Hey GB,
Wish I lived closer. I live in upstate NY. I am further along, but always thought bouncing the study material off others would help. I try to at work, but the coworkers here either have been doing this for years or don't know anything about it. The people that have done it for years may use different terms than the book or don't look at it the same way as the book is teaching so it only confuses me sometimes.
Anyway, stick with the math. It will come. Later on you will be surprised at how much of it did stick with you when the next chapters refer back to it.
Good Luck. You can always ask questions if needed.
Dan