Rain forevermore

Good thing my house is set up for indoor days right now and still kind of recovering. By the end of this storm I should be good to go again. I’m not missing anything, even skiing, by staying home this week. I just hope my friend’s baby isn’t born in this, Seattle has had more snow than ever and I don’t know if I can get up there in it? I was planning on driving, Portland looks flooded.

I’ve been making this “Like Water for Chocolate” quilt for the baby. All my womanly knowledge, including a ton of patience while I seam rip mistakes. Making these is the only old lady thing I really do, to me they’re like a big puzzle or math problem to figure out. It helps me concentrate, the second I make a mistake I stop. Not great for my back, I can only sit in a chair an hour a day at most.

One thing I need to do is get my body ready for a baby schedule. When I was pregnant, my body naturally adjusted to my boys eating & sleeping schedule. Right now my body schedule is leisurely waking up to rain. It’s kind of in hibernation mode 🙂 I don’t want to go up to Seattle to be a guest, I want to be Mary Poppins!! Haha.

In other artistry endeavors, I donated a panorama photo I did with my drone to Berkeley Yacht Club (BYC). It turned out really well on canvas, I figured it should go there because I got the whole marina. It was kind of an accident, I was showing someone else how to use their new drone and did a few things with mine. I stitched it together in Lightroom, down to the ripples.

There was someone at BYC saying I should sell them, at first I was flattered. I did the unfortunate mistake of saying how much the print cost me – it was a Xmas special for $30. The woman looked really excited for me and said I could sell them for $40!! I know she meant well, it’s just that if I sold 5 of them my profit would be around $10…maybe. Is that worth the price of poker?? Sadly, no.

I’m beginning to see more & more that there’s a reason it’s called a “starving artist.” You have to have a lot of time to get the shots, or sew, then there’s the matter of actually selling it. When my boys went off to college I was looking up seamstress salaries, starting & ending was $20k. I might make more with a tin can at the freeway exit? Tax free.

I did just post something about my drone company (GrandView Services) on LinkedIn and got some hits from someone who works at Facebook, 3DR, Ford. One of my big clients was Ford GoBike, it’s all swallowed into Cal Engineering & Geology now and really starting to catch on. For years I was doing it by myself, but to take it to the next level we hired someone. There’s some saying about innovators burning out, then the next person takes it & runs with it. That would be me, I started it from absolute scratch and now that it’s a press of a button and catching on, I’m out.

Maybe I’ll go back to it? I was just showing someone some stuff I did years ago, turns out he does commercials in this area and had outdated info on drones. The landslide job sites are hard for me…one, no bathrooms. Another is no cell coverage and since they’re my drones I’m not quick to fly it 10′ off the ground and have it crash or lose it. There’s a difference between flying your own drone and using the company drone. I read this saying about chartering that was pretty funny, “Fly it like you stole it.”

Not sure if I connected the dots on this blog post? That’s OK, that’s the way my fuzzy brain works.

Snow Day!

Not really, I did mean to get up early to catch the sunrise on the top of Mt. Diablo, that just didn’t happen. The alarm went off at 6:30a, I had to tell Alexa twice to turn it off before I woke up at 7:30a. Another reason I’ll never be a great photographer, I can’t wake up to greet the day anymore. For ten years I’d wake up at 4:30a for work then rowing, I never want to see a “4” and an “a” together ever again.

I’ll wait for the sunset, or maybe head out today some time and get some shots? I’m sure my neighbors appreciate I slept in and didn’t wake them up with my drone at sunrise.

Otherwise, I’m just doing my own thing again today, still nursing my tailbone bruise/fracture. This really took me down again, it’s been over a week now and not feeling any better. I hate complaining about health stuff, it makes me feel 100 years old, it’s just that I was really hoping to get back on track with getting in shape. That week was looking good with the swimming & skiing, then this. I’ll walk a few miles to crawl to the fridge for icy/hot & heating pads.

