I have nothing to write about today!

If someone has any ideas, drop one in my comment section and perhaps (if I'm not too busy) I'll take the challenge.

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Well, since it was requested, I shall talk about my tatts (though I think I may have done this already, but screw it--I ain't got nothin' else to talk about).

Coffee Talk About My Tatts

I have five tattoos right now. They consist of the following:

1. A sun on my lower back. This was the first tattoo I ever got. I had it done when I was at OU and designed it myself. This tattoo led to a slippery slope that tumbled me into four other tattoos. I blame Satan.

2. The Chinese (or is it Japanese? It's been so long I can't even remember, isn't that sad?) symbol for "poetry" on my lower abdomen. Now this one needs to be explained--I HATE the whole "Chinese symbol" fad. It drives me mad that every chick and her mom have SOME sort of Chinese symbol tattooed on their body. So for months and months I was resistant to the idea. However, I wanted to get a tatt that symbolized the completion of my master's degree in poetry. So I looked and looked and looked for something else that I might be able to have tattooed on me instead. To no avail. Finally I just caved. I took it as a sign that I was supposed to get this symbol when I saw it on the back of a book of poetry that one of my profs had written. So I figured, what the hell. Right after I completed my thesis defense, I barreled on over to the tattoo parlor with a couple of friends and had it done in celebration (and then got sloshed afterwards). I got it in a place where no one can really see unless I'm showing it to them, and I like it quite a bit now.

3. A symbol I designed that's on my wrist. This tatt I designed when I spent three+ weeks driving cross country with my boyfriend at the time. It is supposed to look like waves with the moon floating above them in the sky. I originally wanted to get the tattoo done when we were in San Francisco--they had a woman-owned and operated tattoo parlor there called Black & Blue Tattoo and I went as far as going there to check out the price. But unfortunately, we still had another week before our trip was over, and I sure as hell wanted to be able to swim, so I was forced to hold off. I ended up getting it in Boulder, Colorado instead. I absolutely LOVED Boulder, so I was kind of excited about getting it done there. However, it was THE worst tattoo experience possible. If I'm ever back in the area, I'm SO gonna drop by there and kick that fella's ass. Anyways, the guy who tattooed me took an HOUR to do a tattoo that should've only taken about 15-20 minutes. He made my wrist bleed excessively because he kept going over and over and over the same parts because he was worried that it wasn't coming out even enough in color. This tattoo is solid-black, mind you, so I could've probably done a better job if he'd just let me borrow the equipment. The air conditioning was broken in the shop, so he was also super-crabby. And I knew I was screwed when at the end of his tattooing, he asked me if I was gonna be in town for at least a week so he could look at it again and touch up anything that came out shitty and uneven. Consequently, I ended up having to have this tattoo touched up in Cleveland about a year later since it looked like someone had drawn in dried-up black marker on my wrist.
LESSON LEARNED: Do NOT get tattooed in Boulder, Colorado.

4. A women's ceremony design on the front of my left shoulder (click on the pic to read more about its symbolism).

After much searching, I found this design on the internet, done by an aboriginal artist. I was really fond of it because it almost looks like a flower (which many mistakenly assume that it is) but it has an aura of mystery around it and gets oohs and ahs once people find out what it actually is. I wanted to get something associated with "femaleness" so I was thrilled when I finally stumbled across it. I got it done at the ever faithful G&G Tattooing in Cleveland. I went by myself to get it (the first tattoo I got by myself) because my life was in a state of turmoil at that time and I was looking at the tattoo as a symbol of me reclaiming control over it. It was a symbol of starting down a new path and of being in control and of autonomy. And it was probably my favorite tattoo experience out of all of them. I came out feeling really good about it and what it meant to me.

5. A little star on my neck behind the lobe of my right ear. This little star is tiny enough that people rarely notice it (though it did catch my hairdresser off-guard and made her giggle with delight). I like it 'cause it's kind of in a sexy area--a place that can be licked and nibbled on, so only certain people have true access to it. This one I got at the beginning of January of this year. It was meant to be a symbol of renewal and starting a "new" life. I've always liked the idea of stars because they can be both alive and dead at the same time; they're sort of a symbol of immortality (or a sort of immortality that comes through living on in other people's memories)--the light we are seeing from some of them is light that may be hundreds of years old brought to us from a star that has long since dimmed. I went to get this one done with Eleven who wanted to get his (allegedly) final tattoo as well. The tattoo artist was a crab-ass (I would recommend that people steer clear of the oldest tattoo artist at G&G if you frequent that place) and the tatt only took a few seconds to complete, but it was a damn good experience as well.

THE END

Random Question of the Day:
I saw a license plate that read GOD L SDM on my way to work this morning. What the HELL could this possibly stand for?!?
(I'm thinking either God Loves SaDoMasochism, which WOULD be fairly accurate and insightful I suppose. Either that or God Loves Saddam.)
Waddaya think?

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