Six To Nine Months

"Six to nine months... Tick-tock, tick-tock..."

Yesterday, it became official that Intel Cavite (better known as Intel CV) will be closing it's doors in nine months' time, max. News were flying like crazy over phone calls, SMS, emails, chat, and yes, even in blogs of friends who have been affiliated with the company one way or another. It's as true as the sun that's gonna set in the evening, yet somehow it haven't sinked in yet... at least not for me.

I remember the first time I set foot in Intel CV during my interview. Back then, I couldn't help telling myself, "Ang layo naman, sobra! Probinsyang probinsya... ayokong mag-work dito. Basta, bahala na." A week later, I got a call from HR for my contract signing and in a matter of days, I was officially Intel Inside as Process and Equipment Engineer for the Burn-In group of CV CMO Test Engineering Department. Back then, I was an excited girl who's fresh out of college bursting with energy to prove myself to the world (and of course to earn my own dough). Who would have thought that I'll be getting so much more than what I bargained for.

Before I knew it, I was dealing with machines and robotics, and walking the production line in anti-static shoes with smock and production goggles. I was issued my very own laptop (yep, the laptop part was cool! ^_^) and doing CE! audits and monitoring tool utilization and downtimes. Mind you, there was no overtime pay that time, and the extended working hours were all for free (that part, I didn't quite like). But still, it was a lot of fun because of the people I've come to work with. They made life a lot sweeter for me while we were all working our tired butts off. We had a lot of fun and good laughs over our Tagaytay lunch outs, Magdaragat happy hours, Urban Chef in-house lunch, and too many photo ops to count. Yup, life then was sweeeettt!

Sadly, there came a point in my career when I realized that I could do more than the routine tasks I was doing at Intel. I knew then that the time was nearing when I would have to move out of my comfort zone and explore what else does the industry have to offer. I also started paying for my graduate school tuition then so I needed additional dough. In a couple of months, I bade farewell to Intel, along with other friends who have resigned as well to find 'greener pastures'.

Hearing the news that Intel CV will be closing it's doors by the end of this year somehow leaves me with a heavy heart and a bit of melancholic nostalgia for that place that I once called 'home'. True, I had to leave the company but in earnest it seems like I never really left. It's as if a part of me will always stay with the company that taught everything I now know and can do. I owe to Intel the learnings and competencies I have acquired. As my friend Sam puts it, "Yes, there's something with CV that makes you consider it "home" to a certain extent... it's the people that I'll miss most..." For me, it's the working culture and the people that gets one unsuspectingly attached to the working place.

Let me end this post by saying a big KUDOS to the people behind Intel's glorious days in the Philippines. All is not a waste, for even if only the legacy is the only thing left behind, no amount of money can equate to the years and loyalties that has made Intel CV what it is and always will be - a great place to work.

One great team... and one great place to work! :)