Better late than never, or I am feeling really honored and really humbled

I needed to get a little bit more grounded and centered before I wrote on this....

Friday I had lunch with an old friend of mine from my Army days. He was one of the people I deployed with back in 2005/06. Back in November he had sent out a mass message via facebook requesting school supplies which his psychological operations teams would be passing out to struggling schools in Baghdad and the surrounding areas. Seeing an opportunity to help out, mainly because I could and I had the means to help, I forwarded the message to my friends. I asked permission to send out a similar bulletin at the elementary school where I was teaching an art class after school. The Principal gave me the green light, and asked for a message which would be published in the next school bulletin, going out to the parents. By December, I had a drop box in my classroom and little did I know that I was mobilizing a great deal of people to help out with this request. In mid-December I picked up all the supplies from everyone. I made three stops across the city, and basically filled up my car. Some of my friends who did not live near me asked for a mailing address where to send the supplies. Some people mailed me money to help cover shipping costs. When everything was collected and inventoried, I had way more school supplies than I could afford to ship all at once. I was floored. I also felt like I had maybe taken on something which was significantly bigger than myself. I figured out what I could send and slowly mailed off several boxes at a time until everything was in Baghdad.
Skip forward a few months, and we get to this past Friday. My friend wanted to take me out to eat as a "thank you" for sending so many school supplies. I told him that he did the bigger job, I would to eat with him if I could buy him a few beers. So at lunch, his girlfriend was there, and she was overseas as the Operations Sergeant for the company. At lunch as we caught up as to how much the Camp Liberty had changed and how much it hadn't. We caught up on what we were up to in our respective lives. They told me they had something else for me as a token of appreciation for having sent so many school supplies. They presented me with a certificate, and the American Flag that flew outside of the Psychological Operations Task Force-Iraq Command building. I immediately felt the corners of my eyes burn ever so slightly. I thanked them for their appreciation, for the appreciation of the 16th PSYOP Battalion. A frikkin' Battalion!!! I was fighting tooth and nail not cry all out right then and there. There is no feeling so humbling, so grand as knowing that a Battalion appreciates what you have done. I think back on it, I didn't do anything really grandiose... not on my own. I mailed needed school supplies which I stored in my workspace for months. School supplies that a large group of friends and strangers helped contribute. I didn't do it all on my own. They deserve my gratitude as well.

Arguably against my better judgment

A documentary recently caught my attention. "Restrepo" is a feature length documentary about a 15 man platoon located in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan. It chronicles the boredom and terror that is war in conditions which very few people in the United States have to deal with, lest imagine. It is brutal and honest, and does not include the opinions and thoughts of anyone not at Restrepo. My experiences with the military can be described as "blessed" as best. I did deploy, but did not have to deal with as much crap as other soldiers. In the proverbial, implied contest of "who had it worse" I will lose to nearly any other veteran. However, I know people who did have to deal with harsher realities of war. I know what it did to them, and as a result I can empathize and relate maybe a tad well. I may not know what they went through, but I can relate. I know the movie will be fascinating and well worth it, but... do I actively seek the heartache?

Update of sorts

It has been close to a full month since my last update.
My car has broken down several times and been fixed repeatedly. It has had a multitude of issues and i think I have sank far more money into it than I care to spend. But whatever keeps it running.
I will be leading a Vet Art Project session in a few weeks. I still have not gotten the materials completely ready yet. I should be staining construction paper this week. The seminar I will be leading deals with the paranoiac critical, subconscious exploration (to use a different term). I might have to ask for more oil pastels for people to work with since I only have so many materials at home.
I attended a tattoo expo and gleaned new ideas and new insights as far as what artwork I want to put on my body, as well as what artwork other people want me to design for them. I promised a friend of mine a design last year and I have yet to come through with a coherent plan. Ideas however do not blossom overnight.
In the realm of fitness, I am still struggling with what can best be described as involuntary exercise bulimia. I had mentioned before that my elected workout routine prompts weight loss which could be detrimental to my health in the long term. I'm generally healthy, but I would not necessarily label myself "fit" in spite of other people's assessments. I'm still trying to find a balance. In my efforts, I have determined almonds, sunflower seed nuts, and peanuts are crucial.
Lastly, my studio space has been reorganized. I am still struggling to find a balance between organized presentable storage and production, and usually when i reorganize everything, I teeter too far into either realm. I haven't had a productive binge as of late. However I have found that my culinary skills as a home maker are actually pretty good.