Went into work last Friday at 7:00 AM like always and went through my usual routine. Checked the Data Center for any Hardware or Infrastructure issues and then headed back to my desk to check the nightly backups. For some reason, I was part of an e-mail group that included Information Security, and HR, and I would get e-mails throughout the day of new hires, as well as people who were leaving the company, (either by their own choice, or by a company decision). I would filter these e-mails and take a look once and a while to see if there was anybody I knew. After making sure there were no issues, I took a look at the e-mails, and the 1st person I saw was my boss. Thats not good I thought. Since it was a Friday, most people work from home, so there were only a few people in the office. I walked over to one of them and told them what I saw. I also sent a Teams Message to a few of my teammates, telling them to take a look at the e-mails. Fast forward a bit and became apparent that the company was cleaning house, and my department was right in the middle of the storm. When I saw my director wave me into his office, I know my days were numbered, and sure enough I was told thanks for the work you were doing, but my services were no longer needed. So I went back to my desk, turned off my desktop, placed my company badge and phone on my desk and walked out the front door an unemployed 57-year-old IT Professional ready to start a new chapter in my life. No hard feelings, as I have learned over the years that most companywide layoffs are not personal, but business decisions that I have no control over.

The tough part is that you have no time to gather your things and say goodby to people. While I have contact information for most of my coworkers (those laid off like me, as well as those who are still there), it’s the people that got to know from the shipping department, the janitorial staff, and the cafeteria that I will never get a change to say good bye and thank them for all the work they do to keep the company running behind the scenes. So, I say Thank You to all those who made my time at the company enjoyable and best of luck to them going forward

Between the NY Mets seemingly playing every night in the MLB Play-Offs, The NY Giants playing on Sunday Night Football, the finale of Big Brother (Congratulations Chelse), and another great season of Survivor, I have kept myself busy most nights. As things start to calm down, I will have to start focusing on the next chapter of my career. At 57, do I really want to go thought all the hoops and whistles of updating my resume, searching on-line, and applying for another IT desk job for a generic company. Maybe it’s time to expand my circle and look for something more aligned with what I enjoy (Sports / Entertainment / Math).

If there is anybody out there who reads this, and is looking for an energetic, hardworking, funny, interesting, and all-around great person who may be able to help you and your company thrive, feel free to reach out to me at andyrupprecht@gmail.com

Also #JeffProbst, #JesseTannanbaum, #MarkBurnett and other members of the Survivor production teams, I now have lots of free time to take a trip to the Fijian Islands.

#NeverToOldForSurvivor #GiveMeAChance #OutwitOutplayOutlast #Survivor #CBS

#PEACE

Now as they would say at the end of James Bond movies “AverageAndy will return in…..”

#LoveOnAndOther

PS — Chiller Theater and the 81st Philly Non-Sport Card Show are next weekend. Hoping to attend them both and will post pictures