Stress and Piercings

For some reason, when I get totally overwhelmed with stress, it triggers my piercing itch. I haven't quite figured out why, but it probably has something to do with the brain chemicals that get released when one is pierced. I really don't have that many places left to pierce. I'd like to get my nose repierced at some point. I also want my left tragus fixed. The only other piercing I really like are inner conchs. I don't really have much desire to get my tongue repierced. I thought about it for a while, but it really doesn't tickle my fancy. It was kind of a pain when I had it and I think where I want it placed would require clipping my tongue web. Ew.

The blogging will be slim to none over the next week. I'm going to be visiting both sides of my family and I won't have much access to internet.

Happy holidays!

Comic Gold and Other Ink Antics

Some humorous exchanges from today:

Mark: Are you into motorcycles?
Me: I'm a girl.
Mark: But you have tattoos.
Me: And I also wear J.Crew.
Mark: Hmmm, good point.

Me: Fresh tattoos are like a magnet for stuff happening.
Mark: Like your cat decides to jump on you and ejaculate...even if it's a girl.
Andrew: My wife always makes me go into the attic.
Mark: To ejaculate?
Andrew: Yeah...wait what are we talking about?

Mark: So I have to redo this girl's tattoo in a "private" area. It's a cat face.
Me: *busts out laughing*
Mark: What?
Me: Oh God...she got a pussy near her pussy.

Today was my touch up for Mae. It went well. He spent a lot of time on her face. There's one spot I'm not sure about, but I'm going to wait until it heals before I pass judgment. He smoothed out a lot of the lines and they look really nice now. Apparently I twitch a lot right around my waist which accounted for some of the problems with the linework. A good thing to know for the other side. Of course, I've still got some spots from my little accident around Thanksgiving. I don't know if it's going to scar or not, or if they're even currently scars. This could pose a problem for Lola. If they haven't gotten any better by a week before or so, I may have Mark take a look and we'll come up with a new plan. I'm hoping it's just because my skin is so fair and shows every imperfection rather than scar tissue.

I also got my Christmas present to myself. A beautiful green hummingbird on my right forearm right below my elbow named Butch. He's all swollen and bloody in this shot, but just to get the general idea of the little guy. For the first time, Mark actually commented on my habit. I'm surprised it's taken him this long.

They also said they really liked the guys who did the "Tribute to Tradition" for the past 2 years. Andrew even went last year and showed me the piece he got. He also said he heard they were doing something along those lines every Sunday in March. The website hasn't been updated, but I'm definitely going to check it out. It was good to hear their positive opinion of the place.

Introducing Britney & Christina

The lighting sucked in David's Bridal, but it was the only opportunity I had for someone else to take a picture. Britney is on my left (viewer's right). They're still peeling a bit, but I think they look pretty good. There were some people who felt the linework on Mae was "shoddy". I think this linework is pretty much perfect. Maybe I'm just too happy with them to properly judge, but whatevs. People can be really nitpicky and then call it "critiquing art". Anyway...

Mae's touch up is tomorrow. They'll all shut their mouths then. ;)

More Skin Issues

Four days until the big touch up. I'm definitely started to get excited. I got my check for jury duty today, so I think I'll cash it on Friday and use it toward Mark's tip. I had set aside some money, but an emergency popped up and I had to use it. This check will recoup most of what I'd set aside.

Britney & Christina have a rash, just like Mae did. I'm not surprised. I've cut back to putting lotion on them once a day and I need to really scrub when I get in the shower. I forgot to do it this morning, so it'll have to get done tonight. At least all the scabbing is gone and they're onto the peeling stage. They should be looking pretty good by Sunday.

One of the brothers in my ex's fraternity apparently got a half sleeve done. He paid $1600 for it, which sounds like a huge rip off to me. Maybe I'm spoiled, but that sounds like way too high. Even for something full color, I don't think I'd be willing to pay that much. I know Mark cuts me a break on pricing, but even when he's in a bad mood, I don't think he'd charge someone that much for a half sleeve. Apparently this guy did a lot of research and was willing to pay it, so who am I to judge? I'd be interested to know who did it. The tattoo community around here isn't that large.

