After a year of planning and waiting...

I finally got my 1st tattoo. I've reposted an entry I wrote on January 8th, 2009 on a private blog so those of you who had no idea what I wanted or didn't even know I wanted one... there you go.

I was actually really nervous in the morning, so I asked Tou Fue if he wanted to join and he was good enough to accompany me to Diablo Rojo. The place looked pretty intimidating from the outside but after being greeted from the Ryan inside, a lot of my apprehensions were assuaged.

It took almost half an hour explaining my concept and finding a design that we all thought looked good, and then another 20 or so minutes figuring out the location. He kept insisting that getting something that small would be best in a lower back or ankle region (which I immediately dismissed mentally). I eventually decided on my upper right chest, as it would be somewhere I could see every day and would be safe for work.

How was the process? All the hype about the pain was only partly true. In short intervals (4-8 secs), the pain wasn't bad; it is comparable to getting bit by an ant or stung by a bee. What makes it suck is that the artist would sometimes go for a good 20 seconds without stopping and the cumulative pain was pretty intense. Overall though, the process took about 10-15 minutes, which was pretty quick.

End Result can be seen here.

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January 8, 2009

Some concepts I would like to include into this design:

1) Passion- a constant reminder to pursue God's calling for my life with all of the vigor and zeal that comes from knowing my purpose. I don't want to just live a life of complacency and weakness, the people that make the biggest splashes are people that are crazy for something.

2) Purpose- The 2nd "P". Arguably the most important of the two, I feel like this is something so many people seek for, but never find until it's too late. I believe that God has called me to this particular area of education, but WHATEVER my purpose will be, I will obey obey obey.

**In my head, I would like the 2 "P's" to be intertwined somehow, showing how they are not functional without the other... a really simple concept shown below.



3) The gospel/ cross- Originally, I was pretty adamant about not having any really cliche depictions of my faith (aka the cross), but the more I think about it, there is a classic beauty and simplicity to what the cross means. Everything I have (the passion and purpose) should be centered on the gospel. I teach to impact the kids and their parents so that doors can open up to share about God. This should be the central theme of whatever design I get.



4) Tribal influence- There's something about tribal art that is fascinating for me. It has the perfect blend of simplicity and complexity that makes me drool whenever I see it. Since I plan on having it somewhere I can see it every day, I would also like the tattoo to have meaning and aesthetic appeal for me.