gettin' inked

so i made an appointment for my next tattoo on the weekend...yes, kiddies this will make 6!!! i was thinking today how i have been getting tattoos for almost 10 years!!!!! isn't that retarded??? i was 15 when this whole 'gettin' inked' fiasco started! and i remember it to this very day. i even still have the underwear that i wore (don't be disgusted, they're in imaculate condition...unlike others i still wear; waffle-cut-off-long-john's...fuck...) with the ink stain on them from that day.

tattoos were something that i think we all became interested by, in early highschool. it was the thing! and as some naive little highschoolers do, we, or should i say I, succombed to the pressure of fitting in, and poof! an obsession was born!

and don't fool yourself, it is an obsession! or an addiction, choose your term! it's all the same in my books! i remember going into skintastic when they were on gottingen st back in the day, and seeing a small sign on the door which read; WARNING, TATTOOS ARE ADDICTIVE. i had been warned about this fact from day one, and was oblivious to the fact that it's actually true! isn't that always the way it is with addictions though? we totally think we're invincible at first, eh? anyways...as i sit here writing to you, understand that in the face of my 6th design...THEY ARE AS ADDICTIVE AS THEY SAY THEY ARE!!

so my first experience; as i said i was 15...a naive little individual in grade 10, his first year in highschool. the buzz was around, and it was all the rage (all of a sudden) to get tattoos. "skintastic" was the recommended place to go, although it was on gottingen, (which didn't have the best rep back then) they were known for not checking id's, and basically tattooing anyone (keep in mind this was the late '90's!! today they don't tattoo anyone under 18 years of age, even with parental consent, and EVERYONE gets id'd...no matter what you look like! it's protocol!) i remember it was eilish and michael huggins who came with me, and it was a rainy day in june (?) i had already chickened out the day before, and was back for the second time. as soon as i went up those stairs, and heard the chainsaw buzz of the needle, i almost peed my pants!!

the place was beyond grungy. i remember, the dude came out and was like "who's next?" and lil' ol' me raised my hand. "what do you want?" i pointed to the four-leafed clover picture i picked out of the book, still to this day my favourite one. "where do you want it?" i pointed to my right hip. "...get in the chair" his name was kyle leblanc, and he was wonderful...there's a certain relationship that exists between you and your tattoo artist. i mean really, it's basically besides sex, the most intimate position you can be in with someone else. think about it; there's a strange man's hands all over your body poking needles into you, drawing something that will be on your body forever! i wouldn't call the experience sexual, but moreso sensual. it's the most unique feeling in the world, unlike anything else on the planet. everytime someone asks me to explain the sensation to them of getting a tattoo, i'm at a loss for words. ofcourse it's pain, but almost a sweet kind of pain. the most acurate description i've heard was that it's like an irritating kind of pain, something that makes you grit your teeth, not scream out! it's not like cat scratches, that bullshit! nothing that bad. the area goes numb after a while anyways, it's when he stops and the feeling returns to that area that the pain feeling returns and when he starts up again it stings like a bitch! it's definitely a rush; i mean all your energy and focus is centered in on that particular area, and you have nothing to do but 'FEEL'. do you know what i mean? you can't think of anything else at that time, try as you might.

so i've been back to see mr. leblanc 5 times. saturday will be my sixth. actually my second one, the dragonfly on my ankle, was done by his sidekick (who's name escapes me, but he wasn't nearly as attractive as kyle...in fact he was sorta scary). kyle is an interesting man, sexy in an odd sort of way. he's tattooed, but not overtly so; he has nothing above the neck (unlike scary dude), and he's got a beautiful face with piercing, trusting eyes and a military hair cut. the reason i keep going back to him is because he's got hands you can trust. he makes you feel at ease, and he definitely knows what he's doing. that and he's perverted and isn't afraid to make you crack up to break the ice!! i always go in forgetting exactly how it feels, and not knowing what to expect. for one, because i always get them on different parts of my body, and secondly because i usually wait about a year before thinking about getting another! but from the second that needle first hits your skin, it all comes flooding back to you. everything, every feeling, every sensation, even every memory of the times before! it's like it was yesterday.

honestly and truly, tattoos are probably the most exciting and thrilling thing i have ever done, and coming from me...that's pretty damn good! obviously there's a permanence factor involved; this little drawing will be on your skin FOREVER!! to some, that's a scary idea...but to others (such as myself) it's the whole point of getting them!! people say to me: "i don't want something that's gonna look all wrinkly when i'm 60"...and i'm like 'honey, ain't nobody gonna wanna look at your wrinkly ol' body when you're 60 anyways!! and by then it'll just seem like a mole on your body!!' no i'm just kidding about the wrinkly body thing! but seriously, it's not gonna matter to you when your that age, enjoy your youth and experiment a little!!

the body is a blank canvas, just begging to be decorated! it's self expression, not self mutilation! yes it's permanent, but so are scars! think about a design, no matter how small, and just think about it! i promise you won't regret it!