What your facebook profile photo says about you ^.^

Now, the rant.

The 'Face' you put on Facebook is not really who you are. It is how you want your friend to see you, or how you want to be imagined. Your profile picture is not only seen by your friends - it's the face the world sees, including friends of friends, former school mates and all sorts of other people.

Some people change their pictures often, as they alter the image that they want to portray. However, most people choose and image only once and keep the same picture unaware of the possible consequences of a poorly chosen picture. After a while the owner becomes oblivious to how silly their image looks to other.

Most people standard, somewhat boring photos that resemble passport photos and are chosen to be deliberately neutral and conservative. Other choose outrageous part shots hat ruin reputations. This article looks as the various types of passport photos and what they convey about you.

There are several distinct types of Facebook profile image that can be identified.

Let's examine why people choose these types and what the say about you.

The quirky, silly shot - Some people choose a self-mocking image that makes fun of them. They choose an unflattering face showing a silly expression or stupid clothes or funny hats. This may be suitable for a very short period of time or to share with your friends, but it is hardly appropriate as a permanent image.
What it says about you: It is demeaning and conveys the sense that you don't care, you are shallow and don't have self respect and self-awareness.

The studio model portrait - Some people choose studio poses with professional make-up, stylish clothes and hairdos and mood lighting.
What it says about you: You are dishonest and aim to mislead and hide behind a mask. It implies that you have something to hide.

The cartoonized image - There are various websites that will convert a photo into a cartoon version of it.
What it says about you: You are shallow and you are afraid to display yours self as you really are - even a carefully chosen photo has to be doctored.

The Antique Portrait Image -There are various camera options that allow you to create and antique effect. Or not, if you employ some judicious cropping. Who needs a left ear, anyway?
What it says about you: You want to live in the past ad you are afraid to face the future.

Cartoons and Movie Personalities - There was a ancient fad to post a picture of the celebrity you most resemble or your favorite cartoon character or movie star.
What it says about you: This is so out of date and pointless, especially for your more remote and distant friends

The Action Hero and Dare Devil -Many people post images of themselves bungee jumping, rock-climbing, surfing, doing a wheelie on a mountain bike.
What it says about you: Your ordinary self is boring and your normal life in unexciting. You have to invent an active super-hero to compensate. Most people will think the images are fake anyway.

Picture of your child or children -Your child is very cute, at least to you.
What it says about you: You are so totally obsessed with your children that it is probably not worth contacting you.

The Natural Setting and Travel Pics - Many people included pictures of themselves in the sunset, cuddling a crocodile, being straggled by a boa constrictor or beneath a giant tree in the rain forest or beneath the Eiffel Tower.
What it says about you: You are hollow and lack the self consciousness to be yourself. You have to adorn yourself in the emperor's new clothes. Do bother me as I'm likely to be on another holiday by myself.

The Family Portrait - Why include the family instead of your own face.
What it says about you: You are family focused and will be unlikely to be fully committed and unlikely to be much fun. . 

Up Close In your Face and Impersonal - the person is so close to the lens that you can see their tonsils and dental work.
What it says about you: You want people to recognize that you are unique and funny and you hope that this in-your-face image will appeal to many who will want to be friends with such funny character. Think again no one will recognise your tonsils and they will regard you as shallow and unable to crack a funny joke.

Shot of you as a baby or child - The picture is one of the person as a child that was dragged out of the family album.
What it says about you: You live in the past and you were cute as a child but now you are boring and ugly. You are very conservative and stuck in a rut and you probably never change and amount to anything. Who wants to communicate with an ancient kid photo

The Pet Show - The photo of the family pet, with or without the owner.
What it says about you: People will interpret the images depending on what they think of various types of pets. It says nothing about you.

The Wedding Photo - Man and woman in a formal pose showing a wedding dress and tux.
What it says about you: You want everyone to know that you are now grown-up. You have stopped partying and settled down to a family life of watching Family Guy reruns and doing the dishes. You cannot party anymore and you are half of a couple rather than a single individual person.

The Party Picture - The image is of a person often with someone else, clearly at a party.
What it says about you: You are stupid and young love partying but will probably be fired one of more jobs for something you posted on Facebook or a stupid email criticizing the boss. You wish you were married do you could replace the picture with a wedding portrait, or pictures of your children.

Advice for Choosing a Better Image

There is no trust in social media without a photo and so must have one that is honest. The photo should look like you and should be recognizable in an instant. So use close up shots (head and shoulders). Use a smiling shot that is more appealing. Avoid all the mistakes listed above.

