On Your Feet, Major!
So in among all the other problems I had to fix with last week’s page was my realization that I’d skipped a page in between. Which is this one. I’ve been a bit mixed up lately. But, well, anyway, here we go again!
You’ll forgive me for being brief, but it’s been a long, LOOOONG week. However, I want to mention that the first light has appeared at the end of the tunnel for me, the tunnel that I’ve spent a decade digging to escape from the schizophrenic mockery of state bureaucratic nonsense that my life has become lately. On Wednesday I finally received the document that will allow me to start taking my licensing exams. Whew! That last step only took ten weeks. How about that, folks? I’m so glad we have this efficient and well-structured government to protect us from the dangers of job security and professional recognition.
At any rate, that means that the task now turns to studying for my exams. So if things get a bit sporadic in the coming weeks, you’ll know that that’s what I’m doing. It will all be over soon, I promise, and with it, God willing, I will achieve a kind of finality and stability that will afford me more time to devote to my comics in my free time. That may be a pipe dream, but it’s what I’m shooting for.
So for now, I’ll stop being cynical and head for the ol’ bunkhouse. All the best, folks!
When dealing with bureaucrats I always keep the “Futurama Bureaucrat Song” in the back of my mind. Helps a lot!
Now this scene is interesting, because now we all wonder what Haulley is going to do next or what business he has with Rucker (and possibly Bronniford).
I try to think of ABBA singing “Dancing Queen.” It drowns out the government bullcrap pretty effectively.
–M
Good luck on your exams!
Having seen just a bit of the US bureaucracy during my various stays state-side I can vouch that yours is every step as convoluted and pointless as ours. I used to think this state of affairs in my country was a by-product of 50 years of being a communist dictatorship under the heel of “mother Russia”, since, after all, the soviet style of government is the epitome of centrally run bureaucracy, but now I’m not so sure. Maybe this is just something that happens to all nations with the passing of time, which is why the system needs to be pruned periodically to stop the machine from becoming more and more inefficient until finally grinding to a halt in a shower of sparks (we’ve seen that happening in 1989- wasn’t pretty).
It’s interesting to see what will happen on this page – I’m guessing colonel Haulley is the only person on the premises who outranks both of the majors and major Rucker, at least, needs to be snapped out of it – major Bronifford is safe for now (for as much as that can be true in the midst of the thermonuclear war being waged outside) and he’s of no use simply moping by her side, especially in the light of the afore mentioned thermonuclear conflict…
So, get on your feet major, and do your damn job!
Yeah, as they say, nobody does a bureaucracy like a democracy. Even though this isn’t a democracy, it’s a republic, but still, I won’t go there.
As for the page, at this point I think Halley is ready to slap Rucker around and call hum Susan. We’ll have to see…
–M
Congrats on taking another step on your professional career path, I wish you much success on your endeavors!
Thanks! They don’t make it easy, but there’s no going back now.
–M
The difference between a bureaucrat and the Colonel there is that Col can have the Major taken out and shot, given the circumstances.
I don’t think this is petty bureaucracy here – this is the Colonel trying to impose his will on the Major through the tradition of military discipline. He’s trying to force the Major back into the habits of obedience learned as part of their training.
…and I just realized that you were talking about licensing exams. Whoops.
You aren’t half as turned around as I am. I’m trying to come up with a proper strategy to take these exams – it can take more than a year to finish all seven of them.
–M
I will keep my fingers crossed for your exams.
As for this weeks page, im very impressed by the dosimeter and the gas mask. I like those reflections in the visor and the detailing.
For once though I’m not that impressed about something, the holster and the blue patch on Halley.
That being said, I can accept that as you have had your hands full the last weeks. %-P
Better now? I hope so. You actually pointed to two areas I had not been happy with myself, so it gave me a decent excuse to fix them. 😉
–M
Yep, they look much better. They kind of stood out, being in the middle of the page.
The holster still looks a bit “crude”, but at the same time it also has the right look of a revolver or early pistol holster. 🙂
Speaking of holsters, these days they can have several safety devices that have to be used in the right sequence, to prevent an opponent to draw your gun. The below link explains how one of those holsters work (found using Google, after adjusting of the search terms):
http://gunwiki.net/Gunwiki/GearSerpaL3Sig