Showing posts with label tattoos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tattoos. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 25, 2003

Illusions

We all hold precious illusions. I know have ideas that are so dangerously close to being the foundation of my world view that I dare not look at them too close or my world might crumble in.
I've tried to root out those unrealistic views of the world - to rid myself of the illusions that I use to justify myself. Most of the time, it's nearly impossible - like trying to reach the end of a rainbow. Other times, assumptions will just POP into my head and I'm forced to stop and think about where that came from, and I realize I have this seed of 'whatever' buried in me that I never knew existed.




I wanted to write about rainbows. I saw four last week, two double sets. I had to put on my sunglasses to see them clearly, but I could see the full arch of both of them. I'm still amazed by rainbows. I alwayshave this urge to hunt for the end of one, simply so that I can say that I've stood in the same spot a rainbow touched. My head calmly tells me that such a thing is impossible, becase rainbows are nothing but an illusion - but the child in me still challanges me to go and see. Somehow, I always manageto silence her. Poor thing.




My tattoo doesn't look ugly yet, but I can tell that it's almost completely scabbed over. The black isn't solid black anymore - instead it's black with grayish cracking lines running through it from when my skin twists and bends as I move. I can run my fingers lightly over it and feel the inked bits - they are nubbly and raised. They constrast suddenly and sharply with the smooth, soft bits of my skin that are between the lines. I rub my thigh and contemplate the braille of my body. Of course - I quickly snatch my wandering hands away since H. told me NOT to rub my grubby little fingers all over it, but eh. Whatever.




Porn. I can't really get into it - it's just SO fake. Most porn makes me laugh. I'm not saying that it doesn't turn me on just a wee bit, but honestly I'd rather have a good toe-tingling, eye-blurring, knee-weakening kiss. I'm not tempted to burst out laughing at that - which for some odd reason seems to spoil the mood with porn. I've been told that there IS good porn out there - where the women - while not models, at least look GOOD - and are NATURAL. I mean - what's UP with the Dragon Lady claws? And the BOOBS! Oh heavens - don't even get my started on the utter lack of anything interesting between either the virtual lack of boobs to the silicone wonders. I want some porn where the men look like theyv'e bathed recently, rather than looking grubby, sweaty and oil coated. Where is the porn in which the cum shots are real and so are the moans??
Eh. Maybe I should become a producer.




One of the random things I want to do before I die? I want to see a ghost.




I was talking to one of my coworkers today, and she said "Childbirth is the closest most women come to death before they actually die." I was so flabbergasted I didn't know WHAT to say. I mean - WTF? I asked her for a more detailed reasoning behind that statement and she said "Ya know, all the blood and stuff." Once again, see me looking REAL stunned. I mean, how do you even START with someone who has that level of fear of such a NATURAL process stuck in them? How do you even begin to convince them that women have been doing this for as long as humanity has been around, and it's NOT as bloody dangerous/risky/bad as American medical science would have us believe? She'd most likely be one of those caring neighbors who would call the cops on a woman having a homebirth.




I'm liking the bars today. This has been an odd collections of thoughts that have been bubbling around in my mind. It's actually procrastination. I'm thinking about starting up a business, and I'm starting to feel like its a really stupid idea in an already over saturated environment, and like my mom said The dot.com world is dead. I love her dearly, but sometimes - DAMN that woman. Anyhow - I really should be reading one of the books I have on small business start ups and how to advertise and all that junk - but instead I'm enjoying my new clikcity clackity keyboard by writing this long rambly entry. At the same time, I'm religiously checking The Agonist , and chatting to C. about why Corey was most strongly against us collaborating on a book of erotic fiction.
I don't know if I will ever be - worthwhile. In no way being morbid, but I could vanish off the face of the earth today, and very few people would truly miss the effect/contribution I've had to their lives. And - I'm not sure if I'm okay with that. I know that I don't want to be famous - but I do want to be - vital. Needed. Important in some way to people beyond those I call family. I wonder sometimes if that is why I want children so badly - so that I can have something that depends on ME and that I'm important to. Ugh. I certainly hope not - that would be horrid for both me & the children.




hm. I think my issue with porn is the illusion of desire. How can there be pleasure in sex without desire?

