I can tell ya'll right now that this is going to be a challenge. See the tattoo is about to start peeling. How can I tell? WEll ladies and gentlemen, I can tell because IT IS ITCHING SO BAD. I can feel it with every movement. I feel my skin screaming to be scratched and relieved. Sweet jesus it sucks so bad. For a little while I was fine and I thought maybe it would be like Skull when he peeled but this is so much more difficult because its on the front of my arm. It more open and I know hiding the itch is going to be a challenge. 

I can tell you that I hope I can control myself in my sleep because I know at least once I scratched No Fear when I was half awake. Instantly I knew I did it and it hurt so bad. It feels like sandpaper going up your skin. Its literally digging and it hurts. Once it settles it feels like its burning a little. Then you put lotion on and its ok for a while. 

Luckily it will last only a week and then it will stop. Maybe even sooner. Secretly I hope it does stop itching sooner because I really hate this part of a new tattoo. The only way I have found that stops the itch is to squeeze the area really hard or rub around the area. Those two things work out pretty well and it prevents me from hurting or damaging the tattoo. It also is nice because I prevent possible infection. Now that would be a **** storm. 

I can't wait for this piece to heal and be all done. I now its going to be a masterpiece that will live for my entire lifetime. 

Heres to more ink. 

The newest tattoo gave me a scare the other day. Like a really big scare but, first let me explain the situation. 

So as planned I went into my next tattoo appointment to get the next addition to my half sleeve done. From the start of the session it became obvious that we were doing this in about four different sessions. So far I have had two done so that means there is about two more to go. For me that is totally ok since it 1: helps my wallet out and 2: lessens the amount of pain I will be in at one given time. So throughout the session my artist and I are chatting about what has been going on throughout the day, the movie that’s playing, the other artists and their quirks, and of course business. For the entire session we had an on and off chat and I got to watch him as he worked. All my other tattoos have been in places where I can't exactly watch an artist do the actual tattooing so It has been a nice change of pace to watch someone who loves their job do their actual job. I think it also helped my artist and I build a better connection. 

The session went really well and as usual I left with my arm bandaged, went to the bar, had some food and a drink with my father and then after an hour I proceeded to go home. Throughout the night I went on my usual routine. I washed the tattoo, put some lotion on it, stared at it and looked at it in close proximity. I wanted to engrave it in my mind and really see it all. 

SO of course at the end of the night I go to bed and I wake up the next day, get ready, have some coffee and go to my part time job to open the store. AS it turns out I had to pull a double and I was not really looking forward to it but I put up with it since it was good hours and I liked everyone that was working that day. I knew that it was going to be smooth sailing. 

Noon rolls around and my friend T gets to the store. I told her that my tattoo was reacting weirdly to my lotion and my Dad wasn’t going to be able to get new lotion till that evening. So I asked if she would bring me her stuff to use temporarily. She was happy to bring me stuff and without thought I used it. After putting it on and letting it settle for a bit I made sure to wipe off the excess lotion AROUND the tattoo. After that I went back to work. 

Not even thirty minutes after I put the stuff on my tattoo started leaking ink. Literally. I noticed it right away. The minute I touched it or wiped it ink streaks would start happening and silently I started freaking out. Was it rejecting it? Was it the lotion? What was happening? In all my years of getting tattooed I have never had one react like that. AS a safety measure we decided to wrap it up loosely with paper towels and tape. For the remainder of the night I kept an eye on it and in the end I got sent home early (not because of the tattoo but because we were super slow). 

After getting home I immediately changed, and washed the tattoo with the new stuff my dad brought home. After washing it, putting lotion on it and letting it sit for a few hours the tattoo stopped reacting and doing...whatever it was doing. 

I will say that it was a huge scare and I thought I royally messed up but now I know what to use and what not to use and I will NOT be making those mistakes again. 

You guys my arm is slightly flared up. It kind of looks ridiculous honestly. The tattoo itself has started to get this raised look to it and I had to be extra careful while at work. I didn’t realize how much I really use my forearms and because of that I had to make adjustments and avoid doing certain things. For one I realized that washing dishes is not the best of ideas. It gets on the tattoo and when you go to soak up the water you realize what your about to do and have to take time to dap the tat instead. It’s ridiculous.

Do I regret getting it in any shape, way or form? No. I don’t. honestly I am so in love with it and it’s only the start of this half sleeve. The first week of April it will be completed and I swear it’s going to be badass. I can just picture it. Of course my arm will be out of commission for a while and I have to really watch myself. But It will all be ok. 

Let me just say that so far I am more worried about when the tattoo starts to itch. Some of my other pieces got bad but this is the arm region. It’s large, and there is a lot that is going to peel. I really hope it just skips that part...but it never does. 

