Just Another Day in Suburbia

So since I have no new mods to discuss, the next few entries will probably focus on my various rants and raves about being modded, perceptions of those who are modded, and the like.

For those who don't know, I live in the suburbs. Visible tattoos are about as common as the bubonic plague. As a result, I become a walking point of interest to those who encounter me. When I'm at work and don't have a sweater on, usually at least one person will comment on my ink. For the most part, if they've decided to bring it up, they're going to say something nice. On rare occasions, someone is actually looking for a recommendation and I point them in the right direction. The vast majority, though, just stare and squirm. Or they'll ask something stupid like "Did that hurt?" or "Is that real?".

I was actually surprised when we went to play laser tag a few weeks ago in the most suburban of suburbia, I didn't get one dirty look from parents. It's like just by having tattoos, I'm somehow encouraging their kids to get full sleeves. Umm, no. If your kid is gonna get a tattoo it's not because they saw me when they were eleven. Though if they did, I'd probably be flattered. You just never know how you influence someone's life.

I often get asked if I regret them. Aside from the fact I don't really believe in regret, I don't. It does make my life harder sometimes, but if I had the chance to do it over again, I don't think I'd make a different choice. It's part of who I am. I guess it's like asking someone if they regret having a nose job or a boob job. A choice has been made and, for better or worse, you live with it. Ideally, you never look back. I find that sometimes I peek over my shoulder wondering what could have been if I'd made a different choice. Then I remind myself that I know what it's like to not be modded and that I'm better off now. Being who I am is worth a few adjustments to my wardrobe.

Sharp Objects and Defenseless Vegetables

So since I agreed not to get tattooed again until roughly my birthday, I have to get my body mod fix somehow. Now might be the time to start ticking stuff off my piercing wish list. The current list is:
Left nostril (final try, if it doesn't work, it's a sign from God)
Lip (probably not going to happen with my current employment situation)
Right tragus (again last try)
Tongue (if I can get the placement I want. If it's not feasible, not gonna happen)
Dermals on the back of my neck

I still haven't gotten my chest dermal tightened either. I figure when I do that we'll have a little chat about what I decide to get pierced. Jason said he could give me a glass retainer for my nostril and it would be invisible. Even when I had the pink one, no one said anything. Lip piercings, on the other hand, are a lot harder to hide. *grumbles angrily*

I'm also pretty excited about the prospect of more dermals. They'd really be placed more on my upper back than my neck. I figured one on each side of my spine where my neck meets my back (nape?). I could still wear a necklace and it wouldn't interfere. I'm also not a back sleeper, so I wouldn't have to worry about that. Again, it's a feasibility issue.

I guess we'll see where that goes. I can't afford anything until I get paid next Tuesday anyway, so it's all just a thought experiment anyway.

Weekly Update

I'm almost done healing, I think. I still have some stubborn scabbing near my hip, but I'm not surprised. A bunch of it came off in the shower this morning so hopefully this will be off soon. Once I'm fully healed, I'm going to schedule my photo shoot with Sylvia and be a model for a day. *bats eyes*

Jenn and I swung by Ink & Dagger on Sunday, but Russ was still at the convention here. We hung out for a bit with Kurt and Bryan (at least I think it was Bryan). They didn't end up doing a collab on someone, so I felt better about not being able to go. That's really all I wanted to see anyway.

I need to get my dermal tightened again. It's getting a bit too loose. Melanie will be back on Tuesday, so I'll go sometime next week. I was going to go on Sunday, but Jason is off on Sundays and with Melanie out of town, no one to fix me up. Ah well. It has survived this long, I'm sure it'll hang in there for a few more days.

I also made a new friend. He's a client of Russ' and he messaged me on FB to compliment Aleister and James Bond. We've been chatting back and forth and it's nice to talk to someone who understands my obsession. I need more tattooed friends. :P

That's all for now, kiddies. Just for shits and giggles, check out this story. My personal opinion is it's bullshit, but view for yourself.

