I graduated from Michigan Tech in the summer of 1969. I got a couple of job offers, and took one with EAI in New Jersey. It was about 30 miles south of NYC. My friend Umesh Malhotra and his brother Girish were already in NJ. It was a very good job as a hardware engineer with a minicomputer company, paying really well. I bought a new Ford Maverick and rented a nice furnished apartment. As summer turned into fall, I was having the time of my life enjoying new found freedom. There very few Indians in the US back then. We did not mind traveling 100 miles to visit friends.
Fall turned into a rough winter. EAI had rough time competing in the market, as DEC was emerging as the winner in the minicomputer market.
Eight months into my job I got laid off. I further had an accident in which I totaled my new car. had fallen asleep on the wheel and ran into a tree. It seemed that my whole world had closed in on me.
I applied for jobs everywhere. That winter Post Office workers went on strike for the first time, so I was very nervous about not hearing back from potential employers. I finally did get calls from two of them: DEC in Boston and SEL in Ft. Lauderdale. I went for job interviews from both of them. The day before my job interview with DEC, it snowed all night and all day. All flights were cancelled. I took Greyhound Bus to Boston, as I did not want to miss my interview but when I showed up for my interview, they were closed because of snow.
I took flight to Ft. Lauderdale from Boston for my second interview. I arrived in Ft. Lauderdale in the middle of night. It was a hot 80 degrees weather with no snow around.
The Next day I was offered a job with even better salary and I accepted it on the spot. My boss from NJ had also moved to Ft. Lauderdale, and was my boss again!
Insurance paid off my car, so that worry was gone too.
Pretty soon I moved to sunny Florida, bought a used Chevrolet Impala, and my outlook on life brightened up again.
Incidentally, much later in life, I was diagnosed as having Sleep Apnea. Falling asleep driving is common in Apnea patients.
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