The next stop on the tour was a session with more Microsoft representatives. As the students followed Jennifer they passed a break room. A wide-eyed Billy turned to Colt.
“See all that pop and coffee in the room? Anybody that works here gets as much as they want for free.” he said.
“Nice perk. I have a feeling this is a great place to work,” said Colt.
The group assembled in a comfortable meeting room with seating, tables, white board and projector. A diminutive woman in her mid-thirties was the first to speak. She had short brown hair, sparkling bright blue eyes, and a direct personality. Her area of expertise was recruiting new employees. She talked about the values of her company and the characteristics that Microsoft looked for in an employee. This lady sure walks the talk. I can see why they hired her, thought Colt. After about ten minutes of talking, she asked if there were questions.
Billy spoke first.
“What is the most important thing you look for?”
“Many who apply to work with us are smart and hard working. However, the thing we look for most is the passion to make the world a better place. The key is to use that passion to make great products. We create an environment for that to happen and try to fill it with talented, enthusiastic individuals.
“What about education?” asked Eddie Tate.
“Education is the foundation of any career. You won't get very far without at least a bachelor’s degree. Many of our employees also have advanced degrees.”
The next person to speak was the head of internships. He discussed the program and opportunities that were available to high school and college students. At the end of his talk, he seemed somewhat embarrassed.
“I tried taking one of the exams that many of you have already passed. I'm sorry to say that I didn't pass. Those questions are really difficult. Everybody here is impressed with the great things that you all have accomplished.”
Yeah, well not all of us have passed the cert test yet, thought Colt. He felt like he had awakened from a long nap and everything had changed. Man, this is for real. If I want to play, I guess I better do the education thing. Hell, that's just the entry fee in this place. Being smart isn't enough. You have to prove it. He regretted that he hadn't earned a certification yet. He looked at the younger students and cringed. The little nerds are passing me up. I can't let that happen.
As the group approached the last stop of their visit, most of the students became excited and talkative. Eddie Tate looked at Colt with an enthusiastic smile.
“We’re going to the store. This is awesome,” he said.
The Microsoft store was famous in Western Washington. The store sold Microsoft software along with apparel and other items. Employees received a large discount on merchandise. Every teenage computer geek wanted to visit the store with an employee. The Highline group was given the discounted prices as part of their visit. I better not forget Bobby. It was bad enough that he couldn't come along. Let's see what they have. Colt looked at the clothes and decided to buy a light gray jacket and baseball style cap. He was surprised at how little the items cost and decided to purchase the Windows NT operating system for his home computer also. At the register Colt saw Ron Sweden talking with someone. He turned to Gunnar who was in line next to him.
“Gunnar, who is that talking to your dad? He looks important.”
“That’s a guy from the Microsoft paper. It’s an interview about the program. It should be out next month."
“They have a newspaper?”
“Yeah, it’s for the employees, I guess. We get interviewed all the time. My dad says that we're putting Highline School District on the map.”
As the kids and parents walked down the stairs from the Microsoft store with shopping bags in hand, the line in front of Colt stopped. He bumped into Eddie Tate, almost knocking him down the stairs. Colt sensed a referential, almost spiritual aura around the group. As he looked down over the railing, he understood why. Bill Gates was strolling through the front door with two individuals who seemed to be assistants. Not only had his group stopped in its tracks, but everyone near Mr. Gates was also motionless. Colt watched the computing superstar with laser focus. He could not believe that he was seeing the most famous individual in the computer world. Then something happened that stunned the rapt young students hovering in anticipation on the stairs. Bill Gates stopped, looked up at the group, smiled and winked. He then continued into the building. Colt felt the referential fog being blown away by joyful sparks arcing between the young students. It was a psychic fireworks display that only Colt could see.
Billy and Gunnar together uttered the word, “Whoaaaaaaaaa.”
On the ride home, Colt did not say anything. He was absorbing everything that he had experienced at Microsoft. Seeing Bill Gates in person made everything more real to him. He was now inspired to strive to achieve more than he had ever considered. He saw a window of opportunity in front of him. He knew that the window was open now, but would soon close. Certain realities that his cockiness had allowed him to ignore were becoming crystal clear to him. He could see that without an education his options would be dismal. Also, if he wanted to be recognized as a proficient computer technician, he needed to prove it by obtaining the certification.
I can’t believe that the little geeks are the key to my future. But, it's gotta be true. And it's time for me to get totally on board.
