My primary client enrolled in a PL/SQL class at Learniing Tree, and I was sent with him. This is a nice change of pace; fortunately we are in the Reston center so it’s not far at all from my house. Learning Tree, for those of you who haven’t heard of it before, is a super-expensive IT training outfit - it’s a few thousand dollars for a week-long class. The perks you get are a varied breakfast (bagels, doughnuts, oatmeal, fruit), free sodas (multiple vending machines that are set to $0.00), an afternoon snack (Tuesdays are the famous cookie day), and various other little bonuses like notepaper, pens, etc - you could walk in empty-handed and still be fully prepared for class.

The subject matter off this particular course is difficult. I have a basic understanding of relational databases, and a very basic understanding of SQL, but the vocabulary is really tough and class format is confusing because the teacher jumps from Powerpoint to a demonstration screen behind my back. Fortunately I have a copy of the study book, which has all the Powerpoint slides, and I even have a table for it rather than having to balance it on my lap. Signs I’ve struggled with so far are “cursor” (we couldn’t come up with a conceptually accurate sign because we don’t know yet what it means, so we are using the sign for the kind of cursor that you manipulate with the mouse), “anonymous” (NO NAME or NO LABEL), “declare” (ESTABLISH), and “variable” (using VARIETY because there wasn’t really an easy single sign).

Hey, it just occurred to me to wonder where my Random House ASL Computer Dictionary is hiding.

Today was a very long and intensive day at work, but it was also fun. My agency, which is part of the Department of Defense and located adjacent to an Army base, held a major mock terrorism exercise as part of training for the security, health services, and IT personnel that would be responsible for action in a 9/11-style situation. This particular event was actually a “workplace violence” event, and it took six months to plan the whole two-day exercise. I was involved because the organizers had asked to have a deaf person participate, and while she wouldn’t have an interpreter during the exercise, she was most certainly entitled to one during the training, morning briefing, and afternoon hot wash. The training was held a couple of weeks ago, so I already knew what to expect for today.
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