It's All In A Name

I'm thinking of getting my first initial of my surname tattooed on my left ring finger. It'll be a long time before I get married and I kind of like the idea of having something that's uniquely me that will be under something that is both me and my husband. Of course, if I opt for the first letter of my last name, I better hope my husband's name doesn't start with the same letter. Then everyone would think I got his initial tattooed instead of my maiden name. Of course, that could lend itself to some humorous conversations. I probably won't let a concern like that stop me. Statistically, he's just as likely to have the same last name as I have and I won't even change it.

Britney & Christina are doing well. When I showered yesterday morning, the bulk of the scabbing came off. I'm sure the same will be true tomorrow morning, I just have to make sure they're totally dry before applying any lotion. I don't want another round of scabbing. Ew. Pictures should be forthcoming. I'll probably con Mark into taking pictures on Sunday after we've touched up Mae and worked on Butch. I just need to remember to bring my camera. That seems to be the sticking point. So next Sunday may be a big picture post. At least I hope so.

All right, all right, you're in a mood

I went to the shop yesterday so Mark could see my scabbing in person. He said it looked like a classic case of not letting them dry fully before I put lotion on them. Guilty on all counts. The good news is, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to lose a lot of color. As long as I don't pick at them and just let them fall off on their own, I should be fine. If they need a touch up, so be it. It's free (sort of) and they'll probably end up looking better than the original.

Shane was in a mood. He was working on something and I commented it looked like a dandelion. I didn't mean it offensively at all. I actually rather like dandelions. He snapped at me and then apologized about 5 minutes later. Fortunately, it didn't really upset me. I'm sure it's tough running a business. Also, during these "tough economic times", things like tattoos tend to get put aside in favor of paying a bill. So I'm sure their business is suffering just like everyone else's, though they seemed to be doing a decent business. What do I know though? I just get in the way. :P

Mark and I came up with a bit of a game plan for my foot. He agreed it wasn't that original, but the good news was, it should be easy to work with. Unlike doing something free form, if you trace it from a font, it has a much more uniform look and can be easy to work around. So we're going to try to rework the lettering and add to it. I found some flash that I liked as a jumping off point. Incidentally, it was on the same page where we got Butch (the hummingbird) from. It was a chain of flowers that had a really nice flow to it, similar to the natural curve on the top of my foot. Underneath the lettering we may just stick with flowers or perhaps add a bird. A ladybug might even be cute. That's probably up after Lola, so sometime in early March. By then it's starting to warm up and it would be slightly easier to heal. I'm not wearing boots and socks every day and risking pulling off a scab or something.

Now time for me to work out and go Christmas shopping. 'Tis the season.

The Hazards of Chest Tattoos

So apparently all this scabbing and pain is "normal" for an upper chest tat. I finally caved and called the shop this evening. Shane, being as patient as ever with me, explained it was not uncommon for tattoos in that area to scab more aggressively and be more painful during healing. He said when he had his done, it hurt for about 5 days and you just have to suck it up. Great. He recommended cocoa butter to soften up the scabs and hopefully reduce some of the cracking that causes the pain. I have no idea when I'm going to have time to get it, but I guess I really have no choice. My only concern is it'll burn. As I recall, I used cocoa butter on my first tattoo and it burned like nobody's business. The Aveeno I'm currently using doesn't burn at all.

I'm glad to know that it's normal and I didn't do something to fuck it up. I was really concerned this was somehow my doing. It would've been nice if somebody had warned me. I guess when you get to be as modded as I am, those who are doing the modding tend to forget you don't know as much as they do. Oh well, maybe in the future I'll know to pick Mark's brain if I'm getting tattooed in a new place.