After a couple of weeks of back and forth emails, Katie and I are heading up to Portland again to meet with Phuc. This was just a consultation visit. I didn't have a concrete idea about what I wanted so I found it difficult to describe my interests through emails. When I arrived, Phuc had plenty of books for me to go through. Many of the books were of Japanese tattoo masters who have created elaborate full bodysuits by "tebori," the traditional Japanese art of hand tattooing.

As I flipped through the pages, I found a design that I really like. An oversized dragon. This particular design completely covered the back and on to the individual's butt. As I showed Phuc the design I had discovered, he asked, "are you going to do your cheeks?" Katie and I laughed as though he was making a joking remark, but he explained that leaving space on the lower back when doing a back piece can interrupt the flow of the tattoo. It would also provide extra space to work with. After hearing his explanation, I was convinced. I should get my "cheeks" tattooed!

After I had decided on a general design, I left it up to Phuc to design the rest. I trust his artistic abilities, which are definitely far beyond mine. He also traced my Grendel tattoo, so he could plan his cover up. As Katie and I were scheduling the first appointment, Sue, Phuc's wife, mentioned that they had come across a website where the author had blogged his experience getting a koi tattoo on his back at New York Adorned. They suggested that I look at it to see what I was getting myself into. After looking at the site, it inspired me to also journal my own experience.

I scheduled the first session two weeks from today on April 2nd at 2 p.m.