Colored Guy

Ello everyone! I am back (well sort of). Been enjoying browsing through the LTL thread. *high fives to all* A friend and I may be going to the Montreal Convention, but nothing for sure yet, so hopefully I can meet some LSTers and *fingers crossed* get tattooed?!

Yeah, so... moved back to VT and slowly settling in. Starting a new job next week and very excited as it will give me more clinical mental health experience and all the people who work there are super cool. Also pretty proud of myself for landing a FT w/ benefits job in less than a month since moving here, and a better one at that. Feels really good.

Trying to move on relationship-wise, don't see the point in "appropriately?" mourning the break-up... so I have a potential date! Also reconnecting with old friends and making new ones, which has been a blast. And seeing my family everyday is a joy like none other.

And its very clear how much happier my puppy is here instead of in the city. She's a runner and definitely prefers to be off-leash :)

Not sure how often I'll be contributing on here, but just wanted to let y'all know I'm not dead... yet! And keep on getting rad tattoos, you all rule and thanks for the support.

Good for you, I knew it would turn around for the better.

Drove past a fatal highway accident involving a biker just now :/

One of the most aggravating aspects of my job as a trucker is watching people do really dangerous and idiotic things all day, and not being able to do anything about it. Some of the stuff people do, litterally blows me away, they just dont taje it seriously. I'm not sure what caused this accident, the motorcycle was the only vehicle on scene, but it was in a spot that he couldn't have really wrecked on his own, something had to have caused it. Which means theres a 99% chance it could have been easily avoided. Such a shame.

I was going to work a couple of weeks back and right past where I turn into my street, there was a crashed motorcycle and car with someone covered up on the street. The street was closed off both ways. I later learned that the guy on the bike was killed and a local guy. No idea what happened but you have to have eyes on the back of your head if you ride a bike.

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Amazing how many don't see the motorcycle, and don't care about the trucker. Just assume we can and will stop, or get out of the way. I still cannot fathom why people speed way up to pass me, right before the exit they want. Then jump in with only a few feet between us, and slam on the brakes to make the exit. Literally a dozen times a day usually.

This sounds about right for where I live. I don't ride right now, too much congestion and too many idiots on the road. Bad enough to commute in a car at times. I rarely see bikes on the parkways, see a moderate amount on the expressway.

Its not going to remove a tattoo because its a bleach. The best you will get is tattoo that has faded some. Needles put tattoos deep into the skin. No miracle cream is going to fix that.

... unless they apply it with a belt sander with 60 grit paper....

Too much to ask. The degree of dickage sometimes grows over time and circumference.

Fixed that for you...

Use the hotel towels, they are probably cloroxed to death and the cleanest thing around. I use beach towels on my bed at home when I have a fresh tattoo.

I know a few really large ladies at the beach with great tattoo work. We compare new work and talk tattoos all the time and they are probably the least self-conscious people I know.

Watch it especially public pools, they chlorinate the crap (literally..) out of them and you are always sure to find a bandaid somewhere on the bottom. My pool at home is not that chlorinated I keep it at the recommended 1-2 parts per million. Public pools are probably at 4-6 PPM. Also the pH comes into play, if that's not where it should be it limits the ability of chlorine (even at high levels) to be effective as a sanitizer.

People like that that need to get acquainted with Mr. Baseball-bat for sure! Hope you can get him out of your life soon!

..or invite him to a blanket party. Those are always fun, depending on what side of the blanket you're on...

If it means anything... the guy who invented the wheel is still getting fucked today....

I ran 2 F trucks both with 351C's a few years back. Loved them trucks. Had them both converted to LPG too. I was surprised how well them motors pumped on gas. It was like they we're build for LPG. Nice little score on the 59. That's what ya need, cool projects to keep ya occupied. Kinda why I just bought this '78 Trumpy Tiger. Talking with one of the brothers tonight. Another one of the boys has a '78 Trumpy Bony. I'll get Dodgy to give me a good orientation on these Units.

Can ya post a pick of your Custom 3 please mate?

Had a bastard week this week, so knocked off early, pulled out the Harley and smashed the fucker through the hills.

I ran into a small glitch with the shipping... car has no brakes and the carrier they sent wasn't able to handle it, so they're sending someone else. So it takes a few more days. I can do a 350 Chevy installation fairly cheaply and quickly as I have almost everything on hand. I do have a line on a BOSS 351 and a 4-speed, but this is a full race set up.

Still love to do a 429 or 460 which will run into some tall $$, still an option. The 350 Chevy is relatively easy, all I need to do is change the oil pan (pump too) to an early Nova style, has a front sump to clear the Ford crossmember.

