Tattoos - Your Stories

[Sector 7]

The first tattoo I ever noticed was my great-grandfather's. I asked him what it was and he told me our maternal family history: it was given to him in Nazi Germany for being a Jew. It had a profound effect on me. To this day I do not have a tattoo, even after college, military combat, police officer and a couple boyfriends with tattoos.

I agree with the advice given above: make sure your choice is one you will not regret in the future.

 

[PlainSimpleJoel]

Don't have any tattoos, nor do I plan on getting any. But I know of some people who are very proud about having them, as one friend on FB, has several transformers tattoos on his back, while there is this lady from Melbourne who attends conventions, who has several male Star Trek characters on her back and shoulders.

 

[thestrangequark]

I don't have any tattoos and I have a very low opinion of them. I've offended people with my views on the subject in previous threads so I'll just offer the following:

Imagine you drew a picture on your body ten years ago. What would you have picked? Would you still like it? Probably not.

It doesn't make much sense to do something so permanent when your taste and maturity will keep evolving for the rest of your life.

This is true for you but not for everyone. I got my first tattoo exactly 10 years ago. I am still happy with it, and that attitude is not bound to change. I've always found body art (well, good body art) beautiful.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

"I'm getting a tattoo over my whole body - of me, but taller." - Steven Wright

"Get a tattoo on the bottom of your foot...'If found, please drop in the nearest mailbox.'" - George Carlin

 

[Captain_Nick]

one friend on FB, has several transformers tattoos on his back, while there is this lady from Melbourne who attends conventions, who has several male Star Trek characters on her back and shoulders.

Good god

 

[Kestra]

I've always said I can't imagine anything I'd want on my body the rest of my life. I'm fickle by nature and I never really could think of any image that I would like consistently throughout the years. A few weeks ago I was hanging out with a friend who was telling me about her tattoos, and one of them is half a heart. She and her sister both got them together. I think that's the only tattoo that's ever appealed to me personally.

 

[Schistocerca]

There are a lot of web sites for ugly tatoos so go and have a look at those before you make up your mind. I have had my tatoo for over 14 years and still love it but I searched for the one I wanted over a period of 18 months before making up my mind to get it. It is going to be on your body for ever so make sure it is something you like, and in a place on your body that you won't regret tatooing as you get older.

 

[Mary Ann]

I've always said I can't imagine anything I'd want on my body the rest of my life. I'm fickle by nature and I never really could think of any image that I would like consistently throughout the years.

This is how I feel. Even getting my kids' names tattooed wouldn't be a good idea for me, as I'd regret the colour, the font, the location, and so forth. I change my style often so something as permanent as a tattoo isn't for me. That being said, I find many tattoos true works of art, like thestrangequark's hummingbird.

 

[Pingfah]

My friend got the front cover to Appetite for Destruction tattooed on his upper arm when he was 15 in the late 80s (the released version, not the banned version).

Needless to say, he regrets it

 

[ElBurro]

I have two tattoos and am planning another three (I know exactly what I want and where; it's just a question of money!). I wanted a tattoo for years and it took ages to pluck up the courage to get the first one. It wasn't scared because it would hurt (I'd pretty much accepted that it would), it was that I didn't know how much it would hurt. When I finally went through with it, I realised it wasn't that bad.

The first one is on the inside of my left wrist. I wanted the word dream tattooed but I didn't want it in English so I spent ages Googling the word in loads of different languages (Chinese, Arabic, Latin, Spanish etc.) but wasn't really keen on any of them. Then, just out of curiosity, I Googled it in Klingon. I thought it looked pretty cool in the Klingon alphabet so I chose that. I got it done about two years ago, and no regrets about it at all.

My second tattoo, I got done last summer. It's on the thumb side of my right wrist. It's a daisy. My dad used to sing Daisy, Daisy to me all the time when I was little. I always had trouble sleeping and my dad used to have to spend hours rocking me to sleep and he'd always sing it. I'm 28 now, and that song always reminds me of my dad so I got a daisy tattoo in honour of him. One of the others I'm planning is a Cherokee Rose on my left ankle in honour of my mum. When I was a kid, we always used to watch Quantum Leap together and it's still my favourite tv show. One of my favourite songs is Georgia on my Mind, which I first heard on QL. The Cherokee Rose is the state flower of Georgia.

