Seattle Ink: Designing a Tattoo

The thought of getting a tattoo has always been in the back of my mind. However, now that my fitness level has increased dramatically, I think it’s time to turn that thought into reality.

Throughout my life, I’ve always followed the rules; followed what polite society expected of me. Ok, being gay is not exactly what polite society considers the norm… but still, everything else has mostly been “by the rules.” I’ve always been somewhat of a Mr. Goody Two-Shoes; I guess that goes hand in hand with being a nerd and a Christian (still a nerd but no longer a Christian).

This new-found lifestyle of fitness has gotten me to think that I’d like to celebrate it. The obvious way for me is to mark it with a tattoo; a symbol that I no longer care what society thinks of me (yeah, I didn’t believe that last part either but hey, it sounded good).

Anyway, I figured I’d design a tattoo and try it out using henna first; that way I can see what the concept looks like before I make the life-long investment. My idea is to ink up my right deltoid and upper bicep. Currently, I’ve got an Asian dragon intertwined with tribal marks.

I’m trying to finalize it enough to try with henna on December 1st. However, I don’t expect my final design to be exactly what I end up with. Hopefully, the tattoo artist will be able to improve upon what I bring in.

My goal is to go under the needle sometime between February and April of next year (unless the tattoo I want is cost prohibitive).