my new tattoo

take a look at my new tattoo. i think he's awesome. this picture was taken minutes after i got it. this peacock is called a "cailech" peacock. it's celtic but to me looks a little like a rooster. but it's not. notice the weaving of the tail. you'll notice that the greens and yellow look a little muddy but that's because there is blood underneath the skin. it will take several days for that to go away but then the color will pop out. it might not look big but in reality it's a big piece for me. the stencil was about 4"x6" but gets bigger when i stretch out my back.

brad's sister anna came down this weekend and brought her tatto equipment with her. months ago i had mentioned that i wanted another tattoo. and i finally decided on this one. after coloring in the picture hundreds of different ways, brad, anna and i came up with this coloring. and i am very pleased by the look. it reminds me of a rainbow.

so on thursday night i went over to brads. brad was gone golfing and it was only anna and i. i'm glad that this experience started with only her and i. i was nervous and scared. nervous because it was permanent and scared because i knew it was going to hurt and i didn't know if i would be able to stand the pain.

so we start. the black lines come first. and the pain started. for those who have never received a tattoo, to me it feels like someone is dragging a needle deep into your skin. and that is what is happening. 5 needles are used to draw the black lines, which hurts more than the shading that uses 15 needles. it's important to stay very still for the black lines, which anna said i did very well. but for those who know me i am very figgetty and can't stay still for very long. the outline took an hour to do. by that time my endorphins had kicked in but didn't take away the pain. after the black lines came the shading. anna used 12 colors in this tattoo, which i understand to be alot of color. the shading took about 2 1/2 hours to complete. after about 3 hours your body has stopped producing endorphins and for me that last 1/2 hour felt like it was never going to end. but it did end. and i am very pleased with it. now comes the healing. and right now it feels like someone has burned my back. but i know that will go away soon and i will be left with a piece of art that will always be with me to the day i die.

this tattoo marks my 40 years of living. it was painful but life can be painful. no pain no gain-right? there are also a lot of symbolisms with the peacock but too many to mention here. my other tattoo is of a peacock feather that i got in my 30's. i find peacocks to be beautiful and after years of reading about them i have found that almost every culture has a legend or reverence of peacocks. i find my self fortunate to have had anna do my tattoo. i love her a lot and find her very talented. she was patient with me and allowed me to be myself during the process. something that a person at a tattoo parlor would have never allowed. and in turn the pain became more tolerable.

so after 3 1/2 hours of pain and probably days of discomfort the question arises, "will i get another one?" you bet your ass i will.

old friends, good times

 

on saturday i went over the "the badgers" house.  he was having a get together for a mutual friend of ours who lives in alaska.  tim and his wife kathy come into town every couple of years or so and it's great to get to see them when they do.  the night started out a little low key until tim's tullahoma "boys" showed up with the "dickel".  i haven't seen the tullahoma "boys" in many years and it was good to see them also.  rehashing old times, tim playing "the beatles" songs and us trying to remember the words.  some things never change.  what has changed was tim's ablility as a musician.

 

i became friends with tim back in my early years of college.  and even though almost 2 decades have passed since the first meeting, there are parts of tim that haven't changed.  i can't quite describe what those parts might be, but they are still there and i love him just the same for it.  i remember many years of hangin out at tim's house with whoever he was living with at the time.  i know now that some of us intruded upon them constantly but i look back at those years as good memories and i wouldn't trade those times for nothing.  i don't know if i have said this before but along life's path we met people who make impacts upon us.  some come in our lives and then quickly fade away, some come in and never leave.  i've been fortunate to have friends that have never left.  i may not see them as much as others but the connection is there and it doesn't take long to take up right where we left off. 

 

and i like kathy (tim's wife) also.  she is a bunch of fun.  she's funny and cute and they match as a couple.  and she does seem to be the grounded one, but the women usually are. 

 

they both mentioned that they sometimes read my blog.  so i would like to say again that it was great seeing them and i wish i could see them more.  maybe one day i'll take my lazy butt up to alaska for a vacation.  i love ya both.