My friend B has invited me to a tattoo party.
You know, like Tupperware or home decor? Only it’s tattoos. It’s the guy who does all her ink coming to her house w/ his equipment and doing his thing all over the lovely ladies of Bumblefuck. Hrm. That sounds dirty.
I’ve never seriously thought about a tattoo. I like seeing other people’s tattoos and I’m not opposed to tattoos. I like hearing the stories behind the ink as much or more than the art itself.
Hawk is anti-tattoo. For him it’s a combination of using the body as canvas and health concerns stemming from tattoos and piercings. But my body is mine and if I wanted a tattoo, he’d probably just shrug and say “whatever.” If only I wanted one.
Thing is, I like changing things. For example, I chose this blog template b/c I can change the top photo almost instantly. I like changing around the look of my website. I treat clothing like costumes and makeup as a way to look different every time I go out. Halloween is my favorite holiday mostly b/c you can change things up.
The Halloween right before Zoe’s conception, I was a punk rock babe (for candy-handing purposes). I got a bunch of temporary black tattoos and I couldn’t wait to get them off after a day or two. This tells me if I ever did get a tattoo, it would have to be someplace where I couldn’t see it all the time.
My friend D has her belly button pierced. Kind of a reward for having a naturally flat tummy after two pregnancies. I cannot make the same claim. I used to have a fairly flat tummy but after my second pregnancy, my baby belly hasn’t gone away. I have a theory that its partly b/c the OB who delivered Holden didn’t do anything about the fibroids (the one who delivered Zoe removed the ones I grew during that gestation and I had a flatter postpartum belly), which could still be in there.
So anyway, D & I were talking about piercings and tattoos and I told her about my lap choli scar. She said I should get a tattoo over it. So I had a little book of fake tattoos (left from that Halloween) but these were colorful Celtic dragons & such. So I put one on there and by the second day, I hated it. I hated catching this glimpse of color every time I used the potty or changed my clothes. I thought that maybe if I couldn’t see it, it couldn’t bug me. But what’s the point of it if I can’t see it? So it’s strange.
D also suggested I pierce my belly button b/c (as you can see if you click that link) it was apparently made for piercing. D loves hers. She says that low-rise jeans keep it from getting bumped around too much but if she wants to wear higher-waisted pants, she just changes what she’s got in.
Hawk is even more anti-piercing than he is anti-tattoo. At B’s on Saturday when we were discussing these things, he piped up to say, “Do you know how many of those things I’ve had to clean up and repair on people?”
To which B, who is a medical professional as well, said, “That’s because people are stupid. They didn’t take care of it.”
So I thought I’d put Hawk on the spot and I said, “Are you suggesting I’m stupid?” You know, one of those “you can’t win” wife/husband exchanges.
He said he wasn’t blah blah blah. But I could see this terror in his eyes, like, “My wife is coming home with something pierced and something inked. Aaargh!”
At that point, S said if I get a tramp stamp, it should be a goalpost. I said, “Or a soccer net, kind of stretched across the whole thing.” He said, “Yeah!”
I think if I ever did get a tattoo, that would be the spot. But it’s so cliche and you know I don’t like to do what the other kids are doing.
But a piercing… a piercing is something else. A piercing can be removed if you get tired of it. A piercing can be changed. Want a diamond? Want a turquoise? Want a gold loop? Want something all dingly-dangly? That’s a definite possibility. Plus I wouldn’t have to decide what I wanted. One image that would sum me up for all eternity. I used to say an arrow (being a Sagittarius and an FSU alumna, it fits) but now I’m wondering if some kind of entwined Z&H would be cool. But then does that mean I define myself through my children? Oh, the pressure!
This party isn’t until July and by then, I could have the dough to start selling sex toys. B already said she would definitely have a party. If we could only get the house in Erie sold, I could be selling waterproof jackrabbit vibrators all over the Greater Bumblefuck area, pierced baybo and all.
So what’s going on in middle America? This.
14 Comments
May 5, 2008 at 7:28 pm
I had my bellybutton pierced for ten years before I took it out on a drunk whim last summer. I don’t miss it, but I did like it a lot when I had it. It never, ever got infected, and I’m not especially hygienic, either. I took meticulous care of it for the first six months but after that I just washed it the same way I’d done so before I poked a hole in it - as an afterthought, mostly.
I do want a tattoo though. A big colorful one.
May 5, 2008 at 8:54 pm
I had my belly button done when I was 18 as a graduation celebration. I had to take it out when I was 8 months pregnant with A. I was stretching painfully, even with the temporary piece.
