Tattoo

A tattoo...I've only talked about getting one for about 10 years or so. In 2000 I almost got it. I watched a friend get one, I had my design with, I talked to a guy about it, only problem, I was going to Cancun in 4 days...not a good time to get a tattoo. Then I never went back. Over the time since then, the design slightly changed, so I'm glad now that I didn't do it then because, OK, yes, I'm a girl, but I didn't want a "girly" tattoo. I have wanted a dolphin, mainly because dolphins have been my favorite animal pretty much all my life. A part of me wanted to go into marine biology to work with dolphins. In 2000 I swam with them in Cancun. In 2000 I also swam with them in Hawaii. In Cancun I paid money, in Hawaii I swam offshore into a sheltered cove and had the experience of swimming with a wild spinner dolphin pod of about 30, with 2 or 3, 3 month olds with them...it was very cool. I also wanted something a bit more...I'm a Taurus and I found the Chinese symbol for Taurus is a circle with horns...so I decided a dolphin jumping through that was what I wanted. I also have an artistic side, so I wanted my design, done on my body...of course the artist was going to have the final say in coloring and all that, but I had the basic drawn up of what I wanted. Then I really got the push for it this year...I don't know why exactly but with a lot of the things that have been going on, I just wanted it, and I wanted it under the sign of Taurus, preferably on or before my birthday...but I didn't have an artist...I ended up talking to one guy and wasn't sure about him, but then I found a fantastic artist, that bless his heart, what tough guy tattoo artist wants to do yet another dolphin, but while he teased me about it, he did a very good job. My big thing was not wanting something "cartoony" which I have seen on some people. I wanted realistic looking and nice...Tony did a fantastic job...especially after I hemmed and hawed about it when I realized it was going to be bigger than I wanted...but I went with it...

The tattoo transferred onto my skin.



The Taurus symbol filled in. Originally I was thinking black for that, but he went with blues and coloring it the way it is to go for an "ocean" feel which I like much better than I would've had we gone just black.

The final result.

Immediately after it was done.

So the experience was interesting. It wasn't too bad, a few spots hurt worse than others, but for the most part it was bearable. I love the way it looks and now it only feels, as most people told me it would, like a sunburn. I didn't have any problems sleeping, and while I started thinking maybe it should've been just a little bit higher, I'm actually glad it's not because it's not being rubbed by waistbands of pants like it otherwise might have been. I had one friend come with me for it then I went to see another friend after and I told my sister and one other friend I was getting it today. Other than that, no one has seen it or knows that I have one other than my friends in blogland...and it's in an area that no one has to see it if I don't want them to, which I really like.

Change is Good?

Change is what keeps us moving forward. Change is what brings us to a new level in anything and everything we do. If we stay where we are, if we don't explore new opportunities, if we don't try new things, change will not happen and we will become stagnant. Be that in fitness, a career or anything in life. You have to push the boundaries or you won't find out what you can truly become right?

Well, I gave my notice, all went well with that, which I knew it would. My boss is great. I'm really going to miss him and I told him that. He told the other two attorney's I work with and I told my co-workers and my official last day is June 1, although I technically most likely will be done on May 25th, I'm taking vacation just to push out my benefits and such since I won't have the new ones start for 30 days from my hire date, which really isn't a big deal anyway since I have all my doctors appointments and such lined up to be done before I leave here anyway. We went to lunch for someone's birthday after I had told everyone. We sat, and we talked and we had a nice lunch and I thought "wow, I'm going to miss all this." There were discussions of the move (we are supposed to move floors in the building), upcoming events, etc, and I felt a little sad knowing I'm not going to be part of them. It was nice at lunch, it was comfortable, and when I came to that word, I realized, you know, this is why it's good I'm moving. Comfort is a nice thing. Comfort is something we need sometimes, but if you want to test yourself, you need to get out of your comfort level. It's been a long time since I've left a job that I really honestly like and enjoy and have not been really hard core looking for something else cause I hated it. I am not miserable here like some jobs in the past. I don't dread getting up and going to work (yes, I don't like getting up cause I'm tired, but that is the only reason I don't want to get up), sure some tasks are better than others, but for the most part, I have only a few complaints about things here. I love the location, I love my breakfast of eggbeaters and toast every morning, I love the people I work with, I love that one of my best friends in the world works only 3 floors above me and I can stop and say hi whenever I want (not that I do that often, but it's nice to know she's there)...but with all that comfort, it has really shown me that yes, it is time to move on. I'm not just in a job, I'm working on a career and it's time to push the boundaries. It's time for a change and that change is coming. I had an email from my soon to be boss in response to my email that I was accepting the offer. He asked if the salary was something to make me happy as he had really pushed for it...that makes me quite excited cause if he worked hard to get me something to get me there, that means if I work hard, I would imagine he'll work hard to get me raises to keep me there...he did say that the company rewards star employees...so I need to focus and become a "start employee"...this is my career after all!

So to commemorate the change, today I finally get my tattoo. I mentioned it yesterday. It's something I've wanted for a really long time. Considering I've had the design for about 2-3 years now (my art on my body) I don't know what prompted me to finally push to get it, but I found the artist, and I had a goal of having it before my birthday. The design is of a dolphin, because they are my favorite animal, I have swam with them twice, once when in Cancun and I paid for it, beautiful experience, but then in Hawaii I was able to swim from shore and just snorkel in and amongst a wild dolphin pod...it was a fantastic experience. I also am incorporating the Chinese symbol for Taurus into the design as it's my horoscope sign and I do feel it really does describe me. The artist I'm having do it specializes in wildlife art and also is an oil painter, a friend recommended him so today at 5 I will be meeting with Tony at Serious Ink and finally getting the work. My poor parents, I'm the last of their children not to have one...a friend is coming with me and I have my camera with, so I plan to post pictures tomorrow. Wish me luck. I'm a bit nervous!