What woudl this look like?

 Somethign like this!

Bigger & Better Things

OK, IT HAS HAPPENED!

I've actually got Westemby.com up and running! OMG! I know!

So yeah, go there, and check out the content as it develops. As it fills out, this site will be dwindling.

Speaking of Grandparents

Since I posted about my grandmother, I thought I'd go ahead and post a video I made of her ex-husband, my grandfather, Courtney Saum. The below video was shot while I was visiting him last week in Silver City, NM. In this clip he gives some advice on life, and what's important in it. Seeing as I never really had a father figure growing up, he was a substitute in many ways. The guy's got some pretty good views, I think. Enjoy.

The Ongoing Saga of My Ailing Grandmother

So now it turns out I need to return to Roswell, NM to attend to my grandmother and put her into a home. Needless to say, this is not something I relish doing. It shouldn't technically be my job, considering that my mother is still around, but so it goes. You can't pick your family.

To that end, I wish I had a more responsible mother, or for that matter, a more responsible grandmother. The former so that I could respect her for actually doing something to take care of her own family (we'll overlook her irresponsible actions considering my own birth and raising and just focus on the immediate circumstances) and the latter for recognizing that she was aging and that someone ultimately would have to make arrangements regarding her care.

I know that this is something callous to say, but I'm just being honest. I know I can be a jerk and a little cold at times.

So On Tuesday I'll be back in New Mexico, getting picked up by Gabe in ABQ and then going to Rui. From there it's off with me to Roswell. I have to see my grandmother into the hospital, and then out again (she broke her arm, putting in motion all these events) and assume Power of Attorney to get an accurate picture of her finances (nursing homes aint cheap). I also have to take stock of what's in her house to figure out what she needs and what hits the dumpster, cuz we'll likely have to put that house on the market so that she can afford to have someone take care of her 24/7.

*Sigh*

Well, on the bright side it's good experience because I'll likely have to do it for my mother again sometime down the road.

Roy Pearson Is A Tool

I posted a while back about a judge in D.C. who was suing his local cleaners for upwards of $50 Million because they lost his pants. That douche bag is on trial now, getting his day in court. Marc Fisher of the Washington Post has written an article about it here.

This stupid jerk Pearson should be be disbarred and laughed out of town. What the hell are you thinking, man? Answer: you're not. You need to get a life, get a real job, and try to salvage what's left of your reputation (if you ever had a decent one to begin with).

The article mentions Mr. Pearson's son, who I pray for. Even though he's 30 this has to be terribly embarrassing for him. Sorry your dad's a douche, kid.

Funny Thing About Me ...

I hate talking on the phone. Even though I am like most Americans with the ubiquitous cell phone near me at all times, mine is mainly for text communication rather than phone to phone vocal calls.

Recently my grandmother has become a little ill, which has promoted my grandfather to be on the horn trying to reach me what seems like every five minutes (more like every half hour, in reality). I hate to say this, but sometimes I just don't pick up. There's no point, often, as he just wishes to revisit something we've already discussed. I've learned, however, that this is not a good strategy.

You see, Pops doesn't realize that every time he calls my phone makes a note of it, telling me that I've missed a call. So what happens is that I get a message that says I've missed 7 calls in the last hour and when I finally get back to him it's for something like "Hey Wes, I just wanted to see if you'd had lunch yet. You like to eat." God bless his soul, but that's not something I need to be called over. I hate talking on the phone.

I mentioned to him that I use text messaging (I described it as "little letters") and this tickled him pink. He was quite the corresponder in the past, though he does not write at all any more due to age. I doubt thaty he'll send me a text any time soon, but wouldn't that be neat?

A New Mexico Good Time

Ruidoso was a fun place to grow up. We had trees, we had water, we had mountains. That's a lot more than can be said for much of the state, really. In that way we were lucky. So, one day during of our visit to Ruidoso Gabe, Logan and I decided to show Eva some very small town New Mexico fun times.

We began by off roading up to a water tower. Now, I don't know if anyone out there reading this knows what off roading is. In Ruidoso it's a lot more than just getting off the pavement. It involved 4 wheel drive, seat belts and gritting of teeth. Not for the faint of heart. At one point we climbed up what must have been a 3 foot rock wall, only to get the 3 wheel motion going a little bit further down the trail, and then we ended up having to blaze a semi-new path through some underbrush. The reward, however, was magnificent. We were greeted with a pair of water towers, which just begged to be climbed.

Now here's where I give Eva credit. She was totally down to climb said towers after the initial adventure to arrive at them. That might not sound extraordinary in and of itself, but considering the ladders (yes, ladders, not steps) to the tops of the towers were closed off by some medieval torture device looking cage one had to squeeze through she didn't complain and just went right on through it like the rest of us. Go you, Magyar! Oh, and did I mention she was in wedges at the time? You rock!