© janderson99-HubPages

---------

It's an oxymoron, moron!

“Why would out gay men want to act like straight men?”

Being in a place where homosexuality is openly accepted and seeing hunky guys strolling in the malls with full make-up on, (... uhmnnn not really full make-up, just talk about layers of foundation and shiny BB cream on their faces + fashion contact lenses) I  still  CAN'T get the idea why there are still out gay men who want to act like straight men? And why is it that when you post your photo on Fb or in any social networking sites, (as openly gay, of course and doing effeminate poses, there are still idiots who make comments like, 'Ohh you are so gay'... and errrRRr, AM I NOT? LOL.)

I DO NOT COMPREHEND THIS IDIOCY. 

 Isn’t the whole concept of straight acting a massive example of internalized homophobia? I mean if you say “I act straight” aren’t you buying into the idea that there is some definitive way in that being a homosexual changes the way that you act? 

And what does it even mean to act straight? From a cursory look at a certain website, straight acting is advertised as acting in a masculine manner. If one can assume that in a man, straight is synonymous with masculine, then does this mean that gay is synonymous with effeminate? Isn’t this one of the main ideas from which homophobia springs; that all gay men are effeminate and all straight men are masculine?????

I’m criticizing the homosexual men who think that straight acting makes them somehow socially superior and go out of their way to appear straight to anyone who they don’t want to have gay sex with. If a homosexual man is masculine then that is how he is and I can say that I am an effeminate homosexual man (mostly). If he says he is straight acting then that is not how he is, that is an act. Acting means to act, fancy that!

As far as I see it, if you want to act straight and pretend to be straight when you aren’t then why not go all the way and BE STRAIGHT. I certainly won’t miss you. Straight acting is something we’ve all done at one time or another for usually one reason: We don’t want people to know we are gay. So why are there now all these openly homosexual men saying they’re straight acting and more importantly WHY DO PEOPLE WANT STRAIGHT ACTING BOYFRIENDS?

Straight acting isn’t being masculine, it’s being homophobic. You are scared of being associated with homosexuals because of the adversity we face but you’re more than happy to take all the liberties our struggles against this adversity have brought you.

So if you do just use the term ‘straight acting’ why not pause and think about the homophobia the term implies and just say ‘masculine’?

And if you’re acting straight purely because you think that it makes you better than all of us faggots, poofs and queers then I think that maybe you should finally step out of the closet and into our world because You can’t act straight and be gay.  ---- It’s an oxymoron, moron.   ^___^     

oooh haaaa! LOL

o0o

Good afetrnoon!

ktnxbye!

--

We kill for love, and yet we can kill love.

Love never dies a natural death.

And it makes me a killer, a murderer, a slayer or simply an emotion sucker the least.

This quote reminds me to stay mindful of holding close to best intention and remembering to take care of myself and others --- but I have the tendency to fail too.

I AM HUMAN.

 I am fully aware of my emotional state: being away from home, being away from the familiar places where I once roamed and sought refuge when I was heartbroken, misguided, hated and unwanted. And because of that awareness and the sanity that is always present in me, it's enough to know what I need to take care of myself makes it possible to be available and open enough to give and receive love.. I am capable of both.

I sometimes think of the connections I have with certain people as being made of tender flesh and bone, mortal connective tissue, a strong and yet vulnerable body or personae who lives between us and has a hand on both our hearts.

We can feed, pamper and nurture that body that connects us; like it's our precious child. If we're good caretakers of it, we will help it grow stronger with our ever present love and attention. If we know it's value, we will fiercely protect it from the dangers we know are out there (and within us) and that our experience has shown us will threaten its health and make our precious connection less resilient. If we are mindful of our responsibilities and can stay close to the love we feel for each other, we will treat our connections like living and mortal things.

Or we can ignore the precious nature of our connections, use the tender flesh that has a hand on both our hearts to lash out at it's weaknesses or mistakes. If we're not mindful of all the ways that our connection lives and breathes and grows as we do, we will push it too hard or too fast to be stronger than it's able to be; we won't let it grow strong enough and don't care for it well enough before we start testing it and trying to put it to work for us. We come to see the connection as a life raft, a support system, and infinite Atlas who will carry our heaven on his shoulders. We expect that the connection that exists between us is stronger than we are.

If we are not mindful, we will mistakenly think its purpose is to feed us instead of being nurtured by us. We will expect it to guide us and give us direction, we will call it names, blame it for our failings or our unhappiness. We will cling to its joyous nature, its wellspring of love and energy and assume that they will always be ours for the taking. We will act like it owes us something, like it has no needs of its own, like it has a bank account that never decreases. We will push and probe and test our precious, tender, vulnerable connection assuming that if it's real and true, it has to be strong enough so that it can take our beatings, our neglect, our lack of consideration, our stupidity and our selfishness.

