warrin with an i

  Golden Ticket - Part 2 I took the job offer with Varian Associates in Silicon Valley with the condition that I could take a week off without pay after a few weeks. I wanted to go back to NY to attend a planned family celebration for my Dad's retirement. Varian was a very early Silicon Valley company. I think they went back to the early '50s, maybe even earlier. FYI, this is a different company than the Siemens owned Varian Medical company. V arian Associates had contracts with the Defense Department and as a result, had tight security. You had to pass through security when entering or exiting their buildings. So one of the requirements for my employment was I needed to get a security clearance. I didn't see this as a problem since I had previously attained a “secret” security clearance while I was in the Air Force, and it wasn't. I was issued a badge. This was the first time I had to carry/wear a badge at a work place. I showed up for work and the ...

  Reaching for that Golden Ticket – Part 1 - Finding a New Job Uncle Charlie's Summer Camp I was laid-off at the beginning of January of 1984. I was now without a job or even a prospect of a job for the first time since I graduated from college in 1978. It just so happened that Silicon Valley was in a bit of a downturn and the job opportunities were on the slim side. However, I had enough money to last me for at least 6 months and I had some options. I had some contacts and as a result I was able to find some short term contract work. By short term I mean I was able to contract out and do programming work at various small companies that knew me from previous employments. These contracts were less than a week long and most often just for a day or two. It wasn't enough to keep me busy full time but it did give me a source of income that allowed me to pay my bills without dipping into my savings while I looked for a full time position. As a result, there was no need to...