Packing and Preparing

Well, I got some more pages down today – spent all day writing away. All told, I think I’ve got something like 32 pages now. We cover basics like graphic symbols, buttons and movie clips… going all the way up to masks and guides. I’d like to be able to get to importing sounds and more involved actions (moving between scenes and jumping to frame numbers/labels).

I know, I know. No one uses scenes anymore. But this is a beginner class, and scenes make for a gentle introduction (and a better understanding) of how the main timeline operates. I was equally loathe to teach graphic symbols. Yes, it’s better to do everything as a movie clip – but forcing them to learn about graphic symbols helps give them a frame of reference when talking about buttons and movie clips.

Yesterday’s doubts are still there, but there’s little else I can do at this time. I’ve written as much as I think I can/should – a lot more is going to depend on the students themselves. We’ll take the first day slow, but if they’re all experienced and energetic – well, that just means I’ll have to generate a lot more advanced topics on-site. Hell, I’ve got the whole week. It’s what they’re paying me for. I should stop worrying, enjoy the ride and have fun.

Trying to remember a bazillion things – looking up dial up access numbers for Tuscaloosa. Gotta drop off a tape for Heather tomorrow. Gotta remind Steph to come watch my cat. Gotta make sure I’ve got all the data I need burned to CD’s, and that all the CD’s are in one place. What books to bring to read?