Tattoos

[Herdfan]

Yet again, I envy people who find symbols they can still adore 5, 10, 20 years later.

A girl who swam with my daughter for several years decided she liked running better than swimming. So she trained and started doing half marathons. Her grandfather encouraged her to do a full one, so she decided she was going to do the Goofy Challenge. For those who are unaware, it is held at Disney in FL and consists of a half and full marathons on successive days. She also ran the 5K and 10K races.

Sadly her grandfather who encouraged her, died a month before she ran them. She got a tattoo of Goofy on her ankle to remember her grandfather.

 

[Joe]

I have one. I'll get more eventually.

 

[Macky-Mac]

i've never liked them and find naked skin more attractive

 

[DT]

I have one. I'll get more eventually.

You must be in a gang, or some kind of military security ...

 

[User.45]

Sadly her grandfather who encouraged her, died a month before she ran them. She got a tattoo of Goofy on her ankle to remember her grandfather.

It's a good point.

 

[Yoused]

I have a lot of unclaimed real estate above my eyebrows. Have for several decades. It has been suggested that I should get it inked up to resemble what used to be there.

 

[Thomas Veil]

The spray-on hair isn’t working for ya, huh?

 

[Alli]

I have two. I never had any desire to get one. But tats are awesome to cover up scars.

 

[lizkat]

I was sometimes tempted to get a little tattoo in some inconspicuous place, back when the newspapers were full of stories about people getting fired for having even a very small tattoo visible while in the workplace.

Truth be told, I had this flashback to a day when I was interviewing for a job and the guy was talking about the culture of the workplace, meanwhile on his desk was this six-inch-tall plaque that proclaimed Jesus Is Lord. Most of the rest of the staff including my friend who had recommended me to his boss were Jewish, and the company was an importer in NYC's garment district, so I'm staring at this plaque and wondering if he thinks I won't fit in -- like he figures he doesn't?!?-- or I won't fit in because I don't "look" Jewish?, or wtf.​

​

I asked my friend about that later, and he said oh yeah, we don't pay that any mind, he just feels outnumbered. Yet the guy didn't seem inclined to hire someone he was assuming wasn't Jewish either, go figure. Somehow the combo of the guy's Jesus is Lord advertisement and his apparent preference to remain the only Christian on board was extremely offputting to me. I'd call that interview more of a sparring match and the outcome a draw. He didn't seem to want me very much, although he suggested I think about it and phone if I'd like to return for the tech interview, and I totally didn't want to report to him for my work.​

​

Anyway it occurred to me years later that a tattoo of a Buddha would have been a lot of fun if I'd decided to go back for a second interview...​

When toying with the idea of actually getting a tattoo, I told myself ok , just go online and buy a sheet of temporary tattoos and try them out, and if after that, still enticed by the idea of an actual tattoo, then go for it.

But then I was too lazy to bother. I kinda liked the idea that the kind of small tattoo I envisioned -- a butterfly, a hummingbird, a wildflower etc,-- would be a little bit of dress-up that one doesn't have to remember to put on in the morning, like a watch and earrings. Maybe I'll sport one this summer. Not a real one, just the press-on kind.

 

[DT]

i've never liked them and find naked skin more attractive

This is something I can understand, a purely aesthetic perspective, the same way someone might not like black hair vs. blonde hair.

Also, the idea of doing something that's purely elective, where you have to commit to a choice, for life (well, not as much as in the past), I get not wanting to make that decision.

Heck, even undergoing the actual process, may be be a big deal for some folks (the idea of high speed needles continuously piercing your skin for hours isn't for some people, it's not particularly pleasant).

 

[Yoused]

… the idea of high speed needles continuously piercing your skin for hours isn't for some people, it's not particularly pleasant …

It seems that the discomfort can be mitigated by employing liberal titration with ethanol – which has the added benefit of mitigating reluctance.

 

[DT]

It seems that the discomfort can be mitigated by employing liberal titration with ethanol – which has the added benefit of mitigating reluctance.

Ha! True, though I've seen studios that are real hard asses about allowing anyone to get work done when intoxicated (not just from liability concerns, but also because of increase bleeding).

 

[Huntn]

i've never liked them and find naked skin more attractive

Mostly I agree. I’ve never seen a sleeve that is appealing to me.

 

[Huntn]

I was sometimes tempted to get a little tattoo in some inconspicuous place, back when the newspapers were full of stories about people getting fired for having even a very small tattoo visible while in the workplace.

