Divine Grace 1: Got Employed after 2 Years of Unemployment!

It was one night in 1988 December.  I have been out of job since 1986 August.  

I was given pink slip under the pretext of not having funds to support me as a Research Engineer in the Center for Transportation Research at the University of Texas at Austin.  My children were in High School.  I had to work as a part time teacher at Austin Community College and also part time research assistant in the Business School.  With my wife’s help I was able to get going with about a fourth of the salary I was getting as the Research Engineer.  Our savings were getting depleted including the retirement fund I had from earlier jobs.   My wife started accepting babies to care at our home and children started working part time in whatever job they could find.  A few more months and we would have had insurmountable problem surviving in the USA.

On that December night, I and my wife went to a grocery store to buy some groceries.  As my wife was picking the items, I was roaming the aisles pensively.  

There was Prof. Dr. Clyde Lee of the University of Texas.  

“Good evening Dr.Lee”. 

 “Hi there!  How are you doing?”  

“I am still available!”  

Then he went his way and we went our way.

Next morning, at the Business School I got a call from the Dr. Joe W. Neal, President (1985- 1996) Texas International Consortium (http://www.tiec.org/about_index.html).  

“Dr. Lee suggested your name.  We need somebody to teach undergraduate engineering students in Malaysia.  Would you be interested?” 

 “May I have some details?”

“We are having an orientation to a group of faculty members getting ready to go.  Can you make it at 10 am this morning?”

I went to the orientation.  It was to work as an Assistant Professor  teaching basic engineering courses to Malaysian students in Shah Alam, Malaysia.  These were Malay students (as distinct from the malaysians of Chinese or Indian origin - known as Bhumiputras), who have been admitted to a Texas University. The salary was matched to what I was making as a Research Engineer plus many other perquisites.  I was in Shah Alam within a week!  The offer was for one semester but it got extended to the end of 1988.  I was able to take my wife for the second half, and my children visited us during their summer break.

In August 1986, I could not have taken such an assignment because my children were just not old enough.  My daughter had started driving while my son had not.  In 1988 however they were just enough grown up to give me and my wife confidence for me to leave them to take care of themselves while I was in Malaysia.

Thus, I feel this was perfect timing and it was divine plan for me to go to Safeway store that late night and meet Dr. Lee!