Bithday ink

*I'd hoped to get this post out before my holiday, but alas I'm now a week late...

As a follow-up to last week's post, one of the things I decided to do to commemorate turning 30 was to get a tattoo. I've been thinking about getting one for years. I almost went a coupld of years ago when Andrew's cousin went to get her third, but I chickened out. Last fall I started to seriously reconsider getting a tattoo when a friend had indicated she was thinking about getting one for her 30th birthday. For various reasons (although mostly it was laziness and indecision) we never made the commitment and so when the new year rolled around I decided I was going to get tattooed for my birthday or bust.

Andrew was good enough to do the Internet research to find out what studios in Edmonton had the best reputations, which narrowed our choices down to 2, maybe 3 if needed. Since our weekends go by too fast we decided to check out the shops on Family Day (thinking, very few places actually shut down over stat holidays in Alberta). As it turned out one of the shops isn't open on Mondays, but the other one, Eye of the Lotus was. When we went into talk about what we wanted, how much it would cost, etc. we found the staff so helpful and friendly (and we just had a good vibe about things in general) that we decided this was the place to go.

So, what's my tattoo? It's this:

If you can't read it from the picture it says: "It is a truth universally acknowledge," which is part of the opening line to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I chose this quotation because I love Jane Austen and P & P (as it is fondly referred to by myself and some of my friends). In my third year of university my friends and I named our apartment (like how manor houses in Austen's books always have names like: Pemberly, Netherfield, Rosings, etc): Firthingham (after our most beloved Mr. Darcy, Colin Firth). Also, I feel like it is a symbol of my love for writing.

Finally, for those of you who are wondering: yes, it did hurt. Andrew made the mistake of allowing me to go first so he could 'determine how much of a fuss he would be allowed to make based on my tolerance.' That of course meant that I wasn't going to flinch if I could help it. I put my foot out the table for the artist to work and kept it there. After a few minutes Andrew asked, 'What does it feel like?' At first I said I wasn't sure how to describe it, but as I thought about it, I said: 'It feels like being jabbed over and over again with a tiny needle combined with vibrations running up my foot.' To be sure, the foot is one of the more sensitive areas, but I survived, and I seemed to have healed quickly (the above picture was only taken 2 days after).

Ciao,

Andrea