Truth be told, I had this flashback to a day when I was interviewing for a job and the guy was talking about the culture of the workplace, meanwhile on his desk was this six-inch-tall plaque that proclaimed Jesus Is Lord. Most of the rest of the staff including my friend who had recommended me to his boss were Jewish, and the company was an importer in NYC's garment district, so I'm staring at this plaque and wondering if he thinks I won't fit in -- like he figures he doesn't?!?-- or I won't fit in because I don't "look" Jewish?, or wtf.​

​

I asked my friend about that later, and he said oh yeah, we don't pay that any mind, he just feels outnumbered. Yet the guy didn't seem inclined to hire someone he was assuming wasn't Jewish either, go figure. Somehow the combo of the guy's Jesus is Lord advertisement and his apparent preference to remain the only Christian on board was extremely offputting to me. I'd call that interview more of a sparring match and the outcome a draw. He didn't seem to want me very much, although he suggested I think about it and phone if I'd like to return for the tech interview, and I totally didn't want to report to him for my work.​

​

Anyway it occurred to me years later that a tattoo of a Buddha would have been a lot of fun if I'd decided to go back for a second interview...​

When toying with the idea of actually getting a tattoo, I told myself ok , just go online and buy a sheet of temporary tattoos and try them out, and if after that, still enticed by the idea of an actual tattoo, then go for it.

But then I was too lazy to bother. I kinda liked the idea that the kind of small tattoo I envisioned -- a butterfly, a hummingbird, a wildflower etc,-- would be a little bit of dress-up that one doesn't have to remember to put on in the morning, like a watch and earrings. Maybe I'll sport one this summer. Not a real one, just the press-on kind.

It’s nice being able to easily change your mind.

 

[DT]

I feel like I'm often an outlier, but at any rate, myself, my wife and our very close friends, this small group composed of designers, CPAs, authors, tech entrepreneurs, medical professionals, people with reasonably high-er-ish levels of formal education (from schools like CMU, Berkeley), there's a very high percentage of tattoos And these were done, not under the influence of any substance, not early in life, not a whim, not as some kind of forced initiation into a seedy organization, but as a well considered choice, later in life.

YMMV

 

[Huntn]

I feel like I'm often an outlier, but at any rate, myself, my wife and our very close friends, this small group composed of designers, CPAs, authors, tech entrepreneurs, medical professionals, people with reasonably high-er-ish levels of formal education (from schools like CMU, Berkeley), there's a very high percentage of tattoos And these were done, not under the influence of any substance, not early in life, not a whim, not as some kind of forced initiation into a seedy organization, but as a well considered choice, later in life.

YMMV

In other words fashionable in your group. My guess is there others in the same demographics who have passed on tattoos?

 

[DT]

In other words fashionable in your group. My guess is there others in the same demographics who have passed on tattoos?

I'm saying it's a diverse group of people that represent a demographic that some people might not typically associated with having tattoos. It's not "our group", many had tattoos before they were part of the collective I referred to as our "close friends".

Oh yeah, sure, of course there are people in the same demographic that don't have tattoos.

 

[ronntaylor]

I have an identical twin. We trained to join the Marines right after HS. I changed my mind halfway through the training and he continued. He got a tat after boot camp and pretty much regrets it: "It's a f###ing skull smoking a ciggie!!" Especially after two bouts of cancer, the 2nd almost killing him. He's considering coverup tattoos to transform surgical scars.

I hate needles. Always have. So I doubt I'll ever get a tattoo.

Many years ago some beautiful boy that was crushing on me showed me his tattoo after I told him how I almost got a tattoo of a symbol that would have been hidden. It was in the same spot that I considered. I almost took it as a sign to get it done finally. But nah...

I may do the temp tattoo this summer like @lizkat suggested.

A former coworker and good friend has a tattoo on her left wrist that symbolizes her Greek grandparents. She rubs it occasionally to remind her of them (she never met them in person, but has heard stories about them from her mom).

I shudder when I see horrible tats on people. Especially young-ish women. My grandmother calls them prison ink. I often wonder about people that joined the trend in the 90s. If they're happy with their choices 20/25/30 years later.

I'll occasionally see good sized tats that I do like. Usually ethnic/cultural designs reflective of the wearers heritage. Especially Japanese, Maori and indigenous designs.

 

[DT]

I shudder when I see horrible tats on people.

Hahaha, yeah, bad tattoos are like any bad design, whether it's on your body, your car, your wall, granted a tattoo has a little more "retention"

I think that's a large part of the "regret" crowd, that Motley Crue tattoo you got when you were 20 doesn't seem so good when you're 50, er, I guess unless you're still totally into Crue

That's one thing I've noticed with the I'd-do-it-again crowd, the chosen design isn't something that's fleeting, it's art, a symbol, whatever, that has lifelong resonance.

Side note: identical twins is neat, my wife's family has a higher than average twin births, we wondered if the same was going to happen with us, I had plans for BOTH twins being evil

 

[ronntaylor]

Side note: identical twins is neat, my wife's family has a higher than average twin births, we wondered if the same was going to happen with us, I had plans for BOTH twins being evil

I'm the nice twin! I swear!! Years ago we thought about identical tats. But for me... needles.