This astrology stuff and the ten-year rule

I have decided it's a good thing that some astronomer has forced the entire world of astrologers to revise their beliefs.

I've decided to take a strong stand on this because it's really important to take strong stands on something that anyone with the emotional maturity of a thirteen-year old should be able to spot as a foolish superstition.

Mostly because of the year of the rooster. I know, wrong baseless superstition—but, bear with me, this is all going somewhere. You see I missed the year of the rooster. If I'd been born just a little earlier, I would have been a rooster but as it is I'm a dog. This shouldn't bother me as actual dogs are vastly superior to actual roosters. But I read the personality charts and, at the age of 19, I saw myself as being more rooster like.

So I'm happy to be Ophiuchuan. I used to be a Sagittarian and had no problems with that but now I'm something new and exciting. Ophiuchus was apparently the snake grasper. I like that. Puts any mere rooster in the shade if you ask me.

Which brings me to the ten year rule. Over at The Art of Manliness yesterday there was a post about making an adventure out of vacations. It included one of those bits of advice that get retailed by advice givers because it sounds good:

Basically, whenever you are presented with a choice, ask yourself which option you would prefer to have taken in ten years. 

As anyone who has actually lived a bit of life can tell you, that is absolutely useless. You have very limited control over how your vacation or anything else is going to turn out. Kuala Lumpur could turn out to be a deadly bore, and I suspect it often does, whereas Madison, Wisconsin could surprise you with romance and adventure.

Far better to do it the other way around. Look back on what you were doing ten years ago and ask yourself how you would prefer to remember it. Don't lie to yourself, just emphasize those aspects that you like to remember and forget about the false hopes, betrayals and stuff like that. Try it, you'll like it. Start with your ex loves. Just make sure you are looking back at least ten years on them.

Back to Keats with a bonus Powell reference this afternoon.