Expected Value (making friends is hard)

Making friends is difficult after college. It's especially difficult when you live in a foreign country and speak the local language like an early-elementary child. Last night Micah and I hung out with a new friend. Afterward I was exhausted. I blame my exhaustion on the following observations about our night: Our new friend expected us to pay for everything, he didn't speak any English, and lastly, he dominated the evening's activities dictating an early departure just when the real fun was starting.

This experience led to a cost-benefit analysis of hanging out with new friends. Micah created this "Expected Value" equation:



The options are simple: hang out with new friend or don't hang out. There is an automatic -20 points for not hanging out. However, if hanging out with the new friend sucks you get a -50 points. But, if hanging out results in a great time you get 100 points. After some quick math we determined that although the potential for having a crappy time is relatively high, it is still better to take the risk and hang out with new friends.

I'll let you know if any of my new friends turn out to be long-lasting. :)