Hey, thanks for sharing. I wonder if you have ever had such feedback in the past? Does this come out of left field or, if you are totally honest with yourself, does it not surprise you?

When I was in college I had a roommate tell me that I was an "arrogant bastard" in anger. The nickname stuck and years later he would send me this as an affectionate joke. The thing is he wasn't the first or the last person to call me something like that. After a while I had to assess, am I actually an arrogant bastard?

Arrogant - Well, I'm not exactly humble

Bastard -Well, my parents weren't married when I was conceived.

He nailed it. But now I actually know that this perception can exist about me and I take effort to quell any urges towards self-bragadocia etc. It's hard when you're this awesome. (DAMN.. I did it again)

Thing is, when you have one persons perception of you to be "aloof or snobbish" you can write it off to misunderstanding, but when an entire group of disparate individuals has mentioned it, it's cause for self reflection, which you are doing it seems. That said, it could be that one persons perception of you colored the rest of the peoples. -Does that make sense? First impressions, first stories about someone tend to build momentum.

There is nothing wrong with knowing that you can come across as "snobbish" or in my case "arrogant" and modifying your interactions/behaviors to change that, so long that you don't compromise your authentic self in doing so. If you have to bend so far backwards to appease people that you are no longer YOU, then fuck it... be a "snob." But if all it takes is a more concerted and immediate, "Thank you very much for the ride" (while looking directly in their eyes and experiencing acknowledgment that they heard your sincerity) -then step up your game.

For what it's worth, when I met you in DC you seemed nothing but gracious and kind. But, that was brief and I hadn't driven you anywhere :)

Good luck!