what's up?

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.

twiddling my thumbs

i’ve been waiting fifteen minutes for this windows update to finish, here at work. i actually have stuff to do, so this is slightly inconvenient....

ah, there it goes. only had to start a post on my phone to make it complete...blog blocker.

well, here’s a nice merc from last weekend at the park. interesting ghost flames in the paint.

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...

distract me

my brother is being rolled into surgery right now, two-thousand miles away. giving birth to a large kidney stone or something. usually these things pass, painfully, on their own. but this time, it’s too big, and just blocking the waterworks.

his wife and kids are in town (fortunately/for a change), and with him at the hospital.

she reports that the drugs must be pretty good; pre-op he said, “they need to operate to remove the stone, or it will continue to rub on my uterus.”

so, i’m going about my typical day, but my head isn’t in it. guess i will be like this until i hear he’s out and ok.

chicano park. i heard the owner of this car telling someone else that this was a pretty rare car. it was also very popular, so i really had to wait it out to get my shots.

follow up: bro is out of surgery, stone free, but totally stoned. can't wait to hear what he said while still under the influence...

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 | part 4

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

after the show, i sat like a zombie in the hotel room for a few hours. watched tv, my head bobbing many times, as i'd temporarily fall asleep, but i didn't want to sleep.

finally hopped a red train out to seaport village, mid-afternoon. too early for dinner. zombie walked over to the ben & jerrys and got a scoop of strawberry ice cream in a waffle cone. yes, overly expensive ice cream, was what hit the spot. sort of a tradition, but my better half wasn't with me, so it wasn't as good.

i settled down on the edge of a planter to eat it, and watched the provided entertainment—a pan pipe whistle blower guy. if you watched that episode of south park, you know he's keeping the world a safer place.

back at the hotel, watched a couple of hours of mindless repeat episodes of some show i used to watch, to kill time. also took a great deal of pleasure staring out the window, watching the stumbling drunk bimbos trying to walk down a small flight of steps, and into the street. total strangers having to stop them from getting hit by cars, or getting into cars with random men. never understood the need to drink to get blitzed that much. hope they enjoyed waking up the next morning.

didn't know where to go for dinner, but knew i was running out of energy to get it. finally decided i was on vacation, so just roll with it, and not worry that anything was going to cost too much. i wanted meat. not going to be an in-n-out anywhere nearby. decided i'd just find a steak. looked up menus of nearby restaurants, and the price of little eight-ounce chunks of cow were forty bucks and up.

i remembered we used to have a joking argument with a former coworker about who had better steak—ruths chris or mortons. he argued mortons because it's where his family had always gone, had gone for his engagement party, etc.

we argued ruths chris because of the food. it's great, even if it is pricey.

san diego has both. ruths chris was just a red train and a bit of a walk away. been there. it's excellent.

mortons happened to be about a block away. have never been, so went there out of curiousity. no reservation and just after five, so took a chance they could squeeze in a single person. they did, in spite of my scruffy car show jeans and t-shirt outfit. seated me at a nice table in the back. very dark in there. restaurant still pretty empty, but noisy nevertheless.

like ruths chris, everything was a la carte. they brought out a loaf of bread while i looked the menu over. like the diameter of an elephant's foot loaf of bread. sliced off a chunk, and slapped some butter on it. and was disappointed that it wasn't the best bread i ever tasted. took a few bites to be sure, and no, didn't like it.

ordered just a steak and a baked potato, and a coke. turned on my ipad and waited. i'm sure they don't often get a patron lighting up an ipad very often, so i got a few awkward stares from other diners. they were loud, and rude. i ignored them.

the food shows up. waiter stands by with the condiment thingy, wanting to load up my potato to my satisfaction. he seemed disappointed that i only wanted butter on it. then when i started to add salt and pepper from the shakers on the table, was sad that i did want them to run off and fetch the big pepper mill.

my final opinion of mortons: the food was average. the steak wasn't flavorful, the potato was huge, but it was just a potato. i skipped the creme brulee that i would usually have. i could have had the same meal for a fifth of the price, albeit less salty, at sizzlers.

so eric, i think i will just stick with ruths chris for special occasions. you should try it sometime. even the garlic mashed potatoes will rock your world.

after that very pricey meal, back to the hotel to soak my disappointment out in the tub. packed up my bags, so i could sleep in, and be ready to go quickly.

to be continued...

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...