what's up?

shopping

random car from the dukes car club’s blessing of the bombs show yesterday at mission san gabriel. found it mentioned on a video on youtube, at the fourteen-fifty-six mark. all of the cars have interesting histories, and it was nice to hear about them on this channel.

lots of spectacular cars out here, though the lot wasn’t as full as it has been in the past. was also not as hot as the last time i was there either, thank goodness.

was the first time my better half was able to join me out there at this mission. he’d visited the mission itself, long ago, with his mother.

i was actually not going out yesterday. i’ve been so tired. i slept in. better half was supposed to work, and i had accepted that i was just going to do laundry all day. hadn’t even charged my camera batteries.

better half’s work evaporated, as he was told they weren’t ready for him. he asked what i was doing for the day, and i had mumbled about going to this show, then we could stop and look at some car dealers to find cars that will fit him, or we could go to pomona the next day and do the same. he said yes to either or both, happy to not have to be working and wanting to get out of the house.

his car is not working, and he is seriously in the midst of researching new cars, though the thought of getting something at pomona is appealing too.

i think he also wanted to play with his camera lenses too. we didn’t leave the house until nine in the morning. normally, i would have been there at seven, as cars would be rolling in.

i’m sensing a pattern here. i just want to sleep in on weekends. it’s a problem not leaving earlier, when it’s only going to be too hot for me to be out later. we’re an hour away now, so it’s just that much worse.

at least my better half was there to make me drink more water, and fetch the suntan lotion from the car when i realized i was starting on a sunburn. [she rubs the lotion on her skin…] thanky d.

also, thanks to the guy that offered me some cold water—i think he was with the south side bombs. i appreciate it, thanks for your concern.

better half was done before me, as usual. i had gone into the shade again, and he was encouraging me to stop as he said my face was red, but then a few more cars drove in. a few more shots, and i packed up.

we went to lunch at lunas restaurant, about a block away. it was very good, would go again, but kinda pricey.

following that, stops at various car dealers in whittier and buena park. most cars he didn’t fit comfortably, they tag teamed him with the salesperson and finance officer. he asked questions. he made them squirm. he didn’t buy. he did like the tesla sales team, who seem to have a different sales model, and answered questions directly, and no bs upcharges that are pure profit.

he’ll still take six months to decide. didn’t make it to pomona today, so maybe next time.

back to it

i went to a couple of small car shows this weekend. better half had to work, and otherwise was unable to join me. he thinks the transmission is going out on his car, and is spending a lot of time researching cars to buy. should just go to pomona swap meet…

drove up to the show at foursquare church in whittier on saturday, for which i had considered waking up early, to drive an hour and to find parking, since in the past, it has been a busy show.

it got hot so early, but also, because of the temperature, i knew i wouldn’t be able to stay very long. can’t take the heat. i should shave my head, and get rid of this mop on top that holds the heat in, but my better half kinda likes it.

there really wasn’t much there, so it was probably the perfect size for the time i did spend. this beauty was sitting up at the front of the parking lot, with the kustom oldies cc. basic black. nice. took a few shots, came back around later, took a few more. i liked this one best.

there were a few cars from clubs i recognized, and a couple of new ones i’d never heard of. all huddled under pop ups, or watching the live band. they were live. i’ll leave it at that.

also a few guys from a club that i don’t post because of a past incident i posted about at the time, and also because the guys that were there were being creepy in a joking way. i ignored them. nice to know it wasn’t just the one guy that was a swine; i’ll just steer clear of their cars in the future. deleting the one picture i did take. take that candy, and suck it. you ruined car shows for me for a long time, i’m so over you.

had a short chat with a guy inside the break room, selling model cars, and with a display of his hot wheels collection. they all looked well-loved. he said he liked the red baron the best, of which he had two. none for sale, just to look at. better half still has his collection somewhere in storage. has one of those old cars with the little surfboards that one of his coworkers once offered to take off his hands for ten bucks…then one hundred. he thought better of it, and locked it out in his car for the day.

i am guessing that a good majority of people went to the roadsters show in pomona. thought about going, but instead walked around in my old hood in uptown whittier. the restaurant i’d intended to have lunch at was gone, and replaced by a much busier establishment with a line of people waiting to get inside.

