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BrookR70

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Posts posted by BrookR70

  1. Ok, I'm gonna be a little blunt, so sorry in advance for sticking my nose in. I'm writing this like a friend-to-friend and not trying to come down on you. And FYI I'm a chick.

    Nice work SeeSea. I kept reef aquariums for several years and I love reef scenes.

    Anyway...

    @SeeSea

    She doesn't want a swallow, she wants a bluebird (not a blue bird). Scientific name Sialia. I already have a swallow that goes with my parent's memorial tattoo. (see avatar)

    I don't have a lighthouse yet. I'm getting one in two weeks.

    I could totally see a swallow and a lighthouse going together, but a bluebird and a lighthouse? I suppose, but it's no peanut butter and chocolate, if you know what I mean. It would have been easy easy if she'd chosen a seafaring bird.

    Maybe way I'm off, but rather than having a bluebird lost in large tattoo with the main focus being a lighthouse, I decided to make her the center subject.

    And yes, ultimately the tattoo is for me. All of my tattoos are for me.

  2. I understand " better safe than sorry" but I wouldn't start off with all the negativity.

    This is what I was saying in my blog; if someone is important enough to you that you want to get something either to represent them, or their name- then just get it and live with it!

    Partly because I carry this silly superstition that if I get her name tattooed on me, then our marriage WILL end in divorce.

    Another reason is that she wanted me to add an element to my upcoming tattoo (a bluebird) to represent her. I agreed, but then had second thoughts because a bluebird wouldn't quite work with what I had in mind (lighthouse and ship). If she had said seagull, it would have been easier.

    So, I wanted to surprise her with something larger and more memorable than a small bluebird surrounded by other stuff. The negativity from comes being practical and watching too many episodes of Tattoo Nightmares where people go in asking for huge coverups of names of their exes that they've had for years.

    Edit: Almost forgot the most important reason...my father served in WWII and the Korean war and was heavily tattooed. He met his first wife between wars and had her name tattooed on his chest. She died of cancer. He later met my mother. My mother accepted him for who he was, but I'm sure she'd rather not be reminded of my dad's first wife every time he took his shirt off. How do you compete with that?

  3. I started volunteering for a wild bird rescue center. It's literally a crappy job, but I love being around and interacting with the birds. Usually they are baby birds that fall out of nests, or birds that were injured by cats/dogs/cars. I get to clean cages, floors, aviaries as well as prepare food and maintain the facilities. Occasionally they'll have me help with the feeding and care of the birds.

    So far my favorites have been the hummingbirds. They'll buzz around your head because they're just naturally curious and not too fearful of humans. I also get to work with swallows, ducks, sparrows, finches, pigeons, doves, and quail.

    I do this for 4 hours per week and it's been very rewarding despite having to constantly clean up bird poop.

  4. My wife wants me to get a bluebird that signifies her in my next piece (ship and lighthouse). I can't find a decent pic of a bluebird that doesn't look girly. I don't want it to screw up my lighthouse. So now I'm thinking about getting a special tattoo just for her. Something that's small that can be easily covered up if I need to. Name tattoos don't sound half bad in that regard.

  5. Yelp actually helped me out indirectly. My wife wanted to know how much I paid for one of my recent tattoos and I wouldn't tell her. She looked up my shop on Yelp and read a review where a guy actually mentioned a price that was lower than what I paid. The review was 2 years old. She thinks I'm spending less on my tattoos. On the flip side, you'd think I would be upset for paying more than the other guy, but I'm not. I know what artists in my area charge, and I feel like I'm getting a good deal.

    <rant> On a side note...whenever I decide to do business that involve more than a couple of hundred dollars (mechanics especially), I go to the BBB web site. I know it's not nearly as popular, but usually there's enough information there to be able weed out bad businesses. These are people with legitimate complaints. They actually have to go through a moderated process to file a complaint and that process takes time and effort. I know that there probably aren't many tattoo shops listed, but it's worth supporting them. </rant>

  6. Ha! If my SWMBO saw the place where I get tattooed, she would force me to take a battery of tests before letting me near her and my daughter. OK, so it's not really that bad, but it is very old school, which is why I like it.

    When I started dating my current partner, he was actually against tattoos, and it became the cause of a lot of friction between us. I think his perception of tattoo shops and tattooed people in general was very stereotypical. The whole dirty trashy tattoo shop, drugs, alcohol, crazy, out of control thing. As I began to collect more tattoos he was actually pretty ticked off about it. I finally convinced him to come with me to get the shading finished on one of mine. He was surprised how clean and professional the environment was, and how talented my artist and other artists were. He has one of his own now, and thinking about a second! I think the main problem is the negative perception by others most times.
  7. Just a follow up to post #345...

    So, while at my in-laws watching the world cup, I sank deeply into a chair and was just zoning out. My wife yelled out, "What's that on your shoulder?". Apparently, my sleeve crept up and revealed my sweet and sour babies.

    "Do you have any others? Let me see your back!"

    I showed her my bouy tattoo. She asked when I got them and I told her the first week of November and that she hadn't seen my bare back since last September. She was completely dumbfounded to say the least. My mother-in-law almost fell over in her chair trying to listen to our conversation.

