Today I met some new faces. As in it was an alumni meet sponsored by a former employer. And the alums that came were all new to me. Now as far as this employer is concerned I think its a smart use of their discretionary funds since it allows the business to interact with their former human capital (that is depreciating somewhere else) and perhaps make new introductions for a possible sale (think new revenue stream).
Besides some are existing clients allowing for reinforcing their engagement in a hair down setting.
Where my narration is headed is that I too ran into a number of X's i.e. X-employer alum who could shared the highs and lows of a life that was and for whatever reason it now was not. Most seemed happier in their current status.
Some people were job hunting, gate crashing and some were there to enjoy the food and beverages. I admit to doing a lot of the latter (and it was good too, not the Zagatish pretentious kind of morsels but actually quality you could taste..more in another blog).
Also another angle was to get to know new individuals that might or might not cross paths with you again - with a common thread that of having the same employer write our checks at one time in history.
Varied backgrounds and experiences from different corporations but more importantly a chance for me personally to explore what people do with their time and see if there is a new calling that I could explore.
This event turned out interesting since I ran into a fellow blogger who hitherto had been just an Avatar online. It was good to put a 3D entity to go with the point of view that the individual shared through her blogs. In some respect it is like meeting someone you know. Otherwise these events tend to be a bunch of lets get together sometime type of conversations.
Also found out how the X's have found productive work outside of their earlier life of being a road warrior (nature of the job) to enjoying the Northern California lifestyle, with its horrid commutes or the public transit modes; its wine country and its great outdoors.
It was a good evening spent exploring and interacting with a wide segment of smart population all in exchange for small talk.
Our first foray into Central America. That elongated isthmus that forms the geographic boundary between two vast continents of North and South America. Specifically landing for NYE 2026 in San Jose, Costa Rica. Capital city for this region that does not have its own army, instead relying on its big bro the Estados Unidos to the north is a metropolis of approx. 500K people. Largely wilderness and with both a Pacific and Carribean/Atlantic coast the country is rich in bio diversity. In Spanish it means the rich coast so named by Columbus landing in early 16th century and being mesmerized by the local tribes sporting gold jewelry. Our stay included visiting the foothills of a large strato volcano called Arenal and enjoying the naturally heated thermal baths for a while. Lunching amidst lush forest and watching indigenous species of avian noise makers fly overhead. Toucans, some sort of pea hens, multiple song bird species completed the spectacle. Iguanas and a lonel...
De-loiterers?
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