i should be so blessed

1950 chevy deluxe

just sitting, minding my own biddness here. better half wearing headphones, watching marvelous ms maisel on his ipad.

if i look at him, he lifts his headphones off his ears, and says, “what?”

i was just looking at him.

wondering how many times he’ll keep doing it.

i mean, i’m not doing or saying anything.

i’d have blown up a long time ago, if it was me.

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this is the oldest pic i have languishing on my ipad. twenty-seventeen blessing of the bombs show, at the san gabriel mission. nice, blue chevy deluxe. i should be so blessed.

out of touch

1939 chevrolet master deluxe

hello. just to be dull and repetitive, super busy at work, so nothing too much interesting to write about just now. back behind the orange curtain, leaves nothing but either souped-up hot rods or packards fixed up to showroom perfection. basically, i’m jonesing for the classics.

lots of changes at work, with people leaving, fewer joining. big workload. probably most people dos-si-do-ing to better employment options for a while. working half at the office and half at home sort of does suck, but better than all at the office.

yet, i still see no time to get to any shows for a few weeks. i’ve yet to set up my computer at home still, so there’s that problem. i think i’m just burned out from work, and just can’t.

flipping through some oldies, and found this shot from a show three years ago in montebello, which i missed today. mmm. master deluxes.

benefit show for the christian school, it usually fills the front and back parking lots.

i’d have gotten there when they are still setting up, and the sun barely rising. shoot the cars in the street, then inside the fence as it filled up. outta there by ten, when it would get too hot.

oh, and the pancakes…let’s just say, not my favorite, the one year i ate them.

i also popped or strained my leg at this show once too, so it kinda gives me the heebeejeebees if i think about it. made it hard to walk for a while. probably just pulling the camera bag into or out of my trunk did it. i dunno. the thing is kinda heavy when it’s loaded up.

hoping to get to a ruby’s show, or even the wednesday show in norwalk in the next couple of weeks. promised someone i’d shoot their car, but they didn’t show up last time i was there back in may.

i might have to do jury duty in santa ana, so i’d be halfway there already. i do not miss that afternoon drive…

moved

last show we’ve made it to since we moved, was mooneyes open house.

we arrived about five in the morning, and didn’t get started until about five-thirty. we expected more cars that early, as in past years, but really there were very few cars. just a few singular cars, and a couple of clubs, there to get their choice of parking.

saw this one very early on the far side of the street, then he moved over here in front of the shop. interesting customizations. not really sure what that thing is for the shifter, but close enough to being an alien for me to dig it. i like that it’s eyes light up. betting that dashboard gets very hot in the sun.

i loved the morning light, and the overcast sky kept it cooler a bit longer. still, we were pretty much done relatively early. just wasn’t enough of what i like to keep me there.

better half wanted to hit up his favorite restaurant over by our old apartment, so we headed to whittier, before heading back behind the orange curtain.

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we’ve been so very busy unpacking too much stuff into a smaller space. it really isn’t working, and the majority of our stuff will just live in a storage unit for a very long time. the intention is to sift through boxes and toss or give away stuff. i’d like to sell some, but i really hate doing garage sales. last one i did was when my kids were little. some guy paid for some piece of junk with a twenty…i gave him change. only later did i realize he gave me a counterfeit bill. ahole. it’s just junk, and he still had to rip me off. sometimes i can’t stand people.

so, ebay or the like it will be. if i ever get around to doing it. easier to just buy a bigger house, but theres no money for that just now.

have a hard enough time finding time or the energy to get up and go to work every day. i’m just tired. lots going on around here, but i’m not going to bother you with details.

hoping to get to a few shows eventually. we’ve missed a few, because i just couldn’t get motivated to get out of bed and drive the extra hour and/or hotel prices are just a bit too insane right now.

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taking down my show listing page. too many people sending me messages about shows i have no part of—i don’t run them, i don’t book vendors, i won’t take your money. i always redirect them to a website or a contact or a flyer, but really, it was just meant to be a cheat sheet listing of shows i was interested in going to. oh well.

bird feeder

1936 chevy master deluxe

i’m sitting here waiting on a delivery my kid ordered to the wrong address. the people on the hotline were too lazy to do their jobs, and didn’t want to bother changing the delivery location, so there we are.

out the front window, i have a hummingbird feeder. initially, it was very popular with the birds.

then i bought a new mix of food. not so many birds. then another brand, same.

there’s a cat, that likes to sit on the edge of the porch and watch the feeder intently. the dog barks at the cat everyday,

they went away for a while. my work day was a little more dull.

then i started mixing my own bird food with recipes from the internet. and i’ve found one they like. basically sugar water. so what i’m figuring, hummingbirds are just tiny little diabetics. or sugar addicts.

was confirmed this week that we’ll be required to be back in the office next month. i’ll miss the little flying spastics, the barking dog, and the cat that likes to pee in the neighbor’s planter early each morning. that neighbor is an asshole, so my hero, the cat.

i need to go shopping. i hate my old work clothes. i need shoes. i hate shopping. this will not be fun. i’ll miss working in my jammies with messy hair.

i had cut my hair the last time they said we’d go back to the office, then everything shutdown before we did. maybe i should cut my hair again…

i work late, because the work can’t wait, and my better half is still living in whittier.

they gave us a second computer, so i could still do work from home if needed.

better half gets to work from home permanently. he’s moving here next month, so the timing is great. i go back, and he stays home. sort of jealous.

