- Joined
- Aug 8, 2009
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Today is the first day of the rest of my life.
The retirement luncheon this afternoon was the best. Given by a bunch of co-workers and bosses for whom I have great respect. The Ivy Bridge project I've worked so hard on for the last two years is about to see mass production and make Intel a great deal of money. I was one of about 8 thousand engineers who worked on that project. My job was to see that electrical, thermal and mechanical engineering teams all worked together and were on the same page as to design issues, challenges and schedules with respect to the design of the substrate that the silicon attaches to. It's now a done deal for me.
Here is what was surprising:
There were little speeches made by individuals during the lunch, each saying a few words on my behalf. Despite having accomplished a good deal in terms of developing a very sophisticated product for a very high-tech company, do you know what most of the comments centered around? It wasn't my expertise and hard work they were most impressed with, it was my balance between work and home life and specifically my model engine hobby that they most admired. Turns out I am a role model for how to use skill sets (maybe acquired on the job or maybe not) and apply them to a life outside of Intel.
In the past, I have brought my model engines into work and fired them up in the labs to show those who may be interested. Always, they were fascinated. Additionally, each month we hold a photo contest and the winning photo gets greatly enlarged, framed and hung in the aisles. I've got two of them hanging there. No, these aren't your typical sunsets and flowers - most of them are - but rather model steam engines that I have built over the last several years. In a company of 45,000+ engineers it is not surprising that there would be an appreciation of all things shiny and mechanical and no surprise that it can manifest into a photo contest slam. Today, I was presented with one of those pictures, signed by my co-workers with well wishes and statements about how they are taking a cue from me and expanding their horizons to beyond the gray cubicle walls. Turns out there is more to life than the next Intel tape-out (product completion). I'm glad I was able to open their eyes a bit.
I will hang the picture proudly on my shop wall and raise the occasional beer to my old cohorts and my new-found freedom.
Clink!
-dennis
The retirement luncheon this afternoon was the best. Given by a bunch of co-workers and bosses for whom I have great respect. The Ivy Bridge project I've worked so hard on for the last two years is about to see mass production and make Intel a great deal of money. I was one of about 8 thousand engineers who worked on that project. My job was to see that electrical, thermal and mechanical engineering teams all worked together and were on the same page as to design issues, challenges and schedules with respect to the design of the substrate that the silicon attaches to. It's now a done deal for me.
Here is what was surprising:
There were little speeches made by individuals during the lunch, each saying a few words on my behalf. Despite having accomplished a good deal in terms of developing a very sophisticated product for a very high-tech company, do you know what most of the comments centered around? It wasn't my expertise and hard work they were most impressed with, it was my balance between work and home life and specifically my model engine hobby that they most admired. Turns out I am a role model for how to use skill sets (maybe acquired on the job or maybe not) and apply them to a life outside of Intel.
In the past, I have brought my model engines into work and fired them up in the labs to show those who may be interested. Always, they were fascinated. Additionally, each month we hold a photo contest and the winning photo gets greatly enlarged, framed and hung in the aisles. I've got two of them hanging there. No, these aren't your typical sunsets and flowers - most of them are - but rather model steam engines that I have built over the last several years. In a company of 45,000+ engineers it is not surprising that there would be an appreciation of all things shiny and mechanical and no surprise that it can manifest into a photo contest slam. Today, I was presented with one of those pictures, signed by my co-workers with well wishes and statements about how they are taking a cue from me and expanding their horizons to beyond the gray cubicle walls. Turns out there is more to life than the next Intel tape-out (product completion). I'm glad I was able to open their eyes a bit.
I will hang the picture proudly on my shop wall and raise the occasional beer to my old cohorts and my new-found freedom.
Clink!
-dennis
