Yesterday’s class was in some ways different from my class in the fall.

For one thing, it’s in a strip mall next to a Eureka Pizza. I’ll take a picture for you on Wednesday. There’s a uniformed guard at the door. I asked him where my classroom was, and he told me, and then I asked where I could make copies of my thesis, and he directed me to a coin operated copier. After a little cross-talk, I clarified that I was teaching the class and he directed me to the teacher’s room, where I found things in my mailbox, and a copier.

This is the second time I’ve been taken for a student. I kind of feel as though the gray hair, briefcase, and jacket ought to cover that, but there it is.

The things in my mailbox were information on what to do if there were a bomb threat or a “shooter.” I tried to sound serious as I explained that we should lock the door, turn off the lights, and calmly hide under the furniture. One of the girls asked what we should do if the shooter was in the room with us.

“Hmm….” I frowned, reading through the paper for clues. “Maybe we should push them out the door first, and then lock it and hide under the furniture.”

Last term I had moslty girls and this term I have mostly guys. Several of them flunked the class last term and are trying again. It’s a more ethnically diverse group. We have computers in the room, but no projector, so the thoughts I had about PowerPoint (peer pressure, you know) are a thing of the past.

Stopping off at the gym on the way home worked out well. I also had to stop by the optometrist to pick up #2 son’s contacts, so by the time I got home and showered and dressed, it was past 10:00. Without extra errands, I think I can be at work as a computer guy by 10:00.

This is good, because assignment and interviews are trickling in.

Yesterday, however, was just teaching and unbillable hours. I did my blogging, Dark Art Lite (not unbillable, actually), a bunch of back and forth with clients, my Amazon Vine reviews, and finished reading the sample section from Build Your Own Website the Right Way. So little of that book was new to me that I’m thinking I might spend some of today’s unbillable hours taking the html certification at oDesk. Not that I want to code anything, but it could make me look more knowledgeable and versatile, right? I also need to take the opportunity to do some SEO for my own site. The cobbler’s children go barefoot, you know.

However, I have 7.75 billable hours today, plus of course gym time, followed by an AAUW meeting and my Tuesday class (for which I haven’t done any of the homework during the Christmas break). So chances are some of the billable stuff will have to carry over to tomorrow.

And it is my eldest kid’s birthday today. She is not close enough for me to bake her a cake, but I’ll think about her all day.