Commentary for my former ADB Colleagues.

Originally posted on June 28, 2011 via Multiply.com
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by Nick Isip on Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 1:45pm

We work for a company or institution primarily to earn a living. But as we stay longer in a particular institution, work also becomes our way of life. When we consider and reflect more deeply, we realize that the work we do, the relationship established, and the friendships we make, including the "ups" and "downs" in the corporate world, taken in whole provide valuable lessons in life. Thus, in this sense our working environment serves as practical "school of life" for most of us. For this reason perhaps, we can also be "alumni" of such company or institution when we leave service, rather than be labeled with the traditional term of "retirees".

To my former colleagues in the corporate world of ADB, I realized that when we left this institution after working for so long (i.e., more than half of our lives for most of us), we only retired from work but most of us continue to be active in life outside ADB. But calling ourselves with the traditional term of "retirees" seems to suggest we are aged and unproductive. Recent pictures that I see posted in fb show that most of us in fact seem to be getting "younger" looking after leaving ADB. Then, instead of calling ourselves the usual "retirees" why don't we become more creative and use the better word - "ADB Alumni".

What do you think?