The view from the tops of the towers was awesome, and unfortunately I didn't have my camera to snap any pics. I'll try to round some up from Gabe, Eva or Logan and post them, though. What was really neat was while we were up there on this little platform I noticed something familiar: My initials (WDT) and the date of 12/07 carved on a little bar that surrounded the platform at the top of the ladder. Neat! I had been in that exact same spot some 7 years prior! It was during a winter break home from New York City! Of course, I had to make another entry into this railing cum make-shift guest book.

After we climbed down and traversed the road back through the woods (this time needing Logan to push us for traction at the tricky 3 wheel motion part) we participated in an old American favorite: BOWLING! We had to wait a little while because it was league night, so Eva and I turned to some air hockey. Of course, her superior Hungarian skills beat out my sloppy American ways and she was triumphant. I gave her a little bit of a rally, but life under Communism taught the little red head a thing or two about winning with plastic pucks.

When it came time for bowling we selected names (Ciscokid here), got shoes and took a lane. I am not the best bowler, but I came in 2d amongst the 4 of us, beat out by Logan who is apparently getting ready for his spot on the PBA. To his credit, the boy's got that whole hook thing down pat. Me, I just throw it hard down the center, more or less. Unfortunately, my approach is not even as effective as the below vid clip of Eva getting a strike. I had a few spares, but not one of those damned Xs.

Malaguena, A Good Dog

Mallie died today. She was a good dog. It may sound morbid but I'm really glad I was here to witness this and be there. She died in the house, on the living room floor, surrounded by family and members of her pack. Not a bad way to go, really.

I remember when Gabe and I brought her home from Las Cruces in the back of his VW Van. She was such a cute little thing; she had been left for dead by a ditch on a farm road. She was always a very alert guard dog (part Chow) but she was plagued with health problems the last couple of years. Now she's no longer in pain.

Daddy, Gabe and I dug a grave for her out in the woods behind the house; near a trail she had run along countless times in better years. It was weird to bury her. I don't think I've ever actually dug a grave and put something in it and then filled it up again. I kept thinking of the line from Hamlet: "Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him, Horatio." It really does drive home the fragility of life to dig a grave and bury something. These feelings were further amplified by the other dogs running around in the woods seemingly oblivious to what was taking place. I thought to myself how they could not know it, but we would someday dig their graves, and bury them here, too.

RIP Malaguena, 1996 - 2007

We Made It to Rui!

So we've made it to Ruidoso. I feel like a tourist in my hometown. This place is growing and developing so much, there are familiar sights and new ones. Some things I remember from growing up here are still around and others are gone. It's the inevitable march of progress and growth, I suppose.

We went to White Sands the first night, that was a lot of fun. There was a full moon illuminating all the dunes; I'm going to have to wait until I get back to Palo Alto before I can post pics, so I apologize.

Yesterday we went to Lincoln, Billy The Kid country. We ate at a little saloon/deli and wandered around for awhile in the afternoon sun. It was fun to see everything, and just to drive, really. I don't have a car in California, so cruising these little roads is a fun treat. It has also been a little rainy as of late, making everything exceptionally green. Great for pics!

We went out to dinner at Casa Blanca after our afternoon trip, and had some great food. They even offered a Habanero chicken dish that Eva sampled, but it didn't phase her. I think she's ready for the Burger in San Mateo ... I kept it simple and very New Mexico by having a green chile chicken enchilada. From Casa Blanca it was off to Farley's, which is a little pub/restaurant. We had a few pitchers there with friends and then it was downtown (Midtown, actually) to Quarters for more festivities. The Blues festival was wrapping up, so there was an interesting and eclectic mix of folks in town.

Day 1 of Adventure to Ruidoso

We departed this morning from lovely PA about 10:50, which was 50 minutes later than we had originally planned, but so it goes. Tires aired up, windows clean, gas in tank we were on the road and away we went. I really like the area around Gilroy, where we passed through Pacheco Pass, and this is always a little treat for me. The girl has not been through said Pass, and was enjoying its scenic qualities as best she could while deftly maneuvering us between large semis.

From Gilroy we dropped into Los Banos, and then down the 5 to Bakersfield, then to Tehachapi past the plane graveyard (very neat) and into all new territory for the Magyar. She couldn't get over how 'desolate' (her words) it was. I told her there was more to come, believe me.

So through the Mojave we went, through Barstow and onto the I-40 where we putted along, made a driver shift, and drove into the night until we came to this lovely mountain oasis in the desert; no, not Ruidoso, but it's ugly Arizona cousin: Flagstaff.

Flagstaff has always reminded me of Rui. It's that whole city in the mountains surrounded by desert thing. The weather here is nice this evening, and the whole trip it has been warm, but not too bad. Eva and I have dropped the windows and are just cruising with them cracked and stereo cranked up. That's the way to travel. Who needs A/C?

