Have you ever wondered how other people get certain impressions about you?  Or how you get impressions about others?
    I remember a friend once telling me that I had a lot of patience.  He's never seen me trying to deal with furniture that says "some assembly required".
    Another friend once said that he saw me as a peacemaker.  Someone who could settle disputes or help someone see the other guys point of view.  I don't know where he got that idea, and I don't know if it's true or not.
    As for how we see others, I think we base it on what we believe, what is important to us, and how that other person fits into that picture.  For example, someone who is into fashion will notice what brand or shoes you are wearing, most everyone else will not.  ANd if those shoes are not from a hot designer, the person that's into fashion will thing you don't care about your looks or social status.
    A person who is very caught up in the craze fro the latest and greatest electronic gizmos will think your a very smart person because you have the cell phone flavor-of-the-month.  He doesn't know your employee provided it for work.
    The problem with viewing things this way is we may miss important things about the people we meet because it doesn't fall into our areas of interest.  And they may completely misjudge, or at least misunderstand us for the same reason.