New Zealand Steel 1985-1990

The Interviews	Aug 1984. Mike Sanders brought me to the mill.
The Offer	Because of the mess up JV bumped the company share of shipping goods to 75%. On Oct 21, 1985 I handed over $4200 being our share.
The 1st Day	May 3, 1985. Wore my old brown sports jacket and was over-dressed. Walked up to the bus depot, joined three others. The bus goes through town and back to the depot about 15 minutes later. It was full by the time it got to the motorway. Had a great meeting with Des Chapman. He accepted my costs for the flight and threw in taxi cost from airport and some meal money. Gave me a car contact. Said that the shipping should be what the quote was. Offered me a house in Waiuku and Mrs. Archibold drove me over to see it. Then met with John and Alan. Alan gave me a tour and I met Peter Gregory (from Perth) and Jeff (England) who are my co-workers in the Info Center. Spent an hour with Sue, head operator of the computer room (Burroughs mainframe). They sent me home in a cab (so I heard all about taxis in South Auckland).
The Induction	May 6, 1985. Did the introduction day with 7 others; I was in a suit the others in rags. Saw a video on the company's history, then a slide show. Tea break. Two hours with Jim, Safety Officer, full of jokes and examples. Had sole for lunch. Afternoon with nurse, paymaster David Kelly and industrial relations. Over to MIS where I set up a PC on the typist's desk. Dougall gave me an introduction booklet to browse. Medical insurance = $50/yr!!!!
The First Day	May 7, 1985. Got my desk supplies, a Swandri, work boots and work shoes (replaceable once a year) and a hard hat. Alan explained my first three projects and then we went to lunch together. Spent the afternoon reading the consultant's report on the Info Center. Saw Varney about my salary and I got an 11% raise ($26,000). He also said I am the prime choice for supervisor.
The First Real Day	May 9. Got dressed up for a meeting with managers that was cancelled. Geoff and Peter moved into the IC but they knew nothing about PCs.. Set up my desk after lunch and then chased around all over looking for floppy disks [ed. - 180Kb 5.25"] only to have Alan tell me that he gave my PC away [didn't get one until 27 June; the guy in charge of PC's and he doesn't have one!!!].
The PC85	May 10, 1985. In the afternoon Alan brought Geoff and me into Auckland where we wandered through PC85 at Princess Wharf. I bought a couple books for work. We went to a pub on Whitney where Alan shouted. Loud music. As we sat down a Maori woman, drunk as a skunk, joined us and we couldn't get rid of her. She claimed she was friendly but didn't act like it. Took a particular dislike for Alan and at one point we thought she was going to dump her beer on him. But he handled it well. A friend of hers came over to check us out, then Shona joined us, so we just took off.
The Job	I was hired to be the trainer in an Info Center. My first day of actually working I was told to bring an XT somewhere. Meaning I had to set it up and get it going. I had to bluff my way through it.
The Contractor	Another fellow, John, was putting together short movies to be used to train steel workers on how to use the Burroughs terminals. I got roped into being the interface.
The CPI	A scheme where projected monthly output was measured against actual. If it was a positive every worker got a bonus. It was a round $50 for me. But it didn;t last long and was dropped when new owners came in.
The Room	I was in a second floor room with a real nice guy, Peter from Perth (had a plant named "Robert"). A cocky Jeff Wilkinson from England and a third guy. Far from being an Info Cnter we seemed to each work indpendently.
The Crap	May 16, 1985. There is much pollution despite chimney scrubbers etc... Local kiwifruit growers get an annual payout to cover losses from it. I got a small iron filing in my eye and the company doctor removed it, saying it is an occupational hazard. I wore an eye patch for sometime that day. These iron filings fall down on to the vehicles that are parked during the shifts. I ended up having do regular maintenance on my big white van as the suff eats through the paint and starts a rust spot.
The Tour	May 16, 1985. Did the mill tour with 3 other employees and a group of Karaka Young Farmers. Bought a hot lunch and sat with the Chinese fellow from the bus. Turns out to be Timothy Lee's father, Willie; so we had a long chat. To Purchasing to check on a printer switch box - met Rose Van der Lee (also on the same bus). Spent an hour with Rosemary Batt, librarian, about MIS magazines and books of which there is none, so I typed up a list for Varney to consider. We walked over to Sanders for supper and wine.	Rose
The Consultant I	May 17, 1985. I was given a report that a consultant made on what the IC should be. It was terrible and I told Varney that who ever did it had no idea what an info center was about. So they had the consultant meet me to hash it out. I got him to admit that for $10,000 he simply copied something out of an IBM manual (he had no idea what an IC should be) and that it was exactly what Varney wanted to hear. That is, that it should simply be an interface between end users and the Main Frame.
