Boss to colleague in front of bat; bat has adapted well.
“You know how many guys tell me I am so lucky to have you as my wife?”
You know, it’s funny… I actually get a lot of compliments, now that I think of it. I’m just not usually good at accepting them. (Most of the time, I don’t think I’m as good as the complimentor tells me I am, or, if they tell me how smart I am, I think about how I’d rather be athletic or get along better with people or anything else, really.)
Two stand out though:
A former student is pursuing her degree in Earth / Space Science teaching and tells that it’s in no small part due to my role as her Earth / Space Science teacher.
This year I had a kid in my low-level chemistry that initially worried me. He signed up last year, but switched out on day one for personality conflicts with other students. (And he wasn’t joking; this fella has been in the behavioral-difficulty special ed room for years.) He came back this year and was responding really well. He’s not even a mediocre student in most other classes, but he was actually responding, offering answers, getting good grades. He was pulled from my class because guidance was worried that he would focus too much on it, to the detriment of his other classes. When he left, he told me that he never wanted to work harder in a class. This from a guy who is juuuust barely going to graduate this year.
Some years ago a very new account supervisor came into my office asking for advice. The reason she asked me, she said, was because her predecessor told her I was the person in the office who seemed to have the best perspective on everything, and who could help her sort through the crap and get to the real situation quickly.
That was nice enough, but the real kicker is that the predecessor and I had never actually worked together on a project. All she knew of me was from staff meetings and what people who had worked with both of us had told her.
I don’t know of any compliments I’ve received, but a few weeks ago I was talking with someone at work. He’s really bright, and his curiosity and energy have frequently led him to dive down into things, quickly understand them and start finding things to fix (after which, he invariably fixes them). I said something like, “You have just about the most ‘monkey intelligence’ of anyone I’ve come across, and I’ve known a LOT of intelligent monkeys.” He looked up grinning and said, “That’s a really great compliment.”
This thread makes me all sniffy.
Particularly Olives.
This may get me in hot water, but one of the best I’ve had came right here on the SDMB the day I joined:
"Please welcome HillKat.
I just wanted to take a second and let everyone know that we have a new guest.
She is a wonderfully warm and caring individual with a heart as deep as the Pacific. I am truly blessed to have such an exceptional person whom I can turn to in times of need and who always is there to help pick me up, brush me off and set me back on my way. She truly is my reason for living and is the best friend I have.
I love you Mom.
WELCOME HillKat!"
It was TOTALLY unexpected and makes me tear up every time it pops into my head.
Thands, Dude. You are pretty exceptional yourself!