As Phuc puts it, "there is no love from the love handles." Definitely not a fun place to be tattooed. In general, the lower back is not a fun place to get tattooed. But, here is what you've been waiting for...Some pictures. I included the picture from the first session. The second picture is what was done today and the last two are close-ups of the cherry blossoms.

I have to say, I've become more and more impressed with Phuc's work. The detailing is amazing. The pictures don't do it much justice though. Well, drop me a comment and let me know what you think.

I scheduled a bunch of appointments throughout May, but my next appointment is in two weeks on May 8th at noon.

Phuc mentioned that he had tattooed a woman who was a "word" in Shelley Jackson's "Skin" Project. I can't remember what the word was, but I thought it was a interesting concept. Jackson created a story which she has given accepted participants a word from the story to tattoo on their body. The story will never be printed elsewhere besides on the bodies of the individuals getting the words tattooed on themselves. She even has a requirement on what type of font that the word is tattoo in. The interesting part is that the story will change as the "words" die off. Kind of morbid. Check out her website.

And...the word was "on."

!yadun rof deticxe m'I .ffuts looC .etis sih tuo kcehC !stuN .erofeb sih nees reven dah I hguoht neve era setisbew ruo ralimis woh ezilaer ot yree fo dnik s'ti tub ,yllaer toN .dlrow orrazib deretne dah I hguoht sa tlef I ,woW .etisbew sih tuo kcehc ot dediced dna kereD yb tfel tnemmoc eht deciton I ,oS

So, I noticed the comment left by Derek and decided to check out his website. Wow, I felt as though I had entered bizarro world. Not really, but it's kind of eery to realize how similar our websites are even though I had never seen his before. Nuts! Check out his site. Cool stuff. I'm excited for Sunday!

The subject of tattoos comes up in the most unexpected of places, even with the little ones...

1) Today I was sitting at a table of kindergartners. I noticed one little boy named Jacob had a lot of spiderman tattoos up the side of his arm. When I commented on how cool I thought they were, the little guy I work with, "Joe", pokes me in the shoulder and says, "uh, I gotta tell ya something. When I get old, I'm gonna get a big tattoo of the 'HUNK' all over my back." Knowing that he loves superheroes (and yes I work with him cause he has tons of issues) I said, "oh, you mean 'the Hulk!'" Joe says back, "NO!NO! NO!...you know...The 'HUNK', the big green guy!"

2) The principle calls me in frantically to deescalate a 5th grader who drove his teacher and the class outta of the room by holding a chair above his head. When I walk in the room he shouts, " you can't control me!" I respond, "you're right, but I can keep you safe, that's my job." He yells some more about all the stuff he's going to do that I can't control and ends with, "and then I'll get a big tattoo of a skull on my forehead!" I respond, "that actually sounds pretty cool." And, with that, he put the chair down, and my work was done for another day.

I came across this bit of information when I was surfing the internet. Something I need to probably do less of. But, this is part of a transcript from 'Countdown with Keith Olbermann' on March 30th. He did a piece on how chemistry researchers analyzed the contents of 17 different tattoo inks. Ultimately, the researchers discovered 14 different metals including nickel, copper, chromium, and lead that were contained within some of the inks. The next step for the researchers is to examine the health risks of these metals being injected into the skin. People keep on finding ways to make getting tattoos bad. Those of you who are metallophobic, mysophobic, or nosophobic may want to consider not getting a tattoo. If this is stopping you from getting a tattoo, you probably didn't want to get it in the first place. On a side note, Keith Olbermann was one of my all time favorite ESPN anchormen.

Right now my tattoo is itching like crazy and I want to scratch it, but I won't. Which leads me to talk about caring for a new tattoo. Disclaimer: By no means am I an expert on the topic of tattoo care, but I know what works for me, so consult your tattooer or a doctor if you have complications or problems with your tattoo healing. If you're paying good hard earned money to get a tattoo, you really want to take care of your investment. Over the years of getting tattooed, I have been given many different instructions on how to care for my new tattoo. From using unscented lotion to antibacterial ointments. "Which is the best way to take care of a new tattoo?" you ask. Well, it depends.

The Basics
The very basics are straight forward. When your tattoo is complete, it will typically be bandaged or covered up. This is to help it from not getting dirty when it's most susceptible to infection. You want to remove the bandage after a few hours. You may want to run water over the bandage if you find that it is sticking to your skin. After removing the bandage, wash it with only your hands (no washcloths) and mild soap. I prefer antibacterial liquid Dial soap, but anything similar to that will work.