Good News, Bad News

Outwardly, my leg is healing fine. He's almost done peeling and it's only been 5 days. However, the pain and swelling have stuck around longer than normal. I even stayed home from work today so I could just stay off my feet. When I came home last night, my whole leg was swollen and it was effecting my back and my knee. I made the executive decision to stay home and it was a good one. The pain has gotten better, the swelling has gone down, and I can walk normally. This is good seeing as I'm going to be wearing impractical shoes tomorrow for Susie's wedding.

Jenn and I are going to try to hit up the convention here on Sunday. She needs some cheering up and I'm up for another round of tattoo bingo. Maybe I'll make actual cards this time, just for fun.

Nothing much else to report. I'm taking some time off at the beginning of July, so perhaps that's when my photo shoot will happen. My leg will definitely be fully healed and I should hopefully have all my sexy new clothes and accessories in. And maybe be down a few more pounds just because I'm vain like that.

Born Every Minute

Hi kids!

The Atlanta convention is this weekend, I'm considering blowing out of work early on Friday to check it out. Russ and Kurt are doing a collab(oration) on some other poor sucker and I'm devoutly hoping it's either Friday or Sunday. I'm booked pretty much all day on Saturday, so I guess I'm SOL if they're doing it then. I guess since I just went through it, I'd like to see who else is as crazy as I am.

I'm technically supposed to be getting tattooed on Sunday, so I guess I should call and cancel. Even if I wasn't on a sabbatical, I'm in no shape to get tattooed again. I don't think I could bring myself to get willingly tattooed for at least a month. It also helps that my leg still really hurts. I haven't taken any pain killers since Sunday night, so I probably should.

I've finally named the magician. I think I'm going to go with Aleister after Aleister Crowley, who is pretty much an evil icon. James Bond is still thinking he got the better end of the deal.

More Pictures

Goinked from Meg aka my personal photographer. Thanks, love!

I'm in pain and having trouble walking, but in love. He's absolutely amazing and there's no two ways about it. I'm ridiculously happy with the results, even if I am starting to develop the nasty scaly scabbing. I figured I wasn't going to dodge that bullet. That would've been too easy. I had to promise everyone that the office that I'd print out the picture so they could see it since I can't exactly go lifting up my skirt or dropping trou at work.

Apparently my spell checker doesn't like the work "goinked". Its loss.

Augusta Tattoo Expo

A huge shout out to Russ and the Ink & Dagger crew, Beth (Russ' wife), Melissa (one of Russ' clients and helper for the day), and Muriel (the adopted I&D artist). They were all amazing and not just because I was stuck with them for 10 hours yesterday. The arena was FREEZING and Beth went out and got me a heating pad and Melissa let me borrow her sweater. The heating pad was really the lifesaver. I was to the point where I was shivering so badly it was affecting the tattoo process. Not good.

Instead of both working on me at the same time, Russ and Muriel switched off for the first 5 hours. So it wasn't any quicker than if I were just being tattooed by one of them. They would pow wow when they switched, so it was interesting insight into how a tattooist's mind works. As Russ said, this is normally stuff inside their heads but they have to communicate it to each other. The toughest part was in hour 6 when they both started working on me. That was definitely a sensory overload experience. For the first time ever, I cried while being tattooed. We took a break around 6.5 hours so I could get it together, eat something, and just power through the end.

They were actually holding the tattoo of the day competition until we were done. I jokingly said it when they pushed it back by an hour the first time, but then the organizer came over and asked when we'd be done so we could enter. I thought that was pretty nice. Of course, from what I heard, there wasn't really much other competition and everyone had taken an interest in the piece. So it would've been silly to hold a tattoo of the day competition without the Russ Abbott and Muriel Zao collaborative piece entered.

As for the convention itself, it wasn't much to write home about. We had a little time to kill before I got tattooed, so we walked around, but there wasn't much of interest. The sound system also wasn't that good, so it was hard to tell what they were saying sometimes. I think at one point they were having $25 piercings and $40 something involving acetate, or at least, that's what we thought we heard. They had food, but it was pretty bad. The pretzels that were supposed to be soft were ridiculously salty and on the hard side. There's a distinct possibility they were left over from the last event.

Overall it took 8.5 hours of tattooing time, we won tattoo of the day, and I will have no problems taking a break after this. It was definitely one of the toughest things I've gone through. It was worth it, as the piece is amazing, and the crown jewel of my collection. Muriel suggested doing a full "sleeve" on my thigh that has a macabre circus theme. Hmmm.

