Lauren's Tales

When I started blogging, I thought that the problem would be finding things to blog about. Now I have many things to blog about and no time.  So here’s one I owe you folks.

I finished the tattoo.

I’ve got my guardian spirit against migraines watching my back.  The original sketch was designed by Julia Tenney and executed by Edwin Marquez at Regeneration Tattoo in Allston, MA.  He does great eyes.

I’ve come up with what I think is an adequate analogy for the feeling of getting my back tattooed.  When working so close to bone, the needle feels like a bad case of road rash, like when you fell off your bike and got gravel embedded in your knee.  The main difference is that I didn’t get to stop and put Bactine and ice on it.  It just kept going.  The medication that does the best to dull the pain is good old over the counter Advil or Alieve, but they are also blood thinners and may not be taken before having tattoo work (afterward is another story).

At one point some trick of the nerves made my right elbow feel like it was being tattooed, which increased the discomfort because I had to lean partially on my elbows.

Tattoo, part-healed

This picture was taken shortly after completion.  The red color is my body reacting to the irritation.  It looks shiny because of the disinfectant ointment.

Tattoo mostly healed

Here’s the tat a few days later.  You can see it peeling, a process that has not yet completed.