Diary

Then the next Monday Apr 28 and Tuesday I drove around in the 510 a lot to find a good apt. Turned out that Irvine Co owns almost all of them. I was attracted to one in Irvine called Rancho San Joaquin. 1) Just what I need - den + bedroom. No kids. In fact that's why it became available. Wife had a baby. 2) Reasonable price - $525. Promentory point was $630 and you can't get a desk up the stairs easily to put into the den in the loft. 3) Centrally located. Just 1 hour, not 1 1/3 hour from LA (that has made a difference), and close to Justin. Didn't want to live right in Laguna Beach anyway. Too tempting. 4) Quiet. Beautiful place. I like it a lot. Upstairs location. Good sunset view.

So decided to go for that and moved in around Fri May 2 or Sat 3rd. But Bekins didn't start to deliver for awhile and I didn't have things like a desk to start with so I used UCI's library.

I was starting to really like this place and to appreciate its advantages and realized that it is the combo of ABQ and SEA that I'd dreamt of. Even Russell falls into this concept. There is nothing in ABQ that I would miss compared to NB, but it was pleasant + lots of fun given the sort of person I was then. I liked the scrub brush there but green grass if fine and gets yellow in the summer, like ABQ. I miss beach there. But I couldn't continue to grow there, because others aren't there. I'd always see it like I [???] it then perhaps. I've outgrown ABQ and its backward gay life. I don't even know if I'd like Sunday drives anymore.

But until I got settled I would get so mad. I hate moving, and the time it wastes. I don't want to do it ever again, esp after I get lots of things. I want to be settled here; what could be better? So I decided to get as physically situated as I could fast. I bought desk + bookcase, and had all my things here by May 16 (from Seattle) except the waterbed decking never came + Bekins eventually paid to replace it.

Remember these situations: 1) Dinner + Basketball at Ken's coughing all night. 2) Test drove RX-7 day after I arrive for 1 hour 3) LA Lakers won, but not as big a celebration as in Seattle. 4) Shopping all over Orange County for 280ZX on first Saturday, then meeting Scott Amelino, the rug shampooer again. At his house I saw newspapers and got idea to get dealers to compete for my business. Then went ahead with Garden grove decision back a few pages. 5) Dinner at Lakeside Restaurant. Table # 7! 6) Zip code is 92714 (almost) 7) Joined Nautilus. 8) Laguna Beach with Robert Frost.

I got a lot of primitive things done by the 16th of May: 1) Insurance for car. Banking/money problems. 2) Moving + setting up. Get hangers, etc. 3) Buying basic items like shower curtain etc. There were so many odds + ends. 4) Get IBM manuals from Ken + start to work. Realized I didn't like him much then. "Living in the SCA Corporate headquarters to reduce tax." Give me a break. 5) Met Norman at Jacuzzi. Good blankets and comforter. Washed cars together. 6) Familiarized myself with COBOL 7) Phone + Refrig installed. 8) Vacuum new carpet. 9) Shop for desk

It's funny looking back on it how nervous I was about being productive for Seidel given how things have gotten so lax since then. But from the notes I have on that first six weeks of deciding to leave HBS, packing up, buying a car, familiarizing myself with the area, renting an apt, and getting a bit moved in and settled, I am very happy + surprised that all of that was able to happen in six short weeks, and I even had fun too with Bill Glass in Newport + the Bus school show, 2 guys at Newport Station, guys Rich, Lee Basney, Fluffly Lion Ryan, Steve Weiman at Boom Boom, a bit of tennis, etc.

Then I began to realize that it is important to make my home nice so I feel comfortable and can function and achieve things I'd like. I also realize that it would take lots of thought. And realized the need for strategic planning. So I decided that the next period through first week of July would be for setting up an environment.

One last thing I did was begin familiarizing myself with UCI library and bookstore during the last week of this period. (Also I took the TM course during this last week. Remember buying handkerchiefs + flowers for initiation.) The Library of Congress organizes the computer science books this way:

76.5 Very introductory. Not interesting at all. 76.6 A little more intellectual than 76.5, but I think only topic of interest is software mgt. [Noted to left] I read one mgt book. [/note] 76.7 Languages. I get it all from ANS COBOL by Brown + Structure/Design book 76.8 Sys 370 JCL Brown OS Data Processing. 3 copies. Lots of general info. [Noted to right] Manufacture specific items. Lots of IBM. [/note] 76.9 Security, privacy, integrity, architecture, simulation. MIT Computer Age Articles. Good [Noted to left] See notes w/ DSS book. [/note]

So during the next 7 week period till July, I did the following to setup environment

1) Bought linens, some furniture, lamp oil, fabric pictures, astroturf 2) Organized myself (lots of time) 3) Keep car clean. 4) Start being social. Lots of pool + beach + sun + Nautilus exercise. 5) Explore Redondo Beach, Ripples. Decide everything I want except for 8709 is down here in Orange County. 6) Bought lots of IBM Manuals to get thorough feeling, top-down, of what that is all about. Bibliography, etc. 7) Joined IRC and played tennis lots. Had 2 month trial membership. Remember quiet John Baker. Nice legs. Those hot afternoons. Hot tub + Gatorade. Glad I just had trial membership. The place wasn't that much fun. 8) Read about IBM software and mgt systems. Read Decision Support Systems book Computer Age Software Mgt Book (notes in cover) Intro to IBM Data Processing OS/VS by Carroll - poorly written OS/JCL by Brown - unneeded since IBM books are adequate. Ind'l MKG - Ray Corey's book 9) Clothing - had lots of Beach things Dolphins - blue + white striped (SMALL) - yellow, like I saw hunk wearing at beach on July 6 Newport Surf + Sport T-shirt Tennis outfit OP (Ocean Pacific) shorts + maroon + gold GANT Rugger Short levi-cutoffs Towel - Reflecting Lake Games - Trac ball Paddleball (kept in back of my car) Cooler for cold beer at the beach.

[Noted to left of 9] GOOD TAN. Worked on daily for one hour after lunch. [/note]

WORK: During the seven weeks of Spring from May 18 to July 16, I had two primary activities first 3 weeks: Wrote IBM COBOL manual Non I-O parts Wrote some COBOL programs PDP-11 COBOL Mkt Research Bullshit (reading Ray Corey's book in process) next 4 weeks: Study IBM Manuals COBOL Manual I-O sections Access Method Services COBOL Runtime Guide Data Mgt Guide System Mgt Guide Assembler + Programmer Guide Princ of Operation Supervisor + IO Macros Copy DTFs + study a bit Fixed MicroSoft ACC/DISPLAY bug July 28 was a very Seattle '78 day cloudy most of the day went through code + doc just as I might have last year gave me a feeling to "go over to Seattle" to see Dick + go out. Review FILETB, CBUILD, compilators

SO after spring I was boned up on COBOL and had gained lots of knowledge about IBM. Also had read things like Computer age + Decision Support Systems + some Software Mgt book. I was ready to start working on the DTF generation.

Indeed I kept very few notes during summer on my work, so there is nothing written on my summer work. Only thing is first half was seq'l; other was DA.