Back to School ... with Gifts!

Note my high quality prison compund of a home above ...

We had our first day of class today … I forgot how painful ‘death by powerpoint’ can be. The info wasn’t that bad (I hope y’all understand that I can’t go into ANY type of specifics about it), but the instructional style needs work. I guess I’m a bit hard on them, having done instructional tours before, but is it so hard to look at your audience while speaking? Also, the Army has this strange aversion to introductions at the beginning of a lesson. Maybe it’s a difference in philosophy, but we were always taught to introduce yourself and give a very short background on who you are. It makes all the difference in the world when I know that the person speaking has some experience relevant to the topic. I’m not saying that you need to have years of combat experience to give a lecture, but it does let me know whether I can ask you more specific questions, or if I should seek out another SME (Subject Matter Expert). Other than that, it was good information … I just don’t know where I’m going to use it (still no status on my eventual job – at this point, it’s becoming comical – people ask, “So, where are you going?” and my answer remains the same: no idea). Maybe they’ll decide they don’t need me and send me home! … and maybe I’ll win the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes without submitting an entry. As a postscript to this, I sat through a class today where they went over ‘instructional skills and techniques’ (this to a room full of folks, most of whom have been instructors before). The instructor turned around and read the slides to us with his back turned … go figure.

I did have one very positive note to end the day, my wife sent me two large packages from home! Not knowing where I will wind up has made care packages hard. I have the temporary address that my wife used, but I can’t give it out to the rest of the family (including my sister-in-law in Colorado who says she’s baking at a feverish pace – I need more gym time) because I don’t know if I’ll be here next week! Most of the stuff my wife sent were the things I had staged for her to ship to me so I wouldn’t have to carry them (toiletries, some items to make my room seem like home, etc.), but she did throw a few surprises in with the boxes. It’s nice to get stuff from home from time to time, and she’s great at making each box personal. This while she’s wrestling with two kids in the belly and two kids ransacking the house … I think I’ll go give her a call … the blog can wait for today. Until tomorrow (or the next day or the next day) …
-Grease out.