Stats. Oh hell.

I have made it through studying all but the last part of the exam.  Met one other person so far that isn't taking it and everyone else is giving me shit about considering not taking it.

A lot is coming back.

Bivariate regression and correlation analysis is not.

I'm not sure I ever learned them.

F-ratios are kicking my ass.

But I feel confident about 80% of the exam so I think I'm okay.

Last night was sorta fun, hanging out with smart people while drinking a few beers.

But, I got a little tired of smart people talk which is inevitable when four doctoral students sit down and start trying to get to know each other.

How do you not sound condescending when you're sitting with three hard-core researchers and you're straight therapy-based and one is worrying about doing therapy?

It's not hard, it's a little scary in the beginning because you don't want to screw people up, but it's not hard.  Really.

We're all plotting how to get to a Trader Joe's and into downtown Santa Barbara during "free time".

One of the guys that is staying in my hotel and I walked to meet a few other students (power in numbers in the dark! LOL) at a hamburger joint last night, got there, found there was NO BEER and hightailed it back to the hotel bar.

After 16 hours of travel and little sleep the night before, I needed a beer.  Firestone something was really good, but I ended up almost falling asleep at the table after just two because I was so exhausted.

Some of the other students are fun.  L, C, and M were fun to sit around and talk with, some similarities in backgrounds, a lot of differences.  L and C are in my small group and I've also met several others through my cluster, so I feel a little ahead of the game.

This exam is worrying me a little and from what others have told me, my cluster and our small group got me worried about the other stuff.  There are a lot of other people that haven't completed the suggested reading, most further behind than I am.  Yay.

Lots of work this week, many meetings and classes, a few presentations, and a little free time.

Thank goodness I get an hour back early in the morning and fun people to sneak away with.

I love exploring alone.  But sometimes it's fun with other people, too.

But I miss talking with S quite a bit.  When I find something interesting or grab a concept, I usually tell him about it.  It's weird being off by 3 hours.  Love you, babes.

Sometimes being around people that are skilled in your area makes you miss being around people that are more complementary to you than similar.  It makes conversation more interesting at times.  Not that I don't enjoy talking shop.

But I feel like I miss talking real.