CHAPTER 12
For ten months, Monica attended school and finally it was over. She completed her programming course on Friday and on Monday the school had arranged an interview with a company in downtown Pittsburgh. She was dressing herself, when Rose walked into the bedroom pulling her nightgown over her head.
"Do you want me to go with you on the interview today, Monica? I could call in and tell my boss I will be a little late."
"No, Rose," sighed Monica, "the company expects me to handle the situation myself and that is what I am going to do. I must make sure they know I am able and willing to do things without a lot of help from other people. If they can see the determination I have, then chances of getting the programming position will be in my favor."
"I didn't mean that I wanted to get in your way, Monica, I just thought you might like to have someone along for whatever kind of support."
"I do appreciate your offering to come along, Rose, but I really want to see whether I can face disappointment in person, if that is to be today. We will see if a company is annoyed by a handicapped person applying for the job and whether discrimination exists."
"You don't think they will tell you they are discriminating, do you, Monica?"
"They won't have to tell me, because I will be able to sense their rejection. My only hope is they give me a chance to prove I can do the work rather than just eliminating me for the position."
"Does the company know about your being confined to a wheelchair?"
"Yes, the school informed them of my condition, particularly the personnel department. However, I am not sure if the person in charge of the department is aware of my problem."
Rose and Monica had both finished dressing and they proceeded to the kitchen to get some breakfast. "Do you want me to make you some eggs, Monica, or would you like to have some cereal?"
"What are you going to have, Rose?"
"I think I will have some Rice Krispies."
"That makes two of us," Monica smiled. "Do you want sugar on yours?" asked Rose. "Just a little."
Rose went to the refrigerator and pulled on the silver door handle to open the side housing most of the food, and removed a half-gallon of milk. She gently closed the door making sure it sealed before walking back to the chrome-legged kitchen table.
"A little or a lot?" asked Rose as she began pouring the milk into Monica's bowl. "Hold it, Rose. Thank you."
After finishing breakfast, Rose and Monica made their way to the elevator in the apartment building and proceeded to the garage in the lower level.
On their way into Pittsburgh, Rose asked Monica if she wanted picked up after the interview.
"No, Rose, I don't know how long the interview will take and besides, you would have to leave your own job just to come for me."
"My boss wouldn't mind letting me have a little more time off including my lunch hour so I could get you."
"It's alright, Rose, I can take a taxi to the apartment when I am through."
"Which building is the company located in that you are going to interview with?"
"They are in the new Azar Building," answered Monica.
"That will be a nice place to work if you get the job. What do I mean, if you get the job? You will enjoy working in that building, Monica, because the structure is new and some of my friends tell me the furnishings are very nice."
"There it is," said Monica as the auto came to a halt along the curb on Liberty Avenue. "Let me help you out of the car, Monica."
"No, I must do this myself just to give me some pep for whatever is ahead."
Monica opened the door to the automobile and pulled and pushed her collapsible chair onto the sidewalk. She then raised herself into the vehicle and, before, closing the door, thanked Rose.
"Good luck," said Rose as the window shut to separate them. "You will need all the luck you can get for securing the job," Rose stuck her head out the window and said, "but if anyone has the guts to get the job done, my bet would be on you, Monica."
She watched Monica wheel herself to the glass doors in the front of the shiny new building and followed her until the shadows blocked Monica's form. Rose looked into her side mirror and pulled the car away from the curb after a bus passed.
Monica propelled herself to the elevators and back-pedaled into number one, which had settled on the floor. A young man approached the elevator whenever Monica was completely inside.
"I was trying to get over here to help you," he said, "but you were too darn fast."
"Thanks," said Monica, "I do appreciate your concern, but pushing myself around in this contraption is something I learned to do rather well, considering all the practice."
"Do you work in this building?" he asked.
"Not yet, but if I am successful in my interview today, I will."
"What kind of job are you interviewing for?"
"A computer programming position."
"Is the position with the bank?"
"No, it is with a company called Quagmeyer."
"I don't believe that I ever heard the name. What type of business is it?"
"Believe it or not, I really don't know what they make. The school I attended set it up for me, the interview that is; however, they didn't elaborate on the company other than telling me the position would be good for a beginner and the organization has a good record of making money."