Too many tests, too many injuries and bruises, too much neglect and mistreatment and the connection withers and dies. Or, as is often the case, because love is strong and doesn't give up easily, it kicks and screams and wails for months and months, taking each of our hearts in its hot little hands and squeezing with all it's might to try to shock us back into being alive and awake to it. But when the pain of those last ditch heart shocks wear off and there's no hope left for recovery, it lets go and the connection is gone. :(

 When love is killed, it buries the voice that used to shout the love that once we had. The worst thing will be is not to be able to say goodbye -- and that will be the saddest thing to happen before death.

Good night. T.T

o0o

Dirty Mirror

COLD WATER, AND A DIRTY MIRROR

I can’t believe you ARE still here,

Begging me, bring you near,

Holding on to all my fears,

My thoughts are not too clear,

I don’t know what to do,

My reflection is still into you,

I don’t know what to say,

It’s been a while,

Since you've been gone away,

I’m standing here,

Looking in a dirty mirror,

Nothing is too clear,

Why I’m still here,

What do I say?

What do I say?

What do I do?

What do I do?

Splash my face,

To change the pace,

Hearts will race,

Hearts will break.

Don't let me look into you,

For when I do,

Then I should break you.

STOP HAUNTING ME.

-------

The monks, my day, and love's crazy definitions~

 After 5 days of not having to go to work, here I am again, tapping my cranium and check the sanity inside...

 Yeah, my brain's still there. Still open to neurons. Can still distinguish love from hate... pain from pleasure..

 cough from sneeze... you from them...

   I from you.

------

 Earlier today, as I was walking on my way to the gates of Rungruangupatham school, I saw two young Buddhist monks walking ahead 10 steps from me approximately.I have always been amazed by thinking how these people live their lives. How could they bear walking barefooted  on  the asphalted roads baked in the sun? How do they talk? How do they spend their time in the bathroom? How do they see us? How do they see the world? What can they say about falling in love?

And then, I totally recalled the article I read years back, 'Notes from the Temple'. There were some chapters about love and blah blahss. (I did not talk to the monks as what I implied on my facebook status earlier... I just had a conversation with the idea from the article)   I just couldn't remember every line from the notes but it was like this...

Cliche as it is that loving is more on giving...

so when everyone gives, then everyone should receive. It's only about probability.

You're fortunate if your actions are requited, if not, don't give up on love. You're not at the losing end anyway. You can't lose something which is in your nature. It's always there. Nonetheless, never forget your essence... love yourself too, because you yourself is part of this universe. If there's no one to love you and care for you, who will?

----- and my reply:

 yes, it's in my nature... it can run dry when I myself can't nourish it for Im occupied by the task of nourishing others' existence..... and the monk (from the note) replied, "You are human... you tend to get swayed by too much affection for others... once you have reached your ends, you can always fall freely and get lost or you can take a tighter grasp... it's always your choice... choose the deserving if you aren't blind to see and numb to feel whether your actions are requited... or not."

.....and i walked away smiling and realizing...

-------------------

yet Love has a lot of definitions...

   Love is nothing. Love is everything. Love is the light that shines from every recess of your heart, or it is the darkness that extinguishes that light. Love is a mended heart. Love is a broken heart. Love is passion. Love is lust. Love is desire. Love is family, friendship, and romance.

Love is everywhere. Love is nowhere. Love is pain, sorrow, longing, and suffering. Love is joy and happiness, pleasure and delight. Love is the tears in the middle of the night. Love is the arms wrapped around you, keeping you safe. Love is a kiss. Love is holding hands. Love is a smile. Love is the shining in one’s eyes.

Love is kind. Love is cruel. Love is just. Love is unfair. Love is roses of deepest red, the night of deepest blue, the wind, all around, the deepest oceans and seas. Love is sin. Love is virtue. Love is forbidden. Love is encouraged. Love is sought after. Love is lost. Love is what comes to you when your heart is open. Love is what made you close it in the first place.

Love is a mother’s hand stroking her child. Love is a lover’s hand stroking his beloved. Love is feeling the warmth of another. Love is the cold when that other is no longer there.

Love is sacrifice, compromise, and understanding. Love is valuing someone’s life over one’s own. Love is a fairytale. Love is a nightmare. Love is stupid and foolish. Love is wise. Love is a memory of better times. Love is the desire to make more. Love is confusing. Love is crystal clear. Love is beyond death, beyond everything.

