Tattoo Two…

I went to the tattoo parlour and dropped my strides (jeans) and showed off my upper thigh for inspection of my two week old tatt. It's a health regulation thing they follow and I'm happy to do that and my fat white thigh is hardly going to scare them considering they have seen it before and they are no strangers to inking various body parts – some more scary than mine.

I'm also going to get another tatt. Yes, I always suspected I would get two. Now I know it's an easy, not painful - to me - process I'm going for a black rose with long twirly bits on my left shoulder. I’m sure ‘twirly bits’ is not the technical term but I handed Jason, the tattoo artist, a vague picture of what I wanted and then explained what I wanted to add to it and have changed. He’s a smart man. He understood straight away. I like tattoo artists. There is no bullshit with them.

Now, I’m not advocating anyone racing out to get a tatt. It's a big decision by virtue of the fact you will have it for life. You will see it everyday. You have to like it. You really have to think about it. At 45, I am the mistress of my own half-arsed destiny. I work on the principle it's my body and I can do whatever I like with it. I answer to no one - and in theory that's how it should be for everyone. However not everyone is as fortunate as I - but that goes back to the choices you make in life and what you do for yourself as opposed to what others require or expect of you.

I was talking to a colleague who said to me she was looking forward to her next tatt as it made her feel happy. Strangely enough, I do understand this. To me it's not so much happiness it's more of being in control of who you are and what you want without worrying what another soul will think about it. I like to think of it as “marking your territory” meaning everything you see is mine and makes me the person that I am and if you do not like that purely for who I am and what you see then move on for I do not need you.

I mentioned to my 75 year old father I was getting another tatt. He said "Get death before dishonour” apparently this was big when he was in Vietnam in the 1960’s. Hmmm...I don’t think so.

‘Want a tatt? Think about it. Research and ask lots of annoying questions - it is after all - for life.

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