America 1982-Chapter 82 - 5: Part-time Work
"You didnโt manage to take that chick home last night? Didnโt I tell you where the hotel nearby was? Or I could have slept outside, leaving the dorm for you," said Jason, rubbing his hangover-afflicted head as he climbed out of his bed and looked over at Tommy, who had also been unsuccessful in flirting with the girls. ๐๐ซ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฅ.๐๐๐
Tommy closed the Electric Pencil document processing software manual, which was a good 120 pages thick, and looked at Jason, "I thought I was being cool when I talked to her. I thought sheโd be into me, but turns out when she heard I only wanted to โexchange ideasโ with her in bed during my free time, she decisively walked away from me."
"You treated that girl like a call girl?" Jasonโs eyes grew wide, and he rotated his finger at his temple, "Dude, are you even a primate? Did you ever ask your father if you might have evolved from something else, got picked up and raised by him, just appearing human on the outside? You donโt talk about feelings with a girl, just mating? No woman would agree to that!"
"So what was your innermost response last night when you hit on those girls? Wanting to talk about feelings or to get laid?"
"...to get laid, but at least I pretend to be a gentleman on the surface, not like you, acting like a complete jerk."
"Thatโs called being hypocritical, I call it being honest," Tommy said with a smile to Jason, "Last night wasnโt a total loss; SSDโs guy named Eric said that we could visit them later on Friday night. Heโll arrange more time to chat with us then. I think we might have scored an interview invitation in advance."
"Thatโs great news, buddy! If we can join SSD, we wonโt be short of girls; SSD maintains friendly relations with three sororities. Even my cousin couldnโt get into SSD," Jason said, his face lighting up with excitement as he regained his vigor upon hearing Tommyโs words.
After having a glass of water to fully wake up, Jason noticed the pile of opened software packages on Tommyโs desk and the two or three dozen manuals varying in thickness, rivalling dictionaries, "What are these?"
"Various commercial software. Before you woke up, I was furiously cursing them. After paying for all the software, I still have to fork out more money to buy their manuals separately," Tommy cursed painfully, "And damn it, thereโs no student discount."
The software was expensive; some of the office software from Micro-Innovation Company ranged up to 495 US Dollars, with the cheapest at 145 US Dollarsโand thatโs without the manuals. If you needed the manuals, each one could cost anywhere from fifteen to forty US Dollars.
"The real computer science courses start in sophomore year, I remember, the first year is all general courses, linear algebra, calculus, political science, that sort of thing," said Jason, frowning, thinking Tommy was preparing to study his major ahead of time, "Donโt do that, Boss. Remember how much fun we had last night... If you insist on being a boring nerd, starting to self-study, youโll soon lose me, your simple and honest roommate."
"I remember, night after night of reveling, but all that partying needs cash, Jason. The responses are completely different when you invite a girl out in a Lotus sports car versus on your own bicycle. Iโm not prepping for early studies, Iโm just... yes, Iโm starting to self-study, but I promise I wonโt miss out on a party," Tommy said, lighting a cigarette, taking a deep drag, and talking to his roommate.
He really had no intention of turning himself into a code monkey right now. It was too early to talk creativity or start coding and developing programsโat Stanford or in all of Silicon Valley, the last thing you lacked was creative ideas. Nearly every sophomore, junior, or senior in computer science could get together with a few friends and write a cool software in just a few days, but not many students actually made money from it.
Here, itโs not like you can write a piece of software overnight and earn millions. There are many Stanford alumni in Silicon Valley willing to support the younger generation, but they are also rational capitalists. They wonโt invest money just because you wrote a software that looks like it might make a profit. More often, they think your software has some potential, so they simply pay a small sum to buy it outright, whether it makes a profit or a loss, after that it has nothing to do with you.
Just like how Microsoft bought all the rights to MS-DOS for $75,000 but turned around and made who knows how many times that amount by licensing it to over seventy computer manufacturers. This is the reality most software developers in Silicon Valley face, where the whole world uses the system they created but only remembers the name of Microsoft.
Moreover, the standards of the personal computer market had not completely unified at the time, which was why Tommy wanted to buy five personal computers. He was just a transmigrator, not an all-knowing, all-powerful God. Often, he had to complete the preliminary market analysis and research all by himself to ensure that his ideas had enough commercial value to discuss investments with others, as opposed to simply gambling on the market for cheap buyouts. Only then would he consider the least challenging work of subsequent development.
He wasnโt a programmer who loved coding; he was just a poor soul looking to make money with software.
"So whatโs your plan for today? It better involve women," Jason looked at Tommy.
Tommy nodded, smiling at Jason, "It does involve ladies, actually. I plan to work part-time at the libraryโs technical support and help center after class. The managing teacher there is a woman, though sheโs a bit old, around thirty, and Iโve noticed she wears a wedding ring."
"You know that if you make up more stories that get people excited, you could easily take the freshmenโs money, right? And then you still want to go work at a place like that? The pay is pitiful, you canโt raise your voice, and you canโt even curse the idiots you meet? How big must that teacherโs โassetsโ be to make you decide to do this?" Jason looked at Tommy like he was looking at a monster, unable to understand why he would choose to make himself miserable by working part-time in the library, a place where some fools have never-ending questions that could drive one nuts.
Tommy asked Jason with a smile, "So youโre not planning on working part-time? Youโll continue to practice your โhand skillsโ in your dorm room?"
Jason shrugged, "No, Iโm planning to work part-time at the Spanish restaurant in the Love Apartment complex. Thereโs a really pretty girl who works there, and you get to eat the unsold food for free. The food at that restaurant is delicious."
Generally speaking, unless university students are truly filthy rich, theyโre willing to find a part-time job. This allows them not only to be self-sufficient but also to develop various social skills, so they have more to talk about with girls than just bragging about their abilities in bed.
The reason why Tommy chose to work part-time at the library was that the job required the use of computers, which would let him practice his operation skills while working. Operating a computer back then was not as simple as it was in 2022, where you could solve everything with a few taps on a touch screen or a mouse click. Most people who mastered the use of a piece of business software could find a white-collar job in a big company, but donโt think mastering the use of software was easy; after all, the thickness of software manuals was comparable to that of dictionaries and had to be sold as specialized books.
"If there were no pretty girls there, only delicious food, would you still go to work part-time?" Tommy got out of bed and, smiling at Jason, extended his fist, "See you tonight, stallion brother who likes pretty girls."
Jason bumped fists with Tommy, "I refuse to answer this philosophical question because Iโm not a philosophy major. See you tonight, gigolo brother who likes middle-aged women."
