Tattoo Gurl

This one was done the same day as my Buddha.

Last week, I was perusing (creeping) some other blogs and came across a blog about tattoos.  It was excellent, I highly recommend it. My sister is considering her first tattoo, so we have been talking about it a lot. She has these fantastical designs that she wants to put in absurd locations, a lot of our conversations have been tactical. We've talked about why I decided to get a tattoo in the first place, why I picked the tattoos that I have and why I picked the places I did. Then there are the usual questions that everyone asks:

Did it hurt? No, I enjoy being stabbed multiple times a second. It wasn't the tattoo itself so much as the sun-burny feeling and the itching that comes after.

Don't you think you'll regret it when your 40? Sure, if my skin is sagging because I didn't take care of myself and I look as though I have a 6 pack a day habit and a crack addiction. No, I won't regret it. Each of my tattoos was carefully thought out and planned. Unless I have some sort of Kafkaesque metamorphosis I should be fine. Though if that were the case I would have turned into a roach, so I don't think I'll mind the tattoos so much.

What if you marry someone who doesn't like tattoos? Well, if I my future spouse suddenly exclaims during the vows, "WHAT! You have tattoos! This is not acceptable! I had NO IDEA!!" I think we have some other problems that need addressing.

I like really simple designs, with character.

I hid my tattoos from my dad for a long time. I'm not ashamed and since it's my body and my money, I'm not all that concerned. However, I respect the fact that he doesn't approve so I don't throw them in his face. One afternoon a few summers ago, after we had been experiencing several waves of thunderstorms, my dad was standing in my crawl space which had flooded. The crawl opening is in our laundry room. Shanna and I call it "the dead body shoot". This put his head at shin level. I was standing in the doorway talking to him, when suddenly he exclaimed, "WHAT THE HELL IS ON YOUR LEG?!!" On my ankle sat a chubby, happy Buddha with a smug little smile. I didn't know what to say, so I just said, "oops". He was not amused.

Sure, my dad is old school, but gone are the days when only bikers or ex-cons proudly displayed their ink These days, your children's kindergarten teacher most likely has a butterfly tattooed on her ass, to commemorate that spring break in Cancun.To be a really sexy pin-up a girl, a few tattoos are a plus (if not a must). Tattoo parlours have their own television shows and tattooing has been recognized as the art form it has always been.

I started out small, I wasn't totally committed to permanent body modification. To be honest I wasn't totally committed to paying someone to inflict pain on me.  I was nervous that I would get sick of a particular piece. I had decided from the outset, no color and no locations that I couldn't cover. I quickly got over that. So, I got another and another and another. They got a little bigger and a little bigger. Now I am planning a half-sleeve, I've been planning it for a few months. Whats holding me back? Funds. Tattooing isn't cheap. I told my sister I wouldn't pay for her first tattoo. In my opinion, that's a big part of making sure that you don't make a bad decision. I don't know too many people that are going to shell out five hundred dollars or more to be pierced with a needle for hours at a time if they aren't fully committed to the outcome.

Tattoos are pieces of art. A piece of art that you get to carry around with you for a lifetime. If it's something that is important to you, you won't regret it. There are days when I see my foot and think, "damn, that's not going anywhere...". Then I usually smile, because it's totally original and fantastic. So, tattoo safely and with joy. If you're smart about it, you'll never regret it.


My birthday present from Shanna. Ouch! Foot tattoos hurt, like a m'fer.