Classes, Homework and IM Soccer

After coasting through the first week of pseudo-classes, everything has picked up in earnest starting this week. I have officially completed my first full week of graduate school and to this point things are going well.

My microeconomics of public policy is my favorite class at this point. For some reason I understand the conceptual elements of economics rather well and by in large am enjoying the lectures. Unexpected, but certainly not unappreciated, hopefully my understanding of the material will continue throughout the semester.

Statistics on the other hand is already proving to be a bit more prickly. I say without reservation that stats will by my nemesis for this semester and the prospect of another stats class in the spring is loathsome. Stats is quite abstract and I am not suited for that type of number manipulation. I will manage but I think it will involve a fair amount of head-bashing and sluggish progress. Hopefully things will improve as the course wears on.

My homework for this semester will largely consist of problem sets for both econ and stats. These weekly assignments haven't been too difficult so far, but it is still way to early to tell how they will be. I've got a study group for both and we get together to go over the problems, correct errors and complain about the assignments. From what I understand, study groups in grad school are about whining about how difficult and stressful life is as they are for actually doing school work. Misery loves company after all.

However, I my proudest accomplishment thus far relates to intramural soccer. I am quite pleased with myself for organizing an IM soccer team for the LaFollette School. Appropriately our name is "The Fighting Bobs" (in honor of our namesake Robert 'Fighting Bob' LaFollette. Little do the rest of my teammates know that I am a Fighting Scot; they will never know the insidious pleasure I am taking in our team name. We had a bunch of people sign up and in compliance with our unknown skill level, I signed us up for the co-ed recreational division. Our first game is this Sunday so we'll see how we do.