I stuck my bunny for this post

I think it's my human failing that I take things too personally, even for things that are sometimes not entirely about me. Let me explain with a vague-ish example. Recently, a minor and commonplace choice I made was very obnoxiously derided, rather pointlessly too. It offended me to a small extent, not so much because it insulted my taste in such an insignificant matter, but more because I knew that the person in question did so only to feel better about herself by putting someone else down at the slightest, stupidest opportunity. So it wasn't really a personal insult, just her purile attempt at allaying her own insecurity. Still, it made me (and my companion next to me, who gaped at her open-mouthed after her loud retorts) feel shocked at the way it was delivered, and rather peeved. I probably wouldn't have minded so much if it was a one-time event, but, unfortunately, it seems to be a persistent trait of this acquaintance.

There was a time when I would've given it right back and more, but these days I'm more likely to stick pins in my mental voodoo doll than to open my mouth and stoop to their level (the bunny was just for fun and to make this blog entry look more interesting). Believe me, in this mouth of mine resides a tongue that could freeze the bowels of Krakatoa, but that might mean damaging a friendship if administered at the wrong moment. That I'm not willing to do. So I just seeth for a moment, decide that I dislike the person a little more, and then put it out of my mind.

Some call that repression. I agree.

I don't think it's a gift that I see people and am often able to tell generally what they're like after observing them a bit. Just some years and some firsthand experience is enough to teach anybody to recognise a set of telltale signs. It's a gift for those who can totally overlook faults, or just not see them entirely. Some call it tolerance. I agree. Though I sometimes call it oblivion too. True, it sometimes makes me seem like a smaller person for catching someone's faults which others can't see, but I see it as just a part of understanding the whole of a person and learning which parts of them to dodge and which good parts to appreciate.

I've heard someone say before, "If I don't like the person, the person will jolly well know it." While I can understand that principle may seem like honesty in its truest form, I don't think it's always the best way to go. Just because you don't like someone doesn't mean you get all beastly to them or make them feel bad around you. Or maybe I'm just chicken to show my displeasure. Or maybe my heart is softer than my mouth. I suspect it's usually a combo of all three.

Astrology - only part crap

I had a nagging suspicion about the person mentioned above, so one day I asked her what her astrological sign was. I was spot on. She turned out to be of the sign that I have shockingly good chemistry with, even as their faults drive me nuts. See if you can guess which one (no cheating for those I've mentioned this to before):

1. Very charming (with some rare exceptions)
2. Deathly self-absorbed: everything that happens just has to be about them; they're more concerned with telling you their opinions than to process yours (even if they ask for it - the blank look when you tell them what you think is a dead giveaway)
3. Highly insecure, which manifests in three main ways:
3.1. by bragging
3.2. by putting other people down to feel better about themselves
3.3. by displaying attention-seeking behaviour
4. Stubborn (refer to point 2)
5. Intelligent
6. Passive aggressive
7. Passionate but brutally practical when it suits their purposes

I've had the misfortune of dating one. Like my many friendships with people born under this sign, it was fast, intense, but had great potential for callous hurt. But I continue firm friendships with some by virtue of the eerily good chemistry I have with them. (My sis tells me it's because it's my rising sign...whatever that means.)

Don't get me wrong - I'm not an astrology flake. I don't buy vague astro crap like "Your moons are in Uranus, which will affect certain functions". But there does seem to be some truth in the characteristics shared by people born under the same signs*. Perhaps people born at certain times of the year share some similar traits by nature of how they relate to certain seasons or to other people born at different times of the year.

*Or, as astrologers would say, the sign that your sun was in when you were born, which explains why Scorpios like me will never see the constellation Scorpius in October/November - it's highest in the sky and most visible in the spring months, when the sun is at the 'opposite end' of the sky.