I'll post up some pictures as soon as I get the thing. Pretty stressful waiting around for what else is going south on the deal. Post up some pictures on the Triumphs. I knew a guy that had a Sunbeam Alpine with a 302 Ford in it, went like a scalded dog. Yeah, I know the deal with work sucking, we're a tad slow here with vacations this month so I'm caught up.

I finally got my (Restricted) drivers licence today after sitting on my Learners for 21 years- second attempt, the instructor told me how shit I was at driving and then told me I passed. Go figure.

Awesome.. my last restricted license went along with paying fines and a shit-ton of money to my lawyer... but they threw out the gun charges.

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So anyway, trying to keep my mind on other things... I go out and buy a 1959 Ford Custom 300. Its a project car, no drive train but a really clean body. I'm having it shipped from Denver Co. Plans are do the brakes over (front disc), rewire from bumper to bumper, swap in either a 351C or 460 and a 4-speed. I do have a 350 Chevy I could use as well.. and piss off the Ford people. For now, I just want it in my driveway and go over the whole thing cleaning it up and seeing what else it needs.

I get some random things said to me about my tattoos. One thing that really drives me nuts, more so than the "plainskins" term, and more than a "tattoo gun" ( Im a tattooer so that really urks me), is when someone calls a tattoo a "tat".

I usually have a thermal under my T-shirt so my tattoos arent shown very often, but when a little bit poke out of my shirt I get the "wow you have tats?" or " can I see your tats?" that really bugs me.

As far as the typical meaning questions, people are shocked with my answers. I tell them most of the tattoos are just because I like it, or one in particular I got it because "Im NOT supposed to like it" I have a hello kitty day of the dead. I am a guy I am straight, but I got it because "Only girls like hello kitty" I dont always go with the grain of life hahahaa

When someone asks about my tats... if its a female I ask about her tits... isn't that what you said dear?

Drinking before noon. Fun stuff.

Can our stomachs tell time? Hell no.....

That's really the only option, isn't it?

Or a big fucking bad ass dragon that goes from your shoulder to ankle...

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Sounds like an interesting approach.

We grew up being scared about falling peril to the evils of narcotics. I mean, to the point as I've mentioned, literally being petrified about growing up and becoming that very person I was told that was so bad. Experimenting in activities that brought nothing but death and despair and that how "bad" it was and how bad it would make you feel.

So, from that initial experimentation...treading very carefully, and then you discover how good it made you feel, contradicted everything that was installed by fear. No one ever told you that this shit actually makes you feel good. How can something that makes you feel good really be all that bad?

Pffft! Maybe we just approached the whole education behind it from the wrong angle. I don't know, and I probably never will. And maybe I look too deep for an answer why it all went wrong. Never the less, as long as I can try educate my children with an open book as opposed to a closed one we can make a positive difference.

Anyway, interesting article. Appreciate the share.

Every man (or woman) has got something to stay away from, or die from it. In spite of all the bad shit going on with me, I'm not drinking much, staying away from the white powders as well. Been a while since I visited the needle and the spoon (1987) and I have no desire ever to go back to it. It took me maybe 10 years to shake that compulsion. Good thing I have no idea where to find such drugs and anyone I know that is into them is now dead.

I was always attracted to taboo things. I dated black women because I wasn't supposed to, started drinking at age 15, drugs followed soon after. Somehow I knew I'd eventually find my way to cocaine and heroin, it was like I was on a path set by fate. And you're right, heroin is like June Cleaver (blonde milf from TV show Leave it to Beaver) just performed an oral act on me, gave me a back massage and wrapped me up in a nice warm blanket.

If anything good came out of it, I related some of my story to my kids and so far they've turned out well and haven't gotten into 1/4 of the shit I did at that age. Hang in there!

Rob

All the $$ in the world can't buy good taste.

I don't know whether this will help ya but, with all my work which has entailed long sittings, we work out design say for my back & I say quote me for the job for a one up front payment.

Then I squirrel away what I need, then after the 1st sitting, I pay for the entire job.

That way, money is only discussed once, and we can both concentrate on the job at hand without any other interference.

Anyway, might not work for you nor your tattooer as it's hard to anticipate every factor regarding application along the way, plus...my tattooer I have known for years also, so he's happy to roll this way.

I just take to the chair and let the tattooing begin, at the end of the session, I ask how much and fork over the cash. Some artists will give you a firm-fixed-price on a big piece, others won't. In the end most of us work well with artists that we've been with forever.

10 years is a long time.

I like the suggestion of getting a smaller tattoo 1st. Something by an artist you like, but you can afford.