The Seminar	May 27, 1985. Went to IDC conference with Alan at the Sheraton. First class setup all the way. Very nice fish lunch with wine, fruits, coffee... Met John Denton, the consultant who is setting up training for DP needs (how to use Burroughs terminal in the plants). Chatted with Ken from Sperry who was seated next to me. Picked up a few points but most of the info presented meant nothing to me.
The Reactions	May 28, 1985. Spent day calling users so I could talk to them about computing needs. Got a range of reactions from "I'm too busy, just get me a computer" to "Great, come over and see us" and "we don't need you". Dave Bold stopped in to say "hi". Peter North of IBM did the same. Talked to Sue Spencer for the first time and almost won her over.
The Party	Jun 2, 1985. Brought kids to Breeze's where Chris watched them while we went to Alan and Nola Dougall's with the Nuekierks (Kaj and Vivienne from So. Africa) and the Shannons (Terry and Heather and their baby daughter). Well organized and well lubricated evening. An okay Matua Valley '82 Claret and a very good Montana '82 CabSav full body and good oak. Everyone had been overseas so there were plenty of stories.
The Student	Jun 21, 1985. Karen Van Tiel began today as a trainee programmer. I had taught her at Rosehill in 1979.
The Shock	Jun 28, 1985. Drove to work for the first time (2 months). Chris Caldwell and I tried to load Symphony onto the Olivetti with no luck. Got a shock off an extension cord which had a plug at each end(?). Peter Gregory got so upset that he interrupted a meeting to berate Max Brown who left it in IC.
The Simon	Jul 3, 1985. Sat across from Simon (computer operator with a stutter) at lunch and got him into a conversation [in 2001 he appeared on a show about people with phobias - he can't handle social situations].
The Shout	Sept 7, 1985. The members of the team that selected the PC vendor were treated to a first class meal at Carthews in Ponsonby. Nice atmosphere complete with a trio of musicians who were excellent. "Beaver" showed up late and sang a few songs, then some guy took over the piano and played some "mean' tunes. I was putting away the wine (Christian Brothers Semillion) while listening to Belinda tell us dog (Jake the Alsation) stories and chatted with Nola about Rosehill. I had rabbit kidney lamb sweetmeats for entree and a veal dish with fruit dessert. Dave consumed beer after beer and out down a couple Brandy Alexanders and got loud and brash (more so than his normal brashness) which ended the evening.
The Wine	Sept 12, 1985. Drove into Auckland to check out Powercorp for an hour then over to the IBM JX presentation with Sue Spencer. I was last to leave after long chats with the Powercorp people. And I think I also had consumed the most wine (Montana 84 Reisling-Sylvaner). Muffler blew out, so it was a noisy ride home.
The Mine	Sept 13, 1985. Drove out to Waikato North Head where I met with Wal Cutten, Chris Robins and John Hogan to discuss their computer needs. Wal gave me a tour. Much more iron sand than I anticipated - two giant scoop shovels on rail tracks. It loaded into trucks to bring to the mill. Eventually a slurry pipe was installed putting a few truckies out of work.
The Shout II	Oct 9, 1985. Drove to Pukekohe DB Hotel with Grant Spencer where Dave Smith and Freddie treated us to drinks and a lovely meal. Fancy place. Just a friendly chit-chat, without the pressure I expected since they are Burroughs reps and I am the enemy bringing in IBM PC's.
The Joyce	Jan 6, 1986. Graeme Joyce started today and he is going to be our Burroughs ET2000 man, so I coordinate between him and Jeff Wilkinson. Since Graeme is in a wheelchair I go and down the stairs a lot.
The Bus	Jan 28, 1986. Back to work after shifting to Beach Road. Instead of a four block walk, I now get the bus at the end of my driveway. There are usually 4 or 5 others including John Parkinson. He never says a word.
The Faint	Jan 31, 1986. Dawn Alexander fainted after getting off the bus - a dead fall, hitting her chin on brick sidewalk. I was right behind her and was the one to revive her. Held her a couple minutes until ambulance arrived. Got blood on my hand and shirt and scuffed my work boots.
The Andrew	Feb 11, 1986. Gail and I drove into Auckland, parked at Civic, walked up Queen Street to Powercorp where we met up with Andrew. Walked back down to Arabesque where we had an exoctic lunch with him and his wife Natalie. Andrew brought me to his new house in Mt Albert (no yard) where we spent a a couple hours making up a list of procedures to be done. Gail came by at 3PM to pick me up.
The Promo	Mar 3, 1986. I am promoted to Info Center Analyst and have a $3,000 raise putting me at $31,500.