We shall hope and pray that everything will turn out all right. After all the tattoo was an intentional thing and I want it to heal up beautifully so that I can not only get the rest of it done in a reasonable time but also so that I can show it off properly and represent these four pinball machines in general. 

Yesterday was an interesting experience. Once we had sat down, talked about what we were doing, and set up we got straight into the tattoo. From the get go the plans had changed to doing the first part of the tattoo. from there we would set up a new date (where we had the whole day) to just sit and go hardcore with the rest of the half sleeve. I agreed. We decided to do skull from "No Fear" to see how much space he took and then decide on which parts of the other games we wanted to focus on. Today though it was just skull. Of course while I was there I happened to run into someone who was walking off the pain and getting ready for the next portion of his tat. He was nice and we chatted a little. Really I was there to get this tattoo and nothing more. 

He on the other hand seemed to have a different thought. Once my tattoo artist and I got going we started chatting a little. This was the first tattoo that I could actually watch what was happening and see what getting "needled" really looked like. Let me say that it was kind of awesome. I got to see my artist, Mafi, at work and really get to understanding the layering process of tattoos in general. I really enjoyed the experience. Of course getting to know my artist better is always worth the time. Turns out there was a lot I didn’t know about him. 

Somewhere towards the end of my session the guy I ran into before came to the door and started chatting it up with me. Asking my name, what I was getting, why I was getting that specific tattoo, and so on. I couldn’t help myself but I ended up smiling and giving little laughs. I have never been hit on in a tattoo shop but for me it was slightly amusing. The guy seemed nice but he obviously was having his first real experience getting a tattoo. I mean its cool that you want to chat and all but I am just not interested at this time. He seemed nice but just the way I felt talking to him set it off. 

I guess there is a first for everything and I am grateful that I have started this half sleeve. You guys it looks so awesome and we have another appointment set up to get it finished. The first week of April! I am so pumped.!

So I recently went and got a tattoo done. Yes, yes I know, I made a post a few days earlier called "The Itch" and yes I did succumb to the need and desire of this itch. I wasn't expecting it and quite honestly I asked my tattooist to do it at the last possible minute. It was the only time off and the others were me working or packing. With this in mind I texted him and asked if he had an available spot open for me to get this tattoo done. He said that he would find a spot for me but it would have to be after his last client. I told him that I could work with anything he gave me and that I was pretty easy to work with. Quickly we made a time and a plan and from there I proceeded to move along the week. I went from work, to home and packed while playing with my new GoPro. All in all I was pretty excited but I also had to do...well you know....adult things.

So when the time rolled around for me to go to the tattoo shop I realized that I wasn't very nervous about this tattoo. I don't know why. Usually im one of those clients that always is sweating buckets, moving around a lot, and just trying to calm myself for this new addition to my skin. Normally that's how it works but this time I felt so at home and calm about the experience. While I was waiting in the front room for my tattooist to get done with his client these three kids come into the shop. They look like they are in the ninth grade my a little older and they seem in awe of the space. They look around, check out the piercings and are talking among themselves. There conversation goes from questions like

"I wonder if I can get a piercing now?" to "I wonder how much tattoos cost"

And of course i'm trying to mind my own business but I can’t help myself. I’m just thinking of all these snide comments I could give to them and yet I know that it wouldn't do any good. They obviously don't know much when it comes to tattooing or piercings and from looking at them I could tell that they are one of those people who talk about it but never do it. So I stepped aside to another portion of the room while one of the guys in the shop came out and gave them a lengthy explanation on how the shop works and so on and so on. Eventually I think the guy lost them because they seemed to go quiet and after the guy was done explaining they left.

I know that there are people who have never gotten a piercing or a tattoo and they don't have that type of knowledge but it just set something off in me that made all the endless commentary in my head go off. I couldn't stop myself from smirking and laughing a little under my breath. Ignorance is bliss I guess.

So finally my turn comes up, the paperwork done, the drawing all ready, the set up pretty much good to go. I get in the back, my tattooist and I talk for a bit and we make sure that the stencil is all set and we just jump right into it. There was no countdown, no warning, just Bam were doing it. Something about getting my hands tattooed just doesn't bother me. It’s the one tattoo that I could watch happen and not be grinding my teeth. THe pain level was at least a five if not less and quite honestly he was done in half an hour. The work looks amazing and i was grateful that did it at the last second.

So if you do decide to get a tattoo or piercing, just remember that everyone's pain tolerance is different and if you feel siked out because someone told you how bad it was, well don’t listen. It’s not going to be the same for you. Everybody has a different tolerance so don’t be afraid. Go and get it done ad enjoy every bit of it.