Beans

Disgusting, I hate religious zealots!
I Had an older man approach me the other day and asked WHY I did that to my beautiful skin. I told him I had waited my whole life for a beautiful piece and I love it. He then asked about when I get older like 40 and changed my mind.......I answered that I'm 43 and I'm quite able to make permanent life changing decisions. BUT Thanks anyways. It's funny though, that he would feel so uppity about my work since he had been panhandling before I walked up. I also had another man ask me what my tramp stamp said. I said excuse me...1 I'm not a tramp and 2 I don't have any tramp stamps. He answered It might help you get pregnant. :( WTF?
Oh then last night, Hubby and I were getting a beer at a local pub when some skezie guy started talking to me about my work then started stripping to show me all his....He then asked about hourly wages. It didn't bother me since he didn't ask how much it cost. I told him....He said HOLY SHIT! I NEVER pay more than 40 an hour and my guy even does it in my kitchen....I smiled and walked away quickly.

I'm happy there's pain as well. It's actually taught me a few things about myself and has given me the courage to try new things and say yes to new experiences. As I've gotten older with some health issues, I began shying away from new and uncomfortable situations (physically speaking) But now 13+ ish hours in, I've been embracing physically new and possible and probable pain inducing activities. I'm not afraid of getting hurt anymore. I began 4 wheeling and I'm loving it, joined two softball leagues and have begun hiking, with plans to go sky diving this summer too. Have I gotten hurt? Yes, but I'm able to shake it off now and move on. Completely unexpected.

Disgusting, I hate religious zealots!
I Had an older man approach me the other day and asked WHY I did that to my beautiful skin. I told him I had waited my whole life for a beautiful piece and I love it. He then asked about when I get older like 40 and changed my mind.......I answered that I'm 43 and I'm quite able to make permanent life changing decisions. BUT Thanks anyways. It's funny though, that he would feel so uppity about my work since he had been panhandling before I walked up. I also had another man ask me what my tramp stamp said. I said excuse me...1 I'm not a tramp and 2 I don't have any tramp stamps. He answered It might help you get pregnant. :( WTF?
Oh then last night, Hubby and I were getting a beer at a local pub when some skezie guy started talking to me about my work then started stripping to show me all his....He then asked about hourly wages. It didn't bother me since he didn't ask how much it cost. I told him....He said HOLY SHIT! I NEVER pay more than 40 an hour and my guy even does it in my kitchen....I smiled and walked away quickly.

I got the creep factor the other day at the market. I was at the check out line and there was a married couple one lane over. I noticed that every time his wife was turned away from me, he was making eye contact with me and giving me the "hey baby head nod and smirk" Gross, completely turned my stomach. I gave him my best snarley face and a head shake. really, I don't mind looks as much as I do creepy men who disrespect their wives like that.

More likely the positions you unconsciously put your body in due to favoring that side.

Hi ladies!
So yesterday for the first time I wore one of those sports-bra tops to my hot yoga class instead of a full tank top... This was helpful in getting a better idea of what my body was doing during postures, and good for the heat. But more importantly, I started wanting a tattoo centered on my sternum... Yoga class always makes me think of what tattoos I need! Good idea though, right?! Not this exactly, but this type of placement:

My sister snapped this photo of me today at the beach. So weird. Now I think I finally understand the whole never feeling naked thing, hah.
And yes, all the sunblock reapplied non-stop, and I was only on my front for like 5mins while texting, hah. I feel like I need to justify the bare back in sun to you fine ladies. And no, it's obviously not done. Not even close. :'(

I felt the need for a solar plexus tattoo too, but I do hope to be skipping about naked at 80, well, if I fancy it. The standard underboob placement was never going to be optimal on me, I've never had the right sort of breasts. So, my tattoo comes up and onto to solar plexus, rather than being placed around it, if you see what I mean. It ends just, just under the band of my bra/bikini.
But, I'd say, with breasts like you describe @TrixieFaux, it's not boob saggage that's a potential issue with this placement, that's never going to mess things up too much. Rather, it's the way the underboob placement tends increases the visibility of the natural asymmetry of the breasts (that all women have). That asymmetry does become more apparent as the breast softens with age and reproduction even if there isn't significant sagging. Even on the very young, pert, instagram chests I've more than often seen the placement emphasise the asymmetry, making the tattoo look slightly wonky even though, technically speaking it is perfectly centered etc. which is a shame.
With mine being designed and placed as it is my breasts (when roaming free) actually look more symetrical than they did before, rather than less. Which is nice. I've posted it on latest tattoo lowdown already but here it is again.