The Interviews	Mar 27, 1986. Interviewed Paul Chadwick who presented himself well, but didn't seem like an Info Center type. Then Jim Mitchell put on a splendid performance of confidence.
The Removal I	Apr 2, 1986. Graeme gave me a lift home and told me how much the people at Powercorp hate Andrew. So I made up my mind to remove him.
The Removal II	Apr 3, 1986. Took the plunge and told Rayner I wanted to see him about removing Andrew Wilson.
The Removal III	Apr 4, 1986. Drove to Sheraton where I met John Rayner and we chatted about getting rid of Andrew for two hours over lunch. He said they almost fired him in Dec, instead lowered his commission.
The Removal IV	Apr 8, 1986. Brian Vickers came out to find out how much Andrew has messed things up. Spent an hour with him then took him to lunch. Then it was Dave Clarke, Alan Abernethy and Terry Shannon.
The Removal V	Apr 9, 1986. Brian Vickers out for more of the same as yesterday. Rose Van der Lee cried on his shoulder. Gary Bonniface did his spiel on pricing. Geoff Beals and then Barry Quelch really laid it on thick and forceful.
The Removal VI	Apr 10, 1986. Brian brought Diane Hay out and we met with Linda M for an hour before lunch. Andrew Wilson called and left a message with Pete in a wierd voice "Tell John he can tell Brian anything he wants". So I figure J Rayner told him something bad. Was a bit worried that he might come looking for me.
The Removal VII	Apr 15, 1986. Andrew called and said that he stays on and they want an interim period, blah, blah. Got me depressed so I went home.
The Removal VIII	Apr 17, 1986. Andrew is getting counselling and that he will be moved to a new postion.
The Bad News Day	Apr 18, 1986. Alan picked me up so he could tell me about the new MIS and Info Center. Am not going to hire anyone at all!! I will move down to be with Graeme, even though the room is not big enough for two people and he is in a wheelchair!! And I am suppose to teach him all about PC's!!! So I will be worse off and have extra workload. And that instead of growing to 2800 it will reduce to 1800 staff (hence the about face for hiring new staff to help me). Other rumors throughout the day so JV had an IS meeting at 3PM to explain the changes. He came out pro B25 and anti PC's so I developed a migraine and went home very depressed.
The Removal IX	Apr 29, 1986. Rayner, Vickers and Wilson came out at 1PM for a meeting in the executive dining room to go over the action plan to resolve outstanding problems. Big news is that Andrew is no longer the account manager.
The Removal X	May 5, 1986. Andrew now in charge of supplies at Powecorp and Warren is new NZS agent.
The Day	May 8, 1986. Took bus all the way to Purchasing to check new hard drive and it doesn't start up. Poor Barb at RM can't get her QuietWriter to work. Dave Clarke called from city to say that he has rented a Zenith. Barry Small and Paz showed up without warning to fix my plotter. Turns out to be a Framework problem and Paz fixed it to an extent. Meanwhile Barry went to Slag only to find that he is not wanted. So when Warren arrives with a Cipher he gives it to Barry to install for Robert Cram. Roger Battersby returns my Cipher and says he is at Rolling Mills starting Monday. Also tells me that Cost Office has bought a compatible. So I just keep getting madder - ready to quit. Warren tells me that Fleming has asked for a BPCS demo. Bring him meet Terry Quigley to discuss Typing Pool conversion (ed. - from typewriters to computers) only to find out Warren doesn't know much. Go over to Admin and find Val with a tab problem. Gave him a NZ Steel background talk while he gave me a ride home.	Alastair Fleming
The Resignation I	May 9, 1986. Straight in to Admin and more problems. Went to see Varney and told I didn't want to quit but I wasn't going to stay under the current conditions. We spent 2 hours exploring options. I pushed for hiring someone and giving me a raise - since I am already doing the supervisor activities. Was apparent that he didn't know what I do. Said I was doing a good job because there had been no complaints about me. After work I started moving stuff downstairs to the new IC and I am going to claim overtime - $24/hr.
The Anil I	May 13, 1986. Took Anil Titus under my wing to get him home on the bus. He was full of questions about farms, cows, everything. Wants to move here and have his family join him.
The Anil II	May 19, 1986. After work I went with Anil to look at a unit across the road from fire station. Friendly Mr Joebs showed us around. Peggy dropped us off at home and Anil stayed for a meal. Over which he seemed to preside. We figured out what else he might need for setting up. I brought him to his motel ($40/night).
The Anil III	May 20, 1986. When I got home Anil was waiting. I brought him to his motel and helped him shift his gear to the unit.
