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

I Haven't Forgotten About Blogging

I've actually been simultaneously working on/neglecting several personal projects on top of going to Aikido 3 days a week, Kickball once a week, and traveling on weekends. Sigh.

The next big accomplishment will almost certainly be the completion of my new website. I got very close to having a new one up when I decided that I didn't like the theme enough and chose to enter the world of third-party WordPress themes. It's a big, scary world but I found my match, bought it, and am in the process of re-building with a new, sexier theme. My plan is to finish by June 1. Website, Business Card, and a few ancillary freelance projects. If all goes according to plan. I'm not really giving myself an option. I HAVE to get this shit done because I have some other projects (learning French, my new art series [detailed below], P90X2) that have to begin in June. Lots of ideas brewing. If I don't tackle them in 2s and 3s, I'll never accomplish anything.

In a last-ditch effort to continue with the Costume Design major I have neglected since college, I've recently taken on an assistant design job with one of my college costume teachers. A sort of surrealist/abstract play about the Japanese writer Yukio Mishima. It's called A Fierce Longing. Until I began this process, I hadn't heard of him but I mentioned the project at the dojo today and wasn't surprised at all when I got a "Mishima! He was crazy but I read all of his stuff" response from more than one fellow student/instructor. It was so expected-to-the-point-of-stereotypical that I almost laughed, actually. Quick turnaround. First performance is June 1 so I'll be doing a lot of online research and shopping within the next few weeks.

Work has been remarkably relaxing lately (knocking on every wooden surface I own). I'm extremely ahead thus far in preparations for the Summer Guide. I anticipate a huge change in pace in about 2 weeks but hopefully all of the front-loading I've been doing recently will help me avoid the utter Hell that usually accompanies an approaching pub-date. One can hope.

Last but not least, I've determined that I'm going to start a new art series. I'm going to research mythical creatures somewhat extensively and create drawings of each creature using a combination of their mythical descriptions/interpretations from varying cultures—based on what I think will look most-awesome. I think this choice makes me a nerd. I feel like I should buy tickets to a convention where I show up dressed as some fantastical character or something following this choice, but I also think that these drawings have the potential to be highly-detailed and probably pretty damn cool. We'll see. I have to actually get around to it. I'm doing a phoenix first.

SUPER last, I've been having a good time reading Pottermore. The background info is very interesting (in my completely biased opinion) and the interactivity is enough to keep you occupied when you don't want to read a huge chunk of text. I was placed in Gryffindor. Despite the fact that I was expecting Ravenclaw, I'm very pleased with the result. I prefer Gryffindor honestly. And I'm talking about this like it's real... but I can't help it. I love HP so damn much.