Tattoing

After music practice today, I was about to start my research project (the second out of three) when my friend Mandi called and told me that she was getting a tattoo. She asked me to go with her (for emotional support) and, being the doormat I am, I said yes. We drove to Anderson and she got a tattoo at a place called the Painted Pony.

The inside of the tattoo parlor was actually very bright (they had fluorescent lights hung everywhere). It was stereotypical, but I had always thought tattoo parlors were dimly lit and full of haze. The people were friendly and polite too. And tattooed, of course. Something I've always noticed about people in their professions--they always are the prime example of their craft. Hairstylists always have the most modern, highlighted hair. Tattoo artists are usually tattooed just about everywhere. Well, except the female tattoo artists I saw today. There were two and only one woman had a tattoo. The man who drew Mandi's tattoo, Greg, had tattoos from his neck down to his arms. I wouldn't be surprised if he had full-bodied tattoos. Like I told Mandi later, I have high respect for anyone who has a full body tattoo. That MUST hurt. Greg even told us that tattoos on the side of your body or on your stomach would really, really hurt. "It depends on how bad you want it," he warned.

As for Mandi's tattoo, she got the number 11 with all these swirls and twists around it. I thought it looked cool. Eleven is her lucky number, she told me, and it also connected her to her father. They used to be close when she was younger but not so much anymore. "This is tribute to him," she said proudly.

Mandi also played with the idea of getting a fairy tattoo as a tribute to her mom. She tried to persuade me to get a tattoo but I brushed it off. "I'm kind of against the idea of having permanent markings on my body. I'm pain-aversive too," I told her. That's why I was fairly impressed by the pain she endured for her tattoo--I saw blood coming out of the needle as Greg was grafting it onto her skin.

More pain than I can handle, my friend. At least...more pain than I'm willing to handle. To all those people who bear tattooing...I tip my hat to you.