Love is light. Love is fire. Love is in the pulse of the earth and the crash of the waves. Love is the stars, the moons, the planets, the universe.

Love is loyalty. Love is trust. Love is free. Love always comes with a price. Love is forever. Love is fleeting.

Love is bullshit. Love is the truest form of magic this world has.

Love simply is.

still I DON'T KNOW WHAT LOVE IS. 

SHOW ME.

PLEASE.

good night!

-lee.

----

GROW Kid! GROW!

Just (soooo) recently, I was perusing the the 'wordweb' dictionary application on my iPhone because I wanted to see what it said about this word “understanding.” Some synonyms shared were: comprehend, absorb, appreciate, identify with, empathize, be familiar with, and value.  And in the context of personal growth, to understand is to be willing to empathize with others, be in tune with our emotional selves, and to value individual differences – even when we don’t agree with them. Thus the process of understanding involves a high level of mental, emotional, and spiritual awareness. 

(Wait, s p i r i t u a l  awareness?)

iS it you? or is it me? 

There are just things which are difficult for me to understand people, their behavior, or their body language, responses, or the way I react to their stimuli that make this whole crazy thing that cause a 'slightly' burdensome feeling in my chest?? Or, is it just me who sets multiple choice answer sheets?! And then, by just moving away from reality I placed myself again on the bed, leaned against the wall, kept quiet ( as I had to for my roommate was still asleep --- and snoring LOL! sorry Matmat. ) and opened this netbook and just searched for some good reads online ( since English books and bookstores are on the verge of disappearing here in BKK) Hahaha... no.... I mean, I couldn't find any good commercial libraries here. (Not to mention that this kingdom will host the World Book 'eklaver' this year. I'm like... huh?  ?Seriously? Well anyway, on the other side of the world wide web's superficiality, I came across a 'Psychology' webpage and right there and then I read on. A much better therapy than reading one-liner messages or stupid people's FB posts and tweets and innuendo comments and likes. Oh, I just miss reading maybe... but I'm not the type that would scream like... hey! I have read Harry Potter 1 - 167890! or OMG! the Twilight Saga makes me kilig much...or... the 234,678,904 shades of Grey.. Duh... I read to learn 'something'. Not just to tickle my prostate gland and reach orgasm.

So much for ranting.

Okay, so, to comprehend, we use our mind, to empathize, we use our emotion, and to appreciate, we must tap into our heart (which houses our spirit). When one or more of these perspectives is under-represented, it is a challenge to have understanding and when all three converge, we experience peace… and authentic understanding. We live out what the psychologists refer to as 'Growth in Motion™!!'

Growth in Motion™!! = Self Care + Self Empowerment + Self Knowledge + Self Direction

Throughout my life – starting even before college – I can think of many opportunities where I had to choose to understand situations I’ve been going through or to view them as the other person’s problem. Many times, I decided that it was the other person’s problem. (YEAH) More often, however, I decided to make a huge effort to dig, excavate, or get underneath and “understand” what was actually going on in an objective way. Most especially while I was in a relationship with some 'bullshits' before. (now i'm coining 'bullshits' as 'ex-boyfriends'... who chose to break my heart.. (or otherwise) EVIL laugh. This has cost me a lot of restless days and nights, tears, and sweat over the years but after having experienced life in this way,  I think I’ve grown (just a minute ago?!) to appreciate the upsets, arguments, and misunderstandings from a perspective of insight and WISDOM. And in viewing life from this perspective, I KNOW I'll  experience a lot of personal growth and understanding. (So don't worry, my brain's not the lizard's)

Take care of yourself in a way that helps you experience a better understanding of yourself. A few ways to do this are to answer the following: [ which i think is helpful ]

What I appreciate about _____ is ______. By completing this exercise, you will begin to reveal a sense of gratitude for the people, places, and things in your life. By focusing on what you appreciate, it lightens the load of the problems or circumstances that weigh you down, like your argument with your boyfriend last night! Those petty misunderstandings that you think of them as crimes. The moment that you react like he killed your entire family! lol.  It also helps you to becoming more accepting of others and their differences.

