what's up?

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.

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.

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?

few hours at the park

better half got up around six. wanted to hit the market before his mom woke up again. i'd wanted to go to legg lake early, but that could wait...they'd be there all day. he wanted to get stuff done before it got too hot.

he got back around eight-thirty. he was going to go to costco, but they didn't open until ten. i mentioned a couple of car shows today. he told me to just go, he'd send me a list and i'd pick up whatever he needed.

chose to go to legg lake, as it was closer than the other show. expected the usual one or two lots of cars.

happily, i was wrong. there were so many cars showing up for the barbeque/picnic, they had them in the two park areas on the other side of the freeway from the usual spot. i had to drive almost the whole way around the park to just find a spot to park my stupid car.

the sun was already up, light i hate, but i went out and about anyway. exercise.

this is one of the cars that was parked near me. posting it, since they sent over a little girl to inquire if i had an instagram or whatever. she was polite, gave her a card, thanks for your interest.

i lasted about three hours in the heat. nice in the shade, glad there were lots of trees, but not every car was parked under them.

bought a t-shirt from some vendor up at the front, who, didn't have any water, but threw in a kool-aid, so that gave me enough energy to drag my stuff all the way back to my car on the other side of the park.

saw there were so many more cars in the park on the other side of the street, but i had places to go, and things to do, so, next time...

a weekend | part 5

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

i think i'll just wrap it up with this part. everyone is probably bored with the details.

you got it. sunday. i couldn't sleep late. i work early on weekdays, so i usually have a hard time sleeping later than eight. my eyes popped open about six-thirty. oh well. figured i'd go to the restaurant next door for breakfast, then go back and try to sleep some more.

no one on the street, except a few slow moving vagrants, and a couple of joggers. everyone still holed up, nursing hangovers, if they're even awake.

well, the restaurant was closed. was kind of resigned to walking a few blocks to find the ihop, or anything open. then i spied a twenty-four hour subway sandwich shop. only problem was the slow moving meth addict walking up and down the street, like a duck hunting game target.

waited until he moved to the far end of the block, and headed over. ordered a sandwich, a couple of cookies, and a coke. they had one of those small, multi-drink coke machines. hate those things...all drinks have a root beer aftertaste. well, for all of that, the coke was empty. and the worker bee didn't have the key to the machine. so, i took a bottle of coke instead.

sat in the corner, away from the window, ate my food, and watched the door. paranoid, right? well, it got busier, people heading to work, so back to the room i went.

i had the ticket for my return trip set for one in the afternoon. turned out, train service was down all weekend between san diego and irvine, due to construction or maintenance or whatever. so a bus ride was what i was waiting for. figured i'd enjoy the room until checkout.

couldn't sleep, so sat in the tub one more time, enjoyed the quiet.

heard from my daughter that my parents had gone to the emergency room late the day before, and my mom had come home around four in the morning, and straight to bed. my dad has been there several times in the last couple of months, so not that surprising.

same old thing, and it had gotten so late (early) they'd kept in as a patient again. i chatted with my daughter, got the details, and then let my brothers and sister know he was back in (again).

got to thinking that maybe i'd just go to the train depot and see if i could catch an earlier bus, since i had nothing better to do. checked out, caught the two red trains back to the station, and noticed there was a long line waiting for several buses already.

didn't think there was a chance in hell, but went to the ticket window anyway. splained that my dad was in the hospital, and the lady said no problem, prayers for him.

about that time, the announcement to board was broadcast. end of the line, but i still got on the third bus. sat in the back row, middle seat, lots of leg room. turns out they were only filling those buses half full, so plenty of room...i should have carried my bags in, instead of stashing it in the under the bus compartment.

i thought they were going to be stopping at every usual train stop, but no, was a direct drive to irvine. still took and hour and a half.

when i finally got to my car, it was after one. called the hospital to see if dad was still there. yes, he was, so headed directly down to the hospital. found his room, where they were busy doing stuff to him behind curtain number one.

my mom had returned by then, so we chatted while they finished up. i'd insert a few jokes here, but i'll keep the details on his treatment to myself for a change, humorous as i could go with it...so tempting.

anyway, stayed for about an hour, then had to head back to whittier, to relieve my better half from mom duty, so he could hit the markets and have a bit of free time out and about.

a weekend | pt 3

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

had the best intentions of being out in barrio logan before sunrise. set my alarm for four-thirty. snoozed it until five-thirty, dressed quickly, ate a bowl of cereal.

i started worrying about catching the red train out the barrio—not the actual ride out, but the standing in the dark waiting, plus switching trains and waiting some more. lots of homeless types zombie-ing around ya know.

i needn't have worrried at the first station—wasn't dark by six anyway, but there were at least five cops just standing around. same at the next station, plus plenty of people. but i totally would have been fine taking a swing at someone with the pointy end of my tripod, if there was any trouble.

so really the only thing about having to be off on my own, is worrying about my safety in the dark. that sucks. i miss my favorite light because of that. stupid.

