Favorite Shirt

  

 

This is my new favorite shirt.  Why is it my favorite shirt, you ask?  Because of the fun experiences I have when wearing it.  As background, Beta Alpha Psi is an international accounting fraternity (or "professional service organization" if you're at BYU) of which I was an officer at BYU.  I can't remember if only the officers got these shirts or if all the members did, but that's where it came from.

Now, on to story #1:  When Sarah and I were getting ready to move, we made a couple trips to the U-Haul store to buy some picture boxes and other moving supplies.  When we got up to the counter to check out, the guy looked at my shirt and then said, "Beta, alpha, pounds per square inch.  I don't get it."  I cracked a smile and responded, "Oh, it's actually the Greek letter psi (pronounced 'sigh').  Beta Alpha Psi is an accounting fraternity."  Silence.  Then scanning of bar codes.  Finally his response:  "Man, I feel stupid."

Sarah got mad at me for laughing out loud once we got to the car.

Story #2:  Monday morning, I sat down on the bus and continued reading on my iPod.  Then I hear someone say "Hey!"  I'm on a bus full of people, so I figure that they couldn't possibly be talking to me since I know next to nobody here in Norman.  A moment later I hear from the same voice, "Hey, are you in Beta Alpha Psi?"  I look up to see this guy looking intently at my shirt.  I reply, "I was during my undergrad at BYU, but I'm not in BAP here at OU."  Now the funny part.  This guy stares at me, puts out his hand and gives me the curling index finger as if to say "come over here."  I did one of those look-side-to-side/is-he-motioning-to-me type actions then look back at him.  He gives me the finger again.  I go over and sit down next to him.  

He pulls out his accounting homework and asks me, "Do you know what a classified balance sheet is?"

I think to myself - classified balance sheet...let's see, we don't really complicate things in accounting - it usually is what we say it is.  "You mean like a balance sheet where things are classified as current or long-term assets or current or long-term liabilities?"  He opens to a page of his notes, which confirms my suspicion.  (I also looked it up online after I got to school to make sure I hadn't led him astray.)  He then mentions that he had been looking through past exams in preparation for the exam they had that day and the professor had asked about an unclassified balance sheet.  Going of my same logic, I said "That's probably a balance sheet that doesn't have the assets or liabilities classified by their time horizon.  Maybe they're not even classified as assets or liabilities, but I'm not sure why anyone would do that or whether that would even be considered a balance sheet."  His blank face told me that he was confused, and to be honest, so was I.  I didn't know why someone would ever ask about an unclassified balance sheet and I didn't know why wearing an accounting shirt could lead to so many adventures.

I'll have to keep you updated with any more adventures I have wearing my new favorite shirt.

(If at any point while reading this you wondered, Does Bryan realize how big of a nerd he is? the answer is yes.)