The beginning

When I was a kid, around 1978, my father had the greatest job in the world: he was in charge of the Data Center of Vidriera Monterrey, well, we now call it Data Center, I don’t remember how they called back then, I suppose they call it the same.

Making some memory, I think the Job at Data Centers has been always too demanding. That’s why he didn’t like telephones at home, as it can be used to bring work to home (also at that time it was not so popular in México), for this reason, Vidriera often sent the company’s driver to pick him up when problems arise at work.

My father was a well known person in Vidriera, I remember going with him to the work, especially on weekends, and everybody greet him. We couldn’t walk more than a few steps without waving someone.

I remember many times when I got to the Data Center with those big rooms and big computers, tape readers and huge printers. The punched cards were strange sheets of paper and those my father gave us (to my sister and I myself) keep us busy trying to punch it all. My father show me once a system which stores employee information, I remember getting impress because the computer know my name and age.

I’m still proud of my father and having the opportunity of been his son. Once in elementary school, around 1984 the teacher invites my father to talk about his job, everybody was amaze about computers. Later on junior high, around 1985, I organized a group visit to Vidriera. Besides computers, the glass manufacturing process, with all that machinery, is amazing.

Around 1985, I went to a Children Computer Course at the Universidad de Monterrey (also look here), there I met the Apple II, a year later I went to another course at Facultad de Contaduria Publica y Administración where I learn a little about BASIC and worked with IBM compatible computers.

Having contact with those computers at an early stage of my life, specially at that time when computer were something only big companies can afford, made a change in my life; that was the beginning for me to decide to spend my life around computers.