We are looking forward to waking up early tomorrow and taking advantage of the free breakfast. Well, I am looking forward to totally stealing, er, taking, some of this fine deliciousness for the trip onward into NM.

Google Shows You Something New ... AGAIN!

Google has released a new feature that is bundled into maps.google.com, a *new* "street view" button that, well, allows you to see the street view of wherever on the map you're pinpointed. AMAZING!

I took it for a ride to some locations I know pretty well (my address, for example) and was really astonished at this feature. I can't believe the coverage they've amassed.

Check it out

Death Row killer's last words: 'Go Raiders!'

Eric & Thor's Visit

Last week Thor and his brother Eric came a-visiting. It was Thor's birthday when they touched down, that was a week ago. My apologies for taking so long to post anything regarding their time here, but it was coming directly on the heels of my job being axed (see below) and the events kind of pulled a one-two punch on me.

So anyway, Thor and Eric touched down on Friday, and we proceeded to get some dinner at a great little place, Ming's Seafood Garden, after we picked up the ladies from Eva's.

After some good ol' fashioned Chinese food we cabbed it to Bacchus Kirk, where drinks were ordered and we secured a little corner booth for everyone to lounge around. Bacchus
is a great little shack of a place on Nob Hill, and everyone was having a great time. My moustache ensured that I was safely looking like a child molester all evening given my companion's youthful countenance.

Thorin loves the Mission, so after awhile he was demanding we depart for said quarter of the city. Two separate cab rides later we arrive at Doc's Clock for drinks, reveling in $2 Olympia. However, Doc's was only a brief respite for our thirst so we pushed onto The Mission Bar, where we downed some Pabst, and I think Thor did some shot of something or other.

We were pressing onto another bar, the Napper, when I ran into, of all people, a guy named Francis whom I used to work with. He accompanied us down the street to 24th and Van Ness where we did another round before hunger and last calls set upon us. We left The Napper in two groups, and apparently narrowly missed danger in one instance and confronted it in the other.

While at the Napper a gentleman had been accosting us to purchase dime bags of ganja from him, and smoke it. None of us were really open to this idea, and one in our party was especially vocal in his protests. The first three of us left and proceeded up the street where they encountered said dealer and his crew on the corner, but my friends just crossed the street and kept their path to avoid him. The others of us, though, were not so lucky. As we reached the corner of 24th and Capp we espied a big FAX/Copy machine (typical of every office since 1995) and, of course, had to make light of it. This attracted the attention of Senor ganja dealer and his crew who were in the adjacent parking lot. When they confronted us I turned and walked away, not wanting to get jacked in the Mission.

Some of my companions did not have the same instincts and while I merely walked away, intent on burritos and a bed, they turned to begin a conversation on French politics or to debate the existence of free will in an epistemological framework, something to that affect. Well, turned out the vatos weren't so keen on conversation and instead shook the dudes down. Luckily no one had any money to cough up and they went away empty handed, but it was still not cool.

The next day we grabbed some brekkies at the Olympia cafe instead of Dottie's cuz the damn line was just too long. Their food's good, but that 45 minutes waiting for duck fennel sausage can easily be translated into mojitos and omelettes down the street, and after enough champagne you don't really care if it's greasy, in fact you enjoy the food more. After Olympia we went to Red's and the weather was fantastic for some brews, some finger food and the bay right at our feet.

From Red's we ventured back down the peninsula to San Mateo for some infamous Habanero Hamburgers. They used to be served at what was then the Prince of Wales Pub. Now it's the same place but it's got some other name and they remodeled the interior. I think the remodeling was OK, thye put down new floors, but the place lost a lot of character that went into it being so unique. There was formerly a lot of sports junk all over, a real Giants strong hold, now it was kind of sanitary. That, and the service sucked donkey. I ordered fish and chips, with some nachos to appetize me. Well, the fish came out without chips (WTF?!) and the guy didn't even bother to tell me that they were out. Just served me some fish. And the nachos? Tortilla chips with cheeze whip dumpe don them. Worthless.



That didn't sour the day, though. We returned to Palo Alto, hit up the Old Pro where there was a girl who just couldn't get enoug of the bull and rode the damn thing like 8 times with all her friends. After that it was Rudy's and then a walk home. We put Thor and his bro on the plane the next day not much worse for wear and belly full of breakfast Palo Alto style, to boot.

The Day The Music Died

Some of you may have noticed a few days have passed since my last post, so I'll go ahead and give you the low down as to what has happened with me to cause the brief hiatus.