"I am in programming and have about a year's experience with the bank. Programming a computer is sure interesting."
"Yes, I think so too," said Monica.
"Well, here is my floor...see you later, I hope," said the young man as he walked through the exit, which opened. "I certainly wish you luck on your interview."
"Thanks."
The gleaming doors reflecting her, closed and the elevator ascended to the next controlled stop at which Monica departed, with some reluctance. She felt like a high school graduate again, her hands sweating and a lump in her throat.
As she guided herself into the hallway she looked upon the wall for the direction to room 2907. The red arrow pointed the way. She pushed herself along the brown and yellow speckled carpeting until she reached the clear view double glass doors with golden 2907 on the bottom and the name Quagmeyer Corporation printed in the center of each door.
Monica entered.
"I would like to see Mr. Martin," said Monica as she approached the secretary sitting behind the white desk, which contrasted with her sunset hair.
"Do you have an appointment?"
"Yes."
"Then, you must be Monica. Mr. Martin did tell me you would be here. I will buzz him and inform him of your presence."
"Thank you."
"How are you today, Monica?" asked the bushy red-headed man upon rounding the corner behind the receptionist. "Fine," she responded.
"I am Mr. Martin and if you will follow me back to my office, Monica, we can get started on this interview."
Monica pulled herself along behind Mr. Martin until they reached his office. He opened the door for her to enter and as soon as they were inside, he closed the rippled glass door.
He slid behind the desk onto his chair.
On his bookcase against the wall, Monica noticed the rubber tree and other plants. "Looks like you take an interest in plants, Mr. Martin?"
"Yes, I believe they do something for any office which is drabby in appearance. Seems the only way to brighten up the place is to either hang some pictures or throw some plants around."
"They do something for your office," she said.
"Okay, Monica, let us get on with the interview. Do you know anything about Quagmeyer Corporation?" Monica's head shifting signaled no.
"In that case, then I will tell you something about the company. Quagmeyer is sixty-five years old and we are primarily in the business of manufacturing industrial lubricants, although we do not manufacture anything in this building. These office are corporate, our manufacturing facilities are located in McKeesport, Anaheim, California, Chicago, Boston and Orlando, Florida. In addition to the lubricant field, we are also involved in the distribution of piping, which includes another seven distribution points, and we also have a small chain of employment offices located in several cities."
"Sounds like the company is somewhat diversified," said Monica.
"Yes, Monica, the company does seem to have good management that continues to progress into other fields and make their efforts pay off. There are plans for additional businesses to be purchased by the company over the next year and a-half. Fortunately for all of Quagmeyer's employees, there has never been a layoff within the total structure. Our management is really hep on the computer and the information it can supply them to help run the company at a satisfactory profit level. All the divisions report their financial data through the centralized computer located here. Before we get involved in more of the position you came to talk about, Monica, let me tell you something about the benefits here. First of all, we have a tuition refund plan whereby the company will pick up the tab for you to continue your education. We also have hospitalization paid for in total by the company, not only for the employee, but his or her dependents. In addition, the company has a bonus program payable at Christmas, which amounts to approximately ten percent of each employee's yearly salary. The company also has an arrangement with an auto parts supply store to sell to our employees at a discount. At Thanksgiving, the company has a long-standing habit of giving certificates to all employees for purchasing a turkey or whatever, and finally, the pension plan is non-contributory and you stand to gain at least seven percent of your yearly salary in contributions and earnings from the fund set up by the company. Do you have any questions about the benefits, Monica?"
"No, Mr. Martin, you covered them all pretty well and it would seem as though the Quagmeyer Corporation takes a genuine interest in providing their employees not only with good working conditions, but also with excellent benefits as well."
"I believe that one could say the company treats their employees with respect, Monica. This is not to say we do not have problems with certain employees who feel they have not been treated fairly, but what company doesn't experience difficulties with some individuals they hire. Naturally, every outfit tries their best to employ those individuals whom they expect will work to the benefit of the company and be promotable, but even with every effort one can put forth, mistakes are still made in bringing people on board.