The Coffey	May 20, 1986. Val Coffey's shoe got caught on her dress as she was getting off the bus and I had to grab hold of her to keep her from falling.
The Anil IV	May 22, 1986. We brought Anil shopping at Foodtown. He didn't buy any food - just household items. Took two hours as he had many questions. Ran into Rose Van der Lee and met her husband, Harmon. Brought Anil to Georgie Pie and then home where he gave Gail and kids a tour of his unit.
The Mouse	May 27, 1986. Real busy day with all the regulars going thru. But highlight was a mouse had gotten into Steltech computer and ruined it to the tune of $3800. Accounting chasing down Harries because he charged the Purchasing setup to MIS. [ed. - just the kind of sleaze that helped him rise to the top at the mill]. Made up the first Info Center newsletter.
The Windows	May 30, 1986. Got a copy of MS-Windows [first look at this new fangled non-DOS way of doing things]. A 10Mb hard drive into Bill Dazeill's computer [$400].
The Reunion	Jun 5, 1986. Alan and I went into Auckland and Powercorp showed us the Info Serve hookup to Sydney [ed. - very early version of the Internet] and a color inkjet. Richard Veber and Martin Spencer joined us for a fancy lunch. At the meeting we only discussed proposals and didn't really review anything. I nailed them to the wall with their networking proposal. Walked down to the Palms Restaurant where I joined five other NZ Steel people for a Wilson White Associates reunion. Doug didn't remember me. Varney was there as their favorite employer. Chatted to Warren Douglas, the boss from Interface magazine, about networks. There was another American and one Canadian in the group of 50 that had photos taken holding miniature country flags. [ed. - picture featured on the cover of mag]. Some wine, some food, some chat with Harry Laventis from Cyprus. Ride home with Peter Taylor who has taken an interest in my Info Center case. [ed - little did I know that he would become my boss].
The Offer	Jun 11, 1986. Terry Shannon offered me a position at Rolling Mills whenever I had enough at MIS.
The Printer	On Sept 10, 1986 I was given a LaserJet which was a totally new product and better than dot-matrix ones in some ways...better quality. Only trouble while a dot-matrix went for $2000 a LJ started at $5000 (back then a US$1 = NZ$2.
The Office	Oct 25, 1986. David went to the mill with me (Saturday) and while I caught up on reports he played games. He managed to do it for 4.5 hours.
The Tour	Nov 13, 1986. Graeme and I brought the AT to the Steel Plant - 2 flights of external stairs and then paper foot coverings (set it up in a "clean room"). Alan Blackshaw gave us a tour of the plant and explained a lot of the processes.
The Luncheon	Nov 21, 1986. Alan and I went to a luncheon put on by Barsons. I sat with Maragret Matenga's sister [ed - NZ netball], Linda, who is head of Info Center at Air NZ. Had a good meal and good conversation with a very good Montana Sav Blanc. Mayor Tim Shadbolt gave a funny talk on how he ended up being in charge of $450 million.
The Pickles	Nov 27, 1986. Rose's last day tomorrow and she gave me a bottle of her 'Christmas Pickles'. The secret to crispness is horseradish leaves.
The Resignation II	Dec 1. 1986. Didn't last long at work. By 9:15AM I was upset, frustrated and in tears, so I wrote up my resignation as of 9 Jan.
The Shift	Feb 27, 1987. Most of the day shifting into the Burroughs Engineer room.
The Promo II	Apr 3, 1987. JV told me that I am being appointed Info Center Supervisor and he sees the position growing to Manager. Opened a bottle of '82 Villa Banfi Chianti to celebrate promotion news, but it was pretty bad stuff.
The Helper	Apr 10, 1987. David Keppel was a mainframe operator but wanted to get into PCs so he would help me out when he could and he even applied for a position, butu I took on Steve Graham. He left the mill and did get into PCs with Wang.
The Promo	Apr 23, 1987. Letter from Norm Clark advising me of my promotion to Supervisor.
The Perk	May 8, 1987. Now that I am a supervisor I get a car pass and can drive right up to my door rather than the long walk from the car park.
The Son	May 12, 1987. Varney's son, Andrew, a university drop out begins working for me. I suspect he is or was on drugs.
The SPG	May 20, 1987. Steve Graham accepted the job to work for me in IC. He gave me a ride home in his new car.
The Promo	Jul 7, 1987. Varney showed me the letter that requests my promotion to Manager and a company car [ed. - took 3 years and my threat to quit 3 or 4 times before I got the car in 1990].
The McKay I	Jul 8, 1987. Interviewed Norm McKay who impressed me no end, and JV said I could hire him.