Chapter 21
------Email-------
From: Sweden, Gunnar[
[email protected]]
To: Carbon, Billy[
[email protected]]
Subject: We savd him
------------------------------------------------------
billg
we savd him. he had no clue. I can’t believe it he was sooooo surprisd.
gunman
------Email-------
Robert faced Colt from behind a large desk in his den. What the hell? Only bad things happen here. At least he doesn't look pissed off. What can he want now? Father and son rarely talked. Colt felt invisible to his father unless he did something to upset him, which seemed to be the norm. I don't need him to get mushy on me, but it might be nice for him to notice me once in a while, thought Colt as he kept guessing what the reason was for this meeting. The college thing, that Robert had been pushing lately, was more for the status of the O’Brien name than his welfare. At least that was how Colt felt. It was difficult for him to read his father, but he usually could tell if he was mad about something. Now, Robert seemed even-tempered rather than smoldering. The psychic buzz that Colt could sometimes sense was absent. I think my dad is a buzz-free zone. Everything is hidden. He always has the upper hand. Colt braced himself for whatever might come from his intimidating father.
“Colt, I've been asking around about this new computer thing. I still have my doubts, but it seems that it's a viable part of most businesses. I'm told by my colleagues that it will continue to become more important.”
Colt cheered up, hoping that this might get his father to stop riding him. Maybe he can see that I'm doing something cool.
“Yeah, I think it’s really a big deal. That’s why I'm going for the certification.”
“We both know that you've been slacking for awhile. You'll need to have a change in attitude to earn that certification. You still need to keep your grades up, too.”
“I'll make it. I'm studying a lot. I really want to get into college.”
“I wanted to talk because I have a job for you. A friend of mine has computers and he's having a problem. He needs help and will pay. I told him you could help.”
“Sure, I can take a look. What's the problem?”
“He only said it had something to do with Exchange Server. I have no idea what that is. I'll give you his number.”
“Okay Dad. I'm happy to help. I'll fix whatever the problem is.”
“If you can do this, it will make me look good. So, do a good job.”
“No problem,” said Colt.
What the hell is Exchange Server? Sure Colt, you can do anything. Maybe you should learn to spell it before you volunteer. Ahhhhhh!
~~~
The Netscape browser results stared back at Colt. He had typed in Exchange and 300,522 hits came back. Most of the links on the page referred to email or server. It required extreme self-control for Colt to focus on this new problem in his life and not to look for other less tiresome topics on the Internet. He clicked on a link that listed Microsoft Exchange Server and was transferred to the Microsoft web site. He was relieved to see that Exchange was a Microsoft product, but his intuitive feeling was that of being under water in a fast-moving current. He thought that a server was a bigger version of a workstation, but that was about it. After reading, it was obvious that Exchange was an email system that needed Windows NT Server to work. Crap, I’m not that far yet. I’m just studying for the Workstation test. He read further and wondered if he could fix any problem related to this new thing he was seeing. I sure don't need the old man to see me screw this up. And the freshmen geeks will think I'm an idiot. I’ll buy a book, study up, and fix this problem. It can’t be that hard.
Colt had picked up a book and scanned it to see what he was up against. He understood some of the subject matter, but was not soaking in the information like he wanted to. After selecting a few chapters and reading them like his life depended on understanding what was in them, he stopped in frustration. I told the old man that I could do this but now I wonder. Crap, this is not easy stuff. Colt decided to see if he could recruit some backup support. He called Mr. Carbon in desperation.
“Hi, Mr. Carbon, this is Colt O’Brien.”
“Oh, hi Colt. How is the studying going?”
“It’s going good. I was wondering if any of you guys know about Exchange Server?”
“Billy and Gunnar are pretty good at anything server related. What’s up?”
“Well, I have a job to fix a problem, but I don’t know much about it.”
“How about this? You see how far you get. If you need help, call Billy or Gunnar. I'll let them know what you're doing.”
“Thanks Mr. Carbon.”
“Remember, you can’t always do it alone. Sometimes another set of eyes can really help.”
Matthew Carbon looked up at his son Billy.
“That was Colt. He may need some help with an Exchange problem.”
“Why can’t Flash fix it himself? He acts like he knows everything,” said Billy.
Matthew aimed a fierce stare at his son.
“You know what we're about. We help each other. Don’t hurt yourself by getting into that crap. You and Gunnar are the best in the program, but if you don’t help the other students you're only halfway there.”
“Okay Dad. I guess I forgot that part,” said Billy sheepishly.
~~~
Colt had been working on the Exchange Server problem for long enough to know that he was in way over his head. After arriving, he had been informed that the company tech support person had been trying to fix the problem for over a week. He also was told that there were two email servers and not one. He was able to log on and restart both servers, but both of them had screens of error messages when starting. After they did finally seem to be working, email was not being sent. Colt didn't know what was wrong and he didn't have the right utilities to look at the problem. Colt made the call.
“Hello,” said Billy Carbon.
“Hi, Billy. I’m having a problem with some Exchange servers. I thought you guys might want to take a look.”
“Sure, man. My dad said you were working on a server problem. Gunnar and I can come over. Just tell me where it is.”
“Thanks Billy.”
Ron Sweden pulled into the parking lot with Gunnar and Billy. Because they were not old enough to drive, parents needed to give them rides when opportunities like this one came up. Ron walked behind the young boys who were carrying bags filled with software and computer tools. Colt met them at the door.
