bongsau

I started taking Italian language classes.

LOL ,well,right on ! I guess !?!?!?  I like going to a  beach and maybe sitting in a comfy chair and hanging out for a while,

so we landed on Maui yesterday for 2 weeks.
fun on the flight,
views from our condo ,
and a few little green friends at the tiki lounge.
Aloha !

Hi and welcome,
don't look at your tattoos with a microscope,
and trust me, late thirties is not late to the game, I am 60 and still getting and rockin'  tattoos.
also, swelling is normal,
and our skin differs a lot from area to area, so different parts of our bodies heal and react differently to tattoos.

If it’s just those little areas I wouldn’t worry too much about it. The tattoo is still very new. If it’s obviously not infected I don’t see the reason for putting antiseptic on an already irritated section of skin. If it were me, I’d leave it be and let it heal and settle then see about touching the spot up if some of the ink fell out.


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if you do go the stars/dots route, suggest you get them all done at once by the same tattooer, so they look consistent. and a tattooer that is experienced with that traditional look.
but idk, perhaps just leave it. adding dots/stars could really muddy it all up, i'm not sure if it will really 'bring it together' - your pieces are all black and they are already fairly close together.
you still got room for a nice wrist tattoo and what looks like a lot of torso real estate for some really cool big interesting pieces. that might help you take your own focus away from feeling your arm is incomplete (which i don't think it is, looks great as-is).

if you do go the stars/dots route, suggest you get them all done at once by the same tattooer, so they look consistent. and a tattooer that is experienced with that traditional look.
but idk, perhaps just leave it. adding dots/stars could really muddy it all up, i'm not sure if it will really 'bring it together' - your pieces are all black and they are already fairly close together.
you still got room for a nice wrist tattoo and what looks like a lot of torso real estate for some really cool big interesting pieces. that might help you take your own focus away from feeling your arm is incomplete (which i don't think it is, looks great as-is).

if you do go the stars/dots route, suggest you get them all done at once by the same tattooer, so they look consistent. and a tattooer that is experienced with that traditional look.
but idk, perhaps just leave it. adding dots/stars could really muddy it all up, i'm not sure if it will really 'bring it together' - your pieces are all black and they are already fairly close together.
you still got room for a nice wrist tattoo and what looks like a lot of torso real estate for some really cool big interesting pieces. that might help you take your own focus away from feeling your arm is incomplete (which i don't think it is, looks great as-is).

if you do go the stars/dots route, suggest you get them all done at once by the same tattooer, so they look consistent. and a tattooer that is experienced with that traditional look.
but idk, perhaps just leave it. adding dots/stars could really muddy it all up, i'm not sure if it will really 'bring it together' - your pieces are all black and they are already fairly close together.
you still got room for a nice wrist tattoo and what looks like a lot of torso real estate for some really cool big interesting pieces. that might help you take your own focus away from feeling your arm is incomplete (which i don't think it is, looks great as-is).

Ultimately whatever image you see and use can represent or remind you of whatever it does. The translation doesn't need to be literal, as long as having that image isn't about translating to casual strangers. 

Don't do it.

Quit putting antibiotic stuff on it. Just let it heal.

Just keep it clean. Don't over futz with it. It's further from your heart, which can mean it takes longer to heal. It looks normal to me.

i'm not going to pretend i understand post-prison or gang life...but i wish you luck so you can take your kid to the public pool one day and enjoy a normal life. cheers

yes, context is everything.
I stand by what I said to this young girl "just get the tattoos you want". who cares. i hope that she heard that, if she was in fact sincere about tattoos. if she does get the same tattoo I wear, well i hope it's done really well and gives her the confidence and exciting feelings it gave me. own it !
everything has been done and reproduced. sure, she might end up with a similar tattoo in the same spot...everything has already been done...but no way is it possible for her to copy my look of (6) neck tattoos unless she wants to recreate the last 6 years of my life.
i feel that the modern-age of internet tattoo picture collecting is feeding into this. Like, everyone is always taking photos of themselves, their surroundings and everything and anything...that we have forgotten etiquette and how to interact with the real world and more importantly each other real-time as people.
 
 
 

"the artist is pretty well known for his linework"
da fuq? 

"the artist is pretty well known for his linework"
da fuq? 

yes, context is everything.
I stand by what I said to this young girl "just get the tattoos you want". who cares. i hope that she heard that, if she was in fact sincere about tattoos. if she does get the same tattoo I wear, well i hope it's done really well and gives her the confidence and exciting feelings it gave me. own it !
everything has been done and reproduced. sure, she might end up with a similar tattoo in the same spot...everything has already been done...but no way is it possible for her to copy my look of (6) neck tattoos unless she wants to recreate the last 6 years of my life.
i feel that the modern-age of internet tattoo picture collecting is feeding into this. Like, everyone is always taking photos of themselves, their surroundings and everything and anything...that we have forgotten etiquette and how to interact with the real world and more importantly each other real-time as people.
 
