Know When to Hold 'Em...

On Monday night, I met up with some former co-workers to discuss the Cube City hell that we once gambled our way through together. I think it's safe to conclude that we were young and stupid to have been working there at all -- and probably desperate for cash.

When I left that Cube City several years ago, I LEFT. I didn't engage in conversations with cube dwellers who still worked there. I didn't want people to know what I was doing. I didn't want to be talked about. I think I was just embarrassed that I had stayed a few years too long and had chosen the lazy path of suffering there rather than doing something proactive to get out of a bad situation. I was stuck in a rut with no ambition to get out. I didn't know when to fold 'em, let alone when to run.

The thing is, the job had been good for a while. It was probably the first job I had that was halfway interesting. Some good people worked there too. Lots of psychos worked there, sure, but the good people made up for the bad. Well, until they left me there, stuck in my rut. It was the hand I had been dealt.

Monday night closed the book on a lot of questions I had about what happened to that Cube City after I left. We laughed about how stupid and crazy our lives were at the time. It just felt good to get past the bitterness of that place and to realize that I don't care what goes on there. It's like a classic soap opera: You can stop watching for several years and know that, when you tune in tomorrow, you'll easily be able to follow the plot (or lack thereof). Nothing ever changes. It's really no wonder why it's easy to get stuck in a rut.

My hope today is that I will henceforth know when to hold 'em. I'll know when to fold 'em. I'll know when to walk away...and I'll definitely know when to run. Then I'll just count my blessings when the dealing's done.