New tattoo!

Completed!

It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would, which is nice.

But it definitely huuurrtt.

Luckily I had a couple of really awesome friends there who made it a lot more bearable.

Also, Ice cream afterwards didn't hurt anyone XD

So, I made an FB album of the process.

Here ya go!

For the curious few:

When I say it hurt, imagine a bunch of tiny rubberbands slapping you. Many, many times.

You know how it burns and stings more as you progress? Yeah.

And the closer to the tender part of my chest (the bottom of the last hirigana and the closing quotation (looks like a bracket) mark felt like a legitimate burn.

My tip? Talking helped me. I talked quickly and without breathing (XD) about fish and colorful things and stupid professors and anything my Roommate, friend and I could think of. Eventually all we were saying is "ICE CREAM SOON." "It's almost done!" "Omigod really?"

It helped distract me from the pain.

Also, I squeezed the crap out of my roomie's hand. (Thanks, Ange!) :D

Tattoo Blog

A few years ago (maybe 4?) I decided that I wanted a tattoo.

I had an idea of what I wanted (ganbatte or ganbare in hiragana), but I had no idea when I would get it, how I wanted it to look or where I would want it.

Last year I began thinking about getting it on my wrist...it'd be visible, and easy to hide under long-sleeved things or thick wristbands.

I decided that's tacky a year later.

Having finally turned 18, I've decided it's high time I get this tattoo I've wanted since...freshman year in high school.

SO, come August, I began my more intense research.

I looked up how-tos on aftercare, I watched videos, I searched and asked questions on tattooing forums, I asked tattoo'd friends questions about the process, the aftermath and how they feel about their tattoos. I set a place I want the tattoo. I designed my tatttoo. I looked up portfolios of local artists, I asked more friends about said artists. I visited parlours; I scheduled a meeting with the artist I wanted. I looked at pictures of nasty, nasty infections. I looked at pictures of old people with tattoos. I looked up screwed up tattoos. I looked up femme tattoos; I looked up step-by-step guides for the process and aftercare. I looked up accounts from other first-time tattooers.

So. Every day I'm going to post about the process and what's happening to me/my tattoo.

Day one: 7 hours until tattoo.