Repeating things: 02 (Singapore, Taipei, London)

A couple of days after my arrival in Taipei to take up my new job, the Singapore office rang and said they’d like me back on secondment.

    The paperwork for the Taiwan-bound oil rig and workboat(s) had to be got ready, as well as the visas for the Singapore-based workmen (geologists, geophysicists, engineers, etc) who were going to work on the rig.  The Taipei office had nothing to do in the meantime, as drilling couldn’t be commenced, so they might as well give the work to me rather than get someone in the Singapore office to do it.

    I was to work under Mr. Jones, the Chief Engineer who’d be going out to Taipei himself.

    Mr. Jones (his full name: Evan O’Neill Jones, nickname Casey Jones) was rather fearsome.  He had bushy eyebrows that stood out.  He was ultra-efficient (and demanding).  He had a Texan accent (which I’d never come across before).

    Every morning, I’d wait for him to buzz me to go and take dictation (Pitman shorthand) for all the correspondence related to getting everything ready for drilling to start in Taiwan.  

    He’d have a pile of files (often 10, if not 20) stacked up in front of him on his desk.  The dictation would start: "File 1, letter to Mr X of Company Y.  Dear Mr X, …."  When this was done, he’d place the file face down in another pile (so that it’d all be in the same order when it came to filing the letters) and move on to the next file.  Once all the dictation was done, he’d let me go back to my office to type them up for him to sign later, and he’d get on with his work for the Singapore office.

    Mr. Jones’s Texan accent was a problem for me at first.  The moment I couldn’t catch a word, I’d ask him to repeat.

    Soon however, I discovered that he’d repeat things anyway — having worked a long time as an oilman talking to rigs on the radio.  

    For those who might not know, the typical radio-speak is: “Good morning, John, good morning, John.  How are you this morning, how are you this morning?  Over.”

    So, I stopped asking him to repeat anything.  Just sat back and waited for the repeat to come.  

    He was so impressed by me that whenever his secretary in Taipei (who was from Hong Kong, and the only other person in the Taipei office who could do Pitman shorthand) went on her annual leave, he’d borrow me from my Chief Geologist boss.  

    When the Taipei office shut down after two years (didn’t find any oil) and he was transferred to London, he asked if I’d like to go with him as his secretary.  (No, couldn’t get a work visa for me as I was not highly specialised enough as a secretary to get one as a foreigner.)

    I paid him a visit the moment I arrived in London (to study).  Whenever his Scottish secretary Beverly went on her annual leave, he’d ask me to stand in for her.  I wasn’t on the books of the employment agency used by Conoco, so they would instruct the agency to register me just for the few weeks that Beverly was away, because Conoco couldn’t employ me directly as a temp.  The agency found it odd that someone should come and be on their books just for a few weeks each year, then disappear for the rest of the year, but they got their commission, so they were happy enough with it.

(Singapore, 1975; Taipei, 1975-6; London, 1977-8)