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watched this beauty drive up and drop down. waited for people to move along to get a decent shot. it’s all right, i guess.

new camera. color is a little off, so i guess the color balance is a bit out of whack.

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these delivery boys are almost out of their delivery window. i guess i’ll hurry up and keep waiting.

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update: they just called. almost didn’t answer because of another situation. their truck broke down and had to reschedule. [shocker] did it really, now, or did you just not want to deliver at five o’clock? day wasted, sort of.

right. i’m off to whittier then. ttfn.

pizza

1941 plymouth

uptown whittier, just ordered pizza. so i have a few minutes to spare.

went out to the fundraiser for brother richard this past weekend. i’m sure i’d seen him around, but probably never spoke to him. he had a lot of friends, judging by the number of cars and groups of people attending.

weather was perfect for mid-morning. should have gone earlier, but things had need of doing first. still wrestling with the new camera and lens settings.

shot this car as i was heading back around to my car. better half was waiting at home—had to make a storage unit run—did i mention we are moving? his mother is gone and i get my condo back soon, so nothing holding us here. going to be closer to my mom now, where i am living ninety-nine percent of the time now anyway.

on-screen, full-size, this car glows. seems pretty sharp where i wanted it focused, but the lens does start fuzzing out towards the edges. need to find it’s sweet spot.

pizza ready. walking back.

new beginning

1938 buick

i’m in a mood. things on my mind. gloomy outside. change is in the air.

starting with a new camera and lens. the brownie points program at work has informed us that we were going to have to use it or lose it, as it’s being revamped. they use this instead of just handing out cash when you get commended for working hard.

well, i’d saved up quite a large number of points, and wasn’t about to get screwed over that way, so finally was forced to get something. most of the stuff up for offer is crap, but they do have some slightly out of date camera gear. so i picked up a sony a7r iii body. really not my fave, but sony seems to be moving to this smaller size thing.

then, my birthday was a week ago, so my better half got me a new wide angle lens.

took this set up out for a test drive this past friday, out to ruby’s, since the season has started.

the main feature i hate is the screen doesn’t flip and twist like my old cameras. so when i set it up high on my tripod, i really need to stand on tip toes or a curb to see the screen somewhat. or just shoot blind.

still not too sure about the lens. going to have to shoot some more, and get a bit more pissed at it. at least, my better half says that’s what happens every time i get new equipment.

i think i need to tweak the settings as well. some images came out fairly in focus, and others just missed it. makes me want to bust out the other camera i have in the bag, but i need to break this thing in, while i can still return it.

and the files are so big, i’m going to need a bigger boat, err, hard drive/more back up drives.

i dunno. it didn’t seem to like being pointed into the sunset, as you can see. the lens distorts a bit, so will have to go find a lens profile for it.

next up, in the summer of fun, will be finishing packing, and moving soon. not too far.

one thing at a time. one thing at a time.

good riddance 2020

harley davidson

been so long since i wrote anything here, or even turned on my computer, that my computer is basically dead. at a minimum, it needs a new power button. better half will fix it when he has time, and/or will have to build me a new one at some point.

i know i took this pic of a very blue on blue cycle in west covina, at manny’s el loco. (i think they closed down not too long ago). i really can’t remember if this was a fundraiser for something, or a memorial show. i’d have to look through pics from that day, which i can’t, since as i said, my computer isn’t working. I vaguely think someone had died, and the show was in his honor.

pretty bike. there’s some good airbrushing going on all over the fenders and tank, as well as some elaborate chromework etching.

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this past year sucked massively.

• do i need to state the most obvious reason? pesky virus.

• car shows cancelled.

• office closed. job got really stressful.

• restaurants closed.

• mother-in-law died in june.

• better half allows me to visit him in whittier as long as i wear a mask.

• my computer is not working.

• ex mother-in-law died new year’s eve.

let me explain a few of those bullets, since a few sound pretty sketch when typed.

the virus did a trickle down to several of those points:

my ex mother-in-law topped off the year, by checking out new year’s eve. in spite of living in a house with people that did have the virus, and being in direct contact, she did not get it, and died age ninety-six.

we’ll miss you, guadalupe

• my office closed, as did most every office. i have worked from home—the front room at my mom’s house—since march. mom loves it; the dog beast loves it; better half doesn’t love it so much, but believes it’s best i stay with her.

