Summer 1984: Computerland of North Denver
Political Mammal
In the summer of 1984 I worked at Computerland of North Denver. A father of a good friend owned the store and was kind enough to give me the job. I remember that I made $5.50 per hour. I commuted from Boulder to Westminster, transferring buses once. I had a tiny purple portable radio and earphones that helped make the bus ride more pleasant. I learned a little bit about retail computer sales—profit margins, quality control, inventory, and so on.
I did enjoy playing the original Kings Quest on the new PC jr. The IBM AT was the fast computer of the time, and the store also sold Apples. I spent some time installing peripherals and add-on cards in the machines for customers, and I did not mind that. Generally, there was not that much to do or any particular challenges. The store was in a strip mall, so I had generic fast-food lunches.
Nothing that I saw that summer caught my fancy. It was not a very fulfilling or memorable position, and one I was happy to put behind me.