“Follow me. I’ll tell you guys what’s happening.”
Both Billy and the taller Gunnar walked with a casual seriousness. The young boys were confident and at a young age, already looked like professionals. No one who saw them would doubt that they were there to work. After Colt told them the little that he knew, Gunnar asked one question.
“Do they have internet access here?”
“I'll ask the lead guy,” Colt replied.
Gunnar turned to Billy.
“You take that box and I’ll take this one.”
“Sounds good to me, but I think I know what it is already,” said Billy.
“Yeah, it’s about five versions of hot fixes behind, right?” said Gunnar.
“That’s my guess,” said Billy.
Colt returned looking agitated and hopeful.
“Yeah, they have the internet. You can get to it from any of their computers.”
Gunnar spoke to Colt with more confidence that ever before.
“We're going to download hot fixes and install them. It shouldn’t take too long. Hot fixes are software updates that fix problems. Once we have that done, we'll see how things look.”
The two boys worked without speaking except to verify that they had found the correct software on the Microsoft web site. After about forty minutes the young techies turned to each other, gave the thumbs up sign, and hit the power button on the two Exchange servers.
Five minutes later they could hear someone yell from a desk in another room, “I’ve got email, a lot of email.”
Gunnar and Billy slapped hands in a high five and smiled. Ron Sweden watched from a distance. He grinned and clapped his hands, but made no noise.
Ron approached the three teenagers.
“Now, that’s teamwork. You guys worked together and got the job done.” he said with a broad grin.
Colt started to say that he hadn't done anything, but instead said, “I think I like working as a team.”
Chapter 22
------Email-------
From: O’Brien, Colt[
[email protected]]
To: Jones, Bobby[
[email protected]]
Subject: No rest for Colt
--------------------------------------------------
Hey Boppinbobbin
I have never studied so much in my life. Crap - this is like pulling teeth with pliers. I can see that I get serious or crash and burn.
At least my regular school work is easy now.
Colt
------Email-------
After weeks of studying, Colt’s frustration level was high. His plan of attack was being carried out with tenacity, but he was not seeing the results that he wanted. Why am I not getting this NT crap? If the little nerds can do it, why is it so hard for me? He tried to put his emotions in check so that he could understand how to improve his study regimen. He inhaled deep breaths for about five minutes with eyes closed. This allowed him to analyze his situation.
I'm working hard enough, but am I working smart enough? He cringed when remembering being saved from humiliation by Billy and Gunnar. He smiled when recalling being in awe at Microsoft, but then thought of Gunnar and Billy, who seemed right at home. It was like they were born on the Microsoft campus. The hours of reading, the practice tests; it was more work than he had ever dreamed he could do. It seemed like that much effort should have more of a return. Maybe I should bail out? No way. Screw that idea. No stupid test can break me. I can do this.
As he was analyzing the situation he sensed something and his mind formed a picture. It was a clear view of painted clouds with a light blue background. Colt felt an immediate serenity. He had recognized a specific feeling first and then the mental image followed. As he viewed what he thought to be the clouds on the ceiling of the purple house, he felt a presence. It reminded him of his mother, but seemed to be more ethereal. I wonder what that is? Hmmm? Maybe I should make a call.
“Hello.”
/> “Er, uh, uh, hi. I'm trying to get a hold of Mr. Carbon. This is Colt O’Brien. Is this the right number?"
"Oh yes, Colt. I'm Mr. Carbon's wife, Elyce. I thought you might call."
That voice. It goes right through me. Weird, thought Colt.
"Oh, uh, you thought I was going to call? Why's that?" asked Colt.
"I just had a feeling. Sometimes that happens to me." Elyce replied.
"You know, I get feelings sometimes, too," said Colt hoping that she would talk more.
"Nice talking with you, Colt. Good luck with your computer thing. Here's Matthew."
Man, that was short. Crap, I had more questions.
"This is Matthew."
“Uh, hi, Mr. Carbon. I'm reading and doing practice tests, but it’s like I'm going backwards,” said Colt.
“You're not alone. If this was easy everybody would be doing it.”
Colt was a bit surprised that he seemed to be in the majority after having his confidence shaken.
"You mean it's this hard for everybody?"
"Like any new thing, when you first start out, it takes time to get your bearings and move forward." answered Matthew.
“I’m wondering if I'm doing something wrong.”
“I have a saying. Repetition is your friend. Our approach is to use all the different resources available to us and to keep studying until we know it.”
“Well, I'm reading and doing practice tests.”
“Here are the steps. Read more than one book until you understand it. Do practice tests and read the answers to the questions you miss. Try out what you're learning on an NT Workstation. If you keep doing all of that over and over, you'll eventually learn it.”
“Well, I haven’t installed NT yet, but I've been doing the other stuff,” said Colt.