    My wife was pretty upset, but not really because of the tattoos. She had gotten used to the idea that I had them. The fact that she hadn't seen them in such a long time showed her that I could be respectful around her. What she was really upset about was the fact that I went to great lengths to hide something from her and what else was I hiding from her. Completely understandable. I apologized for that, but told her that I just didn't want to go through the drama after every time I got one.

    Luckily she put everything in perspective and she knows I'm a good husband and father. She asked if I was going to get any more. I was honest and told her that I probably was going to fill in the center of my back. She understood that and I only got the silent treatment for a couple of hours instead of a couple of days.

    She wasn't too crazy about the sweet and sour babies. She critiqued them and thought they were too plain compared to my others. She liked the new buoy tattoo but didn't like the meaning behind it (solitude/being alone). She also insisted that when I get my back filled in, that there be a small blue bird to represent her. I agreed to that.

    So, everything worked out and I can now sleep with my shirt off again. I'm going to get my center back piece done during the first week of September, while she's gone on a business trip. It's going to be a ship and a lighthouse (the lighthouse of the town I grew up in). I recently sold one of my motorcycles, so I have a little extra cash.

  8. Compromises are OK, but not when only one member of the relationship is compromising! Also, tattoos are permanent. They are part of you. I like to say Vermont will always be my home and is a "part" of me, but I've compromised and accepted that it makes more sense for my husband to live closer to NYC. That is the biggest compromise I've made in our relationship, but he knows if he ever takes away a hobby of mine (ex. getting tattooed) were going to have some issues. I would never dream of discouraging him from following something he loves unless it was damaging his health or the relationship. Just my $0.02.

    Well then, it appears that we are in the same boat. I agreed to move to Boise from SoCal so that she could be closer to her family. I don't like it here, but I love my wife enough to live here for a few more years until we make a move to Portland. I have been supportive in just about everything my wife has pursued and I have made sacrifices for her happiness. Of course, she's done the same for me as well.

    Would you dump your husband if he suddenly decided he didn't like your tattoos?

  9. It kind of sounds like a mother-son relationship. I'd try to shift the balance by talking it through (again) and coming clean... Facing the music before she discovers it some other way! I used to hide stuff from my parents if I knew they wouldn't like it but hiding stuff in a marriage is dangerous to the marriage. Causes mistrust, etc. that's supposed to be your partner!

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    I'm no psychiatrist, so maybe you're right, maybe you're not.

    Maybe I've decided to fight this battle and let other other battles pass. I keep hearing the word "compromise" being thrown around when describing relationships. Those that have never had to compromise are the lucky ones. I've compromised in so many other ways it's ridiculous. I don't feel that I "deserve" to have tattoos because of my compromises. I feel that it's a harmless way to express myself. My wife sees otherwise.

    BTW...I would almost kill to be back in Simi Valley. You should be grateful to be living in such a great place.

  10. Hiding new ink from the wife? This will end in pure fail.

    I'd engage her instead. I'd show her all the research I'd do in finding the right artist, the design I'm going after etc. In the meantime I'm doing the things that good husbands do to make the boss happy. Cuz if momma's happy then pappy's happy.

    I did this with my parrot tattoo. I left the drawings out in plain view, was honest and open with her, showed her the difference between good tattoos and bad tattoos, watched Ink Master with her, took her to a local tattoo convention, and kissed her butt until I got blisters on my lips. She wasn't for it, but she didn't seem completely against it...until after I got it. Then I got the 3rd degree followed by the money lecture (we're fine financially), followed by the silent treatment. She eventually got over it, but at the time I knew I wanted three more tattoos. I'd rather go that whole mess just one more time rather than three times.

    Of course, I could have just put a hold on the tattoos after that, but I (probably) made a very stupid choice and went ahead with it anyway.

  11. You wear a T-shirt all the time?!

    Believe it or not, yes. I have a separate bathroom that I use downstairs because I wake up early and don't want to disturb her. I wear a shirt to bed. We have our own routines, but we see plenty of each other throughout the day. My 2 year old digs my sweet and sour baby tattoos and I can't help but wonder if she's the one that's going to out me once she starts talking in complete sentences.

  12. How did she react?

    My whole thing about hiding them is that I don't want to go through all of the drama associated with getting new ink each time I get a new tattoo. I'd rather get the ink I want and then go through it only once. I'm already saving up for a weekend trip out of state when that happens.

  13. I'm still hiding mine. I've gotten two new tattoos since last November and my wife doesn't know about them. I get tattooed when she goes on business trips. I keep a t-shirt on all of the time so she doesn't see them. It's pretty immature and selfish of me, but it's who I am. I know I will always love them.

    The last time I got one (my third one...I have 5 total...four in the last year) she gave me three days of grief. I want one more large tattoo down my spine. I keep them covered around her and that seems to preserves the peace. I know I'm going to have to face the music someday, and I know I will catch tons of grief, but I want to be able to say that it's been a year since I've gotten my new ink so that I can show her that I'm being responsible about it.

    Aside from this, we have a good relationship. And we both realize that tattoos, in the grand scheme of things, are pretty insignificant. But, it sure would have been easier to meet someone that shared my interest in ink. I find women with nice tattoos very sexy.

  14. On my most recent piece on my back/shoulder, the tattoo extends down to the crease of my armpit. That was painful enough, but I had to go back the very next day and have it shaded because we ran out of time. Sonofabitch!

    The artist even said, "I don't blame you if you think I'm the biggest asshole on the face of the earth right now."

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