I like ink

Breaking news for those who have either never met me or didn't pick up on my oh-so-subtle clues in other blog entries: I AM AN INK JUNKIE.

I love tattoos. I love having tattoos, I love getting tattoos, I love seeing other people's tattoos. When my friends get tattoos, I react in the way most people reserve for the birth of kids. "Oh my GOD can I SEE IT? I LOVE IT! When did you GET it? Do you love it? You are AWESOME! Let's have a PARTY!"

I don't really have the cojones or personality to be one of those amazing ladies who cover themselves with fabulous tatts, all of mine are easily concealable and I have no desire to get any that wouldn't fit that criteria. I love people who are brave enough to go all out, but I'm just not one of them. I also try to pick spots that are (relatively) resistant to dramatic change, my abs are awesome right now but time has a way of stretching/flubbering/sagging that particular area and I personally am turned off by that possibility. Back/ribs/legs/wrists are more my style.

That having been said, I think one of the most ridiculous things people can say about tattoos is, "they'll look so ridiculous when you're old." Newsflash: you are not going to be a supermodel when you're 70. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but when we're old we are going to LOOK old. It's not like the non-tattooed folk will be running around looking like spry 19 year old bikini models while the inked crowd will be wrinkled and gnarly and covered in horrible amorphous blobs. Ever seen old marines? Their anchor tatts still look righteous and hardcore, so those nay-sayers can go suck an egg. (The same egg? One egg per nay-sayer? I don't care.)

I think the permanency of tattoos is the biggest draw. It's something that you can decide to do to your body that will be there forever, it's a constant reminder of certain times and feelings in your life that can't (easily) be erased. I think there's something beautiful about that. People talk about regretting tattoos as your personality changes, but I just don't see the need for regret. Even if you look back at your tattoo 20 years later and think the design or sentiment is a little silly it still represents a part of you that was very real. We are all products of our collective experiences, and to me a tattoo is just a visual representation of that fact; no more ridiculous than the scars and laugh lines that follow us into old age.

I went to see my man Jon Reed at True Blue Tattoo here in Austin last night to get my last tattoo for a while. I'm about to go on some medication that makes your skin go funny for quite a long time, so Anu decided that for my birthday he'd get me one last hurrah. I now present to you what will possibly be the last tattoo of my 20's:

Why an elephant? Because Elephants never forget, and this little fellow on my leg is there to remind me that I love, that I am loved, and that even though people may leave your life (through death, distance, what have you) love marks us forever. I've lost a lot of people in the past few years, and waking up to this happy little guy every morning helps me focus on what their presence in my life did for me instead of the pain left by their passing. Is that corny? Yeah, probably. But I don't corn-up that often, so I think you'll be alright. ^_^


Love and Kisses,
Dana