Many faces looked familiar, yet their names were not in the conscious part of my mind. I always have problems when meeting up with group of old schoolmates or colleagues. But today I was glad the organizers gave a big name tag to everyone who attended the 'Intel Alumni Gathering'. We instantly recalled the names and linked them to the faces. Thanks for saving us the embarrassment of forgetting the names.
I observed that most of the people have gone less obese then they were some 8 years ago when I left Intel. They appear to be healthier and fitter. A former senior manager added to my observation -these ex-Intelliers are probably happier after leaving Intel.
Intel has been a big and significant part of the lives of the people who gathered here today. It is common to see them enumerate their years in Intel, some up to 10+ years, 20+ years, and even 37 years! You may take this people out of Intel, but you can't take Intel out of them. They still use the Intel Jargons in a typical Intel ways.
E&O Penang is a nice and grand place to have lunch. The ambience is suitable for most of us who have held the identify of being yuppies, who usually have great pride in our being. From the conversation, I noticed that this identity often didn't serve us well after we leave Intel, especially if we take up jobs in much smaller companies, or if we start our own businesses. Working in a big multinational is like living in a structured and protected environment. Once we get out from there, we have to play by the rules of the jungle. Many of us couldn't do that well. We got bruises before we realize this and adjust our senses.
Most of us have advanced in age, and one of the main topics in our conversations was health. We shared quite a bit about how we keep ourselves healthy - tai-chi, treadmill, hiking, diet-watching, etc. The younger attendees tends to talk about money, particularly investment choices - forex, mutual funds, etc. It is not uncommon for Intelliers who left Intel some 15 years ago - when Intel shares were unbelievably profitable - to have lots of spare money to invest.
There weren't much common things about this group of people after they leave Intel. But we were together for so long in the same organization and we know each other well and trust each other. We are willing and open to share a lot of wisdom we acquired and experience we had. I guess this is the biggest value for us in joining alumni - be it school or company alumni.
