Please forgive the lack of artwork this week. I was studying for my 902 exam. (Patreon)

And I passed.

Patrons that have been here or a while know that back towards the end of March I was studying hard to take my 901 exam. In order to become A+ Certified you need to take 2 exams, the 901 and the 902. I passed my 901 with an 811/900 (675 to pass) and this past Saturday I passed my 902 with an 801/900 (700 to pass).

The tuition fees for the classes I was taking and all of the extra study materials were paid for and funded by all of you. -Yes I tell everyone that I spend you patron money on booze (which I do quite often) but the truth is not everyone you meet on the Internet is a cartoon character with no life. Thanks to your patronage you've been able to help fund doctor visits, emergency car payments, and my efforts to further my education. I can't stress enough how grateful I am to have you all supporting me.

The reason why I'm not more open about these things is that I try to keep my personal and furry lives separate. Kayfabe n' all. 

That all being said I've fallen behind in the artwork I was making. Originally I had wanted to have something done by Cinco de Mayo, but studying for the 902 had me worried. Due to personal matters, I had to contend with various scheduling conflicts which lead to me delaying the exam further and further. Y'see the classes and study materials were for my own benefit because you can take the exam at any time provided you the $200 fee. And if you fail you have to pay another $200 each time you try. So you can understand the horror stories I'd been hearing of people needing to take it 2,3, or 4 times before passing.

I was far less confident going into the 902 so midway during last week I stopped drawing and started studying. Taking practice test after practice test, and cramming as much knowledge as I could. Guys I was going over practice questions on my cellphone as I was walking into testing facility. That's how paranoid I was. 

Now all of my worry didn't go to waste because I was able to walk out of there with a passing score, but here's the thing about cramming for any exam... it ruins your brain. For the next 24 hours I was lethargic, confused, forgetful, and that was while completely sober. I was even having dreams of me taking the test that I'd already passed! It was like I'd kicked my brain into a "STUDY NOW" mode so hard that now it was hard for me to come back down. 

Taking the advice of my dearest mother, I shut off my computer for 24 hours and just tried to enjoy the holiday. And while I kept up with people through my smart phone. I realize that it was irresponsible to leave you all in the dark when all of this was going down. I should have let you all know the moment I passed what was up. Though in my defense, my mind was a total wreck after walking out of that testing facility.

Quick Tangent: I wish that I could bottle up this past week and make non-furries drink it. There's a not so low key view that the escapism that comes from being a furry nothing by pathetic wish-fulfillment predicated on not having a worthwhile life. And that because a part of ourselves exists in this fucked up fantasy land of foxes with giant dicks, we don't work hard or ever contribute to anything. Well after some of us work ourselves ragged trying to better ourselves, is really so wrong to give that part of our brains a well needed rest? Or does it only count if it's on a couch somewhere watching Game of Thrones?

I'm back now and I'm going to try to pick back up the things I had to put on hold. Thank you for reading, thank you for understanding, and thank-you for being a patron.