also nice to see greenleaf is open again. didn’t see any flyers for the uptown car show on business windows, but one can hope they’ll start up again. just won’t have a home base to head back to when it gets to hot.

ended up at california grill. the renovations that started at the beginning of covid are complete, and nice to see they are still in business.

well, back a week from my trip and already back to the grind. i think i have three calls scheduled for tomorrow, as well as a rush job for the ceo. fun times.

shinfo

midway through this work thing in phoenix.

didn’t quite hit one-hundred today, but the air-conditioning in the meeting rooms has balanced that out well. i go outside to thaw out. air conditioning in my room, not so much. it tries really hard to get to where i set it under seventy, but generally chugs along. i can almost hear it murmuring to itself, “i think i can, i think i can…” all night long.

i’ve been pretty good about attending all of the events, as there’s not much else to do, except go to a nearby casino. maybe tomorrow. i have a few bucks to “donate” to the reservation.

on my own for dinners, and the hotel restaurants have you hostage, if you don’t have a car. too expensive for some gastro experience by chef boyardee. yesterday i went to a pizza place that had an ad at the airport as you head towards the sky tram, as you hike the mile to the rental car desks. super thin crust, tasty sauce, very yum.

today, went to a sandwich place, same chain that we’d picked up from when we attended the show and go in riverside last month. tasty and toasted, and full. very four-twenty themed, and open late.

a coyote ran across the road in front of me on the way back. would have hit it, if i had been going a wee bit faster. had a slightly different countenance than the coyotes at home, which kind of glare at you as if telepathing, “go ahead mofo…you want a piece of me? bring it on.” this one had a narrower face, and just went “yikes!” probably was after the roadrunner i almost squished as well.

skipping the movie event they are showing this evening. i’ve had enough socializing for the day, and this introvert is soaking in a hot bath and writing about nothing here.

—————

looking back at cars i have’t posted here yet. so many. here, i have the time to write some drivel about my day, so can finally get to a few.

love me a fleetline. this one is from a couple of years ago, at the oc viejitos show in anaheim. i was probably there before the club was, if i remember correctly. still pretty early in this shot. i like when there is some space to fiddle around and find a good angle. [that’s what she said.”]

—————

better half is at home, sick, but putting in the hours at work. idle hands…not.

on the green

it’s late. been a long week already.

here’s a car from this year’s azalea festival in south gate. before any crowd that may have come later, cars were few, but clustered together in only a few rows over the golf course.

i’d already taken one shot of this car, and then adjusted my tripod for another. in the meantime, the owner had snuck in and put up his info sign on the front bumper. so had to move a little more, to try and not see it so much.

still, a nice car, and i like this picture better.

shoes

here’s a bright light on a cloudy day. it’s really, really orange. like fire. like fluorescent. it cuts through the gloom. it’s a fuckin’ beacon in the dark. everything is more drab because of it. i loved it.

and then it drizzled on it, and it kept on burning bright.

shoes on the wire above it, though you don’t really notice the dirty, dull white things so small in this shot, the car keeps your eyes’ attention.

rain or shine

i saw a flyer the other day about a fundraiser for yet another person that had passed away. i asked my better half if he was interested in going as we had nothing else going on on a sunday afternoon. he said sure and got his camera ready and picked out his lenses to use for the day.

It had been gloomy and wet most of the week, and there was a chance of showers. the show didn’t start till ten; we left about ten-thirty, heading north to east los angeles.

about the time we hit the 710 freeway, it started to rain. decided to wait it out and get some shopping done at the costco off of firestone boulevard. What a mess that parking lot was, jam-packed with people looking for places to park, the lanes very tight together, and blocked off for construction. I’ve never been to this location, but I got lucky and turned left, finding a spot at the very end of the lane, but not before pissing off an old guy with a handicap hangtag. he was thinking he could make two-hundred and seventy degree turn into that angled space going the wrong way, and with other cars aleady in the aisle sharking for spaces. I could see he was calling me a bitch when his lips moved. i already had three or four cars honking behind me, so i don’t know why he thought that would be a smooth move. i did not realize what a primo spot it was, being so near the entrance, and fully expected him to key the car while we were inside.

