it's a course that's offered for undergrad or graduate credit. we old folks had more questions on the midterm and will be expected to write more substantial papers (cf. the entry on ditransitive verbs, etc.). there seem to be very few courses around here -- at least not in my field -- that are exclusively or even primarily for grad students.

as for le boy: all the friendly neighboring-desk stuff is there -- the yoiks-someone-was-up-all-night-studying, what's-the-big-news-in-the-campus-rag, do-you-have-any-idea-what-he's-talking-about, not-enough-handouts-to-go-around-read-over-my-shoulder, are-you-really-from-south-dakota stuff. we're not total strangers; we're probably up to friendly acquaintances. the next step, if there is one, will have to be -- unless i'm really mistaken on, like, all about how things work -- at least mostly social.

which, historically, is where the floor falls out from under me.