 
 

"the artist is pretty well known for his linework"
da fuq? 

"the artist is pretty well known for his linework"
da fuq? 

Maybe you really don't 😬🤢

Interesting and creepy experience. 
I cover up most of the time, but sometimes my half sleeves show. I’ve only had two photo requests, and they were quite different. One, a young woman just came up to me at a street arts fair and rather abruptly said “Can I take a picture of your tats?” First of all the word “tats” turned me off immediately, and secondly she already had her phone out like it was a foregone conclusion that I would say yes. I just politely said no, I’d prefer not to have my picture taken. She seemed rather miffed.
The other time, a woman approached me politely after a workout at the gym, asked about my sleeves, and was quite nice and respectful. She asked intelligent, and I think sincere questions, and I answered them to the best of my ability. It was very comfortable, and I voluntarily pulled up my sleeves to show her the extent. At the end, she asked me if she could take a picture. She was very polite, and almost apologetic, and I said yes. 
So for me, it was all about context and feel. I’m pretty private, and this has only happened twice, but I’m more likely to say yes if I judge that the person is sincerely interested, and not just collecting pictures. I’m that way when people ask me about my tattoos. I love to talk about my tattoos if a person is sincerely interested and not creepy. 

How do you react when strangers ask to photograph your tattoos ?
---------
so this happened the other night at a rock concert...younger chick (she had small sticker and black out tattoos) gets in my face with her iphone and her opening line is:
girl: hey i want to take a picture of your neck tattoo
me: um, no thank you - it's cool if you want to take a closer look but I don't want my picture taken right now. 
girl: well, i work at the counter of a tattoo studio.
me: cool, good for you.
girl: yeah, my tattoo artists wants to give me that exact same tattoo on my neck. so i want to take a picture of yours to show them.
me: excuse me? yeah, no. you can't take a picture of my tattoo.
girl: but, i want to take a picture of your neck tattoo to show him... ~why i shouldn't get it~
me: <<WTF did she just say??>> yknow lady, just get whatever tattoos you want. i'm not the first and not the last to have this imagery. but sorry, you cannot take a photo of mine for your reference.
girl: well, ~i seen ~ some like that on the internet before.
me: great, good for you. i got mine on a trip to Belgium.
girl: <blank stare>
me: it was a really enlightening experience.
girl: so i can't take a picture of it then?
me: no, you can't.
girl: fine. whatever.
----------------------
Now i've been approached on the beach and on the street before, perhaps people find my tattoo look interesting and i give off a welcoming energy. These are often interactive, friendly and interesting exchanges. I don't mind that ! 
Like, can't we just have a normal conversation, use that to inspire ideas...seriously some people are a bit clueless...... but hey at least she asked ... it's too bad she couldn't just be normal and have an open conversation about tattooing, I'd probably have been less dismissive ... but she came on a bit strong like she was entitled to take a photo of my neck tattoo ... uncool ... end rant...
Anybody else experience the random photograph request ? How do you respond and deal with it ?

How do you react when strangers ask to photograph your tattoos ?
---------
so this happened the other night at a rock concert...younger chick (she had small sticker and black out tattoos) gets in my face with her iphone and her opening line is:
girl: hey i want to take a picture of your neck tattoo
me: um, no thank you - it's cool if you want to take a closer look but I don't want my picture taken right now. 
girl: well, i work at the counter of a tattoo studio.
me: cool, good for you.
girl: yeah, my tattoo artists wants to give me that exact same tattoo on my neck. so i want to take a picture of yours to show them.
me: excuse me? yeah, no. you can't take a picture of my tattoo.
girl: but, i want to take a picture of your neck tattoo to show him... ~why i shouldn't get it~
me: <<WTF did she just say??>> yknow lady, just get whatever tattoos you want. i'm not the first and not the last to have this imagery. but sorry, you cannot take a photo of mine for your reference.
girl: well, ~i seen ~ some like that on the internet before.
me: great, good for you. i got mine on a trip to Belgium.
girl: <blank stare>
me: it was a really enlightening experience.
girl: so i can't take a picture of it then?
me: no, you can't.
girl: fine. whatever.
----------------------
Now i've been approached on the beach and on the street before, perhaps people find my tattoo look interesting and i give off a welcoming energy. These are often interactive, friendly and interesting exchanges. I don't mind that ! 
Like, can't we just have a normal conversation, use that to inspire ideas...seriously some people are a bit clueless...... but hey at least she asked ... it's too bad she couldn't just be normal and have an open conversation about tattooing, I'd probably have been less dismissive ... but she came on a bit strong like she was entitled to take a photo of my neck tattoo ... uncool ... end rant...
Anybody else experience the random photograph request ? How do you respond and deal with it ?

I was born in Belgium and stayed there till I was 24. Had no tattoos then so can't help. But if you have the chance to go to Ghent please do. The Cathedral and castles are amazing. Make sure to visit the torture room in Gravensteen castle

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