Yes, the 10 year plan is ungodly long. I could see it taking 2-3 years, I'd never wait longer than that to finish something that I really cannot see without using a mirror. But that's just me.

Divorced. Moving in with my mom in VT. Had to cancel all of my tattoo appointments in NYC. Probably won't be getting tattooed until I can afford to travel. Sucks. Sucks. Sucks.

I probably will be preoccupied with life stuff and melancholy over not being able to get tattooed... so I will be fairly absent from here for some time. Thanks everyone for being so cool and getting rad tattoos. I shall return...

I am so sorry to hear this, life really blows sometimes. Hang in there, we all got your back anyway. My oldest son and his girlfriend just moved in with me yesterday, which is good I can use the company. I surely hope you and your mom get along well, may be a good thing for the both of you. You'll find something good it it, you just don't see it right now.

I had my first really open antagonistic stare this week while in Quebec City. I sat down for breakfast and was reading the paper when two unpleasant people made a show of staring at my arms, sneering and then giggling derisively at me. It was weird and I feel sorry for them that they have so little going on in their lives that they tried to make me feel badly about my tattoos. Its fortunate that I do not give a damn what they think of my tattoos, or me, for that matter. I thought about it for a minute, grabbed a second coffee, and relaxed and enjoyed the paper before having a lovely day exploring the walled city with my wife on our anniversary. I've had others stare and clearly not like what they see, but never quite like this. What sad people. I was embarrassed for them. Solution? Get more tattoos.

By the way, this was not representative of the people I met in QC. Apart from them, everyone else was friendly and accomodating and I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Yup, unfortunately there are douchebags in every crowd. But you totally did the right thing, screw 'em if they can't take a joke.

Sorry about your beloved pet, but rejoice in the memories and put some pictures up at home if you can stand that. I can't imagine how bad I'd feel right now if I lost my dear Chloe, she's the best cat.

Half of these are gonna look like utter shite in five years:

The Top 15 Tattoos on Reddit | Tattoodo.com

Some are quite good, others look like Walt Disney blew his burgers on them.

There's defo some advantages.

When we take the kids to the beach and looking for a primo spot to sit, it's amazing how when I'll strip down to a pair of shorts, put up the umbrella, fold out the chair and crack a coldie, then the people who up and move ha!

Was it sumfink that I done? Thanks for the space.

Yeah, like who farted? My wife was the first one to point out that when we were out together, people got out of my way quickly. Then I started noticing it too.

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Grabbing and touching without consent are not cool. I'm an unattractive male and it's happened to me plenty. I've been sitting at dinner with my wife and felt my shirt sleeve being pulled up by a stranger so they could appease their curiosity

...and I don't think we should be telling girls that if a man invades their space and ownership of their own body they should find it charming or flattering. No one else should have control over what they see of you, least of all men over women given the track record and the culture we've created.

I was out at a local bar last week and ran into a couple from town. Me and the husband work out at the same gym, so he sees me all the time. His wife really hasn't seen me in a while, so she says "holy shit, I didn't know you were so tattooed". She pulls up my sleeves for a look. We had a good laugh and she shows me a new one on the back of her neck. She's a total looker so I had no problem with her checking me out. Everyone some stranger does that, I just ask, may I help you?

Go in.....tell the artist your idea......and see what they recommend!

It may be him suggesting that they cover up their own work to make it happen for you and if not then put it as politely as possible to them that you may want them to do just that if it is indeed possible to do so!

Well said. I think it might come up more often than we'd think. Taste changes, you may want something expanded upon and so on. I think that the best person to help with the decision is the OG artist.

That's really nice that you dipped into the tattoo piggy bank to help out your son.

I have an actual piggy bank (well, it's a Chinese lucky cat bank), when I get a pretty good paycheque I go and take out 100$ or something and stash it in there, if I try to mentally compartmentalize my savings into tattoos, and other stuff I get lost, so having tangible cash for tattoos is a much better way for me to save up. When I had my last sleeve done I asked for gift certificates from the shop for my birthday, it was awesome how a bunch of my friends pooled together for a gift :)

As for my husband and I, we keep our finances mostly separate so we save for our tattoos independently of each other. That's why I want to get most of my legs done before we have kids, then I'm sure we'll actually need to budget for things haha. Sometimes I forget how easy two incomes no kids is. Props to all you guys with kids and continuing tattoo projects.

I'd never hear the end of it if I took $400 out of the bank for fixing my son's car... so best to bite the bullet and do what was right. We always mixed our money, I do side work that pays my weekly expenses so my tattoo funds were out of that. If my wife needed money for something that came up, it came out of my stash too. Any gift for her came from that as well.