Sunday, March 23, 2003

Pictures

Okay - I still think this is an horrid picture of the tattoo, but then it just might be seeing my skin in all its dappled and ashy glory. :)



That's my hip! IT's the closest thing to a nudie pic I'll ever have online too. :)

These are the Boys.

Giovanni -


and Nikki

Saturday, March 22, 2003

Realization

I never realized just how HARD it is to take a picture of your own hip.

Yes... I got the computer (a Gateway 400SP) and a digital camera (a Canon S45) and the tatoo (the firey one).

I quite nearly freaked out at Gateway over spending THAT much money - and for actually PAYING RETAIL. At one point I almost BEGGED the guy to find me just one coupon - just ONE sale priced item, but he couldn't. So instead, I soothed my consious by signing up for a super cheap (20.00 a month) CABLE MODEM deal. Heh. It's only 750Kbps, but considering I WAS running on 46.6Kbps, its a MASSIVE difference. :)
I think I'm going to be able to transfer all of my stuff from my work computer(s) onto here rather easily - if I was patient enough to wait and upload the stuff while I was at work, it would go faster, but I'm an impatient heifer, so eh.
I also - which I feel slightly guilty about - transfered Adobe Photoshop form the work computer to mine. But I KNOW that I will use it so very much, and god KNOWS I can't afford to spend the 600.00 it would take to get it.
I'm still surrounded my boxes and piles of paper. Everything installed smoothly (including the MS Office I had to pay an extra 300 bucks for - damn you Bill Gates!!) and it's wonderful.
The camera is fun too... I've finally managed to take a good picture of my engagement ring (which I will post over at the girly diary later) and of the boys, my little angels. I also took a picture of my Frog Prince - the permanent resident of my car which I have yet to name. I almost feel like naming it is dishonest to BabyGurl's memory. Besides, this car is so damn adrondynous, I've no clue what to call it.

The tattoo was cool - it only took him about 20 minutes to do it, and it only hurt in a few spots. Getting the black areas shaded actually hurt the least, and I expected them to hurt the point. Getting the tip of the longest flamedone hurt like HELL - but I think that might have been because he went over it more than once. I had to wait a while as the shop was really busy, but I had a good book to read so it wasn't bad at all. I'm quite upset that I didn't getthe ndrophin rush I was expecting - getting pierced has always given me a much better high. Eh well...maybe the back one will do that.

It's been a delightful weekend thus far.

Friday, March 21, 2003

Competition

Corey has no clue - but I'm near in LOVE with this man. Solely for his cutting, insightful, and utterly uncensored writings on his feelings about life as a black person in America.




And that's all I'm going to say about that.




Went to my first belly dancing class yesterday - I got there a few moments late because I couldn't figure out how to get into the building. I finally just gave up and hiked up my skirt and jumped the fence. Heh. It's - interesting. Takes a lot more thought than I expected - you have to concentrate on isolating sections of your body and ONLY moving them. And can I say that standing in front of a mirror THAT big on a weekly basis is going to keep me on the path of no dietary 'deviations'. I'm looking forward to keeping on with this class though - it's fun and it works some muscles I didn't even know I had. After just the first one, I'm sure I'll take it at LEAST once, and I want to take the Intermeadiate and Advanced classes too.
I've discovered something rather frustrating too. Actually - two things that are rather frustrating.
1) I'm VERY disconnected form my body. I have a hard time tapping into getting myself to MOVE the way I want to. I'm way too far into my own head to get further into my body. I'm sure its a side effect of YEARS of utterly NO physical activity more coordinated than walking, so I should be able to improve on that.
2) I am VERY flexible, and while that isn't a bad thing in the least, it makes it really impossible for me to stretch out certain parts of my body (like my shoulders, hips, back and obliques). I can bend until I simply CAN'T bend anymore (due to flesh getting in the way) and STILL not be stretching anything. I think I might swing by a bookstore tonight to and see if I can find a book about stretching - there's GOT to be something I can do.

