WordPress 2.7 Preview

written on October 25, 2008 in WWW

I like the new look, but I heard that they are still working on the final layout, though I believe that the general structure of it all is set to stay. I look forward to using 2.7 Error processing request

On being yourself

written on October 13, 2008 in Life

Stephanie left a comment on my How To Be A Princess Charming post saying:

I’ve always been one to go for the idea that you should just be yourself, and people will like you or they won’t. Guides to how to act so that others will like you just seem demeaning.

Not to say that there’s something wrong with etiquette, as that’s different. This just seems so fake.

I’m 100% for “being yourself” and not pretending you’re someone else, because that would just make you look shallow and superficial. And she’s right, if you act yourself, people will either like you, or they don’t, but at least you know that when they like you, they like you for who you are.

This “being yourself” concept applies to friendship and romantic relationships, especially the latter, since the closer you become with someone, the more of the real you gets revealed due to lack of inhibitions. So now I’m just going to talk about “being yourself” in a romantic relationship, and I’m going to use myself as an example. Yay

I used to think in the exact same way Stephanie did: you either like me for who I am, or you don’t. So in my past relationships, I never held back from being “me”. And being a typical Aries, that means my poor boyfriends saw more than their fair shares of my short and many times irrational temper tantrums, my impatiences, my dominating personality, my childishness, and my impulsiveness. Of course, I had my cute sides too, don’t worry. Anyways, they could tolerate my Aries-ness at the beginning, but as time goes on, it can get too much. But hey, you either like me for who I am, or you don’t. Obviously, the smart guy would be like “hell, then I maybe I don’t like you so much and I’ll move on!”. As a matter of fact, I’d probably do the same if I were the poor guy.

After all, when we first meet someone, especially if it’s someone we’re attracted to, we always put our best face forward and hide our flaws. So really, the initial attraction is based on our best sides, and then of course it’d be easy to like someone who’s cute, fun-loving, sweet, bubbly, witty, funny, and optimistic (those would be my good points, according to past boyfriends ).

I agree that some tips given in the previous post can seem a little out-of-the-way and come off as manipulative, but the author is simply saying “Hey, if you wanna make your guy even more hopelessly in love with you, this is what makes them tick. In a good way.” The rest of the tips are just like relationship etiquettes, and they can be applied to both guys and girls. The author isn’t telling you to go out of your way to change into a completely different person (unless, God forbid, that you’re doing the exact opposite of everything he listed), but to take a different approach in what you’re already doing.

He mentions in a lot of examples girls who actually care and love their boyfriends very much, but it’s just that their way of showing it doesn’t quite click with the guy. The author goes on to say that most guys are all about “feelings”. If it feels right, then even the smallest things will make his day. If it doesn’t feel right (doesn’t connect with him I guess), then you can take a bullet for him and he could still care less. Obviously that last statement was exaggerated, but the point of the whole book was trying to help girls understand how guys think and feel.

I personally think that a lot of the tips are common sense, and I don’t think it’s fake. It’s just making an effort to make someone you love feel better, and if doing these things will make my boyfriend/fiance/significant other happier, then I think it’s worth it.

How To Be A Princess Charming

written on October 6, 2008 in Tips & Tricks

…is the title of a cheesy but cute little book I got from Taiwan which basically contains 33 secrets to make men adore you. It’s written by a man, so I’m sure there are some truths to these secrets, but just how universally applicable are they? That’s what I want to know.

1. You can lie to men, but don’t treat them like idiots.
2. You can spend his money, but don’t treat him like your sugar daddy.
3. You can give up everything for him, but don’t expect him to be grateful.
4. Be his secretary, not his boss.
5. If he doesn’t pick up after 2 calls, don’t call a third time.
6. Disappear from his presence for at least 2 hours each day.
7. When there’s nothing to benefit from an argument, limit yourself to 3 words or less.
8. Look up to him with adoration, and he’ll willingly become your slave.
9. Your business card is for doing business, not for dating.
10. When he has unrealistic dreams, praise him first, then question him about it the next day.
11. You can point out his mistakes, but don’t go digging up and reciting his whole dirty history.
12. You can ask him to buy you food at 2 in the morning, but let him do it willingly.
13. You can reason with him, but don’t talk like a supreme court justice.
14. Men don’t care if you’re manipulative, they just care about your motive.
15. If you must mention the ex, make sure you make the current one sound like your savior.
16. Use words to express your concerns, but don’t nag.
17. Brag about his taste, not the price of the said item.
18. When gossiping with him, don’t play A off against B and purposely hurt others.
19. You can let him join you on a girl’s night out, but don’t try to turn him into your butt buddy.
20. You can dress up, but don’t look like a call girl.
21. You can have pets, but don’t treat him like one.
22. If he is hiding something from you, let him be the one to fess it up.
23. Learn how to say no the right way, and they’ll go crazy for you.
24. Men’s pet peeves are like balloons, and our ignorance would be the pin.
25. When he’s being stubborn, don’t ask too much from him.
26. When you two are in a passionate kiss, for the love of God, please refrain from laughing out loud.
27. Be an independent, but don’t try be manly.
28. You can throw a tantrum in your backyard, but when in public, sweet and submissive is the key.
29. You can get a nose job, but don’t turn your whole face into Jessica Alba’s.
30. When he’s still being fickle with his ex, don’t let him treat you like Dominoe’s Pizza.
31. You can do the chasing in the relationship, but don’t act like an animal in heat.
32. Don’t tell him EVERYTHING about yourself on the first date.
33. When talking about each other’s dreams, don’t force yours onto him.

So what do you all think? Accurate? Some of the titles can seem a bit vague or exaggerated, but the author does go into detail and explain his reasoning for why he thinks that. Any ones in particular you’d like me to share in future entries? Comments, suggestions, questions, debates, all welcome!