As for advice, I would say make sure you feel comfortable in the tattoo parlour. In the first place I went to, they wouldn't let my brother come and sit with me, the tattooist barely spoke to me and the walls were painted a really heavy shade of brown. In the second place, my friend sat with me, the tattooist was joking around and it was all painted white. It was a much more pleasant experience. The friend who came with me got a tattoo done in the same place the next day. She's absolutely terrified of needles, so she was in a big panic. When the tattooist started, she realised it wasn't that bad and all the adrenaline faded and she started feeling sick and dizzy. They had to stop for half an hour so she could get something to eat and calm down. People who worked there kept walking past after the tattooist started again and they were all asking if she was okay. They even remembered me from the day before and were asking how mine was doing. I'll definitely be going to that parlour for all my future tattoo needs.

Wow, that was a long post!

 

[Deckerd]

For years I've been aching for another, and as soon as I can afford it I plan to get a 1/4 sleeve on my left upper arm of bubble chamber images, done in a bright teal blue. I want to have the same done on my right ankle and foot.

excellent!
you've inspired me to add that into my design
which is this:

it's based on Sam Anders' tattoo in BSG, but changed the circle to a beak, and added the Hydrogen Line Diagram from the pioneer placque, and the binary script on the top of the wing reads 'GLORYTOGOD'
it's a representation of an eagle which is of course freedom , my belief in God, and my love of science

this would be an upper arm tattoo, just slightly larger than my hand . . . so pretty big
incidentally roughly 21cm tip to tail

You should check this out.

 

[backstept]

You should check this out.

yeah, his thread was a definite inspiration

 

[JoeZhang]

I dislike tats and can't shake the old prejudice that are only suitable for convicts and sailors.

 

[Sean Aaron]

I dislike tats and can't shake the old prejudice that are only suitable for convicts and sailors.

I'm neither, but I'm a very bad boy.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

I have one. I wanted it for 30 years but the husband always hated tats and said if i got it he'd be outta here. Then our family had a really rough patch with the loss of a nephew and the near loss of our son. Mother's day last year was coming up and he asked me what i wanted. I said that Star Trek tattoo i always wanted. He looked at me and said, "You know. Life is too short. If you want it, get it." I made the appointment later that day.

I love it, don't regret it and only wish i had gotten it sooner. I look at it all the time and it makes me so very happy that words just can't express the joy i feel from it. I will never regret it because it speaks to what i believe in and who i am.

This is it:

 

[Mary Ann]

^I was waiting for you to show up in this thread, Randi! It wouldn't have been the same without your showing your tat.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

^ LOL!!! All i need is even the HINT of suggestion for me to show it off! It'll be a year May 28th and then i can donate blood again! w00t!

 

[WillsBabe]

That is so cute.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

^ Thanks!

Oh, to answer the OP: mine took about ten minutes from when she actually started tattooing. It didn't hurt that bad really. It felt like a bee sting (well, a lot of bee stings) with some burning feeling. It wasn't bad at all. But i may be different than a lot of other people in that needles don't bother me at all. (In fact i just got my second round of spinal and sacroliliac injections. Talk about needles. Those muthafuckers were HUGE!)

If it is something you really want to do, make sure you LOVE what you are getting done. It will be with you forever. It should really MEAN something to you and not be just some passing whimsy. And yes, do look into the shop and artist. Ask around to people who have tats that you like. And, when all is said and done, make sure you post pics of it!

 

[thestrangequark]

^Just to elaborate on the pain: how much it hurts really depends most on how long it takes. The endorphines block most of the pain for the first hour and a half or so, to me it feels a bit like a cat scratch, though not even that unpleasant. I thought it would hurt nearer the bone, but as she came close to my collar bone it actually caused a really interesting sensation of rattling or vibrating in the bone, which again, wasn't even uncomfortable. At around the two hour mark, however, the endorphines run out, and it can be pretty painful.