1974
CIRCA

At the beginning of the year big changes came to NERDC (previously the University Computing Center) where I worked as a student programmer.  A decision was made to split off the educational part of the NERDC from the business part.  The business part, which included student registration, would remain NERDC while the educational part became the Center for Instructional and Research Computing Activities or CIRCA. About half the full time staff and most the student programmers, including  Wendy and myself went with CIRCA.   Wendy and I often joked that we had joined the circus.  CIRCA moved out of the computing center to the fifth floor of Weil Hall which was convenient since the new Computer and Information Sciences department, which we at CIRCA mostly served, was on the sixth floor of Weil hall.   All the student programmers at CIRCA, there were a couple more besides Wendy and I, shared a room with each of us having our own vintage 1950’s gray, beat up desk.  The room was quite large with eight or ten feet between the desks with mine at the back of the room by a window overlooking the back of Weil Hall while  Wendy had a desk next to me.   Other than the desks and a table, the room was bare. 

Another student programmer who had just started was Fran who I begin to talk to more often.  Fran told me she had recently been asked to get married and she told him no and had stopped seeing the man. With our new office so bare I suggested it needed curtains and I said to Fran if she would buy the material, I would make the curtains.  Yes, I said that right, I had a sewing machine and could do basic sewing. Fran agreed and suggested I come over to her place for dinner and we could go buy material afterwards.  I wrote in my journal…

Ate supper at Fran’s house. Talking at work with Fran, I mentioned that we needed curtains on the windows. I said if she would buy the material, I would make the curtains. So she invited me to eat supper with her then go shopping for material.  I made the meatloaf while she fixed the rest of the dinner. Starting late, we didn’t get finished until about 8:30 PM by which time it was too late to go shopping so we talked until about 11:00 pm. I had studying to do so I came home, but after talking with Bill (12:00) I didn’t have time to study. I decided to get stoned and sit and think.

A couple of days later I wrote…  “God, really don’t see what I saw in Fran.”  It was probably a good thing I didn’t get involved with her for the following year she married our boss at CIRCA, a man who was ten years older than her.  We never did make the curtains for the office.

January 23, 1974

Gina, after coming back (from Christmas break) she didn’t see as excited over me but the other day at lunch she seemed more herself and less defensive (designed or looks like offensive) and showed what I interpreted as:  “slight interest” hope? Could he be what I’m looking for, like him? An ass?” Could this be signs of attraction? I hope so. I’ll have to press her a little.