• with the work computer sitting here 24/7, i sometimes find myself easily working into the evening sometimes, just to meet deadlines, or when there’s nothing better to do. they’re hiring more people, so it’s getting more manageable. i do miss seeing my coworkers everyday, but dammit, i do love rolling out of bed five minutes before start time, and working in my jammies all day. i can probably count on one hand the number of times i’ve bothered wearing a bra, dressing in “work” clothes, and wearing real shoes. flip flops are my daily footwear anymore.

• i’d taken several months off from going to car shows before this mess sent everyone into hiding. just when i got out of my doldrums and wanted to head out, they evaporated. sure there are cruises now, but they aren’t really conducive to my photography. i did manage to make it out to one show at xmas time, in between shut downs, so there’s that.

• my computer not working, makes it a wee bit difficult to put up new pics. i wanted to work on one this past weekend, but it refuses to power on. even if i kick it, or whisper sweet cuss words in it’s fan vent, not entirely under my breath.

• sort of miss being able to go dine in at restaurants. as it is, i bring the food home, and the stupid dog sits nearby, staring at my meal and drooling, waiting for any scraps. he’s as tall as the table, so you can’t really hide anything from his view. he’s getting better, and laying down until invited over, but he still has his moments when he’s all up in your food, at your elbow. drooling on the table. really gross.

• with my kid that lives here, out and about, hanging with her friends, my better half thinks it’s safer for him if i mostly stay here with my mom. it’s good for her, as she is never alone in the house. good for him, as he can get things done at home. i do visit him once a week if i can manage it, just to keep him sane.

• better half’s mother died. not from the virus; she was just old. almost made it to ninety-four. it was during an ease in visitor restrictions at the hospital, so she was not alone, he and his niece were there with her. now he fills his days with work, and evenings following her directions in getting rid of her things and shredding paperwork.

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the year wasn’t all bad.

• got my first grandkid on valentines day. they changed her middle name to valentina.

• took an amtrak trip across the country with my better half, picked up and drove home with my younger brother, along route sixty-six.

• son and his family are buying their first home, so yay, i’ll finally get my condo back.

• better half and i will be moving to said condo. i don’t think he’s ever lived behind the orange curtain. it’s going to be too small for both of us, so no doubt, we’ll have to look for something else eventually. that, or we won’t be able to climb stairs as we get older and fatter, and probably not wiser.

so, looking forward to this new year, and being able to get back to whatever normal will be now.

swallows

here’s a picture from our trip back in october, at the famous blue swallow motel. better half looking for all the historical stuff and neon, but we were never near it by the time the sun set. closest we got was in seligman, but decided to keep moving to another town for that night.

my better half, my brother, and myself were flitting about this landmark taking pics, with our “professional” looking gear, which of course caught the eye of the owner of the motel. he came out and had a chat with my better half, who reassured him that we were not taking commercial images nor using them in illicit ways. nope, just a vacation, just catching some memories. sharing just one here, not cashing in on it.

all these towns were somewhat the same: run down, hanging on, trying to keep appearances. especially empty because of the pandemic, the motel owners were either full up or desperately willing to make a deal to bring in any dollars.

not sure if i liked the road trip or the train trip part of the vacation. not everyday that you see a full train car or two of amish folk (thou art very plain). they stare at us as we pass through their car on the way to the food car, and we stare at them.

quite a number of people trying not to wear a mask, or thinking they were being clever and removing once the conductor had left the car. but the chief conductor was quite willing to stop and drop off anyone with the next sheriff in the middle of nowhere. they actually did that, and it was a group of people being rowdy and arguing about the rule.

either way, there was a lot of time just staring out the window, neck getting sore, so switching from one seat to the other to equalize the ache.

being in the back seat of the car ride back from washington, dc, once you hit texas, new mexico and arizona, there are long stretches of sameness. seemed to bother my better half that i spent a lot of time reading my ipad. i couldn’t hear the conversation up front, and i’d look about and shoot pics through the window once in a while. whatever.

that being said, my better half didn’t think i enjoyed the trip. it was different, but i’d do it again, but only if we had more than two weeks. and take more stops off the train—too many nights in the sleeping car is not my favorite. i liked the idea, but i couldn’t sleep!

half gone

1938 chevy master deluxe

my company office was closed for the week. so, half-way through a pseudo vacation.

had to take better half’s car back to the repair shop. after everything they did to the car on monday, some type of liquid puddled out from under the car yesterday. and now it’s stuck there until friday, while they wait for the right parts.

hoping to see my grandkid tomorrow, supposedly stopping by my mom’s house. who knows where i’ll end up tomorrow for dinner, not that it’s any big deal. i doubt better half will go to my mom’s with me, as my daughter’s doberman doesn’t seem to like him. at least last time, the first time they met, the dog wanted to make a meal out of his crotch.

anyway, happy early thanksgiving, in case i’m away from my puter tomorrow.

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saw this car on the outskirts of the toy drive. i want to say it said tovars on it somewhere, but probably from the back, and i didn’t shoot that.

plenty of scratches on that paint; i wonder what story it would tell.