Lunch with former colleagues

I had lunch yesterday with some of the old gang from a past job. It is always fun to get together with these folks, we have all gotten along well over the years, and have amazingly kept in touch over the past 10+ years since last we all worked together. It hasn't been regular, or as often as anyone would like, but still, it is always a good time when we do.

It is amazing to see how their families have changed (a daughter married, a son playing college football, etc), and talking through the changes in your own family. It is great to get reflected back to you how much your own kids and family have grown and changed.

We had 3 no-shows (you know who you are!), which is par for the course, and as I was driving there, I kept thinking of people we should have invited along.

Driving home from lunch, I thought about the company and situation where we worked together. Man did we complain about things, and think we had a messy situation back then. Thinking back on it though, it was probably the most enjoyable job I have ever had. And it wasn't the work, although we had some very interesting projects and worked with some pretty cutting edge technology. (See this link as an example.) It was the people that made the experience enjoyable and memorable. Whether it was my peers, subordinates, or others in the organization, we worked hard, got the job done, and had fun doing it. The best thing about almost the entire IT organization at the time was the amount of teamwork displayed, but without all the melodrama and rah-rah that seems to accompany "team-building" these days. It was just a good group of people that got along, had fun, and helped each other along the way.

Soon after, we were acquired, new management came in with new directions and new attitudes, and slowly almost all of us ended up leaving in one way or another. Some of us ended up at other jobs at other companies, some still work at the old company.

But 10+ years later we still get together and hang out periodically.. that was, and still is, a great group of people..