One Down, One to Go

I just turned in my Final Exam in Methods. There was a multiple choice portion worth 40 points and three take-home essays worth 20 points each. I think I did well enough that an A is still a possibility, especially since he grades on a curve and he loved our big group project. I also have to face this prof again next fall, so I'd like to leave a good impression.

My one remaining final is in Statistics, and it's going to suck. I am officially requesting that all you religious types out there direct prayers, supplications, sacrifices, and indulgences to the
god(s)/goddess(es)/impersonal forces/mass of noodles/personal power animals/ancestors of your choice on my behalf to help out with that (being inclusive and PC takes a lot of punctuation).

I'm going to dedicate several hours each day until the exam on Friday, but as my hero and role model Jayne Cobb would say, "I'm humped." It's likely that I am still going to need to retake it over in the summer session (I need a B, and I am a solidly established C student in mathematics). I have found that I tend to do better with math classes when I take them over the summer and can give them my full attention. At least I hope that will help...

I really do the see the merits of statistical analysis - it's just that I know there are numerous programs out there that can do it for me. I hate to spend time learning to do standard deviations and the like when even the lab terminal I am on now is equipped with SPSS and Minitab, both of which can do it faster and more accurately than I ever will. When it comes time to do major number crunching for my research, the first thing I'm going to do is hire a stats wonk (this place is lousy with them, actually), yet I'm still sitting here with my scientific calculator in hand.

I actually know what it takes for me to get an A in a math class. My best grades in math were when I took a class from a gorgeous female grad student. She was a tall brunette, a former soccer player, tan and leggy, with cute freckles on her nose. It was a summer session class, so she wore pretty sundresses or shorts everyday. She was smart and hot and she smelled like suntan lotion - I never missed class. Perhaps my Stats instructor this summer will be hot like that...