What makes me happy? To prepare yourself, find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed. (the bathroom?! lol) Then, take several full and deep breaths to help relax your mind and body. When answering this question, allow whatever comes to mind and express it on paper, even if it appears to be unfamiliar (only when it comes in handy, well... i have my notepad function on my everrrrr functional iPhone! ). I have found that this exercise can bring up some ideas and things that have been buried for years! For example, I forgot just how good I feel when I jump rope! As a result of completing this exercise, I have returned to this fun childhood experience or even... playing CHINESE garter! I also discovered that I enjoy writing and use it for healing and self expression.  Yeah, that's right... that's what I'm doing now. I feeeel much better. Or I'm just so into alphabets! and not into... hey.. welcome to the Twitter world! Find out what's happening to the people and organization you care. Like... Duhhhh? I follow you, you follow me.. oh..! we're celebrities! or.. hey... lemme see the latest sex scandal! Then share the links. Is there anything better you can do people? i have these accounts and thanks to them, I CAN COMMUNICATE easily and I can laugh, too. (sarcastic grin).  And after this particular writing session with myself, I decided to create this blog entry! So, get your paper and pen and allow your creative juices to flow! (Note: if you don’t enjoy writing, get a tape recorder and speak into it or if you prefer to draw or sing, take out your color pencils, paints, or recorder and have fun!)

Remember to spend time alone with yourself – yes, that's why i'm going to the temple now and lay myself next to the great reclining Budhha~! or to a Hindu Temple perhaps?– 

Hindu Temple, Batu Caves

to gain a better understanding of your likes, dislikes, and what really makes you happy. You will feel more compassion and internal peace. You might be surprised at how much more you enjoy the rest of life.

Take Care of Yourself.

sawadee krap!

--Lee.

~o0o~

a Note from a Rabbit Hole~

I've been in a very reflective mood during the past few weeks. I get this way sometimes but it's always predictable that it will happen at this time of the year. As you grow older, you might learn that once a year at about the same time, you get reflective too.

Overlooking the vastness of Metro BKK

If you've done a fairly good job of living your life, these times aren't too upsetting. If you've made a few mistakes, it's mostly okay.

If you've made a lot of mistakes, you go down a deep, dark rabbit hole that's hard to find your way out of.

I often find myself down that rabbit hole around the end of July --- my birth month.

It's important to keep looking forward in life, but that's not always easy to do. Sometimes you can't help but look back. If you've screwed back a lot, those looks back can be pretty painful.

The best way to avoid this kind of narcissistic, self-flagellating navel gazing is to make good decisions in the first place. That's not always easy to do, but it's possible. I've discovered that when you are facing a big decision, somewhere deep in your brain or in your gut or whatever, you know what the best decision is... unfortunately the less deep parts of your anatomy have a lot of skill in taking your smarter bits into making stupid decisions.

just the three of us. <3

after the 12-hr train ride from Kuala Lumpur  to Hat Yai, Thailand.

.

Realizing that my life was stagnant, my 'work-life' that was, I decided to take a step away from my comfort zone. Literally, it was a step away but not really that far, since BKK isn't far from the Philippines. ^_^ --- but the important thing was, I did it. Together with two other friends, Mark Lester and May Grace, we decided to leave the country to find a more challenging life in a different place. Leaving behind the easy-go-lucky life back home. Leaving behind the nights of coffee, tea or beer in the most familiar places where I was a habitue. ...

Now that I'm here, surrounded by skyscrapers and condos everywhere, I feel like I belong. My system is slowly adapting to this new kaleidoscopic life. Catching bus rides (some are free :)  ) and bask in  free wifi signals all over the metro. 

Metro Bangkok at night

One night at the highest sky bar in the world (my 30th birthday) -- SIROCCO

the Golden Temple near Khao San Road, BKK

 Sometimes it's enough to make you want to take a hat pin to your pre-frontal cortex. I mean, why not? There are lots of people out there who seem to function fine with just their lizard brain to guide them. They're probably a lot happier.

I know I'm probably not making much sense right now, and I apologize for that. What I, as a 30-year-old person, have to tell you, is to make the best choices you can. Don't discount your gut feelings, intuition and first impressions --- they're often right.

We humans evolved those traits over a thousand of years because they help us survive. It'S that part of the brain that keeps us from eating poisonous things, jumping off of high places and trying to snuggle with wild animals. Those are the skills that you need to survive in a hostile world. Mind you, there are people who insist on doing stupid things, but evolution tends to weed a lot of folks out over time.

----But there are a lot of folks who don't listen to those inner voices that keep us safe. They're the ones you find splattered on the pavement from time to time --- either literally or figuratively.

So from the depths of my rabbit hole in this reflective period, let me offer u this bit of advice: Listen to your gut from time to time. that might just keep you from having your guts splattered all over the pavement.

walking home from work <3

or maybe not. what the heck do I know, anyway?

                                                                                                          ---lee.

~o0o~