Pictures will appear in Skin & Ink magazine, or so I heard. I'll have to confirm with Sylvia. She got a couple pictures of all of us and then one for winning tattoo of the day. After a good night's sleep and some real food, I'm really glad I did it. The experience was tough, that's for sure, but I made it. I think when I get back into it, short tattoos are in my future. ;)

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

Oh My God, I am getting the coolest tattoo ever.

They didn't have anything on paper yet, which was fine. I instead got the verbal tour of their idea. For those who have seen The Prestige, I'll be getting a magician very much like Hugh Jackman's character. For those who haven't, he's going to be a Victorian era magician with the tux and mustache. Muriel assured me that he would be "sexy". Rock on. Instead of a rabbit coming out of the hat, it's going to be this tentacle type thing that Muriel is apparently known for. The feel is going to be gothic and creepy, which is pretty much perfect.

Russ is starting to creep me out with how well he picked it. I was obsessed with magic when I was younger. Rannie and I even did a "messed up" magic show for the talent show in 4th grade. It's always been something that fascinates me, so it's pretty damn perfect that I'll have a magician of my very own. Maybe he can make my ass smaller. :P

I honestly haven't thought about it much since I've been dealing with all this work drama, but when I heard the design, I was so excited. If it comes out the way I'm seeing it my head, and it probably will and more, it could very likely become my favorite tattoo. Now I'm even more excited for the photo shoot as well. This is going to be an awesome piece to highlight. Plus, I'm way prettier than their last 3 cover girls, give or take.

Meg will be tagging along to document, so keep your eyes peeled for a Facebook album and highlights posted here. Hopefully I'll also have a "tattoo of the day" trophy to show off.

But Wait There's More

Tomorrow is my consult with Russ and Muriel. I'm not sure what's going to happen. I'd like to get out of there with two things. A good idea of what design I'll be getting and how, exactly, I'm going to get a grand in cash to pay them. It may not end up being that much, but I always like to have the high end of the range on me. Since it's a convention, odds are they can't take a card, but who knows? I'll ask.

In other news, I think I might get my rose/fleur de lis cover up lasered off. I would only do it if I had a design for a full sleeve planned out. I have a vague idea of what I want for the sleeve, but not concrete enough to spend all the time and healing getting the original lasered. I don't really feel too bad about it because most collectors have had at least one removed. I don't regret it, I just feel like I need to make room for something better.

There will of course be pictures and a full experience up on Sunday. I also found out that one of my co-workers is a bit of a fan of tattoos and he dropped a few names that most people wouldn't know. He definitely gets some cool points. :)

Time Off

I know I've been AWOL for a while. I think I was working up the time and enthusiasm to write my latest entry.

I struck a deal with my dad. I'll be getting the collaborative piece from Russ and Muriel this weekend and then I'm taking 6 months off from getting inked. This included canceling my trip to Phoenix, which was really the worst part. I was so looking forward to it. There's always 2010, though, and maybe someone can afford to go with me.

It's probably best in the long run that I take time off to give my body a break and really focus on what I want. I'll still probably hang around the shops because I do like everyone and I'm sure others will be getting tattooed and I can tag along. Right now I'm pretty set on adding a phoenix to Lucius and turning it into a half sleeve. If I still want it in 6 months, then I'll know it's right. I'll have Kurt do it and I'm sure he'll do an awesome job. I have to cancel our time for Sunday, too. I guess I'll do that on Thursday when I go to meet Muriel and discuss general ideas about my last hurrah.

In better news, I contacted the photographer for Prick. She was game for doing a photo shoot at the end of the month and she'll be at the convention. She also said she'd do a few extra shots for free so I can send the right amount in for Prick. Who knows? I could be their next Miss August or Miss September. That'd be pretty awesome. It might help me break into the tattoo modeling scene. Or just as a minor celebrity for a month or so. All the guys (and Danielle) would be so proud.

So that's pretty much that for now. I guess I finally have to accept certain realities and "grow up". I don't view it as maturing, but if it saves me a bunch of arguments and headaches, then it's worth the price.