In 1991, I had been working for AT&T for 5 years when I learned of an opportunity to teach at the university level in a Visiting Professor Program that our company sponsored. The program had engineers from our company go to a Historically Black College/University (HBCU) and teach for 1 to 2 years. Our company would continue to pay the salary for the person but your job during that time was teaching at the school.
At that time I had been providing some training in the workplace on a couple different subjects (in addition to my regular software development assignments) and I really enjoyed the teaching. I was still single at the time and I spent some time thinking about the opportunity and I decided to go for it. I was excited about the idea of teaching though it scared me since developing a curriculum for a college course was something that I have never done before. The program was pretty flexible and my plans were to teach some courses in computer science and math.
I submitted my name to the program and I was accepted but it still required approval from 4 levels above me in my own organization (since they would be paying me during this time). There were 10 to 12 different schools in the program and I was originally told that I would be going to Southern University in Baton Rouge or Prairie View A&M University located just NW of Houston. I was excited about the possibility of living in Louisiana as I love the food down there -- it always comes back to the food for me. :) I later learned that I would be going to Prairie View for the 1991-1992 school year to start (most of the program participants decided to stay for a second year after the first was completed).
My supervisor and department head signed off their approvals pretty quickly and then the form sat on my lab director's desk for a little while. I then learned that he also approved it and that it had gone to his boss (VP level) for the final approval. It sat there for some time and then our company released their quarterly results and the numbers were bad. We learned that we would be laying off people for one of the first times that anyone could remember (the AT&T monopoly had been gone for 7 years at this point). My application was then denied by our VP due to the financial situation. I was much more upset at that time that some of my friends were losing their jobs then I was about the door shutting on the opportunity to teach.
In the end I am very happy about how things worked out. I met my future wife Ann during the next year at AT&T and we started dating. Teaching at some level might still be in my future but for now I am content with where God has placed me. But aside from the personal side I sometimes do wonder how things would have turned out if things had gone the other way 20 years ago.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
O Canada...
We got back this evening from our week in Canada visiting Toronto and Niagara Falls. We had been to both in the past but it has been 10 or 11 years since the last visit so my girls didn't really remember either very much.
The trip was enjoyable and the time off work was very relaxing. The highlights weren't super high but I think that we all had a nice time. My oldest daughter, Gloria, just got back from a missions trip to Costa Rica a couple days before we went on this trip so she was tired at times and really wanted to be home. I think that my younger daughter, Monica, probably had more "fun" on the trip for this reason.
I will try to capture some of the highlights by day starting on Thursday 8/11:
Day 1 (The Drive There):
We drove from Aurora to Toronto via Indiana and Michigan. The thing that sticks out most in my mind from this day was that while we were in Canada on the way to Toronto we saw a truck pass over us on an overpass that had the name Flanagan on it. Monica thought that this was amusing and decided that it was a cool name and that she would start using it whenever she was upset. So for the rest of the trip anytime something went wrong Monica was quick to let out an "O Flanagan". I told her to add the O to make it sound more Irish.
Day 2 (Touristy Things in Toronto):
We stayed at a Residence Inn near the Toronto Airport for our 4 nights in Toronto. The rates were pretty good and I used some points from my business trips to get a couple free nights. On our first full day in Toronto we did a couple of touristy things. We went to the look out level of the CN Tower (this is on the 113th floor but you can also go up to the 147th floor for an extra charge). This was the world's tallest tower until about 4 years ago. The second thing that we did was a 90 minute ride on the Kajama (a 165-foot 3-masted schooner). This is probably the thing that I looked forward to the most on the trip but in the end I was a little disappointed as we really didn't "sail" very much though all of our sails were raised. Instead it seemed that a small motor which was used to get us out of the harbor and onto Lake Ontario was used for the full trip and took us out on pretty much a straight line into the Lake and then used to later bring us back on the same line. It wasn't a very windy day but there was some wind so it seemed like we could have done some real sailing but it just didn't happen on this day. Lunch was at a Middle Eastern restaurant near the CN Tower and was very good.
Day 3 (Ethnic Plunge in Toronto):
Our second day in Toronto was used to see more of the ethnic communities in this very diverse city. We got a family full day pass for the public transportation for $10 (a weekend deal) which we used for multiple subway rides and a trolley car ride near the end of the day. We spent a good amount of time at the Kensington Market which is a square mile that is full of outdoor shops and restaurants from all different cultures including Chinese, Korean, Portuguese and Jamaican. We had lunch at a Korean restaurant but while leaving we learned that the restaurant had only "conditionally passed" a health inspection the day before we were there. We saw this on the outside glass door as we were leaving (after noticing some people walk away after reading this). It would have been nice if we had seen this on the way in. The food was good and no one got sick so we were pretty happy about that. :)
We also went to the Eaton Centre which is a large mall in downtown Toronto. The nice thing was that there was a subway stop connected to the mall which made it very convenient on our public transportation day.
