Today, I proclaim tatts as being evil, all-consuming & addictive. I know I should be blogging more about life in Sweden thus far, but, Facebook is enough to keep my friends happy. I've decided to talk about something that would not bore both the readers and me (okie, perhaps I'm the only one being super duper passionate about this here...). Anyway, this is my blog & I'm free to say whatever the hell I so desire.
My love affair with tatts started at the age of approximately 18. Initially, it started with the craze of piercings; my first pair on the ears once I hit 12. As the years flew, I started a "humble" collection on both my ears, 4 on the left & 8 on the right. Then I got sick of the left ear piercings & retired them all except one. So, for a while, I walked around with my right ear filled with rings & my left ear relatively empty (bad fashion mistake, I hatta admit...) After that, I got my tragus & nose pierced. This was follwed by a navel pierce; that, I coaxed my dear elder sister, Mavis, to have one done as well. In the end, I retired 5 piercings on my right ear leaving 3 (tragus pierce intact) & also retired my nose & navel piercing (infection by seawater)...& basically, my interest in piercings just ended there though the nasty scars served as a reminder of the folly of my ways. For me, piercings were a constant problem. On & off, these holes could accumulate dirt & give rise to nasty infections as it was technically always an open wound. Around the time, I was also getting sick & lazy of my hair being tangled in my right ear rings & the smell everytime after infection... ...let's just say it was funky (so as not to induce adverse nausea here).
After that, I came to a consensus that tattoos were much less of a problem. For one, you can always pay to get a good job done (cheap tattoos are never good, good tattoos are never cheap). You can also get a customised piece from YFT ("Your Favourite Tattooist"...you know, like in biology, we use YFG a lot [acronym for "Your Favourite Gene"... pardon the Bio major talking here] & once these tattoos heal (the healing process itches like hell), you don't feel pain or extreme itch anymore, super duper suitable if you are a person that think permanence rocks, as tattoos live & die with you (I'm using the word "super duper" so much cos I can't get it out of my head ever since Katsuya, my Japanese classmate, used it in our daily conversations). Moreover, tattoos allow you to be more creative & colourful, there is always a reason why every piece is on you, even if the reason is super duper crappy.
My first tatt was done on Good Friday, 9th April, 2003. It wasn't conceived out of rebellion, neither was it conceived on the terms that I wanted to prove my unorthodoxy. It was just conceived due to a super duper simple reason: I just felt like having one. But, I've people telling me that they suspect my love for tatts were due to the following:
1) I am obsessed with pain. I like the highs of pain, especially in an SM way
2) I got too much pent-up angst & self-expression to show to the whole damn world
3) I wanna piss my mum off
4) I'm rebelling my mum
@ this point I realise clauses 3 & 4 are similiar
5) I'm rebelling my own religion (Christianity, that is)
6) I have too much yellow & beige-y skin, thus, I would like to appear more colourful (I kid. This reason is made-up by myself)
But the truth of the fact is ... ... ...*drumroll* none of clause 1, 3, 4 & 5. & Admittedly some of 2.
First off, I don't enjoy the highs of pain...I only possess a high threshold for pain, & I don't get anything remotely close to an orgasm everytime the tattoo needle touches me.
Second, there is no need to rebel my mum, as she had never gave me a reason as to why I should rebel. Freedom, check. Allowance enough to sustain my daily needs, check. Love (you can always feel it, though, like the typical asian parent, she doesn't channel these concern openly), check. If you had read my earlier posts, you would have known that my mum adopts a super duper cool parenting style, one which I term, the "semi-detached" parenting style (ok, not always cool, but cool enough not to cramp my style). She allows my siblings & I to find our own life path & does not restrict or set curfews/expectations for us (she's super duper lucky that the 3 of us did not screw up royally in life).
I also don't intend to piss her off, cos it's my own body & my own interest, but I know she still can't reconcile with the fact that I have much love for ink (afterall, it is considered a stigma in society & she is worried about these affecting my job prospects later on...[it's Singapore you're talking about]).
Third, I'm not rebelling my religion or purposely trying to piss god off (I know my eldest sis, Mitch, will beg to differ), but I've decided not to try too hard to fight my love for tatts...& why can't my love for tatts & my belief in Christianity exist in harmony? I believe religion is a state of mind, you need to practice it through your own goodwill, & not by oppressing yourself in a set/fixed way of thinking. After all, religion should serve as a guide for us, not something which restricts our minds/actions or causes so much mayhem (I don't wanna emphasize which aspects/types of religion channels the most mayhem, lest I get arrested). I also don't believe in what people say about whoever from the past set a rule & we should follow certain dresscodes or practices which make no sense whatsoever. For me, a religion should be simple: A faith you choose to follow, something that keeps you sane in a world full of crazy homo sapiens (like you & me), a guide for your life when it's turning grey. Something that gives you hope. Simple as that.
Tatts as a way to channel my pent-up angst & self-expression...interesting. Something my rubbish-bin & random head always struggle with. Ok, maybe this is accurate to a certain extent. I quit the first part when I hit 21. & self-expression? Hmm, I'm not entirely sure. If I know, I probably won't have them in the first place.
A brief look into my inking history -
My 1st was a blue-pink nautical star, 6 years ago:
The 2nd was some leaf-twirl motif on my ankle, done after my 21st birthday (healed badly as I scratched it, a super duper big no-no):
The 3rd was an extension of the 1st, cos I got sick of just one bubble-gum coloured star on the small of my back. Thus I decided after years of consideration, on 30th July 2008 to get the blue portions shaded to black & added some fluttering butterflies & twirls (signifying the beauty of freedom...almost got birds instead of butterfiles, but birds looked a bit hardcore for me at that point of time):
The 4th was a crucifix symbol of my initial behind my ear, done on 29th december last year:
I've since then done my 5th ink on 4th March 2009 (I always record the dates of my inks...a very girl-thing):
My favourite so far. Full of meaning for me, born entirely out of my own idea & improved upon through several revisions with the artist. :D
I've promised myself that this will be the last piece I will get. But, as you can already read from my humble introduction to this topic, tatts are addictive, & withdrawal symptoms might result from cold-turkey treatment. Next design in plan: A cat's backview with it's 1/4 face turned, looking into the night sky filled with a bed of stars. COVET!
