pixilated101

Update time:

I'm not going to post a pic of my new tattoo for the 3rd journal in a row although I am super proud of it I'm not going to beat you over the head with it...

That being said...this entry is about my tattoo...shortly after getting it I sent out e-mails to a large group of friends and family that had not seen the tattoo in person...and I have received some responses...what's it mean, and the like...but I also received a reply from a good friend of 12 years...and I will cut and past the reply here:


Why are you doing this to yourself? You're beautiful the way you are.

So I see this as a golden opportunity for a fun-filled debate...I read the e-mail early Sunday morning and just a few hours later I was on the phone...

one of the first things I told her was that the fact that she had to ask meant that me trying to explain it to her would be similar to explaining to a blind person what colour was...I can give you come common(common to anything you do not common for tattoos) reasons...I like they way they look, I enjoy being tattooed, why not...and so forth...so I tried to explain so of my personal reasons for having tattoos

(one of the main reasons I called was to help me get my reasons out...words help to define ideas...you can think something all your life and if you never have to put it into words...you may never truly understand your own ideas...is this statement in the ()'s overly complicated?....do you know what I mean?..)

Anyway back to the story...some of my reasons for getting tattoos:

1. with tattoos is how I see myself...my mental image of me has tattoos...not specific tattoos...but tattoos in that fuzzy way mental images are(this is the first thing I told her)

2. I feel that they are an improvement to myself...much like art on your living room wall...some people may like plain walls, but not me...to each his own I say.

3. to me tattoos(primarily large area coverage ones) are a marking to other people with tattoos(much like a team hat or T-shirt..."oh you're a Lakers fan too")...we don't all have the same reasons for getting the tattoos, but we share a connection.(I did not tell her this...I thought of this later)

4. I like the pain( I also did not tell her this, but it was just that I did not have time to explain...we have a good amount of history as friends and she knows of my past "self punishments" so every time this subject comes up, so do lots of questions...and I can never seem to explain it to her)

5. I think they have artistic value( I had a conversation at work yesterday with a guy and he said that tattoos are one of the most underrated forms of art out there...he has not tattoos and no plans to ever get tattoos, but he enjoys them on others)

6. there are other specific reason for each tattoo that I have that I did not get into with her and will not get into here(not because they are too personal, but the time factor)

As you can image...this conversation went into many different areas:

1. She told me about this one guy that she knew that come over to a party wearing "thug" clothing(thug is not the word she used I can't recall how she described it, but I think "thug" gets my point across)...she said he was a 36 year old black man with a good military career and why would he want to dress like a kid...she wanted him to wear more "respectable" clothing...so I asked her what is "respectable" clothing...I asked her if she knew the guy and was he a good person(treats people with respect, etc I guess good person is an opinion call to some degree) and she said yes...then I said what difference does the outside make if they are a good person...this area of discussion got some major play and tattoos came up with regard to appearance...

2. We talked about the fact that she just does not get(understand) tattoos...and I said you may never...I don't get why my little brother is so into anime, but he does not have or want tattoos for himself, but we just chalk that up to "different strokes"

3. She thinks I'm going through a phase...I tried to explain to her that I have some mad conflicted interests...I'm not so much into the punk/goth scene, but I find people that are fascinating, I love being around people with tattoos and piercing, I'm into techno music(not really a raver just like the music), I am a super nerd(when I got out of the Navy I wanted to go back to college to get my degree in Physics and teach...but I just could not bring myself to undergo the financial hard ships that would bring on...maybe one day), I read a shit load of sci-fi, I'm into working out somewhat, I love classical music(I went to a concert for the Maryland Symphony Orchestra and want to go to more), I dress differently depending on how I feel(I like wearing a shirt and tie for no reason...but sometimes it is sweats and T-shirt day),I drink wine and play chess(not for some time) and think this would be a cool crowd to hang with...get my point...I also pointed out that I was 31 years old...not really the time in most peoples lives when the go through phases...

4. we talked about the whole getting a tattoo when you are young...I am totally against kids(under like say 22) getting some super huge or supper visible tattoo...not because I'm against tattoos, but because I know how the world works and someone that young may not fully understand how the world works(right or wrong(I say wrong) the world judges you on how you look and tattoos(other than small "typical" guy/girly ones) are looked down upon)

5. During the conversation she made a statement she did not fully think through which I immediately jumped on...she said why can't "they" (we know who they is right? that is you mister tattooed, hip-hop baggy pants wearing, hippie, etc...people not the norm) just have normal jobs...if everybody had normal jobs we would have no Art, Music, TV, Movies...and so on and so forth...

6. at the end of the conversation she said that I had given her some things to think about...I'm very open minded and as long as what you does not infringe on others rights ... I say go for it ... I have no desire to convert her completely to my way of thinking...if she hates tattoos I have no problem with that...all I ask is that you accept that I have them...if she chose not to be my friend because of my tattoos then I would be cool with that...it would be her choice and it does not infringe on my rights...she would never do this, because we are good friends...I totally respect her, but just disagree with some of the things she thinks...

7. having friends with different view points than you makes life more fun...we talked for about an hour and a half and it was one of the best conversations I have had in a while...neither of us got mad or raised our voices...it was great...

8. Having friends with similar ideals also makes life fun...you have someone who understands what you are saying even though all the words are not out there in the open...you can say "know what I mean" and they say "yes" and they do know what you mean...I look forward to talking in more detail with RattFinkPink about this matter and about my conversation with my conservative friend...

this is your warning Ratty....

Holy shit...if you guys read all this you are the shit...this is like my longest entry ever...obviously the subject matter is near to me...

P.S. - this is me talking out of my ass with no editing...at some point I would like to restruture this entry into a paper on the subject matter...but I'm a lazy bitch so it may never happen...