Day 4 (Relaxing and Having Fun):
Our final day in Toronto was more about relaxing and having fun instead of trying to be a tourist. We started off by going bowling. However we discovered that the Canadians have two types of bowling - 10 pin which is the same as the US and 5 pin which is something very different. We decided to try something new and did the 5 pin bowling. The 5 pins are arranged in a V-shape with the front pin worth 5 points, the next 2 outside pins worth 3 points each and the back 2 corner pins worth 2 points each. The biggest difference however is the bowling ball which is maybe half the size of the normal ball and does not have finger holes. You also get 3 balls per frame instead of 2. The game was fun. We decided that we wanted to go see a movie after bowling so we decided that whoever won the second game of bowling would choose the movie (from two that we had picked out). Gloria and Ann tied with the best score in the first game with a 118. For the second game Gloria took the lead from the start and led the entire game going into the final frame. After her last ball she was leading Ann by 23 points. With this game you can actually get 45 points in a frame with 3 strikes so the game wasn't over yet but Gloria had already chosen the movie in her mind. Ann then threw a spare (got all 5 pins with 2 balls) and had one more ball with which she threw a strike. This gave her 30 points and she won the game. Monica and I had fun but we brought up the rear in both games. In the end Ann chose the same movie that Gloria wanted to see so it didn't matter who won but it was pretty fun how the game ended.
After the bowling we went and saw Captain America in an afternoon matinee. After the movie we did some shopping at a couple of malls in the outskirts of Toronto and had a really nice day.
Day 5 (Niagara Falls at Night):
On Day 5 we slept in and then checked out of our hotel and made the hour and half drive from Toronto to Niagara Falls (Canadian side). In Niagara Falls we stayed at a small motel that had good reviews on the internet. It wasn't anything fancy but it served its purpose. We couldn't check in until 3:00 so we decided to drive to the falls to get our first look on this trip. We drove through the downtown area of Niagara Falls which was very busy with pedestrians with lots of shops, restaurants and tourist attractions. We drove by the falls and then did some shopping. After checking into our hotel and eating dinner we went back to the falls area and walked close to the falls so that we could see the falls after dark when they were lit up with different colored lights. It was very nice.
Day 6 (Getting Wet under the Falls):
For our last day in Niagara we took the Maid of the Mist boat ride below the falls. We all got ponchos to wear and got pretty wet on this boat ride. This was a lot of fun and is a neat way to see the falls up close. After the boat ride we did more walking to go to the top of the falls and then later back to where our car was parked in the downtown area to do our final shopping on the trip.
Day 7 (Long Drive Home):
We got up early on Wednesday morning and loaded the van and made the long drive back to Aurora. We weren't sure how long it would take to cross back into the states. It ended up being around 45 min or so in the line of cars but once we got to the border we were through in about a minute.
The trip was enjoyable and the time off work was very relaxing. The highlights weren't super high but I think that we all had a nice time. My oldest daughter, Gloria, just got back from a missions trip to Costa Rica a couple days before we went on this trip so she was tired at times and really wanted to be home. I think that my younger daughter, Monica, probably had more "fun" on the trip for this reason.
I will try to capture some of the highlights by day starting on Thursday 8/11:
Day 1 (The Drive There):
We drove from Aurora to Toronto via Indiana and Michigan. The thing that sticks out most in my mind from this day was that while we were in Canada on the way to Toronto we saw a truck pass over us on an overpass that had the name Flanagan on it. Monica thought that this was amusing and decided that it was a cool name and that she would start using it whenever she was upset. So for the rest of the trip anytime something went wrong Monica was quick to let out an "O Flanagan". I told her to add the O to make it sound more Irish.
Day 2 (Touristy Things in Toronto):
We stayed at a Residence Inn near the Toronto Airport for our 4 nights in Toronto. The rates were pretty good and I used some points from my business trips to get a couple free nights. On our first full day in Toronto we did a couple of touristy things. We went to the look out level of the CN Tower (this is on the 113th floor but you can also go up to the 147th floor for an extra charge). This was the world's tallest tower until about 4 years ago. The second thing that we did was a 90 minute ride on the Kajama (a 165-foot 3-masted schooner). This is probably the thing that I looked forward to the most on the trip but in the end I was a little disappointed as we really didn't "sail" very much though all of our sails were raised. Instead it seemed that a small motor which was used to get us out of the harbor and onto Lake Ontario was used for the full trip and took us out on pretty much a straight line into the Lake and then used to later bring us back on the same line. It wasn't a very windy day but there was some wind so it seemed like we could have done some real sailing but it just didn't happen on this day. Lunch was at a Middle Eastern restaurant near the CN Tower and was very good.
