Getting Inked: Part Two

Last night was the day-- the day to finish up the tat! This time it was just me and Woodrow, and we didn't have the long wait. The appointment was at 5 PM, and I was on the table and getting inked by 5:20 PM.

Stevie started by doing some "clean up" work on the outlining. As I stated in Part One, I wiggled a lot, and this resulted in some lines being "wiggly", and some perforation, causing some "skipped" spots in a couple of lines. So the first 30 minutes or so was clean up work on that. Most of that went much better than last time. First of all, I knew what to expect. Secondly, most of the line work wasn't long, extended lines. If all tattooing was that easy, I would likely do it again some day.

After that we started on the shading. That was really hit and miss. Occasionally he would hit a spot that I barely even felt. But a lot of the time (around my side) it was quite uncomfortable! I found the closer to my side, the more painful. Some spots closer in to my back didn't even hurt. I got to know by the way he was positioning whether the work he was about to do was going to really hurt.

Stevie agreed that I did much better this time around, not wiggling too much at all. And he said that, thanks to the clean up work he did, I no longer need to disclaim to everyone that I wiggled a lot and it affected the quality of the work. After cleaning up the lines, the piece is now something of which Stevie can be proud!

The tat is large and partially covered by my pants most of the time. And, being a bit of a tomboy, I love that my tat is rocking tough and not some frilly little feminine rose or butterfly. I'm curious to see how it turns out when all is said and done. Stevie said it is much darker right now than it will be. He said it will fade by 30-40% over the next few weeks, so much of it will actually be more of a silvery-gray that is sort of transparent. Right now, it is a pretty deep black across much of it. Note to family (read: MOM!): The tattoo is in a spot that is generally hidden. So most people will never even know that it's there! It shouldn't affect my future job possibilities, and I won't be a 70-year-old with a fading sleeve or anything. It's okay! Really it is! There is no need for panic or distress! (Mom really hates tattoos!)

So today I have that sunburned feeling, and I don't want my shirt to even touch me, but past experience tells me that tomorrow I'll just be a little sore, and after that my biggest issue over the next couple of weeks will be the itching! Oh, the itching! That is enough to drive you mad!

 

I'm happy with how it turned out, but I look forward to the fading, as what I had in mind was a silvery-shaded and reflective tat. So I'm excited to see the changes that occur in it over the next few weeks!

Looking for a tat in the Fort Myers area? Check out Howl Gallery/Tattoo! I'm sure that all of the guys there are great, but I can't recommend Stevie Bananas enough! Patient, professional, laid-back and good-natured, and a great artist to boot! Additionally they have an awesome art gallery, and a great show by Derek Hess going on right now. If I had a spare $500 to throw around, I'd definitely pick up one of his pieces!

Rock on!

My 2009 Life Plan

I'm not really much for "resolutions". They usually are just a whim and soon forgotten. Instead I believe in changing your lifestyle, creating the person that you want to be. I believe in "imaging" things into existence. "Fake it 'til you make it", so to speak. Make conscious decisions to guide your life where you want and to become the person that you can be proud to be.

That being said, here are my "goals" for 2009:

• Health...Commit to eating more healthfully. Increase my vegetarian eating, and cut back on the junk food and sweets. For exercise, my goal is to ride my bike to work at least once a week, and take at least one leisure bike ride a week (I hope to do more when the days are longer again. Right now it is usually dark before I get home during the week, so leisurely bike rides are tough to squeeze in).
  
  
• Business...Work towards being able to work for myself. A lot of this will rely on my learning a lot of things.
  
  
• Learning...This year I want to learn HTML more fully, and start learning CSS. Learn more about website administration. I hope to find time to learn about photo editing and graphics. Learn about gardening,
  
  
• Reading...Aside from the books that I need to read in order to learn the skills that I am trying to teach myself, I would like to read more in general. I've become so bound to technology that I've fallen away from simple pleasures like reading. I also hope to read the bible more, and to read the book I bought regarding drawing closer to God over 30 days.
  
  
• Connect with nature...Get out more. Bike ride, camp, hike, kayak, garden-- whatever. Just get outside!
  
  
• House...Get unpacked and settled in to my new house. Get organized. Get the yard cleaned up and weeded. Put my books and papers away and clean up after myself more. Have a garage sale and get rid of stuff. Throw away the old stuff on the lanai that came with the house.
  
  
• Self-sufficiency...Work more towards being more self-sufficient. Learn to grow vegetables, work on preserving foods, cook more utilizing foods from my own garden. Take classes at Home Depot and the like to learn basic plumbing and home repairs. Learn more about computers and technology so that I am less reliant on others to fix my problems when I encounter them.
  
  
• Buy local...Make regular trips to farmer's markets and flea markets.
  
  
• Eat seasonally...Learn to eat what is in season locally. Even when buying produce, I want to learn to buy what is in season locally instead of eating what is shipped in hundreds or thousands of miles.
  
  
• Personality and character...Work on being more patient with others. Slow down. Watch the sharpness of my tone when I am stressed.
  
  
• Give back...Try to find some volunteer work to do. If I don't know what to volunteer doing, due to having so many varied interests, then mix it up and volunteer one place one time and somewhere else next.
  
  
• Peace...Learn to quiet myself inside. My mind is always going a mile-a-minute. I need constant external stimulation. I need to learn to find quiet moments, and to enjoy the solitude in the silence.
  
  
• Finances...Save, save, save! Quit spending, be more frugal. Shop at places like Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity. Use Freecycle.
  

Above all, live consciously! Be aware of what I am doing and why. CHOOSE to do things, don't just live on auto-pilot. Live life with purpose, and live it well.