I moved back to the Bay Area last year, in October. I found this great job at a cool little tech firm, eMochila. I was in Sales there (if you couldn't tell from the previous posts), and we made great websites for accountants and lawyers. When I went to the interview for this job one thing stuck out in my mind: the Sales floor had music playing, and anyone could go up and change out their iPod. Coming from a very corporate job in Las Vegas it was a totally different vibe. It was just cool.

So during the last six months or so that I've worked there this job was really fun. We had two teams of folks between 3 managers and it was like a little family. We had a company kick ball team, we all went out for drinks after work, we were a pretty tight crew. There were probably about 34 of us in the company, total. I say 'were' because as of Thursday afternoon the company laid off everyone in Sales (9 people total) and some of the tech team, as well.

I won't go into the details of what happened, or what is currently ongoing with the firm, but suffice to say that the managers/owners were forced to make a decision that none of them were happy with. They were nice enough to us that they made a decision that allowed those of us let go to have a little parachute to rely on rather than just bring thrown out on the street. They were genuinely concerned about their employees, and it hurt them to have to make the decision in the first place.

So how do I feel about all this? Needless to say my termination was abrupt and it all came so quickly that it has taken me a few days to digest it all. That, and the fact that this weekend Thor came through with Eric and I had to entertain (more on that in a later post).

I like the fact that we got a severance, I'll start there. The owners could have dragged us out for as long as time allowed and then did what they did (let us go) without having the capital to drop us lightly. That was nice of them, and I respect them all the more for it. It really speaks to the unique culture we had, and the great guys that they are. Much respect to you, gentlemen.

The fact that I am here today in this position is interesting to me in and of itself just because I feel like I'm living a movie or news story. I mean, how many times in America have we heard about the tech company that's flying high one day, then something happens, and the next day it basically folds? To that end I'm not happy it occurred (because many peoples' livelihoods were destroyed) but the writer in my likes being in the midst of an interesting story.

In that same vein, the job was always teaching me something new. It was a new field for me, a new position for me, and I was always presented with something that was a challenge. I have been through a very interesting and also educational experience. I've learned a lot about business, about people and about myself. Hard times make a mind pliable, I suppose.

So what's in store for Wes now? Well, I'm unemployed and looking. If you know someone who needs a job done, get in touch and let's talk. In the mean time, I'll probably watch the final episodes of Rome that I downloaded, and maybe a few films as well.

A Resonating Post

Saw this article on Psychology Today, a link from Reddit. I am in many ways a loner. I keep to myself, but I have a small group of close friends that I feel very close to. I like to think that I can mix well in any social situation, I just eschew them most of the time and opt to chill out alone. I've had this baffle many people close to me, while others seem to "get it" very easily.

Some clips below:

In our society, where extroverts make up three-quarters of the population, loners (except Henry David Thoreau) are pegged as creepy or pathetic. But soloists ... can function just fine in the world—they simply prefer traveling through their own interior universe.

Introverts aren't just less sociable than extroverts; they also engage with the world in fundamentally different ways. While outgoing people savor the nuances of social interaction, loners tend to focus more on their own ideas—and on stimuli that don't register in the minds of others.

Pwnage of the Day

Me: "Hi, this is Wes Temby from the XXXX Corporation, how are you today?"

Her: "I'm sorry, I don't really have time to talk right now."

I know this is a put on, because otherwise, if she was really busy, why would she have answered the phone? Not to mention I could sense in her tone that she knew I was a salesperson and she was giving me the brush off.

Me: "Oh, I'm sorry, is this not a CPA firm?"

Her: "Well, I'm not a CPA, but I do book keeping for businesses and tax preparation."

Me: "Gotcha! You had time to talk!" I hang up.

Quotes Of The Day

George Bernard Shaw

from Quotes of the Day

"A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul."

Unknown

from Quotes of the Day

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."

Code Monkey

I stumbled across this video from a website that had a funny pic someone linked to on Reddit. (Wow that was a neat little train, eh?) I really liked the video, probably because they mention Login Pages specifically, but also because it was pretty humorous overall. I could certainly relate to the song's content, for sure.

From The 'Current Events' File

So if you've been anywhere near major media these days you know now that Jerry Falwell is dead. Slate Magazine did a neat little write up about him, a 'Greatest Hits' of sorts, outlining the fact that this guy was not some respectable political symbol but more appropriately a total tool.

Some of my favorite clips from the article below:

On AIDS: "AIDS is the wrath of a just God against homosexuals."
This one is especially interesting to me personally since my father, a straight man, died from the disease.

On the separation of church and state: "There is no separation of church and state."
Interesting since some of the regimes we are currently at war with in the grandiose War on Terror are in essence Theocracies; not to mention the statement is completely at odds with our own Constitution.

On Jews: "In my opinion, the Antichrist will be a counterfeit of the true Christ, which means that he will be male and Jewish, since Jesus was male and Jewish."