Tattoos
Well, as normal, I have the urge to completely change... And not out of desperation, but more out of necessity.
I have nine tattoos. I want all but two removed. I have three on my neck, one on my back, four on my arms and one on my ankle.
The reason I am having this debate with myself is because I'm almost 26 years old. I am no longer a kid who can have tattoos and expect to be accepted in the world as we know it. I don't care about peer acceptance. I care about business acceptance. I am not going to advance my career with these tattoos. I am very serious about beginning a new life in Japan in the near future. The only thing an American can really do there without a business degree and major credentials is to be an English teacher. Teachers shouldn't have tattoos. At least not ones as visible as mine are.
So let me explain...
My neck tattoos: I have a Heartagram on the right side of my neck kind of behind my ear. People who do not know who the band HIM are (or people who don't know who Bam Margera is) always think it is a pentagram and associate me with witches or satanism. It's just a symbol, but whatever, I am over it... I don't even really listen to HIM anymore anyway. So I want that one gone.
As Randimus said when I got it... RESET.
The left side of my neck in almost the same area is a red and black star. My ex fiance and I got matching ones in the same spot. That should explain why I want that one gone. Not to mention that the guy who did it did a really shitty job.
On the back of my neck, I have "面食い" (pronounced "Menkui"), which in Japanese means, "Attracted by physical looks only." I am sure that if I went to Japan, I would be made fun of the same way us Americans would make fun of someone who had "SUPERFICIAL" tattooed somewhere on them. It's fun here because not everyone knows what it means and it has a shock value when the definition is told, but in Japan, I'd make fun of me too.
Neck... Flesh tone is fine. No designs or decorations are necessary.
Oh, since I am speaking of that general area, I supposed I shall mention that I think I will let my 1/2 inch stretched ears go back down to normal. That's not professional either.
Next is my arms. We'll start with my left wrist/forearm area.
My very first tattoo was done before I knew anything about Chinese/Japanese writing... I got what I thought was supposed to have been my ex-husband's name in Chinese. Only one girl was ever able to read it and she said that the literal translation was "New Sky." Nothing wrong with that, but I don't need it for what it was originally intended to be. There is a funny story with that tattoo though... If I am at a bar or club and someone asks me what it means, I tell them (over the loud noise in the room) and they say, "o_O Why would you want 'News Guy' tattooed on your arm?!" I love it when they think that! But nevertheless, I'd like it gone.
Above that tattoo is a really shitty Hello Kitty. Done by the same guy who did the shitty star tattoo on my neck. She's giggling and there is a speech bubble that says, "オタク！" (Otaku!), which basically means uber nerd. So she's giggling and calling you a dork. 'Nuff said, right?
My right upper arm, in the most normal of tattoo places, is a rose that says "Nick" through it. Of course, I got it for both my son and my ex-husband. But if I can't get a "y" put on the end to make it obvious that it's for my son, I'll get that removed too.
My right wrist/forearm has "母子" (Boshi) which means "Mother and Child." That can stay.
My back... Boy oh boy has my back gotten a lot of "Why do you have that particular symbol?" type questions... I had this huge plan for my back tattoo, but being broke, I was only able to take the first step. That step being one symbol. One HUUUUGE symbol, smack dab in the middle of my upper back. What's the symbol, you ask? It's "京" (Kyo) which means, quite literally, "Capital."
The reason I have that tattoo is because I am a HUGE Dir en grey fan and Kyo is the lead singer's name. My plan was to have lyrics to their song Zakuro tattooed kind of behind the kanji, making the Kyo look like it's hovering over a tattered piece of paper with the lyrics on it. But I am broke and won't be able to afford to get that done. If the cost of getting it removed is close to the cost of getting it finished, I'll just get it finished and avoid wearing low-backed shirts in Japan when I am in professional settings. But as of now, it's just plain Capital.
The last tattoo is just some henna-colored tribal on my ankle. That one's really tasteful and downright cool, so it'll stay.
So yeah. I also have facial piercings, but I can take the jewelery out and the holes won't close, so they can stay. Even if I let them close, the scars would look the same, so why not keep them open?
I know it's going to cost a lot to do all of this, but I really think it's in my best interest to do so. I'm not the kind of person who is lucky enough to get by doing anything they want to do. I have to work hard. And in order to be taken seriously, I need to look a little more appealing. It's unfortunate and I got in an argument about that with a friend of mine who has no tattoos or piercings when she said how she'd sue if a company told her she couldn't do/have these types of things. I told her to have fun trying. Conformity of appearance is completely different from conformity of mind.
