A Bond of Ink

Like most people (I hope), I have a little voice in the back of my head that whispers suggestions to me from time to time. Almost universally, these suggestions are of very dubious merit. Unfortunately, I also end up almost always following through with whatever half-assed thing the voice comes up with. Imagine the voice intoning, Three babies would be nice, no? That was four or five years ago and somehow it set off a string of events - some of which were not at all unpleasant, if ya know what I mean ;-) - that eventually resulted in our friendly foul-mouthed three-year-old fisherboy.

Most recently, the voice has been harassing me about my tattoo. I got a very feeble tattoo on my left ankle 13 or so years ago. It was just two tiny Chinese characters ping an 平安 (means something like safety and tranquility) which were neither very artfully done nor very attractive to look at. Any time someone noticed it, I would cringe and sheepishly say something like, "Uh...it was just something stupid I did a long time ago. I really regret it. It's nothing really...." So, eventually the voice noticed this and began to poke me and prod me about it. It kept after me, You know, if you're going to have something regrettable on your body, at least make it attractive. When somebody noctices your tattoo, at least have a tattoo that is so stunning you feel proud, stick out your leg, and saucily state, Yes, amazing, isn't it?? Bet you wish you had one just like it!" Hmmmm.....once again the voice was starting to make sense.

Let it be said right here that my husband was and continues to be in 100% opposition to this plan. (Unlike the "let's make a new baby" plan, which, for some reason, he got on board with quite enthusiastically.) He was, under no circumstances going to have a yakuza/gangster wife covered with body art. Now, my argument is, and continues to be, that this cannot be construed as a "new" tattoo. It is merely an enhancement of the lame tattoo that occupied its place of shame on my ankle for the past 13 years. That is my argument and I'm sticking by it. Unfortunately for Jason, when the cat's on the other side of the world, those little mice get shaved and covered with ink! That being said, please tune in next week to read the tragic tale of my divorce proceedings once he sees the "enhanced" tattoo.

Then, one afternoon last month while on a shopping trip with Lisa and Lis, we saw a young woman with a beautiful wrist tattoo of geometric shaped blue flowers. When I asked her about it she said that she'd had it done at Tattoo F.......????? Of course I couldn't remember it when I got home. Gotta love the internet, though, since I was able to find the site of Tattoo Fusion? Tattoo Fashion? Tattoo Fascist? Ah yes, Tattoo Faction fairly easily. What impressed me about their site was that they claimed to be the "best f**king tattoo studio in Northern Ohio!!!" And then the rest of their site goes on to describe their level of professionalism and quality of service. Needless to say, at first I was a bit skeptical. Then decided that, like most things, there must be different types of "professionalism." If you went to see your accountant and he introduced himself by saying he was "the best f**king accountant around", you'd probably find another accountant. Not so, perhaps with a tattoo artist.

I looked at the work of the different artists on the website and decided that Cindy had work that was most suited to what we were looking for. The criteria for this judgment? A much higher bunnies and butterflies to skulls and naked ladies ratio. Next, Jeff was commissioned to create our tattoos. He created a pihranah skeleton for Lisa, a sprig of lavender for me, and a compass sun for himself. My brother is an amazingly talented artist and although these designs sound odd, they are actually quite impressive. So much so that we decided to have them permanently etched into our skin.

So, turns out Cindy is working from her home until Tattoo Faction opens officially on Labor Day weekend but asked if we would be willing to have her do us at her home. I know, I laughed in a very immature fashion every time I said that last sentence, too. Anyway, we were able to schedule all three of us for the same afternoon. My lovely flowers were perfect for their showcase position on my ankle. But the key word there is "ankle" and the little stem part right on the bone itself was cattle-prod painful to ink. I flinched and grimaced like a little girl the entire time. It felt as though every bone in my body was vibrating painfully in tune with the needle. The toe bone is connected to the ankle bone the ankle bone is connected to the shin bone.... and so on.

In conclusion, I must say that Cindy is one of the most f**king professional people I've ever met. She has incredible art all over the parts of her that I saw and rather than just a hack with some ink and a needle, she is a true artist. Over a beer at a bar around the corner from Cindy's house (Jeff insisted that beer speeds the healing process?) Lisa, Jeff, and I decided we shared a bond of ink. I don't know what that means but I thought it just sounds rather intriguing.

So, if you see me around, please don't hesitate to ask to see my beautiful enhanced tattoo. Actually, I may resort to forcing complete strangers to admire it - it's that gorgeous! Now, if I can just get Jason to get that dragon on his chest...