I never thought I would be so excited to have a
red-hot hook dragged through my flesh, but surprisingly I was. OK, so getting a tattoo isn't exactly a red-hot hook, but it sure
feels that way.
Two weeks ago I sat for the outline of my Epertase
tattoo which lasted about 3 hours. Though I knew it was going to hurt, I
had no idea what to expect. When Mr. David Boggins of Body Language in
Columbus, Ohio carved the first line, I'm not going to lie, I seriously
wondered how I was going to handle 3 more hours of what I had just felt. But, as
anyone with a tattoo knows, your body starts to kinda get used to the assault
being done to it and the process becomes a little more tolerable. It still hurts like
hell, but at some point you realize you can get through it. And I did.
Today, I sat for my second session--an entirely new kind of
torture called shading. This time, I had an idea of how it might feel, but that
doesn't make it any better. This was going to be at least a four-hour sitting.
By the mid way point I felt pretty good and even commented that I could sit
through all of the remaining 6 hours needed if David had the time. He said
he had another appointment scheduled and, by the three hour mark, I was glad we
were nearly done for the day. Though my mind was prepared to push through it,
my back was starting to get angry. Each mark he made for the final hour felt
like that first line he did two weeks before. Don't get me wrong, I would have
sat for the last two hours if we had the time, I just wouldn't have enjoyed it.
As I write this, I'm pretty sore and probably will
be for a few days. But it's worth it.
To add insult, my wife stopped by toward the end of my session
so she could watch. What does it say about my 16-year marriage that she smiled
while I squirmed?
Special thanks to Steve Murphy for designing the piece. As far as my tattoo artist, David
Boggins can be found on his website here.
Here is a picture of today's progress. (Remember: the red in the picture is from my pissed-off skin and not actual color
in the tattoo.)