And I'm spent.
I have nine tattoos. I want all but two removed. I have three on my neck, one on my back, four on my arms and one on my ankle.
The reason I am having this debate with myself is because I'm almost 26 years old. I am no longer a kid who can have tattoos and expect to be accepted in the world as we know it. I don't care about peer acceptance. I care about business acceptance. I am not going to advance my career with these tattoos. I am very serious about beginning a new life in Japan in the near future. The only thing an American can really do there without a business degree and major credentials is to be an English teacher. Teachers shouldn't have tattoos. At least not ones as visible as mine are.
So let me explain...
My neck tattoos: I have a Heartagram on the right side of my neck kind of behind my ear. People who do not know who the band HIM are (or people who don't know who Bam Margera is) always think it is a pentagram and associate me with witches or satanism. It's just a symbol, but whatever, I am over it... I don't even really listen to HIM anymore anyway. So I want that one gone.
As Randimus said when I got it... RESET.
The left side of my neck in almost the same area is a red and black star. My ex fiance and I got matching ones in the same spot. That should explain why I want that one gone. Not to mention that the guy who did it did a really shitty job.
On the back of my neck, I have "面食い" (pronounced "Menkui"), which in Japanese means, "Attracted by physical looks only." I am sure that if I went to Japan, I would be made fun of the same way us Americans would make fun of someone who had "SUPERFICIAL" tattooed somewhere on them. It's fun here because not everyone knows what it means and it has a shock value when the definition is told, but in Japan, I'd make fun of me too.
Neck... Flesh tone is fine. No designs or decorations are necessary.
Oh, since I am speaking of that general area, I supposed I shall mention that I think I will let my 1/2 inch stretched ears go back down to normal. That's not professional either.
Next is my arms. We'll start with my left wrist/forearm area.
My very first tattoo was done before I knew anything about Chinese/Japanese writing... I got what I thought was supposed to have been my ex-husband's name in Chinese. Only one girl was ever able to read it and she said that the literal translation was "New Sky." Nothing wrong with that, but I don't need it for what it was originally intended to be. There is a funny story with that tattoo though... If I am at a bar or club and someone asks me what it means, I tell them (over the loud noise in the room) and they say, "o_O Why would you want 'News Guy' tattooed on your arm?!" I love it when they think that! But nevertheless, I'd like it gone.
Above that tattoo is a really shitty Hello Kitty. Done by the same guy who did the shitty star tattoo on my neck. She's giggling and there is a speech bubble that says, "オタク！" (Otaku!), which basically means uber nerd. So she's giggling and calling you a dork. 'Nuff said, right?
My right upper arm, in the most normal of tattoo places, is a rose that says "Nick" through it. Of course, I got it for both my son and my ex-husband. But if I can't get a "y" put on the end to make it obvious that it's for my son, I'll get that removed too.
My right wrist/forearm has "母子" (Boshi) which means "Mother and Child." That can stay.
My back... Boy oh boy has my back gotten a lot of "Why do you have that particular symbol?" type questions... I had this huge plan for my back tattoo, but being broke, I was only able to take the first step. That step being one symbol. One HUUUUGE symbol, smack dab in the middle of my upper back. What's the symbol, you ask? It's "京" (Kyo) which means, quite literally, "Capital."
The reason I have that tattoo is because I am a HUGE Dir en grey fan and Kyo is the lead singer's name. My plan was to have lyrics to their song Zakuro tattooed kind of behind the kanji, making the Kyo look like it's hovering over a tattered piece of paper with the lyrics on it. But I am broke and won't be able to afford to get that done. If the cost of getting it removed is close to the cost of getting it finished, I'll just get it finished and avoid wearing low-backed shirts in Japan when I am in professional settings. But as of now, it's just plain Capital.
The last tattoo is just some henna-colored tribal on my ankle. That one's really tasteful and downright cool, so it'll stay.
So yeah. I also have facial piercings, but I can take the jewelery out and the holes won't close, so they can stay. Even if I let them close, the scars would look the same, so why not keep them open?
I know it's going to cost a lot to do all of this, but I really think it's in my best interest to do so. I'm not the kind of person who is lucky enough to get by doing anything they want to do. I have to work hard. And in order to be taken seriously, I need to look a little more appealing. It's unfortunate and I got in an argument about that with a friend of mine who has no tattoos or piercings when she said how she'd sue if a company told her she couldn't do/have these types of things. I told her to have fun trying. Conformity of appearance is completely different from conformity of mind.
And I'm spent.