Tattoo Frenzy

There’s a tattoo thread over at the Compuserve Writers Forum.  It’s got a few of us craving more ink.  Three weeks from today, and my half-sleeve will be finished.  How long will I be able to wait for the next one?  Not sure.  The funds will likely make that decision for me.

I have ideas for my next five.  

#1: Inside the right upper arm—all my kids names end in the letter “n.”  I want a lower case N done in the story book fashion like the picture below, with all the kids names leading up to it, like a fairy tale story, only backwards.

     (Image above taken from a search of Google images)
   Daga
       Ia
Bronwe
With their names stacked up (above), the tattoo will loosely resemble the number three, which I like for some reason.

#2:  Left shoulder/back—Black and grey portrait of my maternal grandfather, using a picture taken of him shortly after returning from WW2 (1943ish) angled so that he looks at …

#3:  Back—a black and grey portrait of my maternal grandmother, from her “Beauty” portrait done her freshman year in college.

#4:  Right shoulder/back—black and grey portrait of my paternal grandparents, if I can find the picture I have in mind.  Pop (6’4’’)  holding up Grandmom (not quite 5’) around her waist, or her standing on a stool next to him.

#5:  Back of neck—black sketch of an open book.  I picture it with blank pages, literally like someone doodled it on my skin.  Wispy strokes, a few pages curled up.  

Once I find the actual pictures of 2 and 4 I’ll scan them and post them here with a link to this original blog entry.

Writing Again, and again, and again...

Today I started writing again, after fifty-three days of Zero Words on the page (excluding blog entries).  There’s only 163 of them today, and they aren’t great ones.  But they’re present in all their black-on-white-background glory.

Every time I’m out of the writing routine, for any length of time, I’m amazed at how hard it is to get back into the groove.  Each time I tell myself, “This time, I won’t stop.  I won’t get out of the routine.  I’ll write everyday.  Every Single Day.  Even if it’s only a handful of words.”  

Sadly, life happens.  It happens in little ways, like chasing three kids down with a Kleenex when we all get the latest cold.  It happens in big ways, like when you look at things too hard and let self-doubt take over your mind.  

 Well, life has been happening to me… A Lot.  I had lost interest in reading and writing.  It has been taking me [on average] a week or more to finish a book.  Completely unheard of before the winter brought on my scapegoat, Seasonal Affect Disorder.  I found myself posting less and less on the Writer’s Forum.  What did I have to post since I wasn’t writing?

Kids, work, bills, S.A.D., self-doubt….more excuses for me to be lazy.  What I need is a word counter I can post here on my blog, maybe Facebook as well (which seems to be my biggest distraction of late), so that I have some sort of public accountability.  Not that my mere twenty followers even check this page daily, but they might.  And someone just might call me out for not writing.  *Cough*  This means you Compuserve Ladies who have blogs I follow—Zan Marie, Tara, Spesh, Claire and Susan, and Laura.

I’ll state my goals here, as well as the Forum, for the month.

1. Write every day on my WIP

2. Read at least one book per week

3. Post on this blog at least weekly

Music on my mind

We're having a sort of music swap/discussion over at the Compuserve Writers Forum.  Here's my original post.  Join in over there or comment here.  I look forward to new suggestions.


Running late with this thread.  I meant to post just after the new year.  Here it is Groundhog's Day/Imbolc and I'm finally getting around to it.  I was a little disappointed with Vampire Weekend's new album "Contra" as well as MGMT's "Contratulations".  Maybe a few more listens will sway me.


Albums released in 2010
Mumford and Sons "Sigh No More" *
We Were Promised Jetpacks "The Last Place You'll Look(EP)" *
Local Natives "Gorilla Manor" *
Broken Bells "Broken Bells" *
Band of Horses "Infinite Arms"
The Black Keys "Brothers"
Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse, '...Present Dark Night of the Soul' *
Arcade Fire, 'The Suburbs' *
Deerhunter, 'Halcyon Digest'
Bob Dylan, 'Bootleg Series #9 - The Witmark Demos'


New To Me Bands (discovered in 2010)
Matt and Kim "Grand" 2009
Finniston "Organised for Hi Fi" (no longer together)
Heartless Bastards "The Mountain"  2009
The Big Pink "A Brief History of Love" 2009


Oldies But Goodies
Smashing Pumpkins "Siamese Dream" *
Ryan Adams "Easy Tiger" *
Dan Auerbach "Keep It Hid" *
Mark Knopfler "Golden Heart" *
Loudon Wainwright III "Strange Weirdos"
Neutral Milk Hotel "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea"
Bonnie Prince Billy "Master and Everyone"
Ray LaMontagne "Trouble" *  
Gillian Welch--All albums, but especially "Soul Journey" *
Dave Rawlings Machine "Friend of a Friend"


*Listened to the most...at least weekly--almost daily.


2011 has kicked off with The Decemberists's "The King is Dead"  and Iron & Wine's "Kiss Each Other Clean"  Looking forward to more great music this year.  


So...what did you listen to last year?  What are you listening to now?  Any albums coming out soon that you're looking forward to?  Suggestions?

News and Other Nonsense you probably don't care about.

Another Groundhog's Day has arrived, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for No Delay In Spring.  Phil  the groundhog says it's an early spring.  I hope that tubby rodent is right.  I've had my fill of S.A.D. for this year, thank you very much.

