If you notice this notice....

So, what do you notice first about the opposite sex? I don't know.
What do you first notice about anybody? The former was a question put to me in one of those 50 questions to get to know you better emails. I have had the same question many times and find myself struggling to find a reasonable answer. Many people say eyes, their personality, butt, lips etc.... you get the drift. I answered with "the energy". What a puncy thing to say, I know. But when you think about it, what is the first thing you notice about a person? Most people blur by our peripheral vision and meld into one solid conglomerate of human experience, but one or two people always seem to stand out, and they needn't even be the opposite sex either. I guess this question had me stumped because, earlier in the day of receiving that email, I had one of those experiences.
I was at the fruit market minding my own business, when I spotted this guy from afar, out the corner of my eye. He gave me the chills, but not in a good way. This is not an experience I am unfamiliar with, but on this day, I decided to give this reaction a bit more of my time and thought.
He was a white guy with short dark, everso slightly graying hair. He wore dark sunglasses, a black t-shirt with something printed on it, faded blue jeans and white sneakers....pretty normal. I got the impression he was alone, but while standing in line at the cashiers, he was with a woman who had to have been his wife. Both were in their late 30's, early 40's. She was attractive with a mole to the right of her nose, above the lip. Her hair was shoulder length, wavy, dark brown. She wore a straight white linen skirt and a white woolen turtle neck jumper tucked in - it made her look frumpy, when she wasn't really. She had a very thin gold band on her wedding ring finger, possibly 24 karat given the depth of colour - it appeared well worn. From what I could see, this guy was a regular person, grocery shopping with his wife, nothing more.
When it was his turn at the cashiers, the woman had left to gather another bag of whatever, so this guy was left to unload the basket. And that is when I saw his hands....
This guys hands were impeccably clean, in fact, unnaturally clean. They were hairless, although his arms were not, and his hands were bleached white, with short trimmed ultra clean nails. To me they reminded me of a surgeons hands, but he certainly didn't give me the impression that he was a surgeon, at all. There was something unsettling about seeing his hands. They just didn't add up and it furthered my intrigue about this person. I watched them drive off in a gold, late 1990's model Nissan, which unfortunately put a halt to my speculation.
I guess it is a little game I play when I am out and about. I enjoying sitting and watching, and trying to figure people out from the information visibly available. I am very good at spotting Aussies, but I haven't worked out what it is about them. I have to wait for them to speak before I can confirm it, but so far I have been right each time - it is a bit weird.
Once, while in Australia I was speaking to a friend who introduced me to her friend, who was a doctors wife. I said to her, is she from the country. My friend responded, confirming that she was - she was originally from Alice Springs. I commented that I thought so, she gave me the impression of being from the country. My friend appeared offended and asked me whether I or she looked like we were from the country. I couldn't answer her...I WAS from the country. What messages did I send out there?
I know the answer is neither here nor there, and another's impression of me is none of my business. I guess my friend's confrontation prompted me to analyse the thought process when drawn to a persons energy - what is it that makes me notice a particular person out of the sea of people before me. Do I tend to notice the same types of people? Is a look that I am prone to noticing or a behaviour? I still have to work that out? I must say though, human beings are damn interesting to me, particularly their social behaviour. I guess it is all fodder for that future best selling book I am going to write (scoff!).