. feel like i’m inside a ten-foot tall being, driving it down the sidewalk.

kind of like an avatar, only i’m not blue. maybe i am. really weird and disconnected from my self. the doctor said the different prescriptions in each eye would take my brain some getting used to, but damn.

thinking about going to a car show, but can’t today. apart from the dealings with elder care and exhausted spouse at home, i don’t see how i would be able to see in focus or tell if my picture was in focus with these eyes yet.

maybe tomorrow. weather is perfect mix of cold and overcast this weekend. my favorite. ya, maybe tomorrow. other than that, i have plenty of pictures waiting to see the light of day...

——-

here’s a pontiac from chicano park last month. love them and their hood ornaments. really didn’t care for the big, flaccid bow on the front of this one. wondered if it was left over from easter, but mostly wished it gone. unfortunately, i am not a magical being, and the owner wasn’t around to attempt some yoda-like mind suggestions on, so i left it be, and took it as i saw it.

losing it

saw this sweet fleetline cruising the park. in the sun, it's cherry red, like candy.

so i was sort of bummed when he happened to park right in front of me, but there in the shade. ah well, at least he parked in front of me. took a few shots, and got out of their way.

i've seen it around before, so i probably of a shot of it in the sun somewhere anyhow.

little bitty writing on the back side window says it's for sale. why would you do that? wish i had the cash...

so i seem a little dingy lately. forgetting stuff. left my purse behind a couple of times, once at my mom's, once at work. hard to buy dinner without the cash, but then, i still had my phone, so apple pay. drive the speed limit back each time to fetch the pesky thing.

today, i went to lunch, alarm went off to get back to work. paid the bill, and was halfway back to my car, when i realized i'd left my ipad behind. shit.

walked quickly back to the establishment. bartender happily pointed out that it was still sitting exactly as i'd left it...propped up, window opened to the last page i was looking at... no, i don’t drink; that’s just where they seat you when you’re a single diner.

errrrr. tired? stressed? dementia setting in early? i dunno. just not typical. what will i forget next?