Shy versus "stuck up" ?

[catchnrelease]

9. Not stuck up but similar

At the place where I worked before I retired, the job duties I had required me to cover a lot of ground daily, walking from one area of this public attraction to another. And getting a lot of detail work done in the daily shift. There was a staff of custodians there also who had their office/lunch area moved to a building next to the one that was 'my' office.

Most days I walked as if on a mission, and kept my head down so I didn't have to interact with the public much so as not to get held up or delayed in getting my work done. I was polite if approached by the public or employees from other departments, and did joke around and was friendly with my co-workers.

After the custodians had been working around my area for awhile, and we were all on friendly terms, one of them said to me "Wow, I always thought you were mean or unfriendly. You're really funny!" I was kind of taken aback at first, but when I thought about it, I am sure that's the impression I must have given. I just didn't want to spend time on small talk with people I didn't know, so I went about my business.