Thoughts & Tattoo’s: YUP!

I am currently in the thick of finals and I am so distractable! 8 more days until the Bahamas and my mind is elsewhere right now! But I have to take 2 finals before then: one for my Dysphagia (swallowing disorders) class and the other for my Voice Disorders. My Thanksgiving was swell this year, I was invited to the Jersey Shore to celebrate with a dear bloggie friend. It’s my second consecutive year spending Thanksgiving with her. The day after Thanksgiving, she was itching for a new tattoo and I was still thinking about the tattoo I never got for my birthday. Throwing caution to the wind, we went and did it. Just like that. Okay, maybe with just a little peer-pressure on her part.

Now, I’m not going to say I wasn’t scared. I was. I won’t say it didn’t hurt. It did. But once I got over the drilling noise (which reminded me of the dentist) and I turned the other way while he worked, I was fine. Before long, the pain turned to pressure. Uncomfortable pressure, but nothing I couldn’t stand. The healing process is underway now. The tattoo went from being sensitive/red and sore to the touch, to peeling and dry looking. The ink is not as dark as it once was, and now you can see how it’s engraved in my skin as opposed to looking like someone wrote on me with a Sharpie maker. So it’s set.

I will say my tattoo artist, Jimmie, wasn’t very comforting. My friend held my hand and talked me through it before he began and through the first few minutes. I practically self-soothed afterwards. I always watch the tattoo shows and think it’s pretty cool when the artists try to build rapport with the clients, although they may not possibly ever see them again (maybe they just do that for TV). It’s important, as a first timer, to feel that this person with painful instruments who is in close proximity to you wants to make sure you’re cool and happy with what is going on. Jimmie didn’t feed into my fantasy.  Well, now it’s over and I’m not sure I’ll go for anymore tattoos. Not because Jimmie didn’t baby me. Just because I can’t see anything else I want that bad on my body.

So…I know you’ve been waiting to get a glimpse of my new INK!

Est. 11-29-13

PURA VIDA and its significance

“Pura vida” is Costa Rica’s unofficial national slogan that is used in everyday conversation. The literal translation to English “pure life” loses its essence as is common in word-for-word translations but it basically evokes the spirit that ´life is good.´In essence, Pura Vida is a mentality, a daily reminder to take life easy and never lose sight of what’s really important in the bigger scheme of things.