Tuesday 26 November 2013

Day 5: Permanence feels like a sunburn.

My tattoos are finished. It took about an hour and a half, and I'm pleased. Very pleased. My tattoos were done by Neil Horvath at Studio Phi. He took my initial design, and made his own design, which I was happy with. I like his work, and giving him license to make something amazing was something that I was happy to do. 


This is a crummy photo, so I apologize. I took it immediately after I was finished. I had been laying down for a while, being prodded with needles, so I felt a little bit woozy. Just a tad shaky. The pain of the tattoo wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would have been. I've been through electrolysis, and I think that that was more painful. Also, I had my wrist done first, and I think that that hurt a bit more. The fox tattoo hurt a bit around my collar bone (as is expected), but for the most part, it wasn't unpleasant, and I would liken it to repetitive cat scratches. A bit painful, but when your body gets used to it, it's not that bad. 

Now, for some questions that you might be having. 
What were you thinking? I was thinking that I needed this, and I carefully thought it all out. Whatever the case, too late to turn back now. And, fortunately for me, I'm really pleased with it.
What if you get tired of looking at it? I'm not tired of the freckles or scars on my body. They're a part of who I am, and reflect a moment in time. The difference is that this was something that I decided on, and is unique to me. It reflects myself at age 21. It's not like I'm going to blatantly ignore that I was ever that age, and try to ignore this part of my life. 
Is it really worth the permanence, and the pain? Yes. I think so. At least for me it is. After a while, I probably won't really think about it any more. It's just going to be another part of my body. I'm okay with that.
(I quote) "OMFG". What? It's my body. Generally, that's the same reaction that people give for most of the decisions I make. The only difference is that the decisions I make are never rash. They are actually heavily calculated and considered. I have made exactly one rash decision in my life. That was getting snake bites. Which, I don't regret. I actually miss them quite a bit. Good thing is, I have a small scar to remind me of the fond memories that I made while with those piercings. Sure, my fox tattoo may not be everyone's taste. That goes for most of the things in my life. Other people don't have to like it. The funny thing is, if I had never shared that I was going to get or had gotten a tattoo, no one would know until I wore a tank top. Which really isn't that often. The tattoo is going to be covered most of the time. If I had gotten it to annoy other people, or please other people, or whatever, I would have gotten it in a more visual place. However, I got it for myself. I just happen to share all of my more interesting endeavors. 

I would just like to say that I never have any regrets. Every decision you make, good or bad, is a learning experience. If it's for the worse, you work it out. That's part of living. That's part of being a human who has the ability to make decisions. Not every decision you will make is a good one. Not every decision you make is a bad one. You just have to have the wisdom to nod your acknowledgement to the fates, and to life, and move on. 

The good news is, this decision was a good one. It is the one that I needed. 


For the record, this is my wrist tattoo. Like I said, it hurt a little bit more. It was my introduction to tattoos, and technically my first. It means a lot to me, which is why it is on my wrist, where I can see it every day. 

So. What else did I do today? Not much. I spent most of my non-tattooing-non-teacher-meeting-times reading. Specifically, reading a fantastic novel. I've been reading The Postmortal by Drew Magary. It's a science fiction novel about a not-too-distant future where a scientist discovers the cure for aging. Essentially immortality, but you can still die from disease, murder, et cetera. You just never die from old age. You can't. The book is really interesting because it's like watching the world slowly descend into madness. A slow descend towards the end. The way it's written and formatted makes me think of World War Z (also a very good book). I'm about half way through the book, and really enjoying it. I've been reading a lot lately, and so far this book has been grabbing me the most, both in story and writing. Thus far, I recommend it. Even if you don't like science fiction. It's a bit more than that. 

That is all for today. Until tomorrow.

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