Moisturizing
Here's the part that often varies. Some tattooers will recommend using antibacterial ointments such as Bacitracin or Neosporin after you have washed your tattoo for the first time. I'm not a big fan of using antibacterial ointments primarily because the antibacterial ingredient, which is suppose to aid in the healing process, has been known to cause discoloration to tattoos. Something you don't want to happen when you've just paid good money for your tattoo. The only time I would ever recommend using a antibacterial ointment is if you're a dirty person that never takes a shower or you do something that will expose your new tattoo to a lot of dirt and germs. If you do chose to use an antibacterial ointment, it is recommended that you only use it for roughly the first two to three days after you've gotten your tattoo.

Less is More
Phuc mentions on his website that a "healthy body is a healing machine." He believes in a very minimalistic, less is more perspective. If you are a healthy individual who showers on a daily basis and do not do things that will soil your tattoo, then moisturizing your tattoo with unscented lotion such as Curél® or Lubriderm twice a day is a perfectly fine way to care for your tattoo.

Somewhere in the Middle
I land somewhere in the middle. I'm a believer in less is more, but I also have very dry and sensitive skin. "What a wuss!" you say. I know, I know. What works for me is using Vitamin A&D ointment for the first two days after I get a tattoo. I find that this helps it from drying out. When I have used only lotion in the past, I discovered that my tattoo was drying out, which can be a bad thing. Some will argue that the petroleum jelly base in Vitamin A&D ointment is bad for the tattoo because it does not allow the tattoo to breath which also aids in the healing of the tattoo. But, I find that it works fine for me and I have not experienced any problems using it. After the first two days, I turn to my trusty Curél® to moisturize twice a day.

Conclusion
Everyone's hygiene and skin type is different. How each person cares for their tattoo may be different. However, how you care for you skin will ultimately affect how your tattoo will look. A new tattoo will take roughly two weeks to heal. During this time, it will scab up, peel, and the colors may fade. During the healing process, NEVER pick at the scabs, scratch your tattoo, or submerge it underwater. Use extra care to avoid exposing your tattoo to chlorinated pools and direct sunlight at this time. These are all things that will discolor your tattoo. If your tattoo itches, like mine does right now, I just put a little lotion on it and it goes away. After you tattoo has healed, the #1 killer of tattoos is sunlight. If you're going to be in the sun, use sunblock on your tattoo. Otherwise, you'll just have a faded tattoo.

I realize this has nothing to do with tattooing, but it came up in conversation during the first tattoo session. A discussion about whether it was appropriate for "freak dancing" to occur at school sanctioned dances.

"What the hell is 'freak dancing?!?'" you ask. How should I know! I just picture freaky dancing, whatever that may be.

So, I decided to turn to my trusty educational database (which I'm suppose to be using to search for dissertation articles) to find out if there is truly an increased risk of sexual behaviors as a result of "freak dancing." Ultimately, I came up empty. There was no research that I was able to find supporting either side. I did find this article. Far off topic, but it is about crazy Dutch adolescents dancing to "House" music and using ecstasy. The only reason I present this article for everyone's knowledge is that it has a positive outcome. The ultimate conclusion was that "experimenting" as an adolescent can lead to short-term negative effects, but in the long-term it contributes to social adjustment, well-being, and positive identity development. I would go out on a limb to say that tattooing would probably fall under the category of "experimenting." Continue to encourage kids to experiment with "freak dancing!" Leave a comment of what you think about the topic of "freak dancing." Should it be allowed in our educational system corrupting the nation's youth?

Again, you'll need Adobe Reader to view the article.

So, the BIG day has finally arrived. Time to get some work done. I'm not exactly sure where to start with this post. I have so much to talk about. First things first, I really liked the design that Phuc drew up! It looks great! As you can see in the picture of the tattoo, the outlining has begun.

This was four hours of outline work. I would like to say that these were four easy hours of outline work, but I can't. It hurt like nobody's business. It was more sensitive than I thought it would be, but I survived to get tattooed another day. And, the tattoo looks cool as hell!

I bet you're wondering, "what's up with the title of the post?" That's something you'll have to find out for yourself when you go get a tattoo. It's only for members of the "secret society of people who get tattoos" to know. Actually, these were some topics that we talked about during the session, maybe I'll share more about it later. I can't say I talked much during the session though. It's kind of hard to focus on a conversation when you have a needle jabbing you in your back.

That's all for now, but drop me a comment and let me know what you think so far. There's much more to come, don't you worry.

My next appointment is on April 24th at 2 p.m.