No Fate But What We Make

The wife and I went to see Terminator: Salvation last night. It was awesome. Not as good as I was expecting, there was a lot of potential to do more that they left out. But since there are supposed to be another two films, we'll see where they take it. Also, the rumor is that the Director's Cut will have a bunch of extra scenes, so that's exciting. I think the main problem is that I've come to expect the story to be more cerebral. I'm not sure why since none of the other movies have been, but maybe I've been ruined by TSCC. Who knows. But that isn't why I've come here tonight. The last line in the movie sparked some memories. "There is no Fate but what we make."

I realized that was what sparked my initial separation from Religion, with a capital R. When T2 came out in 1991 (I think I actually got to see in in '93) I heard that line and it set bells off in my head. I realized that the concept is one of the hardest for humanity to come to grips with. So many people are afraid of the possibility that we control our own destiny. That there is no divine or cosmic weaver of the tapestry that is our future. We've created Religion as a way to alleviate that fear. By putting our Fate or Destiny in the hands of someone else, we are relieved of the responsibility for our own actions. Not in a mundane sense, mind you. You are still responsible for kicking that puppy that got in your way. But if your spouse or child dies from cancer or some illness you can have people tell you that the Lord works in mysterious ways, or that there is a Greater Purpose for all things. It makes you feel better on some deeper level knowing that there is nothing you could have done. Maybe not, but I don't believe that there IS some greater purpose out there, or some mysterious God holding the strings of our lives.

I do, however, believe that we can affect change in our own lives and destinies. Through proper focus, thought patterns and basic ritual, we can change things. True your average meat popsicle, or Sheeple as I like to call them, is generally just going to go through life on autopilot, but there are those of us whose minds work in the upper levels of the intelligence quotient range that are capable of shaping our lives in the way we want to.

Now you may be thinking this is all mumbo-jumbo and something only creepy, spooky people do and talk about, but not so. Sure, we may go about it in a different way, but every time you pick up a self-help book, or attend one of those seminars about the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People or something you are doing the same thing. Time after time we are shown that people can affect change in their lives through proper attitude and thinking. Does that mean that God is now suddenly shining upon them? If so I ask you this: where the hell was he before? Why did it take learning about changing your attitude or thought patterns to cause that person to suddenly be in favor with God? The Xians will tell you that it's because you have now dedicated your life to him. But what if you aren't a Xian in the first place? Are you going to tell me that the only people that are truly happy and successful are Religious? I think not. I've known a lot of Religious types in my life and I can tell you that few, if any, are truly happy or successful. They always have marriage problems, or money problems, or work problems. Yes, those are all things that are by and large unavoidable, but I know that you can change how they affect you in your daily life.

Remembering that there is no Fate but what *we* make is what is key. I know too many people that are miserable here on Earth so they can be rewarded in Heaven. Why would you do that to yourself? This is the only life you will remember. Since we have no proof of an afterlife, I would have to say that it would be tough to justify having to be miserable for some unverifiable reward. How many of you would bust your ass 70 hours a week at your job only to have your boss say you "might be rewarded"? I sure as hell wouldn't. One of my favorite bumperstickers says "I believe in life before death". I couldn't agree more.

There is no forever, just today. Don't let your sacrifice waste away.

Local geek attacked by fashion... Film at 11.

Hehe. So because of my promotion I've decided that I need to start dressing a little more respectably. When I started out at MUSD, they asked me to wear polos/collared shirts. I complied for a long time, got some Dickies work shirts and put patches on them so I could obey the letter of the law, if not the spirit. Then I bought a couple T-shirts from Think Geek and started wearing them. One said "You read my t-shirt. That's enough social interaction for one day." The other said "i > u". I got some amused responses from my bosses and wasn't told I couldn't wear them, so I started buying spiffy t-shirts all over the place. Enter the fateful "WTF?" shirt. Wore that to work one day, got my first "verbal warning". Yeah, apparently my boss knew that didn't stand for "Where's The Fun?" He said that all the kids at the high schools knew what it meant and that it was clearly inappropriate. Makes sense since that is one of the only shirts I got compliments on from students. So I reevaluated the image I was putting forth to students, teachers, and staff. I realized that while I may look like your typical "techie", I did not look the part of a System Administrator which will be my new title come July 1. Since it means almost a three dollar-an-hour raise, I figure I might need to dress to impress.

So I went shopping. A good chunk of change later and I think I am ready. I say "good chunk" but most of what I got was on sale for $7 a shirt. Yay for sales. It all started when I went with my wife to get a polo for an important meeting with some folks from Apple and the superintendent of the district. I wanted one of the polyester golf shirts since I am tired of the cotton shrinking all the damn time. One look and the wife says no. Not only no, but hell no. So I am wandering around the mens department and my wife comes up with some rather... homosexual... looking shirts. She sees my look of concern and goes "before you say anything, try them on". Needless to say I was rather dubious. I'll be damned if they didn't look fantastic. I guess it was strange for me to be wearing "color" (most of my shirts are black or dark blue). One of these was a bright blue with white pinstripes, the other gray with white stripes. I bought both and thought that would be the end of it.

I went to work the next day in the bright blue one with the sleeves rolled up a quarter of the way tucked into regular blue jeans. I had probably half a dozen people comment on how nice I looked. My boss even said "Wow, you clean up nice! What's the occasion?" I wasn't sure how to take that. Did I really look that nice or did I just normally look like shit so even the smallest effort stands out? That decided it for me. Come July 1, no more T-shirts at work unless I am doing something dirty (moving PCs, hauling stuff around, etc). I went back to the store and went nuts. I now have the original two, another blue w/ white stripes (different than the other one, not as bright); a pink and a yellow shirt, both also with white pinstripes; a pastel purple and a tea green (both with ties) and a pale blue shirt. All are long-sleeve oxfords that I will be rolling up and either tucking in or not depending on my mood. I was IMing one of the girls at work telling her I had clothes with color and she goes "The day you buy a yellow shirt is the day the world will end." I actually had to take a picture of them hanging in my closet and send it to her to prove it. After she looks at the pic she goes "OMG!!! Is that one next to it PINK?!?!?" Hehe. I am amused. I may look metro, but at least I won't have people falling down in shock over my dressing up once or twice.