Monday, January 31, 2011

Tattoo you... or rather, me

I have been thinking for the past week or so that I neglected to share my news here on my blog! I got... a new tattoo!  Yes, yes, I can tell you are all soooo super excited, right? LOL Well, this post is mostly for those not on Facebook (well, it's really for some friends who read another blog I have and when I link this post over to them, then they can see the new tattoo... confused yet? Yeah, me too...) because the good Lord knows I was micro-blogging about the whole thing on FB when I got it done a week ago Saturday. Complete with pictures of the tatt in progress!  And a friend asking me if my arm/shoulder was my boob. Sheesh.  Although, for informational purposes, I did learn that they call those "tit tatts". I swear I laughed myself silly over that one.  I'm so easy. But I'm not cheap, no matter what rumors you've heard!

This was tattoo #4 and I already have an idea of what #5  will be. I never would have thought of myself as a multi-tattoo person, but it appears that I am.  And I never would have thought I'd get a tattoo on my arm, but it appears that I did.  That's just how I roll.  And how my mother, God rest her soul, rolls repeatedly in her grave every time they ink me up.

Fortunately, I had a partner in crime in my friend Susan, who was also getting her fourth tattoo. I think it was her fourth.  Might have been fifth cause she's a wild woman like that. We set off on Saturday afternoon too check out a local tattoo shop that had been recommended to me by the owner's mother.  We liked what we saw, they gave Susan a good price on the tattoo design she came in with - yours truly just picked somewhat at random cause I'm crazy like that  - and we were off and running.  And afraid we'd be screaming because as I recall, my 3rd tattoo hurt like Hades.  I was expecting a lot of pain this time around and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't that painful. Plus, being on my arm, I could watch the process which was cool too.

So here you have a little tattoo pictorial, save for the one on my ankle of a pig because it seems that I do not have a photo of that tattoo.  We'll save that excitement for another day.

Tattoo #1, chosen at random in a tattoo parlor in NC.  I went in with a vague idea of what I wanted and found this dragonfly instead.  This is on my right shoulder.

Tattoo #3, on my lower, left hip. This was taken about a day after I got it and it's faded a bit since then. Hurt like Hades too when they were doing it, so I'm not sure I am brave enough to ever get it touched up!  I might cry like a girl. Which is ok I guess since I am a girl.

And my new baby. Which is, oddly, basically what I thought I would get back when I got my first one. Not this exactly, but I had thought about a crescent moon and a star. And no, it's not the Turkish flag, as I have been asked. But it is similar.  Not my intent though.


Well there you have it. A little tattoo tour if you will.  As I said earlier, I have an idea of what I want for #5, but I'm not sure of location. I don't think I want to have tattoos on both of my arms and the ankle hurt like the dickens, so anything on bone is out.  Plus I don't think I want to have both shoulders tattooed, but we'll play it by ear. I think it'll be a while before I get another one.  If I don't wait a while I'll end up covered in the things because they really are addictive. 

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

"I don't have issues...I have a full subscription." ~ Jack the Plumber

A wise plumber I once knew (ok, I don't know him, but I was hovering while he was working on my leaking shower faucet) said, "I don't have issues...I have a full subscription." Oh, so true, so true of us all.

The pastor at my church said something recently in our weekly newsletter that really spoke to me. So much so that I wrote it down and carried it around with me for a while so I could refer to it and now it’s posted over my computer at work and I read it several times a day.

“The human heart is able to twist and turn logic and agreements, to find loopholes and justifications. We can listen, agree, and then convince ourselves we are exceptions to the rules. That’s why Jesus told us our hearts are corrupt and more deceitful than anything else.” ~ Clay Smith

I think it spoke to me because I’ve been fighting with some issues, some temptations, for a while now.

Temptation
1. the act of tempting; enticement or allurement
2. something that tempts, entices, or allures
3. the fact or state of being tempted, esp. to evil.

It’s come down to two major things that plague me pretty much daily and sometimes it can be amazingly frustrating. Especially when those temptations drive me to distraction. Or rather, to seek out distractions, which then snowballs into me not paying attention to what I’m doing whether I am at the office or working on a project around the house or whatever.

I was pondering those two particular pains in my ass today and started wondering which one of them makes me feel worse for doing it? I’ve been thinking about that off and on for hours now and still haven’t come up with a clear cut answer. It may depend on the day or the hour. Or the consequences. Ok. That’s a lie. Of the two specific things of which I speak (indirectly I suppose since I’m not willing to identify them publicly), there is one that makes me feel worse than the other for giving in to it.

Then I began wondering, which temptation makes me feel better for conquering it? Oddly enough, it’s a total flip flop between the two major warring factions. The thing I feel least amount of guilt about doing is the thing that I feel the greatest satisfaction from managing not to do. Yeah, I know. I don’t understand that last sentence either and I wrote it. And read it over five times.

Suffice it to say that I gave in to one temptation today and once the deed was done, I realized I felt no joy in it. No passion. No thrill. Merely dull resignation. Or perhaps it’s finally an enlightening moment realizing that often the things we think we want or need are, in fact, the last thing that will bring us pleasure.

I was listening to a book on CD this morning as I drove to work and a quote stuck out (I am paraphrasing) – Be the master of your pleasures as well as your restraint.  That really spoke to me.  While the quote was about food and making right choices, it resonates beyond that I think.  Be the master of your pleasures as well as your restraint. That’s big.

Guilty pleasure – (per Wikipedia) –
A guilty pleasure is something one enjoys and considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it.

Perhaps I should redefine some of my temptations as more guilty pleasures if I find enjoyment in them, in spite of the guilt. But can I master both my pleasure and my restraint? Ah, there’s the rub.