The McKay II	Aug 3, 1987. Norm McKay's first day and he got on my nerves with his mimicry of everything I said [like the guy who claims to be the "human echo" repeating everything said within 1/50th of a second]. He picked up commissioning computers no trouble.
The Shift II	Sept 18, 1987. Hectic day as we shifted into the old DDE room. Some difficulty in arranging gear. No good solution, but at least now we can have four people set up - me, Steve G, Norm M and Phil W.
The Friend I	In 1987 there were a couple coups in Fiji. Luckily, I was able to convince Varney to allow me to hire Ian as my trainer. It was just to get him into New Zealand. And in 1989 Ian found a job at Waiuku College.
The Contractor	Sept 28, 1987. Neil Comins from CSNZ was a consultant who we hired and became my right hand man. We paid his company $75/hr. We could have paid two regular workers with that money. He did everything that I asked of him. He was the only one sad to see me go. He took me out to the Porterhouse for a farewell meal. A non-drinker who took in troubled teens.
The Policy	In 1987 I had to make up a Micro Policy with Terry Shannon, Blair Hogg. We were miles apart. A year later we tried it again. Each person was only there to get what they want. No one is interested in company policy.
The Wine	Sept 13, 1987. Steve G. dropped off a bottle of wine. I had kiddingly told him he should bring one back from the all expenses paid Ashton-Tate conference in Wellington that I had sent him to in my place.
The Student	Sept 14, 1987. Craig Beere, from Pukekohe was a university student who would work for me during school breaks. He was excellent and mature for his age.
The Resignation III	Oct 12, 1987. Met with JV at noon and gave him my request to be relieved of duties. We hashed out an agreement to keep me on.
The Shift III	Feb 29, 1988. IC moved upstairs back to where I started in 1985.
The Wang	Mar 9, 1988. Into Auckland for lunch with Alan Dougall at Sheraton. He showed me around Wang's training setup. Was just a social get together, no job offer, but a very nice lunch.
The $$$	Mar 17, 1988. Peter Taylor and I re-wrote the Micro Policy statement so that monies will be taken from users and given to me to decide how to spend it for the company and that's how I came to manage half a million dollars each year.
The Spalato	Apr 29, 1988. Business lunch with Neil and his boss at Spalato, CSNZ's shout. Gin and tonic. French cuisine, exhorbatant prices. Wine was poor at $28 - not a nice '83 CabSav by Leeuwin (OZ). Food was great, dessert was fruit in port, then a Corbans Cabernet 1984 port with coffee. After we had finished business stuff we talked about tramping. They gave me a tour of their premises and I met Jim Culberson who is doing the mining project.
The Drury	May 26, 1988. We all piled into Neil's car except Ian who was 45 minutes late and went to Major's Carvery in Drury where I bought the drinks, Neil (CSNZ) shouted the meals. I had chicken schnitzel and everyone else had the carvery so they were all eating while I waited and waited. So I sipped an oily Seaview '86 chardonnay and a spicy Villa Maria '87 gerwurztraminer. Rushed back for a team briefing. Then I had a 2 hour meeting with Norm Clark and Peter Taylor.
The Day	Jun 8, 1988. Began day by yelling at Peter Taylor and Norm Clark about approving a LaserJet for Accounting without me knowing about it. That was just the start of an extreme day filled with emergencies. G Beales wants an OH gizmo, his boss expects a word processor tomorrow (he won't get it). Ian McInnes' Columbia has fallen apart and he needs a replacement computer fast. Big problems over a missing printer cable. Prepared a couple appropriation requests and attended a budget meeting. Leo Rolfe brought blurb on HP PaintJet that he is hot to buy.... I stayed until 7:30PM.
The Seminar	Sept 14, 1988. Didn't sleep all night in anticipation of having to get up early (7AM) so I could attend COMPAQ launch in NZ at the Hyatt. I was about 6 minutes late, and wasn't allowed into the parking lot. Brian Reay showed up and I sent him to the mill - had I known I wouldn't gone. Everyone was eating - I picked up some food and sat a table and since no one said anything to me I kept quiet. Interesting presentation that included videos of John Cleese commercials.
The Denny's	Oct 7, 1988. Denny's where I shouted Graeme S (his birthday). I had a Fuzzy Naval. Did some shopping. Back to Denny's where I interviewed James Mitchell over coffee.
The Norm II	Oct 27, 1988. Big day was screwed up: A) Peter Taylor invited himself along and B) Couldn't get hold of Norm M all morning and left without him. It was his going away party and he never showed up. Went to Whitehouse tavern. Service was non-existent, food was average and having Peter just dampened it a bit.
The Lock	Nov 3, 1988. I had swapped locks on offices and as a result Eric and 3 others got locked into his office. They had to removed the hinges to get out.