I finally washed ALL of my clothes yesterday - seven loads (and that was JUST clothing). I counted, and I own 32 pairs of bras (retail price about 800.00 - I paid about 360.00). Once I narrowed them down to ones that actually FIT right - I was at 10 pairs.Well, only having ten bras will at least force me to wash clothes every week.
The ones I can't fit anymore aren't old (under a year - and with THAT many obviously they haven't been worn hard), and still in rather good condition. I'd feel HORRID to throw them out, but is there any place (womens shelter or something) that will actually TAKE bras? I know that Dress for Sucess won't take undergraments - but maybe I can call and double check with them - esp. since they are so big. They bend their rules for suits over a size 14, so maybe they will do the same for bras? I mean good support is the BEST way to look good in your clothes - esp. if you have some big ole bazoombas. I KNOW someone can use them...

This weekend, I plan on lounging about the house mostly. Cleaning some, finishing my centerpieces, and buying my COMPUTER & digital camera!! I got the money, and after a bit of internal debating because having one of those cards reflect a balance of 0.00 is just SO lovely, I decided to go for it. I want to start up a small business, and I simply don't feel RIGHT trying to operate that on the company's equipment. Ethically, it's just a little too far on the shady side. I have no problem with working on my novel(s) at work, as I have no plans of making money from them...
I don't know what computer I'm going to get (though I'm planning on getting a Gateway), but think I do know what camera I want - it's a tie between two very similar ones. Both Canons, as I love the 35mm Canon I have, and both PowerShots. One is the S40, and the other is the S45. *shrugs* Not a big difference between the two, and about a 50 dollar difference, but I need to get in a store and actually hold them to figure out which one I want.
And I'm going to get my tattoo too. On my way home tonight, I'm going to stop into Artistic Skin Designs and schedule some time with Tony (whose work I like the best) to get it done Saturday or Sunday. I'm soooooo excited. If I can, I'll take pictures with my new digital camera....

Thursday, March 20, 2003

Markings

I'm thinking about getting my 1st tattoo this weekend. I've definitely settled on this:



on my right hip but I haven't settled on when I'm going to get it. At first, I wanted Corey here when I got it - but that's really not that crucial to me. Besides, I'd love to suprise him with it.
So. I was thinking about this weekend. There's nothing special about it (except for the fact that I MIGHT be under 200 pounds for the first time in about 4 years), but maybe there shouldn't HAVE to be anything special about it. The act of getting tattooed itself is significant to me.
I'm actually looking forward to the pain of it - though considering I have a relatively high level of pain endurance, it might not be as noticable as I'm expecting it to be, especially since I feel so numb.

Well...numb's not quite the right word. I feel foggy - like my brain's been stuffed with cotton wool and then dipped in water. Work is worthless, as I'm not doing anything real here but checking salon.com, alternet.org and cnn.com.

I think I might go home now. Wash some clothes. Play with my cats. Go to my first bellydancing class.

Wednesday, February 26, 2003

Drums


we justify war
with the constant reminders
of those already dead


Is it even possible anymore to avoid talking about war? Fear is slowly seeping into every segment of our lives, steady doses drip-drip-dripped into the IV of information that I find almost impossible to disconnect. I'm horrified at the callousness of some people. The same president who is rabidly against abortion (it stops a beating heart, ya know) is planning a bombing attack on a city the size of Los Angeles. Talk about hundreds of beating hearts that will come screeching to a halt - and they will be the innocent ones. Those in power are the main ones who have the ability to stay safe, to escape the area, and to end up alive when the bombing is over. See Bin Laden, Osama as a wonderful example of this.
And to use 9/11 (15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi's by the way. None of them were Iraqis) as a 'reason' for war is to make the implied assumption that only American lives are worthy, because we plan on killing far more than 3,000 Iraqis. To use the Kurds as an example ignores the fact that the gas they died from came from Iran, and that they were in the middle of a war zone. Of course, we plan on killing far more innocents than 5,000 too. But they won't be American innocents - so why should it matter? I'm against the war because I'm for life, and that's all the reason I need.




