Tattoo Bliss



This is my second tattoo. People say that once you get your first tattoo, you get addicted and want more and more. This is not the case with me. I have always wanted more than one, and I think this time in my life is where my tattoo getting shall begin. My rationale is that I am old enough now where I know the difference between whim and serious desire. I also know the ramifications of permanent alteration to the body. Further, my skin has been damaged by life: precancerous moles removed, leaving scars, sun damage, pock marks from acne, wrinkles, stretch marks from long-disappeared muscles, and just plain old age-wrinkled skin. Why not choose my damage? And what of how I will look when I am 80? Won't my tattoos look stupid when I am 80? Well, assuming I even live that long, and it ain't looking so good from the looks at my genetic inheritance, IF I make it to 80, my skin will be so fucked up that a tattoo will only blend in to the fucked-upedness, and it will probably make me look BETTER than I otherwise would because it will hide a lot of the shitty old-people skin I will have at that point, assuming I even have skin at that age.
Obviously, I don't want to get a tattoo in a place where it can be seen during my day as a teacher and administrator at the college level. Thus, I will get tattoos on places where I can cover them with the normal clothes I wear at work. --That is, until I hit retirement age, at which point, I will not give a flying fuck, and I will get a tattoo wherever the hell I want one!
I got the first one on my right leg, the Ogham one (see previous post). My second tattoo is what I consider my first REAL tattoo because it was a lot more involved, detailed, intricate, and in color. The first one was an introductory tattoo. This one is serious fucking business!
I got a celtic cross. I was baptised a Catholic and raised a Jehovah's Witness, so the Christian icon is something that I find powerful for me, even if I am an agnostic. Also, it is a CELTIC cross, which reflects my Irish heritage. Plus, the Celtic cross just looks cool. I've had one at my house for years! Then, I included icons from five of my family crests. There are three from my Dad's side and two from my mom's side. I have Jones, Mattatall, Buckley, Egan, and Lockhart. These were combined with the cross in an artistic way, and the artist did a superb job of making it all blend seamlessly!
Libby, at Conspiracy Ink, was the artist who did the work, and it is a true work of art, not just a simple tattoo! It took her six hours to draw it and six hours to put it on me. I stayed as still as possible because it was painful and my leg sometimes twitched involuntarily. I didn't make a peep. Pain is something you must accept sometimes, and so I did. It was not anywhere near the worst pain I have ever felt, but it was a tiring experience enduring a needle poking you thousands of times for hours on end.
But I would do it all again in a heartbeat!
Which is my plan.
I've got ideas for future tattoos that will cover up the scars I have from past operations to remove precancerous moles on my skin. I'll probably get one a year for the next few years. We will have to wait and see how it goes.
I highly recommend getting a tattoo, but I caution you to choose carefully and wisely!

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