It's all about my COOL tattoo, baby"
I FINALLY did it!
Marks of the Spark, Frederick, MD, Mother's Day weekend, 2000
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It's all about my COOL tattoo, baby"I FINALLY did it! Marks of the Spark, Frederick, MD, Mother's Day weekend, 2000 |
I Chickened Out A Few Times!I have always wanted a tattoo. Ever since I can remember. I remember my mom saying she wanted a tattoo of a butterfly on her butt (she'll never get it). However, I soon found out that wanting a tattoo and actually getting one are two very different processes indeed. I admit I chickened out a couple of times. The first few times, it was a mental thing: it was just me deciding that I either really didn't want one, or I couldn't afford it, or it was Tuesday. You know, really compelling reasons like that! At this point, I didn't know anybody who actually had a tattoo. Then, I met a couple of people with tattoos. I was really interested and asked them all sorts of questions: who did the tattoo, how much did it hurt, how much did it cost. etc. To be honest, I didn't think the tattoos I looked at were very pretty. The color wasn't great and I thought the images were badly drawn. This was a real turn-off for me and I dropped the idea again. The last time I chickened out, I was actually in a tattoo parlor in Tallahassee, FL. I had sucked up my guts and said, "I'm gonna do it this time!" What I thought would happen was that I'd walk in, look through the images, and the perfect one would just jump out at me, and I'd get it right then and there. Well, none of these things happened. I looked at the images that were available and didn't see anything I liked. It was then that I realized that the image had to be PERFECT. It was doing to be on me forever, so I couldn't choose something that wasn't JUST THE THING. Then, I talked to a young girl (an employee) who had a life-sized poinsetta tattooed from her back around her side to her stomach. I guess she thought that showing me her tattoo would make me want one even more. It had the exact OPPOSITE effect. To me, her tattoo represented all the things I didn't want a tattoo to be: large, ugly. However, the colors were bright and it was well-drawn, so I guess that's why I didn't give up the idea entirely. Plus, there was the buzzing sound of the needles in the background. I just couldn't handle it. I left.
As I said earlier, the key to getting a tattoo (at least for me) was deciding on the perfect image. What do I think makes up the perfect image? Well, to me, it has to be deeply personal. It has to be unique to me and my personality. It has to remind me of something I'm proud of. It has to be something eternal, something that will never change. (You wouldn't want to get something permanently affixed to your body that will be meaningless in 5, 10, 20 years!) And it has to go in just the perfect spot on my body. Having come up with these guidelines, I spent a lot of time (over a year) deciding what my tattoo should be. I got stuck on a cat motif at first. Yes, I will always love cats, but that's not very unique. So, one day, I was reminded that my mommy always said that I walked to the beat of my own drum. THAT WAS IT! It fit all the criteria: it was deeply personal because it's how my mom percieves me, it reminds me of something I'm proud of, and it is eternal. Now, all I had to do was come up with the final design and choose a location on my body.
Well, I can't draw, so numerous attempts to freehand a drum failed miserably. So, I consulted my 65,000 image Clip Art book. I had about 100 drums to choose from. It never occurred to me that I'd have to choose which drum represented me best! Gosh, this just wasn't getting any easier. I decided on a snare drum because I imagined soldiers marching to it's beat. So, I found an image that was almost perfect. Almost. The colors were wrong and there were stars around the drumsticks. I didn't want that. OK, now another unexpected decidion -- the colors. Actually, this wasn't too difficult -- green and purple have always been my favorite colors. So that's what I went with.  Choosing a LocationTattoos are like real estate: LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION! I had to choose the perfect spot on my body for the tattoo. I considered all the usual suspects: my shoulder, my ankle, my arm. None of these were the perfect location. Then one day, after a shower, I saw the small round birthmark on my lower back in the bathroom mirror. THAT WAS THE PLACE! Once again, it was very personal and unique and meant a lot. I had always been sensitive about my birthmark, and had always kept it covered. Now, I could permanently cover it with the tattoo. Plus, the birthmark could be the coloring for the drum head. What could be more perfect????