Getting to the position that we have open in our data processing department, Monica, and the one for which you are applying, the position is that of computer programmer trainee. I understand you have had training in programming and you were a pretty good student. Since you have an understanding of what a computer programmer does, I will explain the function of the person that we hire. He or she will be involved in program maintenance and the writing of new programs. The individual will write in different languages such as COBOL, RPG, RPG II, and BAL. Did you learn these programming languages in school?"
"Yes, Mr. Martin, we did, although maybe not in as much detail as we should have."
"I think you will find, Monica, that being taught programming in school will be somewhat different from the actual work you get involved in within a company."
"That is exactly what the programming instructor said who taught us in school," said Monica.
"Quite a number of the people who teach in those programming schools really are not qualified to teach anywhere regardless of their teaching credentials," said Mr. Martin.
"I think we had one of the best instructors in the field," answered Monica. "What was his name?"
"Mr. Beers."
"I know Mr. Beers. We worked together at another company. If anyone knows much about DP, it is Mr. Beers."
"All the students thought he was great and he turned out to be a good friend of all in his class."
"If Mr. Beers taught you, Monica, then you should have received a lot more that just basic theory."
"We did, he gave us quite a bit of work involving problems in actual practice. The most important thing that we learned was the analyzing of a problem and the steps for solving it. I cannot remember all the additional programming and systems problems which Mr. Beers gave us in class and for homework."
"Would you mind answering some questions about programming, Monica?"
"Okay," she said, not exactly sure whether that was the correct answer.
"You may be wondering what would happen if you had answered no to my question, Monica, and I can assure you that you would no longer be considered for the job. I make a habit of quizzing people on their knowledge or proposed knowledge so I have a feel for their strengths and weaknesses. It is good to know exactly the caliber of person for whom I would be accepting responsibility."
"I understand your reasoning, Mr. Martin."
"Good, Monica, now we shall begin. Do you care which language we begin with?"
"No."
"Then, we will begin with COBOL. What is your opinion of the difference between programming in COBOL as opposed to RPG or BAL?"
Monica looked at the rubber plant, thought for a few seconds, then her eyes focused on his. "COBOL is a high level language where the instructions are pretty much reduced to words as compared to letters, as in BAL."
"Do you like programming in COBOL, Monica?"
"Not really, because of the time involved in writing a program. It seems to take forever to get the job done."
"I personally do not care for COBOL, myself, but nevertheless, we use it here. What are seventy-seven levels used for?"
"They are used to set up constants and counters."
"What are the methods of using a subroutine in a program and then returning to the routine form which you branched?"
"One is the perform instruction and another is the alter and go to method."
"How many forms must you fill out when using the RPG language, forgetting about tables and controlling spacing and skipping on a preprinted form?"
"I would use the file I.D., the input, calculation, and output forms," Monica answered.
"Seems to me that you have been doing your homework, Monica. My final questions will be on programming in basic assembler. What are you primarily concerned with when you program in BAL as to the size of program segments?"
"I don't believe I understand the question."
"In other words, what actually is base and displacement?"
"Oh, the base registers are used to store addresses that enable a program to access data and or other instructions within an allowable range of four thousand ninety-six bytes."
"Do you have any questions about the company or about the position, Monica?"
"No. I think you covered everything very well. The only thing I could ask is when you might make up your mind about hiring the individual you are looking for."
"Hopefully, we will make the decision before Thursday of this week, so we can bring the person on board Monday, if the individual can start then. I would have to say you stand a good chance of squeezing into the position, Monica."
She smiled.
"If you have no further questions to ask then I will lead you to the personnel office and have you complete an application, then you will be finished today." He got up from his desk and walked towards the closed door, which he opened. "After you, Monica."
Monica pushed the wheel to her chair and exited through the open door. "Down the hall and to the right, Monica."
She followed his directions and when she made the right turn, she was confronted with a huge sign, which designated the entrance to the personnel office.
"Go ahead in, Monica, and I will ask Miss Orin to talk with you and get an application to fill out. Ah, there she is at the desk. Miss Orin, I would like you to meet Monica Rawlings. Monica, meet Miss Orin."
"Hello, Monica."
"Hi, Miss Orin."
"I guess I can leave you now, Monica, as you are in pretty good hands. Thanks for interviewing with us."
"Thank you, Mr. Martin."