Bringing Back "Brought Me Joy"

Now that I'm relaxing a bit, and able to realize and appreciate things around me more, I hope to have more time to share those things that are bringing me joy, such as:

Best Ink - a reality show competition in the vein of Shear Genius (hair cutting/styling competition I also loved), but with TATTOOS! I stumbled on to it on HULU and I'm hooked. Almost makes me want to start adding to my back piece...And then I remember how much it HURT, and how much it COST, and I am just happy to watch :)

 

The much less painful route...

Al brought these to my attention, but so far I've resisted their immense pull. From the etsy shop "Tattoo Socks" they're screen printed stockings with fun graphic designs. I'm pretty tough on nylons, so the chances of me spending $18 are slim, but I definitely love the look. They have a variety of designs (and also knee and thigh highs) including an octopus, peacock feather, and a lot of cool swirls. J'adore!

Happy Birthday (not so) Little Mermaid

I still haven't named her. She still feels new. But it was one year ago today that I first woke up with a face on my back:



Session one was just her outline from the waist up, and the beginning of the black and brown shading in the hair. The first session was actually tolerable, if only in retrospect. While the black outlining was ridiculously painful, it was nothing compared to all of the tail work that came later, since that sucker wraps itself up and down my spine like an "S." NOT RECOMMENDED!

I should have worn a halter top in honor, but even our "heat wave" (it's 39 degrees today) doesn't really permit that, so I'll give this little cyber salute instead.

And Mom, since I know you still cringe every time you see this - look on the bright side: it makes my body that much more identifiable if I get murdered, or lost at sea, or stricken with amnesia. That's got to be helpful, right? :) I also think the med students who end up with me (assuming I donate my body to science) are going to be amused. Especially if I'm 95 years old and they have to decipher what it is.

My not-so-little mermaid

I've had a completely crap day (week) comprised of unlucky breaks and compounded by lousy customer service, so in an attempt to cheer myself up before I dream of murder and mayhem, I'm posting this picture - this, ladies and gentlemen, is my back.

She may look familiar as she is based on the painting in my header by Pixie's Whimsy, and she was done in about 10 hours (3 separate sessions) by Megan Hoogland at Steady Tattoo. Clearly we changed and adapted a few things, i.e. I dislike extraneous fins on my mermaids, and I wanted the tail to be much more prominent, and I think the end product is pretty impressive. Megan was excellent, had great ideas when I was at a loss, and was FAST, which I put right up near sainthood after this experience. I would highly recommend her if you are crazy enough to follow this path (Q: did it hurt? A: why yes, I'd say it was pretty darned near unbearable, especially the last session where she colored in all that lovely tail curling down my SPINE). Megan currently splits her time between Steady (on the U of MN Campus) and Cactus (in Mankato) and she seems to do a ton of shows and conventions all over the world too. If you google her, you'll find her in the leagues of Kim Saigh and Hannah Atchinson (formerly of LA Ink!), and she seems pretty universally regarded.

Looking at it makes me feel pretty darned tough, and puts all the other pain and upset in my life in perspective - once you've endured this, you can take about anything the world throws at you :)