The Lock	Dec 16, 1988. Mike Milne took me to Bronze Goat on Ponsonby - we sat in the "garden" and then upstairs decking. Very good all around (dry Morton Estate '87 Blush) and we spent 3 hours chatting. He gave me a bottle of Wolf Blass chardonnay and a Christmas pudding. I picked up a van load of printers and software.
The Xmas	Dec 22, 1988. Christmas lunch at Governor's Table (across from the Jolly). We were the only ones there and the service was slow. I picked a couple chardonnays - average Corbans for $23.89 each. Peter picked up the tab for the food.
The Mouse	Jan 9, 1989. Kaz's mouse problem exploded. He needs one to run the CASE software and I hadn't ordered him one. [what follows is truly unbelievable in 2005 when you can can go into a grocery store and buy one]. Several calls to Centron to get them onto tracking one down. They need to be sent from Australia.
The Secretary	Feb 21, 1989. Interviewed Patricia Magusin for a clerk position. Her parents both worked at the mill so I was under pressure to hire her, but mainly we didn't really need one. So I found it difficult to keep her busy.
The Bowling	May 29, 1989. Bowling - IS staff vs Unisys. Couldn't find my ball and only had a 133 (third highest for the 30 bowlers) beating Steve who blew a spare in the 10th and got 129. Todd S topped with 180. My ball (#65) was freed up so I did much better: /xx/xxx97/x = 199, so I had high game and high series. No prize and no awards. They went to a room and drank beer. That's all they had, so I, who was the best bowler, got nothing - ironic, eh?.
The Farewell I	Jun 21, 1989. All day shifting my stuff from IS office to WA office. At the staff meeting we had sandwiches and desserts for Ian's going away. Gave him gag gifts - lost his marbles so we gave him a bag, loose screw = screwdriver and not playing with a full deck = cards.
The Farewell II	Jun 22, 1989. Ted Humphries measured Wks Admin for our cubicle walls. Went to Hashbrown Factory for Ian's farewell. A lot of rubbishing of Leszek for his Polishness.
The Trainers	Jun 27, 1989. Drove into Auckland for a seminar at Bledisoe House. "Train the Traineers". American speaker (Paul Krivonos) and about 20 others and we kept switching around so got to meet everyone.
The Centron	Jun 29, 1989. Powercorp now Centron. Mike gave me a tour and introduced me to Irene, Kath and Jenny. Last day for Paz who is off to Melbourne. Off to Plusone for lunch. I had pickled herring and then prawn in a ginger sauce with an Italian tortini (little cake) for dessert. Had a '87 Checchi chianti to go with it.
The Bowling	Jul 2, 1989. Went bowling with Ian and Susi, Steve G, Mackays (Nyrae and Kelvin), Patricia and Brett. Strained drinks in back room, then Ian organized two teams. I had a bad ball but was tops with 147. Found my fav, 65, and was on a 200 course when we were kicked out. 3 hours and only got 1½ games in. Leszek couldn't make it but he sent along Polish beer. I stayed with wine and orange juice.
The Safe	Jul 27, 1989. Steve and I managed to carry the new safe up the stairs. Transport had left it by the outside door and refused to bring it any further. Couldn't get anyone to do it, so we did it ourselves.
The Safe	Aug 4, 1989. Steve's and Patricia's last day. Peter joined us and Mike Milne met us at the Jolly. Peter announced he was having XYZ and I said: "I really don't care". No avacado, no chocolate cheesecake, so I had a big banana split. Wine migraine by the time we got back to mill. Stayed until 8:30PM to see Steve off. Then a long chat with Leszek on east/west, religion etc...
The Interviews	Afternoon interviewing: Eddie Cave (West Indian), Wendy Lawrence (Kiwi secretary) and Stuart Mainwaring (Aussie). I ended up hiring Stuart knowing that he wouldn't stay long.
The Friend II	Aug 10, 1989 James Mitchell started in the Info Centre. Fresh out of uni. I knew him as wee child in Fiji back in the early 70's. He was sharp as a tack. He became our Mac expert. In 1990 he left the Mill to work at Sea Glen for $40,000 and a car. And I lost touch with him.
The Cousin	Aug 17, 1989 Leszek and James took me to lunch at the cafeteria. I told the cashier that all the meals were together. She said we look like a family group. So I said: "He's my couzie from Poland" and she believed me.
The Feminist	Aug 17, 1989. I interviewed a few ladies for the Word Processing support position. None were qualified. I interviewed Jill Butler for 2 hours and ended up hiring her, who knew WordPerfect, but not Word which was the programme we used. She knew nothing about personal computers, just knew how to type.