Then I got my tongue done but only had that for about a year before it really started to bug me. It got infected a few times and that is a real bitch when you are trying to eat.
I had my tattoo done by a friend’s husband at their house when I was 19. I still love it and am glad that I have it. But I have never wanted a second.
Last year, I had my nose pierced for my 28th. I love it so much. Occasionally, it starts to get irritated, but after a few cleanings it clears right up.
I just always make sure I go to a very reputable place to get these things done.
I think whether it gets infected has less to do with hygiene (assuming you at least care for it the first couple months) and more to do with your own body’s defense level. Some people can take meticulous care of their piercing and still their body will fight that foreign object. (John had that problem with his nipple ring, and eventually just got rid of it.) Others can do the bare minimum (or less) and never have problems. And if gets infected, you just take it out and it heals and life goes on.
May 6, 2008 at 12:51 am
I’m proudly pierced and inked. But I knew what I wanted and that I’d want it on my body forever…well, with the tats anyway.
My piercings? Have come and gone over the years.
May 6, 2008 at 12:54 am
@radical mama - you can “over” care for your piercings, too. If you don’t use the right stuff to clean your piercings or if you clean them too often, your body’s ability to heal the “open” wound is reduced, and you wind up with an infection.
Why do I know crap like this? :headdesk:
May 6, 2008 at 5:12 am
I’m way too much of a geek and a hypochondriac to get pierced or tatted. Also, I’m uncool in an uncool (read: not cool) way.
BUT, I think you’re cool and that whatever you decide, it will also be cool (note that “cool” is a word uncool people use).
I’m babbling now, but what I want to say is that a tattoo of a mermaid with an anchor in one hand and a (waterproof) jackrabbit vibrator in the other would be cool.
Also, she could have a real nipple ring.
May 6, 2008 at 8:44 am
That makes sense. I always just follow the instructions that they gave me. At least for the first week or so, then I start getting lazy.
My nose ring never gets cleaned now. I don’t use beauty products or wear makeup and so I don’t do more than rinse my face with water when I am in the shower and it rarely starts to gets infected. When it does, a 1-2 applications of ear piercing cleaner clears it right up.
May 6, 2008 at 9:30 am
I want a tattoo. I want to get a bumblebee with my girls initials intertwined into it.
The bumble bee should not be able to fly, by medical standards I should not have been able to get pregnant, let alone stay pregnant with either of my girls.
I also want a nose ring. If I ever get skinny maybe even a belly button ring.
May 6, 2008 at 11:31 am
LOL @ the mermaid w/ a vibrator.
And don’t wait for “skinny” to ornament your body. However it is, it’s beautiful as it is and deserves to be shown off
May 6, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Hubby got his tattoo done at a tattoo party. Guy used brand new supplies for everybody and hubby is really happy with his ink.
May 6, 2008 at 1:43 pm
I’ve no tattoos and my only piercings are in my earlobes (two on one and one on the other), and I don’t have any real burning desire to have anything else pierced.
As for the tattoos, I’ve thought about it, but I have the commitment problem. I’ve yet to think of anything that I would like to have tattooed on my body for the rest of my life. I get tired of the artwork displayed around my house and have to change it every so often…I can’t imagine not getting tired of the artwork on my body.
I have done the temporary tattoos on occasion. Especially these, which can be a hell of a lot of fun. * wink wink nudge nudge *
May 6, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Ooh Emma those are nifty. I’m going to browse now…
May 7, 2008 at 12:47 am
[...] happening in the photo below is this: He obviously read yesterday’s entry and made sure that these pics would come out today so that I would know that he knows I wrote about [...]
May 7, 2008 at 2:27 am
I’ve done both, and my body took much better to the tattoos than the piercings. I actually rejected the piercings - my body started growing over them or pushing them out, which was interesting. What I love about my tattoos is they’re meaningful and discreet, so I can hide them if need be.
May 10, 2008 at 3:44 pm
I also heal tattoos better than piercings. My nose did heal OK, though, and it is absolutely my favorite thing about my “look.” I adore my nosering.
And tattoos, just don’t get me started. If money were no object I’d be covered. Covered! At least I’d have two small sleeves and a full awesome back piece.
I started with the tramp stamp (maybe juuuust before it became so ubiquitous? Or not…) and it’s my favorite. I love catching glimpses of them in the mirror. It makes me feel massively sexy:)
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