by the time we were done, the rain stopped, so we continued on to the car show.

we parked across the street, at a market, and walked over. better half went to the main table to make a donation and give our sympathies for their loss.

clouds looming, we got busy taking pics right at the front entrance of the parking lot. better half was wanting to shoot the same cars, and we kept getting in each other’s shots, so i moved a bit farther down the row.

it wasn’t long before it started to sprinkle. we continued to shoot. it was a tiny lot, just two rows of cars. when it did rain a little harder, we covered or put away our cameras to wait it out, as they aren’t waterproof. it started and stopped several times, not lasting longer than ten minutes. we got wet, but the cameras not so much.

I briefly took a break to watch someone trying to leave, in a old chevy truck. the way they were sardined in there, it was iffy on how he would get out without taking off a fender or two, save for a lot of help from the other guys.

The owner of this car came over to ask if there was someplace he could see a picture of his car, so i handed him my card and took a few more shots as I was leaving just in case the initial shot didn’t come out. nice old deluxe.

i think it was fixing to rain again, so we packed up and headed over to whittier, our old hood, for a late lunch.

what do you say to a cousin, that you haven’t really talked to since you were a kid?

well, i only think about it now, as i heard she’d had cancer. she had rung the bell, that it was in remission only a year ago, but it had come back. she’s done with chemo, there’s no point. she has weeks to months left.

i’m pretty sure i can remember seeing her twice since moving to the west coast in the seventies: once when her family came to visit my mum the following year, going to local amusement parks; and again a few years ago, on a trip through gettysburg, pa, when i traveled to a museum near to where she worked. my bro called several other family members to track down her number—he is a social butterfly, and can search out people from his past and just start talking up a storm, as if no time has passed. we met up with her for lunch. for me, as ever, it was a bit awkward, since i’m quite the opposite. she’s family, but a stranger mostly.

she seemed suspicious why we had contacted her, though my brother just said we were nearby, we’re family, so hello.

she’s closer to my sister’s age, so about all i can remember from my childhood is visiting my aunt’s home, playing the organ piano there, and sneaking to my cousin’s room and looking at her record collection, especially elton john’s album captain fantastic cover. it was so weird at the time. very hieronymus bosch to a kid.

i just don’t know that it would matter after all this time. and she will be just a memory in one of my mom’s photo albums.

once upon a time…

hi. my name is kathy. i used to photograph classic cars.

then the world went to hell.

i have not used my cameras in so long, the internal batteries are dead. i wonder if i will remember what to do, like riding a bike. i don’t turn on my personal computer much. i work so much overtime, followed by time spent with family and an attention seeking dog beast, i just don’t have the energy.

i think i’m burned out. i know i am at work. i’m. just. tired.

so i’m on a short road trip. to clear my head. on my own.

better half is taking care of things at home. and whether i am there or not, he knows i am thinking about him.

i have one camera with me, the one i hate. i probably won’t even go outside, and rather sit in a hot bath, and next to a big fireplace. if i can figure out how to work a fireplace without filling the room with carbon monoxide. he usually takes care of that.

——-

here’s one of the older pics i have sitting in the draft queue. from a show in la palma. decent turnout for a high school fundraiser.

i liked the paint color, and the car within a car, with that reflection.

back it up

anyone else miss the super show at hillco fasteners? always the morning of the big game, over in time for pre-game stuff. new landlords put the kibosh on it for “safety” reasons.

a variety of cars would drive through, cruise the complex, spend some time, then head out.

don’t see too many of these, and the back end is the best part for me.

thank you sir, may i have another?

i have too many cars sitting in the queue to posted, and nothing interesting to write about. so imma gonna just start throwing two or three up for a while, for no reason at all. make space for some fresh ones.

i have been getting a lot of emails lately from people asking for registration for shows or vendor sign ups. i then have to inform them that i only list shows i’m interested in, that i’ve heard about, or seen a flyer for.

curious as to why, i searched the internet. i think i know why—some bots have been crawling my site, and on some random page, and are showing me listed as the organizer. as if.

