Tattoos

I'd never wanted one before but perhaps it was more a matter of never seeing one that I liked enough to put on my own body. I've never been a fan of the flowering vines, butterflies or dragonflies that were so popular at one time. And, to be honest, I'd always considered my pain threshold to be childishly low until I was told otherwise during routine brazilian waxing sessions. I suppose if I can voluntarily grit my teeth through that a dozen or so times a year I can probably handle a tattoo needle. Maybe. Or maybe I'll just have to smoke a bag of weed before my appointment.

Jay described it more as discomfort, like pushing on a bruise, than pain but this was coming from a guy who likes to poke his bruises on purpose. Incidentally, Jay's tattoos are the nicest ones I've ever seen. They're very detailed and look like they've been airbrushed on. He suggested I visit his tattoo artist who just happens to work right around the corner. I've been advised to stick to fleshy areas and stay away from bony ones like ankles and fingers as these will hurt a lot more. Whichever region I choose I'd best be prepared to see my plan through to the very end. The last thing I want is to wimp out with only part of an outline complete. Once you start there ain't no goin' back.

Given my deep interest in astrology I've tentatively decided on the Virgo glyph:


And, if I can handle the pain I'll also like to acknowledge my Chinese Astrological counterpart (1978: Year of the Horse):


I assume that the horse head, because it is more intricate with a larger inked area, will be the more painstaking and thus painful of the two so even though I love it it might not be the best idea to start with this one. Anyway, Sandy and I are probably going to go and get tattooed together and since she's a Virgo too I think we're both going with the glyph. I think it'll be nice to be reminded of our experience together every time we look at it. It'll be our rite of passage.

The only questions that remain are where to get the tattoo(s) and in what color(s)? I think I'd like to get one on the back of my shoulder but not sure which image would look better there. I am open to suggestions as to a second location. I've heard that tattoos below the small of your back, sometimes referred to as "bookmarks", are now considered slutty/skanky when they used to be seen as sexy. So which is it, guys and gals? Sexy or slutty?

There are some choices color-wise as well. I think a black glyph would be fine since there's not much shading, and later fading, involved. The horse head might look nice in brown or red.

Not sure when or if Sandy and I are going to go through with this but if we do it'll probably have to be soon since we'll need to give our body art time to heal before summer's big reveal. I think I'm ready but if I think about it too long I might just chicken out (cause of the pain not the permanence) so maybe the best thing to do would be to Just Do It.