I was graduated from HS. I didn't graduate, they graduated me. You hear about people being graduated without the requisite credits in NY in the 80's and I was o

I was graduated from HS. I didn't graduate, they graduated me. You hear about people being graduated without the requisite credits in NY in the 80's and I was one of them. My mom threw me out when I was 17 and I got into a lot of trouble. I worked as a squid, a delivery person (when my car would work), and, finally I landed a real job as a data entry person. I was the worst data entry person. I have dysgraphia, cannot touch type, and am a world class champion of bad spelling. Not a good combination for transcribing acuities from intraocular lens follow ups. My supervisor was on vacation and the manager needed a report for the FDA so, eager to help, I set about trying to convince paradox (a 4GL) to give me what was required. I got the report to print but the sorting was all wrong. It was in date order and not grouped by model. Finally, by looking through the in-line help system (1992, no googling), I figured it out and got the report to my manager. His reaction was not what I expected; he looked exceedingly perplexed. "Something wrong?" "It's grouped!", he replied. "Isn't that the way it should be?", I responded. He then proceeded to explain two things; he had been asking for the report this way for months, and I was going to be terminated that day. The best part was that, unbeknownst to me, they were shipping the S/38 from Virginia and needed an operator to work from 12 noon till 3 am and—instead of being fired—I was just about to be offered a new job!