- - - Updated - - -
With asymetry, I mean the often subtle differences in roots of the breasts, rather than the slight differences in size and shape between the breasts (which we are usually aware of). The differences in height of the base of the breast and the precise distance from the from the center of the breast bone to the root of the breast can be pretty much imperceptible on a lot of women, until you place something that is utterly symmetrical in between and under them...

The real question should be "is it still a panther if it was made with vegan inks"?

Thank you @mmikaoj
I hear ya, perhaps my own thoughts would not have been articulated so well !
I get the stigma too...people look at me covered in tattoos and they think I'm a high roller with a lot of disposable income. So what if it is a luxury we spend our time and money on? That's our business! What people don't get to see is that I've got an education and a respectable profession that I've earned through focus and hard work. That's part of what my tattoos represent to me (I'll explain the root of that feeling below, about my parents ultimatum) Yes, a nice house and nice things. I've been driving my one and only vehicle for the last ten years. I know exactly how much I've spent to cover myself in my tattoos and honestly if you spread that over a decade of getting tattooed it really isn't that insane. And I wouldn't change any of it. We all probably know people that spend an equal amount of time and money on their own passions...like comic books, fast motorcycles,vintage guitars, designer clothes, $50 barber haircuts every other week, cocaine habits...
Tattoos are very interesting from a social perspective...you see lots of struggling folks (who we would stereotype as having a rough time putting food on their table and roof over their head) have many tattoos. Maybe not the highest quality, but nevertheless, a tattoo is a tattoo. Rich folk have many tattoos, good and baaaad quality, some that equate it as a fashion accessory like wearing a sleeve to carrying a Luis Vutton handbag. Through history, where royalty would have exotic tattoos made after trade trips to the Orient. Nomadic people have had tattoos made for centuries. Tattooing really transcends social class and I think the whole tattooing process - from the inception of the idea of "I'm gonna put this picture on my body" to the painful experience of making the tattoo and healing it - appeals to a lot of us and gets us in touch with the human experience. It makes us feel alive. I'm just as interested (if not more) in the scratchy old tattoo the friendly homeless guy on the block made on himself 30 years ago than the rig-worker who got a neo-Japanese sleeve mish-mashed with a samurai, hanya, snake and dragons that yeah sure looks dope but doesn't really mean anything. The jail house tattoos are as equally important as my extensive parlour made ones. Everyone has got a story, I want to hear and see your story!
I laugh to myself...when I think back about the infamous parent-tattoo-ultimatum. They said if I could spend my money on the tattoo then I could surely afford paying my own way, living at home or on my own, cover room/board on top of saving for my tuition while I was a student. Perhaps if I would have got one little tattoo and got the taste of rebellion that would have been it for Bongsau's tattoos. So I waited. And waited. And saved. And waited. And got my first tattoo days after my last engineering exam. I worked hard, got a good job and secure profession and started making bank roll and suddenly my vision of being covered in tattooing wasn't out of reach. Thanks mom n dad ! haha (my dad also said when i was out living on my own, i could sit around and smoke as much dope as i wanted, but not under his roof lol, whoops!)
One thing that has always remained very important to me about tattoos...is that NOBODY can take them away from you..(with the exception of maybe a mad man with a belt sander /jk). Once that tattoo is in your skin, it's all yours. Your parents can't undo it. The bank and the tax man can't take it away from you. The government can't take them away from you. Rich or poor that tattoo is in there! Your life can go to shit in an instant but your tattoos and the stories they tell remain.

