I Survived!

So I survived. And it really wasn't that bad. It definitely hurt but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. Honestly, the worst part was that because of the way I had to lay down to get it done (on my back with my arm suspended on some external table accessory) my fingers got numb really early on.

Otherwise, the guy was totally nice and AWESOME and I'm very happy with the tattoo! Now I just have to nurse it back to health and we're done!!

The ACTUAL worst part was the anticipation. The train got me into Glen Burnie a little early so we stopped by Wendy's and I got a frosty and fries just to stifle the hunger and have something in my stomach for the imminent pain. All day, my anxiety went through a flip-flop between complacency/patience and a feeling I chose to describe as the Incredible Hulk squeezing my stomach in his fist as hard as he could. Obviously the scale tipped more and more toward the hulk the closer we got to go-time.

Jason wasn't allowed in the room with me for "insurance reasons" but I think it may have been for the best because I was able to just zone out a bit and lose focus. Plus, I didn't want to look like a loser in front of these crazy tattoo dudes so I was keeping it together well I thought. But really, once you feel the pain in all areas of the tattoo (because it definitely differs based on the location), you learn what to expect and you get used to it. It hurts but your arm is not about to fall off nor is anything bad even happening to it. So that confidence really helps.

All in all it took about two hours and I was outta there! Then we drove around to like 3 different places looking for the specific lotion he recommended.

SUCCESS.

Tattoo Day! Ahh!

So today is the day I get my tattoo. And I'm terrified. And excited. But mostly anxious. I just want it to be done.

I hate having monumental things happen late in the day because you have to endure the ENTIRE day thinking about it. It's so much better when the thing happens at like 6am and then you're good! Just bask in the glory of whatever happened for the rest of the day—big sighs of relief, eat tasty food, etc.

So basically, I'm going to try to pour myself into work as much as possible to take my mind off it. I'm buying some empanadas for lunch today from a place I've never been to. That should keep me occupied for a little while. Like a good Italian or dog—food keeps me happy for at least as long as it's in front of me. There are some other projects on the horizon (including building the lower half of a centaur for a movie, haha) that could use some brain power/planning. Perhaps when the empanadas run out at lunch, the centaur puzzle can fill the void. Otherwise, I'll just try to cram as much work as possible into the abbreviated work day. An idle mind wanders.

I've spent enough time fretting over how much this is going to hurt. It's only 2 hours. Can't be worse than child-birth. So if I ever plan to have kids, I better just suck it up and take this tattoo pain like a champ.

Pictures to come!

Everything is Expired!

In one day, these are the things that I have encountered that are expired/finished.

I ate half a piece of cornbread this morning before I noticed the mold on/in it.
I ate a salad for lunch that was probably 2ish days past awesomeness.
The sell-by date on the milk in my fridge is 6/12.
I ate pretzels left out in the sun all day yesterday.
I bit into a pear and discovered mealy-ness and an INTERNAL brown spot. We're not talking bruise here people, we're talking rotting from the inside out.
I had nothing to cook for dinner so i decided to cook ramen noodles—ALSO EXPIRED! How can ramen expire?! Apparently the powdery noodles get oily and gross.. That's how. So I made plain pasta....with no meatballs, gravy, or sauce of any kind.
Even my ADVIL is expired (for over a year, I might add...)

The only things that tasted correct today came out of a box or wrapper.

Time to go shopping.
Sigh.

It's UP!!

It's finally up! My new website. It took way longer than I anticipated so the feeling is one of sweet, sweet victory. I'm sure I'll be tweaking for the better part of forever but without further ado, welcome to sexy website:

www.moniquecucchi.com