Day 3 (Ethnic Plunge in Toronto):
Our second day in Toronto was used to see more of the ethnic communities in this very diverse city. We got a family full day pass for the public transportation for $10 (a weekend deal) which we used for multiple subway rides and a trolley car ride near the end of the day. We spent a good amount of time at the Kensington Market which is a square mile that is full of outdoor shops and restaurants from all different cultures including Chinese, Korean, Portuguese and Jamaican. We had lunch at a Korean restaurant but while leaving we learned that the restaurant had only "conditionally passed" a health inspection the day before we were there. We saw this on the outside glass door as we were leaving (after noticing some people walk away after reading this). It would have been nice if we had seen this on the way in. The food was good and no one got sick so we were pretty happy about that. :)
We also went to the Eaton Centre which is a large mall in downtown Toronto. The nice thing was that there was a subway stop connected to the mall which made it very convenient on our public transportation day.
Day 4 (Relaxing and Having Fun):
Our final day in Toronto was more about relaxing and having fun instead of trying to be a tourist. We started off by going bowling. However we discovered that the Canadians have two types of bowling - 10 pin which is the same as the US and 5 pin which is something very different. We decided to try something new and did the 5 pin bowling. The 5 pins are arranged in a V-shape with the front pin worth 5 points, the next 2 outside pins worth 3 points each and the back 2 corner pins worth 2 points each. The biggest difference however is the bowling ball which is maybe half the size of the normal ball and does not have finger holes. You also get 3 balls per frame instead of 2. The game was fun. We decided that we wanted to go see a movie after bowling so we decided that whoever won the second game of bowling would choose the movie (from two that we had picked out). Gloria and Ann tied with the best score in the first game with a 118. For the second game Gloria took the lead from the start and led the entire game going into the final frame. After her last ball she was leading Ann by 23 points. With this game you can actually get 45 points in a frame with 3 strikes so the game wasn't over yet but Gloria had already chosen the movie in her mind. Ann then threw a spare (got all 5 pins with 2 balls) and had one more ball with which she threw a strike. This gave her 30 points and she won the game. Monica and I had fun but we brought up the rear in both games. In the end Ann chose the same movie that Gloria wanted to see so it didn't matter who won but it was pretty fun how the game ended.
After the bowling we went and saw Captain America in an afternoon matinee. After the movie we did some shopping at a couple of malls in the outskirts of Toronto and had a really nice day.
Day 5 (Niagara Falls at Night):
On Day 5 we slept in and then checked out of our hotel and made the hour and half drive from Toronto to Niagara Falls (Canadian side). In Niagara Falls we stayed at a small motel that had good reviews on the internet. It wasn't anything fancy but it served its purpose. We couldn't check in until 3:00 so we decided to drive to the falls to get our first look on this trip. We drove through the downtown area of Niagara Falls which was very busy with pedestrians with lots of shops, restaurants and tourist attractions. We drove by the falls and then did some shopping. After checking into our hotel and eating dinner we went back to the falls area and walked close to the falls so that we could see the falls after dark when they were lit up with different colored lights. It was very nice.
Day 6 (Getting Wet under the Falls):
For our last day in Niagara we took the Maid of the Mist boat ride below the falls. We all got ponchos to wear and got pretty wet on this boat ride. This was a lot of fun and is a neat way to see the falls up close. After the boat ride we did more walking to go to the top of the falls and then later back to where our car was parked in the downtown area to do our final shopping on the trip.
Day 7 (Long Drive Home):
We got up early on Wednesday morning and loaded the van and made the long drive back to Aurora. We weren't sure how long it would take to cross back into the states. It ended up being around 45 min or so in the line of cars but once we got to the border we were through in about a minute.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Blast from the Past
For the first 23 years of my career I was a software developer which meant that I wrote code (mostly C and C++) and all of the things that go with this (write design documents, code, test, debug, fix bugs,..). The past couple years my job has changed and I now work in customer support which means that I help troubleshoot problems in our customer's network and help fix the problems that do not require software changes. Those that do require software changes go to our development groups where the fixes are generated and then delivered back to our customers.
With the change in job responsibilities I don't get close to the code very often but for different reasons I had a chance yesterday and today to look at some code while trying to understand some tests that had failed in our customer lab. The fun thing was that while doing this I found the problem (aka bug) and was able to tell our development group exactly what needed to be fixed. (Today a test of the patch confirmed that the fix was correct.) This was very enjoyable and brought back lots of memories of doing this type of work on a daily basis. I am very thankful for my present job but it is so much more fulfilling to be the person who solves the problems. Finding (and fixing) a software bug is often like solving a puzzle which is something else that I really like to do.