I'm making plans for planting a garden this year. I live in an apartment, so that makes it a little more interesting, but I have a huge wood floored balcony. If we go to war, I'm going to need a place of peace to come home to, and greenery=peace for me. So far, I'm going to plant tomatoes, strawberries, turnips, catnip (can't forget the little ones), cucumbers, basil, thyme, mint, parseley, and summer squash. I might be over-extending myself a little, but I figure that if I plant just one or two plants of the spreaders, there should be plenty of room for the rest. I've never grown a garden of my own, and really - only once or twice helped grow a garden when I was younger. But gardens have always been a place of peace and serenity to me, and I miss having that in my life.
I went to my consultation with the tattoo artist yesterday to start work on the bing one. She appeared to think that what I wanted was a disticnt possibility, and I'm excited about that. I've also settled on what I want for my 'little' tattoo - a representation of the Element of Fire. I was considering getting something that was more part of who I am already, but something held me back from that. Last night it struck me that the thing I am missing (if you go by elemental descriptions) is Fire. I'm very well grounded/stable so that covers the realm of Earth. I'm intelligent and intuitive, which covers the realm of Air. I'm emotional (heaven knows) and comfortable with that - which covers the realm of Water. However, as I wrote in an earlier entry - I'm missing the Fire. I don't have that deepset blaze of passion and willpower - and it seems so appropiate to emphasize that. Now that I know what I want though, I don't WANT to wait until I lose another 20 pounds. I'm debating on getting it the week after my surgery - which would happen to be payday as well. Decisions, decisions.

Monday, February 17, 2003

Art

I'm debating getting a tattoo.

That's not really true - I KNOW that I am getting a tattoo - it's going to be my reward when I have dropped 100 pounds. I figured that out almost simultaneously with figuring out that in order to fall in the 'height/weight' guidelines that's about how much I would have to lose. What I'm really debating right now is whether I'm going to give myself a smaller one to celebrate 50 pounds lost.

I want some sort of badge of honor that marks that event. I've lost 30 pounds so far - but I can't really tell. If it wasn't for my clothes (and the scale) I wouldn't believe that I had lost a pound. When I look in the mirror, I still look as big as I thought I looked when I started. Which means one of two things - either I was deluding myself when I started about how big I was, or my self-image is so twisted that I can't SEE that I'm smaller. Actually - it could mean both. *sigh* So. I think that at 50 pounds (besides it being such a lovely round number) I should be able to tell SOME kind of difference. I mean - I'll be within TEN pounds of the smallest weight I ever recorded for myself - and I recorded that weight when I was 14 & 5'1. And that should show SOMEHOW, right?

The issue is, I'm debating what to get. I know what my 100lb one will be - a tat that spans my lower back of a butterfly, with the Litany Against Fear drawn inside of it - if I can ever figure out how it will look. The midpoint one - I want it to be something kinda small - no more than 2 1/2 inches square. I want it to represent growth, change, and dedication all at once. I like words in tattoos that are represented in a funky artdeco'ish fashion. Hm. And then, of course there is the thought of where to put it. I would love to put it on my back shoulder, but I don't feel like dealing with my mother and her freakout about it showing when I'm wearing my dress. At this point, it will most likely end up on my hip.

So - I've been messing about trying to design something that GRABS me right away. I truly wish that I could draw - I have so many images in my head that I can't accurately translate and it's right frustrating trying to find someone else's vision of my vision. I like tribal style tattoos - heavy black lines with swoops and arcs in them. I also like Kanji - but I don't want symbols that I can't immediately understand on me. I wear a necklace now that has a meaning I can't remember - and if it wasn't for the fact that I KNOW I wouldn't have purchased it if it menat something bad, I would have stopped wearing it a long time ago. But - I don't want to repeat that particular brain fart, so no arabic or japanese tattooed on me. I was thinking of using elemental symbols, but the western style I don't like, and Wicca doesn't have a standardized set of symbols, so once again I would have to create my own.

This is going to torment me until I figure out what I want....and IE is acting odd and freezing up as I look for images. Horrid Windows...trying to force me to work.

Thursday, May 9, 2002

The Magic of the Future

Not sure why I’m doing this – sparked some by reading the entirety of PhatPrincessDiva’s diary – partly because I doubt in my heart that I will ever be there – partly because I want a side by side comparison.

And some – cuz I wanna shock myself.



