A compliment from a friend

Vahan Petrosyan, one of Dave’s recitation leaders and a good friend of mine, paid me a great compliment today. I crossed paths with him and his girlfriend Ying in the engineering building today. The first thing he said had to do with Exam P.

VAHAN: How did you do?

ME: I passed!

Vahan smiled and gave me a high five.

VAHAN: That’s great!

ME: Yeah!

I hadn’t talked with Ying before.

YING: I do the review sessions for your probability class.

ME: Oh, yeah. I don’t think I’ve ever been to one of those.

VAHAN: Well you obviously don’t need it.

YING: Vahan told me that there was a super smart guy in that class.

ME: Thanks, Vahan!

I love compliments. I should give them more often, because they feel so good. Vahan has passed the first two actuarial exams, as has Ying, so they are both geniuses. Very cool.

11 things the entire world now knows about me

I wasn't tagged, per se, but my mom did this on her blog and it gave me a reason to write, which is something I love to do. Part of the game is that you have to create your own questions for others to use, so I posted mine at the bottom. Here are the questions from my mom:

1.  What do you wish you had known earlier in your life?

How self-righteous I appeared to some people. I've always tried to do what I thought was the right thing, sometimes at the sacrifice of good friendship.

2.  What is the hardest thing you have ever done?

The scariest thing? A back dive off the high dive. The hardest school assignment? A project for my biology class, 2008. The hardest thing ever? Wow, I don't know. Um...maybe dealing with the ex-boyfriend of the girl I was dating. (That girl is now my wife.) Hard to say, though.

3.  What is one health tip you try to live?

Keep a good eye on my weight. When I've had too much food in a given time period, I know exactly where my weight is so that I can take immediate action instead of letting it get ahead of me.

4.  What are you currently reading?

The journals I kept as a missionary. First time ever revisiting that.

5.  What do you generally have for breakfast each morning?

Half a bowl of cereal. Usually the off-brand of Honey Nut Chex or the off-brand of Frosted Mini-Wheats. The off-brand versions are almost always better for those two, and they are my favorites.

6.  What is one thing you have learned from your dad?

Forgive and move on. Give people a second chance.

7.  What was the happiest age of your life so far?

Two years stand out—ages 23 and 25. I got married and had a little boy, and I never knew I could be this happy. Seriously.

8.  Name a favorite song now on the radio in 2012.

I don't listen to the radio, so I'll go with what I've heard most recently that I most like: anything from Birdy's new album, especially the songs "People Help the People", "White Winter Hymnal", "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight", "I'll Never Forget You", and "Farewell and Goodnight".

9.  Three words that describe your mom.

Uncompromising (in her morals and beliefs). Compassionate. Personable.

10. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

My love for other people. I want a greater capacity to love others so that I don't misjudge them.

11. What project are you currently working on?

I'm typing out every verse of the Book of Mormon into a flashcard application called iFlash. Every day I type a few more verses and then test myself on all previous verses as the application shuffles the cards. So far I have completed Mormon, Ether, and almost all of 1 Nephi. When I'm done I'll upload them to the iFlash server so that others can download them and use them.

If you wish to participate, consider yourself tagged. Here are the questions I've created for you:

1. You know that book you have always wanted to write but can never get around to? What is it about?
2. Name a favorite song most people would be surprised to know you like.
3. What is one thing you really would rather not have to do for the rest of your life?
4. You just found $10 in a pair of pants you haven't worn in a long time. What do you do with the money?
5. Imagine you have a time machine that you can only use for one round-trip journey and that can only visit a period of your own life. Where do you choose to go and what do you do when you get there?
6. What is the greatest compliment you have ever received?
7. How do you measure a successful day?
8. If you had the floor in a legislative assembly and wanted to filibuster, what would you read from?
9. Of all the things you have taught or will teach your children, what do you most want them to remember?
10. What is one store you want to live closer to?
11. Name your favorite home-cooked meal.

This is a real conversation, between two guys, that I just now heard on the bus

A: I made a married friend yesterday.

B: What?

A: I made a friend yesterday who is married.

B: You made a friend yesterday who is married?

A: Yep.

B: That’s cool.

The phenomenon of the accidental teacher's buddy

Dr. Welbourn told us that we will probably see our statistics exams next week and probably the grades this Friday. He also indicated that the median score is probably somewhere between 9/10 and 10/10 (for a particular problem), which means everyone did exceptionally well. I guess in a class this size (150-ish?) I expected more slackers.

Also, I’ve discovered an interesting phenomenon. Ever since I went into Dr. Welbourn’s office at the start of the semester and happened to mention that I was preparing for the first actuarial exam last year, he has become my friend in passing. Sometimes before or after class, he’ll see me and wave or give me a head nod. And during lecture, he looks directly at about five different people, of which I am one. I’m flattered, really. Karen suggests he considers me more invested than the average student, and therefore he is more interested in teaching to me personally. I don't mind that one bit.