Red Ink, Red Blood

(My first tattoo. 63rd I Ching Hexagram)

After a few weeks of trying to arrange a date with the artist I have chosen (Tanya Lowry of ADRENALINE Montreal) and my brothers, a time and day was finally decided and I was ready to get my inking done.
Soulja, Scout and Aimbot accompanied me as witnesses to my first tattoo. It was an honor for me to have them get my back as I laid there vulnerable.

A couple of days before, I was so excited. Not sure if I was nervous. I mean, there was nothing to be nervous nor afraid about. I knew it wasn't going to hurt at all and even if it did, I was ready for it anyway. Besides, I don't think a small set of needles stabbing me skin-deep would really hurt more than getting your heart shredded and torn into thousands of pieces. So I knew there was nothing to worry about. I suppose I was just a bit overwhelmed since this design will be on my skin forever. And so I suppose I was a bit nervous about that. But then again, I have made my decision. So I don't know. Maybe I was just excited.

Soulja came from work. He told one of his workers that he's just gonna step out for a bit. I'm glad he was willing to get out of work for a few minutes just to be there. But I didn't want him to get in trouble because of me. But I'm happy he came and saw us. Scout was with me the whole time. We waited for Aimbot to join us since he decided to not go to school and just chill with us instead. And so we did.

(Tanya Lowry of Adrenaline)

Tanya Lowry was the artist I have chosen to ink my skin for the first time. After browsing the web for studios and artists, I stumbled upon her portfolio on ADRENALINE's website. And she had this photo of a heart grenade tattoo. It was very... red. And black. Two colors (I know black isn't a color) I really liked. And it also resembled the tattoo that I wanted to get. And so I thought she's done something way more difficult than just a Hexagram, so I thought alright, I'll let her do me. (No pun intended.)

She did a great job and was extremely nice towards me and my friends. I made the right decision to come to her. And I even tipped her a hundred bucks after my touch-up. I know that's a lot. But I don't think I'll ever see her again. And if I did, it would be in around 10 or 15 years before I require another touch-up, so I thought I might as well give her as much as I can. She was asking me if I'm thinking of getting more tattoos in the future. I know I will. At least one more. But like I mentioned in another entry, it is something I need to design myself. And unfortunately, I haven't been getting around to sitting down and actually do drafts of it... Talk about laziness, huh?

Honestly speaking, I sort of liked the pain. And coming back for the touch-up was something I really looked forward too. I know it sounds sick. But it's the truth. And I was a little bit bummed because I couldn't tell which was my blood and which was the red ink when she was doing my tattoo. I kinda wished my friends took some pictures as we were doing the inking. But we didn't. It's okay.

(Lifting up my new inking at HOOTERs.)

I thank my SoW brothers: Scout and Aimbot for accompanying me that day and sharing the moment with me. And Soulja for being a great and amazing guy, one of the best, hands down.