Erica

i agree with the previous sentiments -- i dont want to be touched, i shouldnt be expected to tolerate you nor should i have to explain my tattoos to you. in that past few years i have just started to reject the advances. however my "no, you cant see my arm." and "please dont touch me" always elicits surprised stares. they seem really caught off guard that I wouldnt want a stranger pulling my arm to his face or that i dont want to hear about what they want to get done in the future. one of the most frustrating things is having a total stranger get rude with me for telling him that i would rather he not touch me. the conversation typically goes as follows: Interrupting my conversation "oh sweet tats, can i see them?" "no. sorry, im having a conversation" "you dont have to be such a bitch." >: ( the other random approach i get disgusts me and that is a guy assuming im some sort of "naughty-girl-gone-wild". that conversation usually also ends with me being called a bitch and begins something like this: "well helllllloooo there, you look like a bad girl." smarmy smirk "...no. please go away" "i bet youre a real handful hunh?" "...no." "oh ho ho someones an evil evil thing hmmmm?" also, my friend who has a chest piece gets "can i see how far down that goes?" at least twice a week. a lot of my friends who do not have tattoos will ask me why i am not really into men who are tattoo free and its because of my experiences with the aforementioned jerks. they seem to think of me as some sort of dominatrix that would be a "good time" rather than an interesting person that they should get to know. it freaks me out a little and makes me question their motives for approaching me.

also if there are little red lines coming from the area. ive had this experience :( if none of these symptoms are present, i wouldnt worry about an infection. try taking some claritin/benedryl to settle a possible allergy?

its super gross, but would not deter me from taking a cheap apt in the city if the room had been cleaned... it will prevent me from eating chinese food though :/

Hes a Hoodie superstar.

" ...Sickened, Doug sat down the shoe, and as he did so, he noticed a shadow in the shape of a human body beneath the twin bed." :( Meat Lover

behind my ear was a snap.

i love the pancake attack one.

When I was 15 my Mom took me to get my first at some old biker/stoners house. He did the tattoo upside down. Then he fixed it. My mom held my hand. My Dad wasnt aware that I had any until a year ago when the cardigan i was wearing didnt cover all the way down to my wrist. The first thing out of his mouth was "Who is going to hire you or take you seriously with all of that!?" My answer was "You?!" Since I had worked for my Dad for 3 years and he never noticed them-- he considered that answer for a minute and hasnt brought it up again :)

i hope that was done on Charlie Sheen himself...

At 20 yrs old i had NO IDEA what good tattoos were and had this weird assumption that anyone who knew how to tattoo (actually employed at a shop, had worked a number years, etc) could do whatever you asked for. Actually, scratch that-- i got tattooed in people's houses too so basically, as long as you had a machine id sit in the chair. I don't think I even looked at portfolios, but i did flip through flash when i was waiting around. I also used to live in a small city with just a few shops -- if 90% of people you know with tattoos all have mediocre crap then you start grading your own on curve. I think seeing really good tattoos on other people made a big difference in how i judged quality. Years and some regrets later and i finally stopped going where my friends worked/ got their stuff done at and starting looking at portfolios with a discerning eye. Now when i look for someone im usually looking for a portfolio of custom work that mirrors what im into. i dont want to ask someone to do a horror portrait if their portfolio is mostly traditional stuff. and i dont want to ask for traditional stuff from someone whos portfolio is a lot of graffiti looking stuff. I like seeing bright vivid colors... smooth lines... im attracted to nice shading and shadowing... i always focus on birds and roses for some reason. they can win me over. And placement-- if it looks good on the body its on. I always browse through portfolios online though and almost never in the shop. By the time i walk in im pretty sure of what i want and who im there for, not really a walk-in customer. I guess i feel weird looking through things and judging when people are around, like if i walked out i would feel bad and want to make 100 excuses akin to "its not you, its me. im sorry... please dont hate me."

I just really like this picture...

Pretty weird: Film fan has 82 portraits of actress Julia Roberts tattooed onto his torso Most film enthusiasts would be satisfied with a signed photograph to remind them of their favourite screen idol. But Julia Roberts devotee Miljenko Parserisas Bukovic has opted for something a little more personal to prove his love for the Pretty Woman star. The newspaper vendor from Valparaiso in Chile has spent the last ten years - and about £1,300 - having 82 portraits of the actress tattooed on his torso and arms. Julia Roberts fan has 82 tattoos of her face on his body | Mail Online