Yeah, I'd also tend to go that way. Shy at first, but no problem after a while. Girls are a tough one, a tough one indeed..

"Know thyself"

If this 'thyself' is a general consensus then how am I to have hope in mankind?

Umm. I hug people a lot. I can be oblivious to what other people consider appropriate behavior. I go a bit off sometimes and sometimes I don't talk to people for weeks. I can be super-critical of myself (and, I think, secretly, of everybody else too.) But I try really hard to be nice and fair and not judgemental. But I think sometimes i make people nervous. I'm shy.. but also not shy. At all. (I find it difficult to determine what's appropriate behavior sometimes, so I might get shy about weird things, stupid everyday things, but then be totally un-shy during moments when everybody else is terrified.) I'm in therapy. My therapist says I'm deeply conflicted. My little brother thinks I'm hilarious. My Mum worries about me terribly. My other brother hates me. My Dad doesn't have a clue. My first boyfriend said I was hard to figure out. A teacher at school told me that I looked at her funny all the time. My dearest friend said her first impression of me (when we were 11) was that I was the coolest person she'd ever met.

The most insightful thing I can say about myself is that I have observed over the years that I have very little perspective on myself. Try as I might, I have no idea what people think of me or see when they look at me. I'd forget what I looked like in a room full of mirrors.

Overtly agreeable, internally hostile

me, ambivalent? well, yes and no...

loud, sarcastic, always giggling when i'm around friends.

quiet, sad-looking, and antisocial when i'm not.

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that this statement is probably wrong.

I'm not outgoing, not shy, I only have a few friends. Actually, I've lost a great deal of friends in the past year. I'm completely indifferent though. I'm sure people think I'm a dick, but I try to be nice.

Good, I'm glad you didn't take me too seriously. I tend to attack people's self often, for no apparant reason other then at that exact moment in time, I feel like they need to hear it. Than later, I feel bad. Then after that, I realize that most likely nobody cares what I say anyways :)

I'm perceived as a calm guy. For I'm shy I guess. This being said, once accepted by a group of people (friends, co-workers), I'm the one who will ease things out for newcomers.
I'm perceived as a solid person who doesn't give up easily unless I realize the struggle will never turn out in my favor and would ruin my health - and I'm attached to my well being.
I don't drink or do drugs to have fun. I rely on words to ease things. I appreciate humor and we've spent great moments with my latest ex-boss at work, dissing each other's political opinions.
I like to know why things are done the way they're done, which caused me some problems with former supervisors and bosses.
I'm a bit lazy too, off work, unfortunately.

I hate that, a certain friend always has an opinion on the way I should walk, what clothes I should/shouldn't be wearing and also, he tries to analyse my behaviour.
I believe that there is a very thin line between being confident and over confident.
I try not to hate him, I don't see him much and this helps a lot.
With that said, I'm on a constant mission of self improvement and appreciate kind advice from all true friends.

Oh, no-one..

This is all fascinating, but I've formed little mental biographies for each of you already, so regardless of what you say about yourselves, I'm right anyhow.