i hadn't been to chicano park in a couple of years. i think last time it was or threatened to rain, so many cars just didn't bother to show up, and there was so much room on the grass, that vendors had set up out front, where cars usually get packed in.

this day, the weather was perfect. just a little chilly, but not enough to wear a coat. would have gotten too warm quickly, and my bag has no room for stuffing a jacket.

started over by the skateboard park, with a line-up of impalas—sixty-twos/sixty-threes/sixty-fours. then caught the end of the line of cars on dewey street, heading to the grassy knoll.

quickly headed through the park to start on the street side this time, assuming it would be much hotter later, and the pavement would be too much. usual clubs in their usual spots: pachucos, viejitos, majestics, klique.

turned right, up toward the majestics' big blue club house. i don't think i've ever seen it without the yard packed with people, but it still was early, so just a few setting up tables.

made quick work of the length of the street, then up on the back patch of grass. i skipped cars i'd seen before, had hoods up, or just didn't like the shot. i can be choosy, when i'm running against the mental clock in my head.

took a break, chugged a bottle of water, and went around the front lawn i'd skipped through earlier. after all that, about ten, it was starting to get crowded, and the sun had come out and was feeling warm. i decided to stop, head to the market, use the facilities, and grab me some carnitas.

unusually, the carnitas sucked. they usually are the most tender, flavorful pieces of meat you could wish for; this time of day, i got a plate full of brittle, bristly meat stumps. best part of the meal was the tortillas. sad.

i had mentally called it a day, and had even texted my better half that i was done. he basically said what the hell...his weather app was telling him the day was perfect, so why stop? i thought about it a little, and figured he was right. especially, when right out the door, between the stores and apartment complex, the impala car club had set up in the middle of the street.

so shot a few of those cars, then headed around the far side of the building, toward the end of the road and the freeway on-ramp end of logan avenue. come around the corner, to the shouts of a group of christians of some sort shouting from the right hand side of the on-ramp at a group of people on the opposite side, backed up by a contingent of cops and their cars just standing around, just in case. whatever.

cut through that mess, figuring i'd just quickly run through and see if anything drove up that i might have missed earlier. unfortunately, by that time, all i could see up the road was a river of people. bad news for me and my tripod.

i still shot quite a few cars, but i had to wait out the shot longer than before, between the flows of people. to the point that i was just done, and pulled off to the side to pack my shit.

even then, there were so many people in the park, under the overpass to coronado, that i decided to not go that way, and turned around back through the cops and on-ramp drama to get out of there.

to be continued...

a weekend | pt 2

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

arrived in san diego around five, and only needed to cross a set of tracks to catch the red train to my hotel. i still had a fare card for them from a year ago, so just needed to add days to it.

the train was due to arrive within minutes, so i hurried through the add days menu. paid for a one-day fare, then thought, duh, here for two more days, and added a two-day fare. that gave me a dollar off vs what i paid for a one-day fare. wonder if there was a three-day fare, now that it was too late to fix.

whatever. figured i had a total of three days on the card, so the fare-checking police could scan away and pass me by.

this time around, i stayed out in the gaslamp district, since they had lower rates then where we usually stay. nicer neighborhood too. since my better half couldn’t go, i’d offered up a free weekend with me to my daughter and her dog...city is very pet friendly...she had to work, then hit a funeral the next day, so no. mom wouldn’t go and leave my dad behind, since he’s feeling poorly healthwise, and he just might burn down the house if left on his own. sister is on a group vacation in peru, apparently. son and his wife had relatives visiting. even mentioned it to my bro on the east coast, but he wasn’t flying this way until next month.

i’d reserved a basic room, with an option to upgrade if the executive type rooms were available. with the padres on the road, of course the upgrade was available. pretty sure that room had about the same or more square footage than my condo. at least it felt that way. king-size bed, sunken tub, separate sitting area with couch, chair, big screen tv, bigger than a mini fridge, dresser, marble shower with marble bench, high ceilings, and overlooking the main drag of the gaslamp. pretty damn nice, but sucked since it was only me in it.

being that i’d only had about three hours sleep the night before, i set out across the street for dinner, then back to the room for a shower, and a hot bath. checked the cameras, charged batteries, and pretty quickly passed out in that king-size bed.

to be continued...getting ready for work...

make a choice

asked my boss about going to a conference, if there was any budget for training. yes, he said to pick one and get him an estimate for travel, etc.

so, i need to decide on new orleans, orlando, boston or los angeles. here's the thing: the useful one is in new orleans, and i really have no interest in going there, so i'll wait until next year and hope they move it somewhere else. the other one i want to go to ends on the same day as the uptown whittier car show. sort of rather go to that.

i could skip the last day, and fly home the night before. i'll have to think about it.

this car was the last one i shot at the chino show. owner said i'd need to see it in the sun to really appreciate the paint job. the roof has some faint airbrushing going on.

i can see it. true, it would be more vibrant in the sun, but it may also be more glare-filled, because of the glitterizing in the paint.

still, pretty cool car. lots of engraved chrome.

club guys were friendly too.