The Vitro years, Part 4.

I have to describe the building we were in. It had 4 or 5 floors and we were housed in the basement. There was a window that ran down one side of the ceiling, all the way across the building, so we could tell what the weather was doing outside and get some natural light. It was cavernous, about a 20 foot ceiling and every sound echoed through the place.

This was 1987, so we could actually smoke at our desks, and way more people smoked, than not. I brought in a nice glass ashtray from home for my desk and the cleaning people would empty and clean it every night. The different sections of the company housed in the basement were separated by 10 foot tall walls that could be moved if needed, which they were, often. It was the precursor to the cubicle, which other buildings in the company already had. Our desks were arranged in rows with a walkway between the sets that were bumped together. You had to get along, but it was tough sometimes and the lack of privacy would be tough to stand today.

The very first IBM PCs appeared at our company shortly after I arrived and it was well after the first Windows 3.0 computers were already on the market. We were lucky to have the company spend the money to upgrade the OS to DOS 3. We were working mostly with DBASE3, the first database application I ever worked with. My coworker Matt helped get me started with DBASE and after a few days, just told me to “RTFM”, which meant Read the F-ing Manual. Which I eventually did. Over time, I needed his help less and less and got very good at programming and database design. The basic principals back then are still applicable today when it comes to databases. After awhile people were coming to me for help.

Enough work, outside of work was the fun stuff. I started working there in March 1987, but once the weather started warming up, I saw a different side of people’s behavior. We started going out to lunch most days and beers were the norm (even for the boss). Usually on Fridays and sometimes on a mid week day, we wouldn’t make it back to work after lunch and I would be lucky to make it home.

We frequented a bar called the Super Bowl Pub, which lost its name because of NFL Copyright issues and is no longer there today. The place was dark, small and seedy, just what sailors crave. Dan was really big on pinball, but most all of us played. The 8Ball Deluxe game was our favorite. We would rack up so many free games, we couldn’t play them all and would leave them for people who came in after we left. Eventually, the owner raised the height of the back legs of the machine, which made play more difficult. We adjusted and eventually the machine was replaced. I would love to have one of those at home now!

I am finding this story a bit boring, though there will be "some" good parts. If anyone wants this to continue, please let me know.