(no subject)

[ishyface]

What did you guys do today? Me, I didn't do anything very special. Went to class, wrote a test, and oh yeah GOT A FUCKING TATTOO.

I made the appointment about three weeks ago, and even though I got there late today- because I got on the wrong bus again, damn Gerald you're really not all there- it all went really well. The tattoo artist is a lovely old man (he likes Michael Moore!) who kept calling me "dear," which usually bothers me but didn't today because I was really, really nervous. And kind of shaky.

I shouldn't have been! It barely hurt- at worst it felt like a very, very strong itch. Definitely not as bad as getting blood drawn. And- and- Jesus Christ I have a tattoo. Kerrin, you need to show Mum. She will Go Spare.





One of my first memories- not my very first, that's of my second birthday when I got two troll dolls on my birthday cake and I wanted to keep the girl one but Keggie got to keep that one, how unfair is THAT, it was MY birthday!- is of being a little kid in a park in the middle of the city. It was a rainy day and someone had left an umbrella on a picnic table. I'd seen umbrellas on television and in the movies before, but no one in my family ever had one. We still don't, really. So I was fascinated by this weird little device, and I wanted to see how it opened up, and I shoved my hand inside.

It turned out it was really sharp and rusty and I cut my fingers, but I still got it to open up.

Umbrellas still fascinate me. Maybe that's a weird thing to be interested in rather than... I dunno, the glory of a summer's day or a wild herd of ponies running free across the plain, but whatever. I like umbrellas. I like the sanctuary they offer; I like that they give you this warm dry bubble in the middle of a storm. I like the way people struggle to keep hold of them when the wind blows. I like the way people stand under them together, sharing small and lovely spaces. I like that when it's raining you see umbrellas dot the sidewalks, and I like the way the coloured ones revive wet grey cities. I like that if you have an umbrella and the right west wind you could fly, or at least float.

I also like this song. A lot.

For me an umbrella means you'll always have a safe place, even if it's small and even if it's temporary and even if the world outside is a mess. And now I have my own.

I just- argh, I feel really good about myself right now. I've wanted a tattoo for years, and I waited until I knew what I wanted before getting it done instead of just picking out something random from the book.* I designed this myself (true, not that much to design, but still) and made the appointment myself and went there myself and didn't chicken out at all. And now I have my own lovely (slightly irregular) tattoo.

\:D/

* Everything they have in those books is really, really ugly anyway. Who gets a fucking skeleton on a motorcycle? Surely that's a punishment, just like the tuba.

Comments

[1-2-suckerpunch.livejournal.com]

So jealous! I can't wait until I have the money for my tattoos! God knows I have several all planned out.

[ishyface.livejournal.com]

As soon as I walked out of there I thought: "Okay, what should I get next?"

I also had to stop myself from buying a beautiful bass guitar. NO, ISH, YOU DO NOT HAVE THE MONIES FOR THAT.

What were you planning on getting?

[sunshinesounds.livejournal.com]

That is amazing and makes me want to run out and get inked now. yes.

[ishyface.livejournal.com]

You should do itttt. It's an amazing feeling- not so much during, but when it's done and you walk out and you think about the fact that you have art on your body.

[redheaded-itch.livejournal.com]

Bonjour tattoo! No bass guitar for you yet! (Although I had this really awesome plan that could never happen where we drive to Jersey with a guitar and a bass, and do fake interviews with different bands asking to borrow their drummers, and then we JAM! "Uh... oh, hi there, Bill... say, is The Butcher in? We're in a band, see, but we seem to have lost our drummer...")

[ishyface.livejournal.com]

That is a premium plan! Except if we atually met Billiam OR The Butcher I'd probably faint or weep or do something else really embarrassing. I get starstruck easily- Tamora Pierce alone has proven this.

Also: the Butcher's tattoos. WHY SO AMAZING.

[ishyface.livejournal.com]

Actually. If we ACTUALLY met...

You know, once upon a time I could spell.

[bleedingcherub.livejournal.com]

Gashlycrumb Tinies, anyone?

[ishyface.livejournal.com]

Hm. I'd actually never seen those before, but now that you mention it...

[jadedsquirrel.livejournal.com]

Beautiful. Simple, well placed, and utterly gorgeous. Nice!

[ishyface.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

I keep panicking every few minutes because I think I've smudged it. Not the sharpest tool in the shed, here.

[ruedifference.livejournal.com]

Very, very nice!

[ishyface.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Were you still planning on getting one sometime soon?

[foucaultonacid.livejournal.com]

that's beautiful - for its reason as much as its aesthetic beauty

don't forget to take care of it

[ishyface.livejournal.com]

I am slathering it with aloe vera as we speak. Er, type.

And thank you!

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

Yay! I loved how exciting the tattoo was. I went and got one with a friend; had designed mine four years earlier and waited so I knew it was something I'd really want. She had one all picked out and then saw a flash she really liked (it is pretty cool--it's a Native American-style puffin) and switched to that. Weirdo.

I like your comments on umbrellas. A very good personal symbol.

[ishyface.livejournal.com]

What's your tattoo of? I didn't know you had one!

[youidiotkid.livejournal.com]

That is really, really cute. And it's nice and simple :]

[ishyface.livejournal.com]

Heh, thank you. :D

[crazykawaii.livejournal.com]

I love it! It's really funky and unique but also simple and classy. Really, I heartily approve.

[ishyface.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm still pretty psyched about it.

[shitgun.livejournal.com]

skjfjksd, awesomeeeeeeee.

* Everything they have in those books is really, really ugly anyway. Who gets a fucking skeleton on a motorcycle? Surely that's a punishment, just like the tuba.

ahahahh. sailor jerry's has a vagina pie. i kind of wanted it, because i would laugh every time i saw it, but really, where do you put a vagina pie? (awkward sentence.

[ishyface.livejournal.com]

bnjsdkpdgfhpisgh!!!!!!!!!!!

Vagina pie? Um... wow.

(If I got a vagina pie I'd probably put it somewhere where everyone could see it. Great conversation-starter!)

[uncommon-crow.livejournal.com]

Spiffy ink, dude! And I likes the explanation- I'd never really thought about umbrellas like that before.

I kinda want to to get inked post-op in Montréal to celebrate, but odds are I'll restrain myself and just get a facial piercing instead. If I haven't already gotten one or two by then...

[ishyface.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Dev. (It itches.)

What were you thinking of getting? (This applies for either tattoos or piercings, because I am a nosy sonofabitch.)

[doubtful-salmon.livejournal.com]

Oh, I really love it. It's a really great tattoo. It's simple but brilliant. And I'm not usually like a tattoo sycophant. I mean I try to be enthusiastic for people because they're not like shoes, you're kind of stuck with them, but I really, really like this one a lot. Good choice.

[ishyface.livejournal.com]

Thank you! (I'm glad that you're not a tattoo sycophant AND you like it- I sometimes wonder if people only compliment people on their tattoos because they're so eager to welcome another person into the club of We Actually Paid For This, No Really, We Did. Of course, if you really hate someone's tattoo it's not worth mentioning- it's not like they can return it, or do much of anything other than cover it up.)