I graduated from the University of California, Riverside on June 18, 1994. At the time I graduated, I was doing computer work for the dorm cafeteria, automating their budgets in Excel, developing reports, that kind of thing. I continued to do that work through much of the summer. Sometime in August 1994 I applied for a job as a “microcomputer support consultant” at a public policy think tank. I didn’t give much thought to it when I applied. It was one of several places I’d sent resumes.
On September 7, 1994 I was calling in for an interview. It was a grueling, 8 hour interview that lasted from about 8:30 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon and included a lunch interview. I met with all kinds of different people and they grilled me on my computer skills, people skills, pretty much everything. I’d never been through anything quite like that before and I was a limp reed by the time the interviewing was over. I didn’t want to think about it or talk about it.
Time passed and I heard nothing. I figured that I probably didn’t get the job, but then maybe a month after the interview, I’d heard from the people at the dorm cafeteria that they received a call to check my references. I figured that was a good sign, but I continued to wait. Shortly thereafter (I don’t recall the exact date, alas) I received a phone call offering me the job. I accepted and we agreed that I would start on Monday, October 17, 1994.
I arrived on time on Monday, October 17, 1994, went through the sign in process and some introduction, and was given a temporary office (which had a view of the ocean) until my permanent office was painted. That took one week. A week later I moved into my permanent office. I was in that office for nearly 8 years, until I transferred to the Washington D.C. office. I’ve been in this same office now for more than 9 years. Today, Monday, October 17, 2011, I have been at the company for seventeen years. I think I have the fewest number of office moves for someone who has been at the company this long.