Forget about bike riding, yoga, swimming…perhaps I should actually go to the Dr.?? IDK?? Last time I went was when my heart actually hurt after the smoke and they didn’t whip out the stethoscope, which seems to me to be Dr. 101?? Plus there’s nothing they can do about it besides tell me to do what I’m already doing.

On the “where to live” front, still up in the air. I found the cutest place in Pacific Grove, a place I love to go. One thing’s for sure after all this snow, glad I didn’t go for Tahoe! I don’t know if I could handle being injured and not being able to dig myself out of a condo or dig my car out all week. There’s hunkering down, then there’s hunkering down with no cable or internet for days…that would be the worst part!! One storm a few years knocked it all out, my son was with me, we looked at each other and said, “We’re out of here!” We drove back to Walnut Creek before the roads closed.

We looked at this awesome place in Pt. Richmond that had a dock in front of it. For that we’d have to sell our house, which I’m just not ready to do yet. Tick tock on my life choices and not doing anything about it. Again, I’m the only one up for a change of scenery after living here for 27 years. My son and his wife love it here, the only way they can afford to stay is if we keep the house.

As cool as the Pt. Richmond house was, it’s not a “destination” like Pacific Grove. I would never say, “Hey, let’s go to Pt. Richmond for the weekend!” That Pacific Grove house had a separate unit for guests or a little artist studio for myself (I know, I still consider myself somewhat of an artist). I still have all these dreams, when in reality I’ll probably have to move back to Manhattan Beach and take care of my mom so she can stay home (there might be cats involved).

Camera Ready

The problem with getting older and being a half-ass photographer is that to keep up you have to upgrade your equipment every few years. I upgraded a few months ago to a Sony a7ii with a 28-70mm lens. It was a package deal from Mike’s camera last November, it’s replacing a Sony Nex5 I’ve been using for the past 5 or so years. I bought both cameras from Mike’s, there are a lot of advantages to still buying from a camera store – one is the classes and ongoing support for the camera.

I bought a nice camera for my son once from Best Buy as a graduation present, the guy practically spit into the lens to clean it as we watched in horror.

Last night I went to a Sony seminar at Mike’s to learn a little more about the camera. I’m very familiar with cameras, not above going to find out what new features I might be missing and a few tips. One of them being that I’ve been cleaning the sensors wrong, I’ve been laying the camera down flat and blowing into it so the dust can just go right back in. It’s little tips like that I go for. I’ve taken many photography classes, it’s amazing how much I forget and how obsolete my college classes are.

1978

My first camera was a Pentax K-1000 my parents gave me for my 16th birthday in 1978 (photos above are from Manhattan Beach, 1978). Sadly, between my boys that camera has been lost 😦 I used that camera up until my youngest was crawling around in 1998, then I switched to my first digital camera that was about $1,000 with 500k of memory. You had to anticipate the shot, once you held down the shutter it was almost a minute before the camera actually took the picture. By that time my boys were on swim team, I switched the slide shows to all digital for swim team and Junior League those years. I still have pictures of every kid in Walnut Creek, now 25 year olds. I remember someone saying they thought digital would never catch on, there’s always a naysayer. I was all over it!

This only shows pics, the songs were copyrighted:

Then I got an ill-fated job with the Contra Costa Times as a contracted out photographer and bought a Minolta something or other. Honestly, I didn’t do much research on it, I took the advice from a guy at our office who is really into cameras. I had to cancel a job at 5am due to spending the night in the emergency room with my husband, who severed something in his knee the night before playing volleyball. It was a 3 day shoot, luckily I was not the main photographer, but I had a babysitter lined up all weekend for it. Not surprisingly, I never got a call back for work again. I also quit Junior League, he was down for months with surgery and couldn’t drive.

Quitting Junior League was interesting, not sure if they knew why I had to quit but not one person called to see if I needed help or if we were OK? I petitioned to become a sustainer, that was a no. When I bought my Sony Nex5 I was in that class at Mike’s camera coincidentally with a woman who was a big sustainer, she recognized my name. She thanked me that night on upgrading JL to all digital, gave me all the credit for making them cutting edge in technology at that time. That was nice, especially because the end seemed so, “Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out.”