The BHP	Sept 12, 1989. BHP bought the company. On Sept 12 John Cleary arrives at mill. Within minutes he took over three of my cubicles for BHP staff. Then he wanted a MAC rented for someone arriving in two days time. Later he wanted a PC immediately in his office. After a very short discussion he declared that MAC is now the official computer and that I should buy two straight away. He told me I was in charge of Macs and should fly to Melbourne and see how they do it there. I was on the phone to our Mac users (Alan McGough and Kevin Luck), Computerworld, BHP and Mackay for modems. All that plus normal PC work.
The BHP II	Sept 13, 1989. Cleary had been here a day and wondered how the hell we could make steel with managers not having computers in the Primary Plants. I told that I just followed orders and didn't make policy decisions.
The BHP III	Sept 14, 1989. Dave Best of ComputerWorld brought out two Macs and set them up with James and Kevin Luck's assistance. Norm Clark told me I had to "give" my computers to Primary Plants. A line of big shots showed up expecting to walk away with them. So I was busy calling in my loan computers and agreed to give up mine and hid the two portables. So it turned out to not be Leszek's last day, as he had to stay on and process all the computers. We all stayed late - the OT meal slips weren't accepted so we had to pay. Leszek put together a PW2 and left at 9PM. I organize the redeployed of 11 systems and went home at 10PM. James stayed until Midnight working on the Macs.
The Poles	Sept 18, 1989. Stayed until 7PM with Leszek. Picked up Ian and Susi, a pot of coffee and we went to meet his wife, Beata (speaks very little English). I brought them our camping table and lawn chairs. I brought them one of our lounge chairs on the 20th and Beata loved having something nice to sit on.
The Resignation IV	Sept 27, 1989. Gave Peter T my resignation in a tearful display at my desk. So when Cleary wanted me, the IC Supervisor, to prepare some praeto charts I told him I was going home and I did. The next day Peter Taylor came with what he thought was good news to keep me from leaving. A pool car will be made available next week until the new organization is announced. But it is a manual, so its no use to me.
The MACs	Oct 20, 1989. Cleary wanted MACs now!! So I ordered 10 ($230,000) and it was up the IS manager to find the money.
The Resignation V	Nov 9, 1989. Gave Peter T my resignation as I can't stand Cleary's never ending demands.
The Deal	Nov 10, 1989. Agreed to stay on with following terms - salary remains the same but I now get paid for overtime.
The Meal	Nov 11, 1989. Gail and I went to the Hyatt where we joined the Clearys, Taylors, James and Sue as guests of Dave Best and Marilyn Busfield. Reward for buying so many computers. We were first to arrive and had blue contreau/champagne drinks before the meal at the Top of The Town. Orchids for the ladies. Almost broke out laughing when the main course was delivered - a waiter for each of us and the silver covers removed simultaneously. I sat between Sue and Jill, so got to know them quite well. Last to leave.
The Poles	Dec 1, 1989. Took Leszek to Chinese restaurant in Waiuku. He had never eaten Chinese so it was a big treat. Found out that he never saw breakfast cereal before either. Didn't know you put milk/sugar on Weetbix. Thought it was a very dry muesli bar. Brought sofa to his flat and picked up our camping table. Met Christina, Valdek's friend.
The Xmas	Dec 21, 1989. Christmas lunch at Chantelle (Linda J and Leszek rode with me). Tried a "Fallen Angel" (cherry brandy, vodka, cream). Excellent smorgasboard. Peter Taylor showed up an hour late. Craig wore a suit. Interesting chat about Dungeons & Dragons, Rocky Horror and that vein by all the younger ones. Back to mill at 3:30PM - Linda and I worked late. Migraine from the one glass of white wine.
The New Boy	Jan 22, 1990. Warren Craze (from Motueka) begins. Another kid dumped on me by Peter when he didn't work out on maimframe. A wise cracking trouble maker. No one got on with him. While at Rotorua he went over a fence and ending up sinking in suoperhot marshy land burning both his legs severely. (article)
The Farewells	Feb 2, 1990. Had morning tea to farewell Linda ($15 book voucher) and Leszek (kiwifruit liqueur and NZ cards). Hour with Leo. Procedures meeting with Stuart. Debrief with Leszek. Stayed until 11PM doing monthly report.
The Women	Feb 19, 1990. Jill Butler crashed on her first (and last) sky jump and didn't come into work. Jill Lapwood's first day and I spent the morning with her.
The Apple	Mar 20, 1990. C.E.D. for high powered Apple presentation with Peter Taylor. Met Alex from California and he gave me a run down on where to visit. Dave and Marilyn were there. I was bored for the most part.