With the change in job responsibilities I don't get close to the code very often but for different reasons I had a chance yesterday and today to look at some code while trying to understand some tests that had failed in our customer lab. The fun thing was that while doing this I found the problem (aka bug) and was able to tell our development group exactly what needed to be fixed. (Today a test of the patch confirmed that the fix was correct.) This was very enjoyable and brought back lots of memories of doing this type of work on a daily basis. I am very thankful for my present job but it is so much more fulfilling to be the person who solves the problems. Finding (and fixing) a software bug is often like solving a puzzle which is something else that I really like to do.
Monday, August 1, 2011
A Day in the Sun....
On Saturday I took my daughter (Gloria) and a friend (Dawn) to a large contemporary Christian music festival in Zion, Illinois (about 90 minutes from our home). The music festival is called Ignite and is a 3 day event but we went just for the 2nd day which had a number of artists that we really enjoy.
The festival was an outdoor event and held at a minor league baseball park. The stage was setup in right center field against the fence and the audience mostly either sat on blankets in the outfield, sat in the stands (further away) or stood in front of the stage. We brought a nice heavy denim quilt that we use for picnics for our blanket. Little did we know that the ground was wet and sitting on the blanket meant that you were soon wet as well. Most people had brought tarps to put under their blankets but this is something that we missed. After about an hour, Gloria and Dawn ran to a store right outside the ballpark and grabbed a vinyl table cloth and a shower curtain liner. Between these two items we had a nice waterproof pad below our blanket and didn't have any more issues with the wet ground the rest of the day.
The concerts started at noon and went until around 10:45 that night. There were 10 groups and as the day went on the groups became more and more well known and had more and more stage time. The final group of the day was Switchfoot, a group that Gloria and I are really big fans of. I updated Facebook throughout the day and posted the following comments after each of the groups:
One thing that I figured out after later reading my Facebook entries is that someone stole my thesaurus and I use the word "great" way too often. Gloria described the day as one of the best days of her life. :) I wouldn't quite go that far but the day really was excellent between all of the wonderful music and hearing many of the artists share their hearts about Jesus. It is funny that Disciple was the one "Rock" group that we saw (Sunday was an all-Rock day but the one group was enough for us) and their music was very loud yet the lead singer from Disciple was one of the most effective and well spoken speakers in sharing the gospel and other scripture. We had seen this group a couple years ago and even on that occasion I remember him sharing scripture. I was very pleased that they were included in the Saturday lineup.
The festival was an outdoor event and held at a minor league baseball park. The stage was setup in right center field against the fence and the audience mostly either sat on blankets in the outfield, sat in the stands (further away) or stood in front of the stage. We brought a nice heavy denim quilt that we use for picnics for our blanket. Little did we know that the ground was wet and sitting on the blanket meant that you were soon wet as well. Most people had brought tarps to put under their blankets but this is something that we missed. After about an hour, Gloria and Dawn ran to a store right outside the ballpark and grabbed a vinyl table cloth and a shower curtain liner. Between these two items we had a nice waterproof pad below our blanket and didn't have any more issues with the wet ground the rest of the day.
The concerts started at noon and went until around 10:45 that night. There were 10 groups and as the day went on the groups became more and more well known and had more and more stage time. The final group of the day was Switchfoot, a group that Gloria and I are really big fans of. I updated Facebook throughout the day and posted the following comments after each of the groups:
- At Ignite, Finding Favor playing. Never heard of them but they sound very good.
- Josh Wilson was great and Stellar Kart was a lot of fun.
- Bldg 429 just finished. They grew on me and then clinched it at the end by singing a cover of I Won't Back Down by Tom Petty.
- Disciple was loud but good. Christian rock.
- Jars of Clay was very good. First time I have seen them in person. Really enjoyed the songs that I knew. They wrapped up w/ I'll Fly Away. Great stuff!
- Rebecca St. James was great. Lots of praise music. She finished with Blessed Be Your Name. Very nice.
- I don't know why I forget how much I like Matthew West. He was great.
- 10th Avenue North was great. A couple aspirin and an extra allegra are working wonders but no more clapping from me.
- I took off from the concert and headed home (90 min drive) without giving my final entry for the day. Switchfoot was great! My favorites for the day in order were Switchfoot, Matthew West and Josh Wilson. I had seen all 3 in concert before and today even with the great lineup these were my favorites. Though some of the others were very very good as well. (posted after getting home)
One thing that I figured out after later reading my Facebook entries is that someone stole my thesaurus and I use the word "great" way too often. Gloria described the day as one of the best days of her life. :) I wouldn't quite go that far but the day really was excellent between all of the wonderful music and hearing many of the artists share their hearts about Jesus. It is funny that Disciple was the one "Rock" group that we saw (Sunday was an all-Rock day but the one group was enough for us) and their music was very loud yet the lead singer from Disciple was one of the most effective and well spoken speakers in sharing the gospel and other scripture. We had seen this group a couple years ago and even on that occasion I remember him sharing scripture. I was very pleased that they were included in the Saturday lineup.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