Then came the iPhone cameras which gave photography a whole new twist, making virtually everyone a photographer. Somewhere in that time we got a Cannon Rebel digital, replacing a film Cannon my husband had. When the cameras on the iPhones got decent, you have a camera with you at all times. I have no problem whipping out my iPhone for pictures, it’s so convenient. People who know nothing about photography starting getting awesome shots, those selfies look better than posed shots a lot of times. With FB and Instagram photography blew up (good & bad, kind of killed writing & photography for a living in general).

Below is Golden Gate with my iPhone, Hawaii sunset w/ Sony Nex5 & looking out from Manhattan Beach Pier Marine lab with the new Sony:

I still like to have a nice camera though, and a drone for fun. I was using the drones for work before we hired two 25 year olds to replace me. Now I use it for fun, it’s a whole new world in photography and technology that’s fun for me.

10980177_10205439768221107_7541428873786583819_o — 3D with images on the left to practice AutoDesk Recap 360, a few hundred images.

This one is with the drone, about 800 pictures I did years ago when drones still crashed & flew away. The drone technology has advanced to just pressing the button, instead of crossing your fingers as your pre-flight routine.

Not sure if I’m losing my “eye” as I age or if people are just so damn good at it now! On my Instagram (@hellereng) I’ve had several known photographers follow me and I’m super flattered.

Glad there are still some actual camera stores around, many are gone. Camera and book stores used to be my favorite places to go and browse around, I miss that. Amazon is bringing the books stores back, after they made a clean sweep to make sure there are no Barnes & Noble competition (Which is fine by me, B&N wiped out small books stores first). Time marches on, still trying to stay cutting edge if at all possible.

The Featured image is of Lou Silva & Rob Ryan from a volleyball tournament in Manhattan Beach when we were teens in 1978. They have both passed on, can’t believe I got this shot.

So far, so good 2019

Despite being rainy and cold everywhere I’ve been and being publicly called out on FB as looking to move into a trailer. I covered a lot of ground this past few weeks, now I just need to get back into shape which was not even on my NYR list of things to do.

I have a Garmin watch with a HRM on it to guide me. Over the summer, swimming laps and riding my bike everywhere, I was the Vo2 of a 34 year old. I felt really good about that, bragging rights actually to anyone who still listens to me. In New Mexico I was able (forced) to walk the dog a few miles, getting my HR up to an acceptable range. Last checked, 36 years old.

To my horror, when I got back home I hopped on the scale to see 5 lbs and the Vo2 of a 40 yr old – that train ride & Wetzel Pretzel lunch added 4 yrs & 5 lbs!! I weigh more than I’ve ever weighed my whole life!!

With the smoke, getting sick, then weather I haven’t done much. Those pounds went on when I turned 50 and nothing I do can get them off! I’ve just been accepting it, glad for the bikini bod I had up until that 50 mark.

Back to the gym I go…even though I kinda hate gyms, or the gym “scene.” Nothing like fighting your way for a spot in yoga class where you’re supposed to go to be calm & relaxed. At 5’9″, I’m the tall dork that can’t see without my glasses in the back of the class. I’m also not flexible, or spiritual, so I can’t do half the poses.

I remember being in Bali in a gorgeous outdoor studio overlooking the ocean with my son. The rest of the class were hot, 20 yr old Australian surfer boys with a few perfect 20 yr old girls to match. I was old lady in the back of the class, which was fine because I was actually in shape. She said we were going to do a head stand, I said I was out for that one. She went into a speech on how some people won’t try it because it’s that time of the month (she probably said some spiritual thing about menses?) and other women problems I might be having that would prevent me from even trying. I bit my tongue, I wanted to say, “How about I can’t do a headstand?” Geez.

You never really appreciate that you were in shape until you’re out of shape. Do you have to get out of your warm bed first and stop writing? Oh…I guess so 🙂

Stuck on a Train

It’s been pouring in LA all week, with no plans to get back to NorCal on my journey I figured the best thing to do is have an adventure and take the train back. I love trains, a friend of mine took 13 hours getting back over the Grapevine on I-5 – normally a 5 to 6 hour drive.