i end up digging up the flyers and sending them contact info. only a couple have written back to say thank you. they could have done their own digging, but it is my list, so i feel responsible. maybe i should take it down permanently, but it helps me remember what’s coming up, should i have the opportunity to get out.

this car is from a couple of years ago, at a fundraiser at jfk high school in la palma. been to a couple of shows there. usually a pretty good turnout. usually see some guys and cars that come out from closer to home, coming out and hitting up this show.

this one was just a beauty, and the color really popped under that sun that day.

round trip

made a trip up to whittier today. had to pick up a few things. took my mom for a joy ride as well, since she hasn’t been out of the house much.

mom stayed in the car. better half greeted me at the door masked and gloved, and handed me a set to put on, while in the house. he takes this stuff seriously. only thing missing is gowns and hair covers and some sort of thing that would rain down disinfectant to kill the cooties on my hair and clothes at the door. i envision something more marilyn monroe over the grate for some reason.

i guess the neighbor across the street tested positive, and the other neighbor had gone in a car with that guy, so he is pretty sure he has it too. tried to bum some masks and gloves off the better half, but was told that since he already has it, he wasn’t going to waste a mask on him. that neighbor, well, both those guys, are usually assholes to my better half, so payback is a bitch, i guess.

i got on with collecting things quickly. kid texted that she was going out with her dad to watch movies or something, and the dog was home alone, doing who knows what. better half has some hard to get stuff, that we don’t really need right now, but took it just in case. i can always take it back.

before we left, my mom got out and went to mother-in-law’s window to wave hello. they were both happy to see each other, as it has been several years, though they couldn’t hear each other through the glass.

stopped at the in-n-out drive through near the freeway off valley view for a quick lunch via the drive through. watched the clouds moving in, as predicted. apparently rain moved north to south, as it started up there soon after we left, and is only just now sprinkling down in the oc.

also made a quick stop at the office for something i forgot—they had me go back in late last monday to collect my computer so i could start working from home. the building was closing the next day, then the following day, reopened, and by friday was closing down again.

always strange to be in the empty office. have never seen the elevators so clean before. they’ve hired people to scrub all the surfaces down, hey, they even cleaned my desktop. :)

the blast doors to the lobby were shut, so had to get in the area through a different door. curious to see if security says anything, since there are cameras watching your every move. hell, nobody said anything when i hauled a desktop computer and two big ass monitors out the door, so i see no reason to fret over some papers and a sweater.

was sad to learn that the doorman there had died earlier in the week. had seen him on monday at lunchtime. they did not disclose the cause, but guessing he was just old or a heart attack.

back home now. unloaded the car, mom has gone off to nap. i managed to walk the dog before the rain started. now i am bouncing around between three computers in the house.

tore down my dad’s computer, and set up my home computer there. only to find out the internet is not working up there. i have my work computer set up in the front room on two card tables—one for each monitor, and plugged into the router. am currently using my mom’s computer, as i’m not going let work watch what i type here. keeping their stuff separate; they can keep their spyware on their stuff to watch their stuff.

been a bit of finagling to get my pics from one computer to another, but i managed. hadn’t booted up my personal computer in a couple of weeks for more than just paying bills or seeing if it worked. have just been really busy. the on'/off button is on it’s last legs, so i may not even be able to get it started soon. better half may have to order one online and walk me through a replacement operation.

having to do my own laundry too…imagine that! better half usually does it, since he’s always home. i’d hauled a bunch of work clothes down here, and now i don’t need to get out of my pajamas. hell, i’m not going to wear a bra until this effing virus is gone. lol. that stuff is all washed and hung up, ready to go when it’s all over, or when it’s all over…

so, i think we’re set for a while. maybe i can work on pictures more often, if the dog will leave me be. he’s been very good while i’m on my work computer. i think, though, that he has an inner clock that knows i should be off work and available to scratch his ears and feed him and take him outside.

taking the opportunity to dig into old backup drives hidden around this house.

this is only a couple of years ago, but i liked it on a quick run through. summer blast 2018. my dad was still alive, this car taken a month before his birthday. <sigh> sorry, sitting in his chair, in his computer room had me thinking…

it was a good show. has been since the bomb club started doing shows at the track. the overcast kept the heat down until lunchtime, and i was there early to make the most of the day.