The Promo?	Apr 6, 1990. Peter gave me job descriptions and policy to review and told me I can choose which manager position I wanted. We bagan shifting items into the old ESP building.
The Lunch	Apr 24, 1990. Peter and I went to the Sheraton for lunch with Essentially Software (Gary McNabb, John Haber and Jeff Griffin). Then over to their building for a meeting with staff.
The Lunch II	May 28, 1990. Drove into Auckland to spend morning with Ian Scherger and Glynnis Robinson. From there to Centron to see their new setup and get Mike to come up with a good discount for the Marketing project. Then he took me to lunch at the Wharfside. Excellent Italian '87 Bardinino, baby squid and snapper. Picked up 4 EGA screens.
The LCS	May 29, 1990. Neil Comins back for another 6 months. Neil, Peter and I went to LCS, chatted with Lance and Graeme and had a look at their work shop.
The Mtg	Jun 14, 1990. Another boring TQM meeting. Only 3 hours of sleep so I was trying to catch up at the meeting. Varney asked me why I was the only one voting against. I hadn't the slightest idea as to what was being discussed. I said while the others felt it could be done it would be very difficult for the Info Center and got away with it. Spent an hour interviewing Suzanne Neitzurt (fresh from Germany) and will offer her a position.
The New Guy	Jun 21, 1990. Interviewed, Jonathan Kirk, Ian's replacement exactly one year after he left! He seems perfect.
The Visits	Jun 26, 1990. Peter and I went to see Softworks - modernistic interior decoration and a large dog wandering about. Peter droned on and prevented them from saying much. From there we went to Computerworld where Roger of CED showed us AUX on a MACfx.
The Lunch	Jun 27, 1990. PCS staff lunch at Tony's Trambarn (across from Eve's Cakeshop, Lido and Spalato). Went in with Neil. Very "with it" waitress. Warren drinking like a fish - when dessert came he asked for a Grand Mariner and waitress said: "Only if he (me) says its okay". I replied that "if this were America I'd give you a tip". Interesting how she figured out that I was the boss. Rode back with Jill and Warren and slept most of the way back. Stayed until 6:40PM - had long discussions with Norm Mackay and Dennis Gadd.
The Interview	Jun 28, 1990. Peter Taylor, John Kingi and Linda Simmons interviewed me for the PCS manager position. Since I didn't want it and they forced me to apply I really didn't care. So when they focused on my managerial technique and the fact that the IC is falling apart I let Peter have it by pointing out that he kept giving me people who weren't qualified or suited for the job and that staff weren't leaving because of me but because of the lack of support we have to endure.
The Stuart	Jun 29, 1990. Had to meet with James and Warren to clear the air between them. Stuart's last day so we had a send off in the meeting room. Neil brought a cake. Jill gave him a jade plant.
The Ban	Jun 25, 1990. Got the good news today. Not going to be manager (I didn't want to be).
The Last Day?	Aug 10, 1990. Brought everything from home to mill as I thought it would be my last day in the Info Center. John and Peter told me that they want me to continue when I return - doing procedures and training. Neil brought me to lunch at the Porterhouse in Papakura. Nice interior, good food, expensive. I handed over everything that I could think of to Neil.
The New Job	Oct 8, 1990. Move out of PCS to office next to Peter's. Varney started me on the documentation project.
The Fiver	Nov 22, 1990. Peter gave me a chunk of plastic to note my 5 year service at the mill. I threw it away.
The Redun I	Nov 28, 1990. Turned in my voluntary redundancy application.
The Redun II	Dec 5, 1990. Voluntary redundancy approved.
The Last Day	Dec 28, 1990. Brought all my stuff over to the PCS offices. Said my farewells to Jonathan, Craig, Linda J and Neil (who was teary). Picked up my redundancy check. Waited a couple hours for Nuttal. Peter T spent most of it with me (he gave me a card). Said farewell to John N and Varney and I was out at 2:50PM. Put the money into a term deposit at 13%.
The Connection	Altogether 5 people from QVS days (1970-2) worked at the mill while I was there. Me, Ian W, Christopher B and James M in the Info Center. Steve W did maintenance during mill shut down while at Uni. Jim M and Simon B applied for jobs and didn't get hired.
The United Nations	In the Info Center there was me, Yank and Austrian, 2 Germans, a couple Brit, a Swiss girl, an Aussie, A Scot, a few Kiwis and a Fijian.
The Update	Nov 19, 1993. Teacher's only day. Ran into John Kingi who had given the staff a talk on "Ignorance". Showed me the T4400 laptop that all management now had at the mill and said his job was now heavily related to working on it.

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