My Personal Smartification Project...

Tuesday was my first computer class, intro to Word, and it was fine. I got there a little early, found the right room without a problem. The teacher was nice, he explained things in a personable, informative way. There were about 15 of us in the class, mostly my age or older.
I have Word 97 on my computer here at home, and I've actually used it quite a bit. I've cranked out plenty of APAzines and cover letters. But I did it without knowing what most of the buttons did. I was crashing around like a bull in a china shop, struggling to make things look the way I wanted them to. (I think the zines looked mighty good, considering how much Word related hair-pulling, teeth-gnashing, and intense frustration were involved in creating them!)
I really wanted to go back, start from the beginning, and learn what Word can do, how it works, and how to make it do stuff. This class looks like it will be exactly what I need. Any office I might want to work for will assume I already know these things. I should know these things, everyone else learned them a long time ago.
Intro to Excel starts Thursday night, taught by the same guy. I'll really be starting from scratch this time, as I've never seen or used Excel before, but again, I'll be expected to know it when I'm in Seattle, looking for a job...