........ Now ..................................................... Then





So - the difference between these two pictures is about 100 pounds. The Now one is me (more or less - more like more *sigh*) now - the Then one is me (maybe) after 100 pounds are gone. The Now one actually does look like me - hips & thighs & belly - though my boobs are MUCH bigger. Heh. THe skinny one?? *shrugs* I don't know. The first time I have recorded (in my very first diary) my weight - I weighed 160 pounds - and I was most likely about 4'8. I'm 5'6 now - and the skinny version wieghs 140 pds. I've NEVER been that small. And honestly - it's scary. I think the lightest I have been in recent history was 180 - and that was while I was on Atkins - I was wearing a 16 - sometimes a snug 14. Right now, I'm wearing a 22 or somemtimes and 18/20...and you know I'm going to try to extrapolate from those two what the size of the itty bitty girly is. Okay - it looks like I might drop a size every 20 pounds or so. Which would make that girly a size 12. Which is interesting because my goal size was a 10 or a 8. However - if these little calculations are even VAGUELY on point - I would have to weigh between 120 & 110. According to a height weight chart for a medium frame I shouldn't weigh any less than 130. Hm.



If you are interested in getting a model of yourself (talk about letting OD see what you really look like!) travel on over to Virtual Models and create an avatar of your own. You can put clothes on if you want - but...ah I just didn't feel like it. :)




Corey made an odd comment a few days ago – about how whatever I get my tattoo to be, should be something that represents me now, and not something that represents who I want to be. And that’s cool – but at the same time I don’t know if that’s what I want. I’m good for needing goads – encouragements and symbols to get where I want to go. And – maybe I was thinking of getting a goad as a Tattoo – but I’m not sure.

Maybe more later.

Jasmyn

Wednesday, June 28, 2000

I never could color in the lines....

It’s odd how the further I seem to get into the norm of the world ( a corporate job, an expensive apartment, ONE man rather than an assortment of people *grins* ) the further out I want to pull myself.

I have always been a little different, a little out of step with the rest of the world. And as things occur in my life that bring me towards a state that I am more in step, I start to madly hunt for something that will shift me back, something that insures that I keep that gap between who I am and what the norm is. Towards that end, not too long ago (almost a year…) I got my tongue pierced. I had a very logical reason for it, in that I wanted a reminder of the fact that everything that comes out of my mouth has power to alter and change others, and that I should be cautious with that power.

So, now I am about to start a new job, in a new city, and I will most certainly have to take out the tongue ring (the step towards conformity). So, I have been searching for something that will allow me to remain … jazzy. So. I have decided on two things… more really, but it boils down to two things. I want to be trained to be a bartender, and I want to get a tattoo. Now, the bartending thing is a two-fold kind of thing. I know that I have a tough time finding things to do outside of my house. That if left alone I will stay in the house and molder, just kind of plug myself into the internet and deal with people through this medium rather than in real life.

I want to change that about me, and I figured that working somewhere where people are…well there. Constantly, and a lot of them. Almost like being a bus driver, you learn a lot about people by watching them in their settings. Yes I know, I am still being anthropological about it, but that is how I best function. The second reason is that I need money. Not badly no, because I will be getting a nice little paycheck. But for one thing we only get paid once a month (which sucks) and two, I really really really want to pay off all off my bills & start a fuck-ya fund by 2002. The fuck-ya fund will just be a savings account of money, that I don’t touch unless I come to a point in my employment that I just have to say to the world in general ‘Fuck ya’, and know that I will be able to live long enough to find another job & another place to live if need be.

The tattoo on the other hand, is a much more personal thing. My online name (my inner name as I call it sometimes) means New Woman. And in that meaning it also has the meaning that this new woman is constantly growing and creating herself, changing into herself and out of herself all at the same time. I have wanted to turn this in to a tattoo for a good while, but I could not figure out how to represent all that into something beautiful that I am willing to have placed on my skin for all eternity. I have been considering using Kanji, which is Japanese script, but… I am not sure. I know where I want it, and I know that I would like to lose some weight before I get it put there. : ) It is not a matter of me looking at it, it is a matter of me being willing and able to display it, and where I want it…umm a few changes will have to be made first.


I want to stay a little outside of the printed lines that define most people. I always want to be more than a little different, more than a little odd. Is it too unnatural for me to consciously shape myself into something different, or is it simply a matter of taking control and doing things for my life that I want to be doing?

Stay Jazzed.