Armed with the perfect design and having chosen the perfect location, I took the Clip Art book to the tattoo parlor with me to make an appointment. Before I made the appointment, I talked to Alfie, one of the owners and a tattoo artist. I wanted to run my ideas by somebody who knew about tattoos to confirm that what I wanted was actually do-able. I told Alfie about my idea and showed him the clip art I selected. We discussed my concerns and he said his wife, Margie, would work with the original picture of the drum, modify it according to my specifications, and come up with the final design. I made an appointment to get the tattoo and left. I didn't have one single thought to canel the tattoo appointment. To me, that really meant that I was FINALLY happy with every aspect of the decision! And I was! So, I went to the shop and met Margie. I arrived at the shop with a little bit of apprehension because I still hadn't seen the final design. As it turns out, I needn't have worried. The image Margie produced was exactly what I had in mind!
First, let me tell you about Margie, my tattoo artist. She was sooo cool! She was older and she has children close to my age. She had tattoos all up and down her arms. She is whip-smart and really funny. I'm one of those annoying people who have to know eveything about what's happening. Margie was very tolerant of me asking so many questions and answered all my questions without even a hint of frustration: What's that? Why do you do that? Is that sharp? Will it hurt? How much? Is that the green ink? Margie could see that I was nervous. She really knew how to make me feel at ease! She asked me all sorts of questions about my life and really got me engaged in conversation to take my mind off what was happening. When we weren't having a conversation, she was really careful to tell me when she was changing colors, or going to tattoo another location on my back. She also told me when she was going to tattoo near my spine which would hurt more than usual. On the rare oocasion when the conversation sort of stopped and I really felt the pain of the needle, I would kick my feet on the table. When I did that, Margie started talking again. I told Margie about my trip to St. Louis and the Weird Al concert we went to. It turns out that Margie is a Weird Al fan, too! That was sooo cool! We talked about Al's music and I told her all about the concert. She was really interested in what happened. She asked all kinds of questions about the concert. It was cool! I said to Margie that she was sooo cool that I bet her two daughters had to become Republicans or something to rebel against her. She laughed and said that yes, that's exactly what happened. One of her duaghters was a CPA and one was a corporate lawyer. I really hit the nail on the head! Getting the tattoo hurt less than I expected but more than I wanted it too. The whole process took about 2 1/2 hours. I had no idea it would take so long. Artie never mentioned how long it would take. Margie said that it would hurt more at first then my natural painkillers would kick in. She was right about that. What she didn't tell me was that they would wear off before she was done with the tattoo!
Let's just say that I got fed up with the whole process about 45 minutes before it ended. I tried not to wiggle around, but I bet I started to squirm. I was getting really impatient! Margie kept saying STAY STILL and IT'S ALMOST DONE and other lies that I didn't believe! Then, as if by magic, Margie lifted the needle off my back for the last time! I can't tell you the relief I felt! Then, my impatience completely left me and all I wanted to do was see the final product. Margie took her sweet time taking off her gloves and putting the needle away. I think she was just teasing me. I tried to see the tattoo in the mirror. Seeing it was sorta tough, it is on my back, you know! Finally, Margie held up a mirror to help me see the tattoo. I was so excited about it that I just started hopping up and down laughing. I still hadn't gotten a good look at it, but I made sure to bring my camera. Margie was kind enough to take a couple of really good photos.   In order to really see the tattoo for the first time, I went straight to Wal-Mart and put the film in to the 1-hour developing. I walked around Wal-Mart for an hour until the photos were ready. I couldn't believe it! That next Monday, I wore a business suit to work, but all I could think was I HAVE A TATTOO!! That was the best part! Everytime I talked to someone, all I could think was, "I'm not the straight-laced business professional you see before you. I HAVE A TATTOO!" I didn't keep it a total secret though. I did show my tattoo to a couple of really good friends at work. |