I tried to survive as a PC consultant. I made a little money but not near enough. This was the middle 1980s and jobs were scarce in Houston because the oil boom in oil services ended when the price of oil eased.
We had bought our house 15 yrs earlier and so payments were not outrageous. Relatively small balance, not outrageous interest rate.
But I also tried to get another mainframe job. There were very few interviews, less than one a month. Then, late in summer, a headhunter called me and said a person was coming down from Pgh to do interviews. I went. It was strange. She gave me a test on mainframe assembly language and on words. On the first, I suspect I got all the answers correct. The second test was of a type that I did well on, e.g. the GRE.
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But then I heard nothing until one day they called to say they wanted me to come to Pgh for interview.
I went to the airport. I think I drove my self. Arrived in Pgh. I was greeted by a Realtor!!! I can't remember if I stayed overnightor not but my guess is I did. I think I was there overnight. I think I stayed at the hotel overlooking the Point. She took me to the Duquesne Systems offices in Allegheny Center.
First good sign was that the first person I met after seeing the HR woman was Denis Burt, The VP of the group that owned TPX. It was at the time his only product. We was wearing blue jeans, a sweater and a tie. He had a full beard and looked vaguely like a college professor or even Gene Eichler.
The second person I met was Pat Pagano, the lead. Jeans and a plaid shirt. I could see this was going to be a relaxed atmosphere. I was mildly happy.
When I left, the Realtor took me around to see neighborhoods. I am going to guess she showed me townships like Ross and not Nor'side. Certainly not Baytree.
What was probably next day, I returned to IAH.
And then again nothing.
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What I didn't know was the product I was to work on was hot. But September was the end of the fiscal year. The venture capitalists wanted to see the year's numbers before allowing the funding for more positions.
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One day in October I get a phone call saying there was a job offer on the way by FedEx. When could I start work?
I signed the contract and returned it the same day. The terms were generous. A good salary bump from my last job, 3 wks vacation to start, a relocation allowance for a while, a moving package.
But my head was not ready to move. It took a week or so. About a week before the end of October, I filled the little old AMC Concord w/clothes and little else. It took about 10 min to get to I10. I drove east. Another 15 min to downtown. The about another 10 min to get to I610. It was very sad. I tried to sing one of the StLouis Jesuits songs to cheer myself up. I broke down and cried. I had to pull over to regain my composure.
I stayed the night w/Ruby and Jim. She was as gracious as ever and he was as crazy as ever.
The leaves on the trees in the southern mountains were beautiful in 1986. It helped keep me going.
The next night was at 72 Greenbriar. Mother had been a widow for 5 yrs and was still cleaning out Dad's things. I would not be surprised to learn we ate at Frisch's Big Boy.
The next day I arrived in Pgh. I79 to I279, down the Greentree hill, through the tunnel (Ft Pitt?), over the Ft Pitt bridge, past the Point, over the Duquesne bridge. The shot one of the TV stations used for a while as an intro/promo.
I stopped at the Post Office across from Allegheny Center where 6th St starts and got a PObox. Then around the Center to North Avenue. East, past the Aviary, to the WMCA on the corner of North and one of the Mexican War Streets, where I stayed for 2 wks while I looked for an apartment.
A culture shock. Doors to the rooms didn't lock. Communal showers. I had to take my suitcase with me when I went to work. I ate out of my trunk for two weeks. At that time, there was still a good sandwich shop in AC, which had daily specials. Giant Eagle had moved out of AC to a few streets east. Those were my two initial sources of food.
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