March 27, 2010

Hmm

One of the advantages of being a student (albeit a class-at-a-time one) is that I qualify for educational discounts on software.  Yesterday, I picked up Microsoft Ultimate Office 2007 for about $60, and since I bought it so late in the game--only 3 years after the fact--I qualify for free upgrades to Office 2010 when it comes out.

I've managed to avoid Word and Excel 2007 for most of the last 3 years:  the only times I ever ran across it was in the computer lab at school.  At home, I have (had) the 2003 versions, and I use Works on the Mac.  I usually save files in RTF format because I never know which computer I'll be on.  But now that I'm on 2007 versions...it's almost like learning a whole new language.  Nothing is where I remember it being.  The one thing that's saving me right now is that they haven't changed the short-cut keys.

Statistics blows right now.  I'm learning it but I don't feel like I understand it.  Instead, I feel like I get enough of it to do well on the quizzes, then the information goes straight out of the brain as I tackle the following week's chapter.  I have 5 separate assignments and a quiz due by Monday...and lest you think I'm procrastinating, my instructor dumped 3 of them on the class on Thursday (the weekly homework and quiz are a given).

I'm having a hard time concentrating on the reading right now.  It's late, I'm tired (despite the two-hour nap I took today), and I'd rather be doing other things on a Saturday night...like sleeping.  Or reading.  Knitting sounds good too.  I'd also say watching Dr. Who, but it's pledge drive week on PBS so it won't be on.   But I've got to work tomorrow, so I need to slog through some of this tonight.  Whee.