"Tattoos are luxury products. It's not something that anyone really needs."
I remember reading it just like that somewhere for the first time and I have heard people expressed the idea since. I've thought about it a lot since and tried to formulate my thoughts on it. I'm not sure yet that I have a definitive comeback that I'd let people quote me on but let's explore the theme for a while.
If you talk about different sorts of needs, in most cases I'd say tattoos are not fundamental to life in the way food, clothes and shelter are. Getting tattooed probably ranks pretty close to the top of Marslows pyramid of needs for most people. Of course there is circumstances where having certain tattoos could save your life (or make you lose it), just think of prison culture in many parts of the world. Many of us have seen the sensational documentary about tattoos of the criminal Russian subculture. You could also argue that sometimes tattoos can help in sexual interaction and from some evolutionary perspective help the poor genes in your body keep life going past your death.
Then there is all the sociological aspects of in-groups and out-groups and how most people try to fit in someplace, if not in the mainstream then somewhere else. Some biologists talk about how having a sharp intellect is an aid in evolution, that it's an important factor in the sexual selection. The intellect in turn would be expressed in external symbols, status symbols, titles, behaviors, the clever words we use to impress each other and tell the world who we are. I've read people arguing that often art: both appreciating (the right) art in front of others (or symbols there of) and the performance/creation of art (or the symbols there of) is also a evolutionary strategy in order to find a mate and make children.
Of course us humans enjoy thinking of ourselves, and humanity, as something more complex than that. At the same time sex and violence/love and death is at the core of both art and the human experience. Right now I am reading a book about evolutionary theory and one of the main points the author makes is that we have to bridge the gap between biology and the humanitarian sciences. Religion and art for example, has it's roots in evolutionary processes but has in part branched out and become so complex over time that often we forget it was created by the human brain, which was in turn formed through evolution.
Maybe that was sort of a side track, decide yourself. Truth is you can not eat your tattoos, they won't shelter you from the elements and keep you warm. (But many people have in different ways made money from making tattoos or having tattoos, to put food on the table in their cave or hut) If I was really running low on cash, say I lost my job, getting tattooed would pretty quick be had to put on hold. So I could eat and pay rent. However, I suspect most people who do get tattoo regularly, especially those LST-forum members, can probably afford to live a pretty comfy lifestyle by a global standard (or even just comparing with people in their own country) and on top of that spend money on this kind of luxury.
Sometimes I can feel guilty about it, like this money could pay for "real things" that could prove helpful. I know my parents think I should be saving money for an apartment to own, and such things, as if I wanted their way of life. Or just put money in the bank for "the future". Once my aunts man asked me how much I paid for a tattoo on my arm and when I told me he exclaimed "But that money could get you a moped!". But I don't want a moped... I said. I think many are provoked by heavily tattooed people for this reason, to different extent.
A funny scene to illustrate this happened last week. By chance I ran into my friend Olle (some people might know him as @tattoo_pilgrim on instagram) outside of Systembolaget (state owned chained of stores in Sweden, the only one who legally can sell alcohol stronger than %3,5) We ended up standing right in front of the store, talking for 10 minutes. All the time people are going into the store to spend money on alcohol. Both me and Olle have tattoos showing, and right next to me sits a Roma woman, begging the shoppers for money. On my foot next to her I have a tattoo of a sleeping bum with a cloudy speech bubble containing the acronym C.R.E.A.M. I don't know exactly how it ties to what I am writing, maybe not at all in the sense of language, but I thought it was an absurd scene to be part of.
I think most middle class people, and even working class people in some countries, can afford to spend huge sums of money on objects, interests and pursuits that are not crucial to their day to day existence. One example I often find myself using is that it is not considered weird to want to spend 20.000 euro on a car, or to lust after a watch for 500 euro. In fact it's culturally sanctioned and encouraged by advertising and other instances of our society.
For me tattooing is great joy on so many levels. I would not be the person I am today without the tattoos, impressions, thoughts and experiences I've collected since 2009 when I got my first piece. I could never have imagined then what it would spiral into. I remember the first time I formulated for my father that tattoos could be a hobby even if you are not making tattoos, or to my new friend in Italy that tattooing was art. It was strange to put those words in my mouth then, I was not sure if I really had thought it through enough. But now, years later, I know that this what I think and feel is good for me.
So spending that money and effort is all worth it. In the same way people enjoy fancy cars, travel the globe to see their favorite band perform, slave away at the gym, put hundreds of euros a month on clubbing, alcohol and drugs, and all other things that may or may not be luxurious to indulge in. And maybe in a way we are doing it because we believe that in this culture it will set us apart in a way that allow our genes to live on. So even if the acts are "un-natural" or superficial, the motivation is very human and basic. It's up for debate
Hmm.. maybe this blog post-length rant is not going anywhere really. As I wrote, this is like a loosely weaved net of ideas that is still shifting in shape and content. Feel free to discuss whatever I wrote or introduce your own ideas tied to the theme.
PS. I studied sociology for a while, but probably not enough to make any sense, perhaps you can tell D.S.

