Just Happened to Notice

You know how you go through your day at work very busy, and before you know it, it's time to go home? Well today, I decided not to race through my day. For one thing, I'm close to being caught up, and the things I have to do this week are not overwhelming like they have been in past weeks. So today I worked at a slower pace, and I began to notice things.
We have an office dynamic much like the movie "Office Space". Certain people play certain roles. My boss, as I have said in a previous post, is the pious Christian. Most of his day is spent looking down his nose at someone else's comments. (How is it you can have your nose in the air and look down your nose at the same time?) We have one girl who's the office clown. She's loud, always laughing and joking and making noise. Sometimes she's very funny, when I stop to listen. Most of the time I tune her out. Then we have one lady who is grumpy all the time. When anyone asks her about her day, she's likely to bite off a head. (She's one of those women the other girls whisper about....you know...."She needs to get laid...BAD!"
But other people were not all I noticed today. I started noticing how I fit into this scheme. How do other people see me? I even asked a couple of them.
I prefer to work alone. I don't like to be in the middle of a loud discussion or big group gathering. If given a choice, I'll take the desk in the back room every time, even if it's smaller and darker and has no window. I don't find a lot of things funny. I don't laugh much. I am friendly. I always speak to the people who come through. I ask how people's days have gone, especially those who have been "out in the field." So I was told others see me as nice but quiet. Ok, I can buy that. At my old job, when we had our annual Christmas party, I'd always be the one who offered to sit out front to answer the phones. (a bit anti-social).
The thing that did surprise me was one friend's comment about how people see me. She said some of the women are "intimidated" by me. She said they know I used to be a teacher (so what?) and I give off an air of being stand-offish (stuck up?) It's not the first time my quietness or shyness has been mistaken for being stuck up. Been accused of that before. If I'm not joining in the office cliques, then obviously it must be that I think I'm better than they are???? That is the way some people take it.
I hope that people who work with me will take the time to get to know me, which I admit is not an easy task. I don't open up like some of the women do. But when I come to trust someone, I'll tell them plenty. It just takes time.