No Really, What do YOU think about me?

Funny how our perceptions of others are always, or usually, different than how they see themselves.

I recently stumbled upon a guy that had been through SLC. Of course, that peeked my interest, and before I could ask him what he thought, he added, "yeah, I made it to the center of the Mormon Church, but didn't go in." Knowing he probably meant Temple Square, I asked why not, thinking he'd come to a new place, a lot of american history, a worldwide church, beautiful landscaping, handsome people, etc.

His response, "It kind of freaked me out...I mean those young girls and the older people with those name tags...they all seemed so Stepford Wives. It just felt freaky and I couldn't walk in...I had to leave".

Now, that took me for a spin because I see those people as young, innocent, sincere, and welcoming--if not a tad pushy. But definitely not robotic.

Makes you think how others see you, versus how we see ourselves?

I see myself as presenting an outward personae of outgoing, happy, intelligent, clever, even- tempered, and semi-confident. But just the other day, a guy here called me a bad seed come down from the US...(I'm not sure that guy's not a bad seed, but hey, perceptions are perceptions). I always thought I treated women with respect, yet in my last singles ward, I was told that some women in the ward thought I talked down to them. At work, I think I project a skill level in most areas, yet at times I've been counseled to work better with some groups of people. I like to think I'm level-headed, able to look at complex situations be it business, politics, religion, society, and weigh the data and come up with a logical decision. Yet some people have called me head-in-the-sand, close minded, even arrogant.

So, what type of a perceptions am I really giving off? I want to be the good guy, but maybe deep down, the good guy doesn't wanna present itself all the time.

Makes you think. Or it makes ME think.

A BOOK, A BOOK, WE HAVE YOUR BOOK

So today I went out to Barra Shopping. 1) I bought my first official Brasilian souvenir--a pair of Made in Brasil board shorts, and 2) to get out of the heat (in the A/C'd mall--it's huge) and also meet a friend that lives out there.

So in one of the stores, I left my Portuguese Instruction Book. The bad thing is, I didn't realize it until I'd left and was on the bus home. It hadn't gone far, so I got off at the next step, walked back to the Mall, and retraced my steps...finding it on the exact same shelf I'd left it while trying on a Tank Top.

I was SO HAPPY. I thought this language is gonna go NO WHERE FAST if I don't have my book to learn from. So yeah, I got it back, and then went and bought my souvenir to celebrate.

On a side note, the bus ride out was delightful--A/C and all. The bus ride back was stop and go, and without A/C and I am still sweating, hours after because of it.

Something has happened to this body--it sweats a lot more than it used to. I'm having to take 2-3 showers a day just to be presentable in public :)

IT'S MY PARTY AND I'LL CRY IF I WANT TO

I'm off to a party tonight. I know NO ONE that will be at this party...but I got an invite so I'm gonna go. You may have this false perception about me that I like doing these kind of things--meeting new people. YOU WOULD BE WRONG. I hate it when I know no one. I much prefer it when I have someone to anchor onto and then it's much easier to meet people.

But I don't know anyone, so I'm just gonna go, do my best at trying to be outgoing and friendly, and see if others perceptions of me are positive versus negative.

Ughh, perceptions, perceptions, perceptions.