Let me show you a bit of psychology..

That mean thing..
The nice or quiet people always say the meanest things in the end.

In reality, it's probably not the meanest stuff you'd ever hear. You THINK it is because you have this cognitive schema (mental representation) that they are nice, safe, harmless etc. And when they do actually say something out of character, you think it's super SuPeR and SUPER mean just coz you didn't expect that out of them.

Being the human that you are, you immediately label that person as "dangerous". That's why we always say, "It's the quiet ones to watch out for".

Threshold?
People aren't just mean or not mean (categories). Just like there's a bit of good and bad in ourselves. Only that the nice people don't know how to use the bad side until it's too late. Accummulate it inside, find a trigger one day, and explode. If you've seen a friend explode, she/he either feels comfortable doing it in front of you (or feels like you're close/understanding enough to take the abuse), or she/he is directing it to someone who she/he really hates.

And dimensions don't really work well here either. Depending on how nice/rotten you are in the first place, your level of "meanness" is only relative to that (be it perceived by the self or others). E.g. Nice person = mean, thus labelled "uh-oh mood swinger, not good", mean person = oh, typical attitude, thus known as the same, "mean". So we can't say everyone falls on a continuum equally. (English phrasing : Falls equally on a continuum? Bah!)

The poor fella..
Think about it, your nice friend... demure, friendly, church-going, generous thing, suddenly screams "FUCK that sonovabitch!". Wouldn't you be shocked? The protection "mode" comes on, you perceive that phrase, store it in your short term memory while she keeps going on and on about that fella till that one out-of-character phrase gets transferred into your long term memory. That'll be the end of it. What's more, gossip in emotional form gets stuck to your head permanently. Literature says that you are more likely to repeat stuff people deliver to you in an emotional tone. Uh-oh. So next time you tell a secret, try not to get too emotional, your friend is gonna have a harder time keeping that secret if you scream, use an angry tone, or cry. Happy feelings aren't that susceptible to betrayal. Ironic isn't it?

Control
Of course, having a bit of control always helps. Heaps. At least until you find a good friend to vent, then you can let go. Having good friends who've known you for long and accept the way you are is a bonus. That way, they know you well, they judge but they still like you. So it's all good. Thank god for such friends.

Something to de-stress - Here's a happy picture of me and my cousins taken during CNY :)

At the old "grandma's" house next door - Top : Jovan, Albert, Me. Bottom : June and Annie.

Sometimes I still feel like I belong in the 13-15 age-group with the two monkeys ;) Hence the funny-looking face.