I scheduled an Uber driver last night to pick me up, giving me plenty of time for rain and traffic to Union Station in downtown LA. All went well, got to the station dry despite the rain.

My business class tix got me into the 1st class lounge where there were drinks and snacks before we got on…then the delay. NBD, an hour for a new engine. Now I’m sitting in Burbank while the new engine conked out, I would say for almost an hour now? Well, I wanted adventure!! We’ll see if that’s going to include a night in Burbank at a Motel 6 or something?

This is just a shame, I was really hoping it would be a rainy day train ride up the coast. Now I have no idea what’s going to happen?

While I was in Manhattan Beach, I went to the new marine lab at the end of the pier for donor day. My mom was involved with the original lab, it was nice they had a special day for the previous volunteers. Got a few good shots when I was down there at least before the rain.

An update, we’re back at Union Station in LA awaiting???? Ugh. Made a quick field trip to grab lunch & possibly a latte, the bathrooms at the station were full of homeless. I went back to the 1st class lounge at the train station to use those bathrooms, then tried to hit Starbucks but the line was too long. Grabbed a Wetzel Pretzel hot dog to come hang out on the train some more. It’s actually more comfortable on the train than in the station.

At least I grabbed some food, I had made a 2p dining car appointment that of course didn’t happen. If we ever get moving, I’ll keep writing. Right now I’m just a tad worried I’ll be on this train for 2 days before I get back. When the train took off the 1st time, I was like a little kid taking pictures. Now I’m just kinda blah and over it.

2 Days later: That turned out to be a 7 hour delay, we left at 5p instead of 10a – getting in at 5am to Martinez. The coastline was totally dark, pitch black actually, didn’t get to see a thing past Van Nuys when it got dark. I didn’t write the rest of the ride because I was like a zombie. The good news is, when I finally got home and re-woke up to call Amtrak gave me a trip voucher. When the train started rolling I grabbed dinner from the dining car then just vegged out the rest of the ride. I didn’t even read or watch a movie, just tried to enjoy the ride. I must have slept a little? I kept waking myself up snoring 🙂 Sorry to the rest of my car-mates.

Planes, trains & automobiles January. Drove to New Mexico, flew to LA then the train back – reverse order – also lengthy.

While in Manhattan Beach I got to spend the week with my mom for her birthday. Got a few pics I’ll post from that and some others of my LA time. It rained most of the time, I did get to have some much needed GF time.

I also had an interesting FB exchange (I gotta get off FB!!). While it rained I was checking out Zillow in Carlsbad and noticed what I thought were vacation trailers close to the water. I have a few FB friends in Carlsbad, did a shout out to see what those were? When I looked into it more I saw it was a over 55 retirement community (which I qualify for but not ready to go there just yet). The dirt rental was about $1,500 when I looked it up a little more.

In the meantime, a friend’s wife who just became a real estate agent started posting pictures of trailer homes on my FB page. When I said I wasn’t ready for a retirement community, she started posting pics of a trailer park in Hermosa Beach. So now my “friends” think I’m looking into trailer homes?? Haha, I’m sorry but I don’t see a $500k trailer in Hermosa Beach as a smart investment. I don’t see anything down there as a smart investment right now, it’s crazy expensive. She most likely thought I was trying to get my foot in the door down there, I can’t imagine inviting my childhood friends over to my trailer for dinner?

I’m leaving the post up though, for some reason I think it’s hysterical!! We played golf with some guy about 20 years ago who lived in the tree section and I said, “I grew up in the tree section!” He said, “It must be hard to not be able to afford to live where you grew up?” My husband & I laughed on the way home, we don’t live there because we’d have A-holes like him for neighbors. People spend so much time thinking others are jealous of them they don’t realize they’re coming off as pricks.

I had a good time down there with my mom and a few GF’s though, it was really nice. I can always go “home” and spend the time with my mom. I’m so glad Amtrak gave me a voucher, I really want to take that train trip during the day to see that coast route!! Thought I’d spend a rainy day, clinking glasses in the dining car watching the sunset in someplace other than Van Nuys.

