what's up?

got the blues

1964 chevy impala

missed the imperials’ show this year. dug up this pic from a couple of years ago for tonight. i remember there was a pair of impalas up at the front, but irritatingly roped off, so you couldn’t get a shot without the blockade there. more of a keep off / don’t touch the cars move, and i don’t blame them – they were pretty nice cars.

liked that they used blue lights on a blue car.


no idea where i might end up this weekend; all depends on how hot it is and what time i wake up…it’s been a tough week at work so i’m kind of burned out. gotta listen to my bod. probably will stay close to home.

would have been my dad’s birthday today. missing him extra.

sad and tired, so i guess i’ll go to bed.

fair day

1959 chevy impala

was my turn to run all over hell and back today. 

decided to run down to the oc fair really quick, to see my pictures on the wall. had to go down to my office just to turn on my computer so i can do an unexpected/unplanned work from home day tomorrow, and the fair was on the way.  

got there just before they opened the parking lot, so got a good, close parking spot near the entrance. then, since i already had my ticket, got to head straight to the entry gate, where i ended up being first in line, which meant i got to stand under the tent cover, out of the sun until official open time at eleven. you don't know how much i needed that. 

they let us in at eleven on the dot. i stopped for a drink before heading to the visual arts building, where i had to sit outside until i finished it, since i wasn't going to trash an eight dollar drink.

found my pictures in the usual place, the far corner of the building. two cars, one ferris wheel...ferris wheel got an honorable mention, wouldn't you know. hope my better half can go see them sometime. 

spent an hour looking at all the other art in the building and enjoying the air conditioning. so chill. the weather outside was actually pretty good, being relatively close to the ocean, a breeze blowing constantly, and some cloud cover as i headed back to my car. 

another ten miles down the freeway, five minutes in the office, and the return trip to whittier, with three stops at various stores, with a brief shopping list at each. hot in whittier, and managed to miss whatever they were doing uptown and streets were open again. 

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damn stunning paint job on this impala at the imperials show. usual internal whining about needing to drag a ladder with me sometime. i do love the back ends on these cars, sleek curves up to the arcs of the fins. 

evil mistress

saw this great bike the other day at the imperials show. might have belonged to one of the vendors, but so what. it was named the evil mistress.

lots of great details, with skulls and bones hidden here and there. airbrushed women in dia de los muertos face paint and fancy ostrich skin seat. a gun and an oversize bullet there too.  i'll have to add a few detail shots when i have time. totally forgot, and i'm sitting at my desk typing before i'm on the clock at six. enjoying the air conditioning, ya know?


stumbled down the hall in the dark this morning, just before four, to take a shower. it was warm last night, so i was just wearing my underwear. figured my mother-in-law was asleep, so she wouldn't notice as i walked past her door, and i know my better half wouldn't have minded, had he been awake...he'd have been up...  anyway covered my boobs with my hands, just on the off chance she woke up.

in the bathroom, shut the door, turn on the light, start the shower. have seat on the porcelain throne, cuz, ya know, my eyes are floatin'. on the floor in front of me, is a foot bath and a scale, both leaning up against the wall. my tired eyes see a momentary movement, something dark. not getting the total heebie jeebies, i figured it was just another cockroach, courtesy of our neighbors, but a mighty big one.

in a split second the damn thing ran toward me, along the baseboard, and literally ran over my foot, and behind the toilet. i made a stifled squeal, because, ick, and also i didn't want to wake everyone up. 

but then the thing, ran out, and across to the towel cabinet, and back along the tub. 

it wasn't a cockroach. it was a fricking big brown mouse. not a rat, didn't have the creepy tail. but still. 

so i'm sitting there with my feet up, watching this thing do a few circuits around the room, before disappearing under the sink cabinet. finally put my feet down, wiped (yes, let's not forget to do that) and flushed, then out, closed the door. standing in my panties, topless, tapping my better half on the butt. he rolls over and says hi. 

told him there's a mouse in the bathroom, be the man. 

while he's waking up, i went back, peeked in the door. didn't see it, so jumped into the shower--i gotta go to work, and i've only so much time to get ready.

better half shows up with a broom and a dust pan. i guess his intent was to crush and carry.  he poked all the corners, then looked where i'd last seen it.

there's a one-inch gap, with a void to under the cabinet, hidden behind the shower curtain. ya, that's where it went. no idea if it was still under there, or if it leads to a space between us and the neighbors', but that would explain one way for the roaches to get in. 

anyway, that's my morning so far... 

sparkly

1963 chevy impala

really liked the paint job on this one. and since the owner came over and said hi, thought i'd post it.


talked to some guys that drove down from fresno. they said this heat was nothing to them. one of them chatted about my cameras, which sony models i'd used or liked and why. he said he's seeing more people interested in getting them. he knew the difference between full frame and cropped sensor, so not a novice.

forgot to ask him which car was his, or i'd post it if i shot it. maybe he'll read this and let me know.

three hours

i headed to hawaiian gardens early this morning. not too early, and not sure i'd get in anyway. had to be somewhere else after ten, so had my fingers crossed.

my usual parking over there was already full, so i had to find somewhere else in a nearby neighborhood to park. that put me closer to a different gate than i usually go through. pass the guys at the crosswalk, directing traffic, ask them where i could get in. they said it was kinda early. i said my time was limited. they pointed me to a gate with a security dude in front of it. i think the vendor gate.

asked the security guy if i could get in, that i only had a short time to shoot, etc. he says there are hardly any cars there yet. i can see a dozen from the gate. i should have been a smart ass and said is there one? then that's enough, but i just said there was enough for me. more will come.

anyway, he asked some other guy, and they just said sure, so wizard, i'm in.

moved as quickly as i could. it was already really hot, and on the grass, it was just humid.

got over here near the new life club cars, heading back to my exit. was shooting the fleetline, and the owner of this impala came over and chatted a bit.

loves his old car. talked about the sentimental value that gives him his happy place. old cars remind him of when he was younger, memories of his parents who are gone now.

he is still working on it, seems to never be finished, even after spending so much money on it. time, just takes time. looked ok to me.

i told him i love the classics. they just make me happy. i'm not beyond shooting other cars, so i took a couple of his car.

hope he sees this and likes it.

seemed like it was going to be a very good show. sorry i couldn't stay.