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@Youngjason you are really way over thinking all this,if you want a touch up or re-work or change or whatever,just go get it done !

I won't even touch the issue of how this tattoo happened and no one in their right mind here will give you medical advice for what sounds to be an infected tattoo. Unless properly treated, an infection can lead to death. This is no joke. Plain and simple, go to an ER or doctor. There are clinics that will provide care for people who have low income/no insurance - find one. Now.

Thanks, Mark. Have a great weekend at MMM! @Devious6

Totally awesome!!!!!! Congratulations!!!!

I passed a beast of an exam today (VCP6 in Datacenter Virtualization). I am so relieved that it's over and that I passed. Huzzah!

find a free clinic. find a smarter "friend". and it's not a "gun".

It's nothing to do with the content of the tattoo. Listen to Dan. He speaks the truth.

I started getting my tattoos as part of a conscious choice to acknowledge my life changing drastically from an employed member of the work force who occasionally had health issues to a mostly unemployed life where I need to find myself and on days when I'm not sick in bed, re engage with my hobbies to keep me interested in life. In the last six months I've worked on knitting, crochet, cross stitch, embroidery, beaded bracelets, rock painting, wood painting, and as of yesterday, rock carving and wood carving. It's fascinating how all those art forms overlap, especially with placement and design. I studied a lot of Instagram tattoo accounts including the design and execution. I always felt like I wasn't as good at drawing as I should be to really be an "artist", but for whatever reason watching the tattoo artists sketch and plan their art has given me more confidence and hopefully skill :) Plus I love my tattoos and being able to see them on my arm is really inspirational to me, helping me feel better about myself, having something about myself that I think is beautiful and won't be gone in the morning like a good hair day! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

i'm not spending big bucks on big tattoos anymore...so i decided to venture down the unnecessary and slippery slope of stockpiling car parts so i can boost up my Evo. Today's impulse purchase...a custom Hanya Mask weighted shift knob...WTF!?!...perfect compliment to my Japanese race car haha thank you internet and I will see you in the mail in a few weeks my precious lol

Maybe I shouldn't post here since I am still in the planning/saving stage for my back piece and otherwise have only one tiny hidden tattoo. So I don't know how I will react to stares. But I admit that I have been guilty of "staring" sometimes, because when I see a great tattoo, I want to really soak it up. (Maybe "stare" is too strong of a word. I keep a respectful distance, and my eyes don't bug out of my head, and I keep my mouth closed). But I think my experience as one who has "stared" will inform my future reaction to people who stare. I'm probably going to keep covered most of the time, but sometimes I'd like to be able to show my half sleeves, and I suppose some will stare. My current theory is that they can stare all they want, as long as they don't say something obnoxious or disrespectful within earshot. If they ask me a respectful question, I will gladly talk, because I have greatly appreciated it when I have politely commented on people's tattoos, and they engaged me in conversation about them. It is amazing what a polite and respectful, "Excuse me, I want to tell you that I think that is a really nice tattoo," will do. I have had people react with their faces lighting up, thanking me, and then without being asked rolling up their sleeve and showing the rest of their piece, and talking animatedly about it. I want to be that person.

What a great discussion! As a new guy on the block - first tattoo 6 months ago and second 3 weeks ago - I can comment on this from both sides. I was always fascinated with tattoos - don't think I ever consciously stared but definitely looked. I was intrigued by the designs, the colors, the placement. I didn't ever approach someone to ask about them though - I knew nothing about the culture or the process and so I didn't intrude. I also never judged someone based on their having tattoos. My father had one that he got while in the Marines at the end of WWII - he went on to be a college professor and electrical engineer so I learned as a kid that having tattoos doesn't tell you who a person is. Now at age 61, retired from the Army and serving as the president of a college, I work with many people on my staff who have tattoos and see many students with them as well. I have a mix of friends, family, students and colleagues both past and present on my FB page and I openly post pictures the show my tattoos. I wear sleeveless shirts that expose them so now I get the stares. Although I've had a few negative comments from friends along the lines of "What were you thinking?" the majority of reactions have been positive. I enjoy a bit of breaking the mold of expectation of what an Army Colonel or College President are "expected" to be. And, when I see someone with great tattoos I compliment them and ask who did their work. I'm always looking for an interesting design or great artist. I hate the question "Did it hurt?". Pain is relative and everyone experiences it differently. How do you explain your own pain to someone that makes sense or know that the person has the same level of pain tolerance? So, I always just answer that "It feels like being kissed by a baby unicorn." At my age, I don't have to worry about what my tattoos will look like in 50 years. I'll be happy if I'm still here in 30.