I'm thinking you should discuss this with your artist and let them guide you.
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A crazy old dude came up to me in the street a few weeks ago, he was pointing out his wrist to me. He had a tattoo on the top of his arm and so do I, so I started showing mine thinking he was looking to talk tattoos. Turns out he was just trying to do the universal signifier for 'do you have the time'.
I guess Decoratedskins say the darndest things too. Haha.

The other day I was wearing a pretty dorky anime t-shirt and shorts and waiting for an ice cream when I noticed a small girl sneaking glances my way, as little kids do when they know they're not supposed to stare at strangers but sort of really want to anyway. First she looked at my shirt, then at the dolphin-fish on my leg, and then gave me a conspiratorial smile. Like: you can wear cartoons on your shirt AND on your leg?!

I got the creep factor the other day at the market. I was at the check out line and there was a married couple one lane over. I noticed that every time his wife was turned away from me, he was making eye contact with me and giving me the "hey baby head nod and smirk" Gross, completely turned my stomach. I gave him my best snarley face and a head shake. really, I don't mind looks as much as I do creepy men who disrespect their wives like that.

I did tattoo number 10 tonight. Got to work on the outskirts of one of my teacher's tattoos. Super supportive client. It was an interesting spot to tattoo on. Really happy with my saturation. 14 hour day at the studio, so I don't have much more to say, except GOODNIGHT!

Sigh, my hubby just had a lovely portrait of a woman put right over his heart. Never considered a pic of me....Rat bastard.....At least with the placement and his um natural coat, She is the bearded lady.

my personal favorite Fireup The Weed

Sounds like a glass of wine (or whiskey), a nice hot shower, an ibuprofen and a nap are called for!

Maybe change the name of this subforum to "Don't even fucking think about posting anything"

Forgot to get a photo right after the tattoo. But it is definitely in the healing phase. Ran out of Tegaderm too, waahhhhhhhhh. Back to Aquaphor for this one.
Gap filler little demon head (with a badass mullet) by Jason Phillips, FTW Oakland CA. He had two cancellations that day, and I just happened to pop in randomly. Right place right time.

You want a diagram of how to do a squat?

Hi there, my name is Nathan, I'm new to this site and honestly I'm looking for critiques in the work I've been getting done. I'm super happy with the work and the tattoo artist has been amazing. But I feel the need to ask others in the tattoo community what they think as well.
I'm going full sleeve classic universal monsters, your opinions are appreciated. Thanks all.

Surprised at how casually the money issue was discussed here... If I had been giving someone money for (things that I deemed) necessities like rent or school, and then I saw them cruising around town in a brand new car, or with a brand new tattoo... That's super disrespectful. It's like being in debt to a drug dealer and blowing all your money on other shit... you're gonna get hit...
If a person can afford this nonsense they should be able to afford everything else. Getting tattooed while still living under a financial security blanket is childish

I forget what happened to inspire the remark, but at some point I cracked a joke about my arms being ripped off, and my friend said 'hopefully not the expensive one.' It was the first time I realized that one of my arms is actually worth more than the other one. What a strange thought.