TGIF

 "What counts most is finding new ways to get the world down in paint on my own terms." --Georg Baselitz

This is my final Friday as an active duty combat artist.

Just finishing up several paintings to turn in before the end of Monday.

It's a WHIZ QUIZ!

Urinalysis.
Your Analysis.
You're in Alice's.
"Please, Marine, come and give us a sample. Just a wee sample in a wee bottle."
Yesterday, I appeared on the company urinalyis roster, with just five days remaining on active duty. It's a great way to experience one last time, one of the great experiences of Marines for the last quarter of a century: the "Whiz Quiz."

I tell you, the excitement was just bottled up within me, and it felt like it was going to burst (Oh wait, that was just my bladder, from chugging the coffee in preparation, cramming for the test).

Also included in the test was a "pop quiz"-- a breathalyzer to see if any of us had been drinking any time in the very recent past. I passed that with flying colors (ya wanna get a ZERO on that test).

EE AY ESS

EAS. No, it's not a protein supplement.
No, it's not a company name.
It's my E. A. S.... my "End of Active Service."

The countdown has begun.
Monday, 31 March 2014 will be my last day of being an active duty Combat Artist.
Though I wanted to continue in this billet, the Marine Corps has decided that I've been here too long, and should be shown the appropriate pasture.

I will keep you posted on the activities of this, my last week as an artist for the Corps.

Semper Fi
and
Semper Gumby

Diploma in the Mail!

I graduated this last fall with a Master of Fine Arts degree in Illustration from the University of Hartford, and my diploma arrived (finally, after a bit of an admin snag) yesterday.

I now have my "terminal" degree in my field, and can pursue being some sort of academian!