As always, I'm keeping my eyes peeled for links to Scotland in everything.  Groundhog's Day is no different.
From Wikipedia:

"In Scotland the tradition may also derive from an English poem:
As the light grows longer
The cold grows stronger
If Candlemas be fair and bright
Winter will have another flight
If Candlemas be cloud and rain
Winter will be gone and not come again
A farmer should on Candlemas day
Have half his corn and half his hay
On Candlemas day if thorns hang a drop
You can be sure of a good pea crop
This tradition also stems from similar beliefs associated with Candlemas Day[11] and Groundhog Day. Candlemas, also known as the Purification of the Virgin or the Presentation, coincides with the pagan observance Imbolc."

Today is Imbolc for all my fellow Pagans out there.  Out with the old, and in with the new.  I think I've got my head back on straight, after two months of confusion and emotional hijacking, and can resume my daily writing routine.  No longer will I let the judgements and criticisms of others dictate my worth or ability.

Yesterday I got my taxes filed (finally!) only to find out the IRS won't be processing them until Valentine's day due to certain laws getting passed too late last year.  I still say they should pay us interest.  The one time I owed taxes, I had to pay 6%, IIRC.  But then again, our government sucks at finances so they'd probably screw it up anyway.

In more narcissistic news, I've bought myself two pair of shoes [pics below] that will surely brighten my view of the world after such a grey blah winter.  Especially since both were on sale.  The boots are due to arrive today, beautiful burgundy leather riding boots.  Another week and my Chuck Taylor-esque red velvet sneakers will be here.  Retail therapy really does ease the soul.

Dolce Vita Women's Donner Boot (Amazon.com)

Maroon Velvet Sneakers (J.Jill)

Also, please visit This Website to learn more about the Old 280 Boogie, and how you can support it, whether you're from the area or not.  This is an area very close to where I grew up.  I've already made my donation and put in vacation time to attend this year.  So, go make yours.  Thanks!         

Left Arm Longs for the Caress of a Brillo Pad

It's now been a week since I got my half-sleeve started.  Day three it started peeling.  Day four it started itching.  Those two things [for me] are the worst part about tattoos.  I'd rather have the raw feeling of a fresh tattoo than this shit.  This has been the ultimate test of my will power.  Only my desire to not fuck up this awesome original art on my arm has kept me from disfiguring my arm for a moment of relief.

I'm a picker, and not in a cool way like the Steve Miller song.  I'm the one peeling my sunburned skin after a trip to the beach and popping enormous black head zits on our sedated patients ... you get the picture.  It sounds gross, but I know plenty of people who compulsively do these things.  Oddly enough, or maybe not, they work in medicine like me.

I have a new-found respect for people stuck with a cast and aren't able to scratch the itch beneath it.  It's really driving me crazy.  Tank-tops are a bit too chilly for this time of year so I have to dress in long sleeves which makes my arm itch even more.  I thought getting tattooed in the winter would be better--I wouldn't have to worry about getting too much sun exposure.  Now I'm not so sure.

"If it itches apply some lotion."  Well that's what I've done, but then I start worrying that the friction of rubbing the lotion in might pull the pieces off too early.  "Don't use regular soap or get your shampoo on it because it might have perfumes." Right.  Okay. Trying to wash my Rapunzel-length hair is an ordeal to say the least.  I lean to my right side to wash and rinse it which gets water in my ear...ugh.  Is the water pressure in my shower too much?  Will it rip the loose peeling pieces off?  Did it stay wet too long?  

This is starting to sound more neurotic than I think I actually am.  Am I over-thinking this?  Probably.

Bottom line:  This is worth it.   My badass tattoo is totally worth all the annoying shit that comes with it.  But I still say the hardest part isn't getting the tattoo, it's taking care of it.  And waiting for the next session.  That's pretty hard too.

[Had to reschedule my next appointment to accommodate John's class schedule. So I'm back to a five week countdown again.  March 1st is too far away.]

My Christmas Theme

What I want for Christmas by Ralphie Parker Aven McNab

What I want for Christmas is a Red Ryder BB gun with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time  gift certificate to Black 13 Tattoo Parlor.  I think that everybody should have a Red Ryder BB gun gift certificate to Black 13 Tattoo Parlor.  They're very good for Christmas.  I don't think that a football is a very good Christmas present.

[This is applicable to all gift-giving occasions.  Here is the link.  Please and Thank You]

Aww, shucks.

Thanks to Zan Marie for the Stylish Blogger award.  I'm not sure how to do this awards thing.  I think all the folks from the Compuserve Forum (who have blogs and those who don't) are stylish, so I'll pay it forward by giving them all a shout out from here.

The definition of stylish (freeonlinedictionary.com) 1. having elegance or taste or refinement in manners or dress  2. being or in accordance with current social fashions.

Elegance is a word I would Not use to describe myself, nor do I think I am refined (exception: taste in whisky).  I do in fact have a certain "taste" in my manners (using curse words too much, sarcastic by nature, sometimes blunt to a fault) and my dress (I live in my jeans, tshirts with humorous sayings which may be considered inappropriate to others which pretty much knocks out "being in accordance with current social fashions").  So, I'm glad to know that in my life something is stylish, even if it's just my blog.