These are finally leaving Union Station, where the train was on the coast and my view from there 😦

Finally leaving LA Union Station

Where the train was

My view from there 😦

& yeah, I’m still a little grouchy from my trip – I actually did have a great time despite the FB trailer park incident.

The Long Road to New Mexico

Which I haven’t even started yet, I’m still in bed drinking my 2nd cup of coffee before I rally to crank up the freezing car. Driving my son and his dog back to Las Cruces, the super long trek that I’m going to take a few days to drive instead of powering through in a day…I can’t do that.

In the meantime, I stay at my mom’s then her brother’s house. I’d stay one night in a hotel in maybe Phoenix if we didn’t have the dog with us, that slows us down a little. There’s a nice dog friendly hotel in Phoenix we stayed at last year on the way back, it’s just that I don’t want to deal and my mom would freak if I drove anywhere near LA and didn’t stay with her.

So that’s the plan, braving the wild west in a Honda…

I have my keyboard packed for my mom’s house so I can still practice, have my camera & drone with me just in case something pops out. One place I want to get some shots is White Sands, I keep going to the hot springs instead of that direction. See if I have an extra hour drive in me when I get there?

The photography stuff is going to have to just be for me now, everyone’s a photographer. One little rant before I go, I posted my NY goals on my FB and someone new to FB – who I haven’t seen since 6th grade – started giving me “advice” on my little songwriting goal. The link was helpful, it’s just really frustrating when someone googles stuff to give me “advice.” With my drone business, I’d say some technology really wasn’t available yet and someone would send me a google link proving it was available. Thank you.

I’ve been (badly) playing piano for over 10 years now, pretty sure I know at least a little about music?? 2019 is going to be not listening to manspeak!!

And she’s off!!!

Happy New Year!!

Past Winter Solstice, made it through Christmas, now to look forward to longer days and a really long drive!! Kicking the New Year off with a drive back to New Mexico, as soon as the car is fixed. The NYE plan was to anchor by Treasure Island to watch the San Francisco fireworks until I saw the forecast of 50mph winds. No thanks on being cold, miserable, then losing anchorage in the middle of the night. Took a bath after dinner and woke up when the dogs started barking at the fireworks.

I’ll be on the road most of January, kind of like my MIA in May except for without my truck. I’ll have my nice camera with me, try to get some shots in between driving all over the SouthWest again.

This is really the first time in my life I’ve had a lot of freedom… Last year I was still working with my drone business up until maybe March? I never really feel like I can get away, something always comes up. 2018 was all about the engagement and wedding (which we still haven’t had, besides the quick courthouse wedding). Then they moved back in, so I had to adjust to that and switch gears from new carpets to a Bissell pet stain remover for the dog. December has been all about dog chaos at our house with 2 dogs here.

I’ll say one thing about the dogs, especially my son’s dog, she needs walks. When I’m in New Mexico she knocks my second cup of coffee out of my hand for her walk and doesn’t back down until we’re out the door. Her favorite walk here is the Lafayette reservoir, we’ve been trying to take her a few times a week.

Can’t complain though, even if I didn’t do much traveling I did a lot of sailing. Was probably out on the boat twice a week with 30 knot plus winds all summer. Have to do some calculations, but I should be pretty close to having my days in for my captains license. Learned about fuel calculations, replacing a fuel sender, replacing an anchor line, filters, fuel leaks, what do do in a split second when there’s no rudder and the bow goes downwind in the marina, how to react in a split second when someone throws you the line attached to the boat while you’re tying up the other side on the dock, what to say to someone who insists you don’t have the sails trimmed and the boat is going backwards when it’s actually all good they just want to question your ability. Lots of sailing lessons!!

Looking forward to more sailing, maybe to SoCal to spend time with my mom (and have a reprieve if I need it). That I will need able crew for, don’t trust that I won’t be barfing the whole way. Supposedly even if you don’t get sea sick, the swells will nail you.

Be off-line for about a week while I road trip…

Happy New Year!!!