Colored Guy

Meh... just tell anyone in the vicinity.. "I just buy what my wife puts on the list.". While you're out shopping, put odd things in other people's carts when they're not looking. Condoms, depends, sanitary napkins, etc. Rob

I was in the shop that I use a few weeks ago. There was this guy, not as old as me, but he was having a tough time with his tattoo (his first at age 40+...). I find out later that he bailed out at the 1-hour mark. The artist was not pleased. Rob

Just as well she never picked up branding irons. Rob

I have a family wedding coming up later in the month, it will be a tattoo show as well. All of my nieces & nephews, a couple of my cousins, brothers are inked. So sleeves and pants will be rolled up, shirts opened at some point. There will also be a tattoo artist there. It should be interesting. My cousin, she's 60, just had a lot of recent work done. We had compared ink at my step mother's wake a couple of years back. Rob

I knew people that came back from 'Nam with posed pictures of their VC kills, that's why I mentioned it. Rob

Welcome! I'm on LI too, sw Suffolk county. Rob

I would srsly go the other way.... - - - Updated - - - A good artist can add elements to a tattoo to make them less masculine if that's what you want. I still say go with what you like, screw everyone else. With my first tattoos I had the same concern that I'd hate them and myself over the years. I've always given them much thought and went to god shops, having large pieces done is part of me making the best decision. Rob

I can't say a word at work either. I'm towards the tail end of my career anyway and I've been very much under the tattoo radar. I avoid company off-work social functions in the warmer months like the plague. The best closet-tattoo-freak ever was this strict and stern teacher we had in grade school. He came in wearing a 3-piece suit and ran his class room like a concentration camp. On lunch duty, there was no talking by anyone. I later learn many years later that this guy was very heavily inked from his years in the Navy and drank like the proverbial fish every night. Rob

Most shops send you home with instructions, something small you can refer to. I always went with antibiotic cream for the 1st 3 days, unscented lotion after that. I got the burn once from using a scented lotion, but it was only for a day or so. Rob

[quote name=John Leijtens;76136. My first was in 1997 @ Needle Art Tattoo in Breda' date=' Holland by Tattoo Jan. It was a walk-in, hours long wait, flash off the wall kind of thing. Since then I got it Re-done by my current artist :p[/quote] Great re-do. I loved the old shops with flash all over the wall. Really had a visual appeal, at least to me. Rob

I'm 25+ years working with some of the same people and very few know. I see maybe 4-5 people at the gym, no bad reactions and they don't say anything to anyone at work. I think expecting a reaction may be over blown in my head. I was at the beach a few years back, after I got my chest pieces done. This one guy from work sees me and I stop by to talk to him.. his jaw hit the sand. He looked visually shocked. I saw his wife say something to him after I walked away , like "who the fuck was that?". There's one dipshit in the machine shop. He has this recently done little tattoo on his forearm, looks like one from the 25¢ gumball machine at the supermarket. He would foul himself if I rolled up a sleeve on him. - - - Updated - - - I used to needlessly worry about running into people I worked with in the summer. This was before I got back into tattoos again, I only had 4 at the time and they were a lot smaller and faded. I would carry a long sleeve shirt in the car and put it on if I had to go into a store. Talk about anal... Rob

I had a bunch of old work fixed up/covered up after I turned 50. So with my next 2 appointments, the oldest tattoo on my body will be from 2005 and its a small one. The next oldest tattoo goes back to 2008. So I'm fairly fresh. If I had all of my work done by age 30, it would have needed to be done over. I'm ahead of the curve. I plan to have something done every year until I've had my fill. Some years I spend a little, some years a lot. Rob

No shti! Rob

Clean bulking, you just eat how many calories above maintenance. (Beer does NOT count). Rob

There are clean and dirty bulks. Dirty bulks are fun since you can eat anything and everything. Clean, you have to have an idea of what your protein, fats and carbs are made up of. My summer cut went assways in July. I was shooting for 225 lbs, got as far as 230 and shot back up to 238 with my beer consumption. I averaged 30-40 beers a week for most of the summer... it was hot. In the winters I'll run up to around 245 and have been as heavy as 260, but my lifts were great and I had a ton of strength. I'd do mainly 4 sets of 6 reps going as heavy as possible. Rob

I like them too.. even your scar has merit. Like tattoos, scars tell a story too. Rob

I went with someone that got a lady fucking bug on her foot... you would have thought someone was pulling her finger nails out. Rob

Best off not knowing.. prolly involves heads-on-a-stake or something as equally gnarly... Rob

You have it down to a gnat's ass... way cool. I like to play it safe on tattoo day by sticking to my prescription opiates over booze. I pop a 7.5 mg Percocet as soon as I get there. Open a Pepsi and take to the chair. I'll drink afterwards though. My next appointment is on a Friday and if my son's stop in, we'll be at the bar as soon as I'm done. Rob

Got 2 appointments in the book, 11/15 and 12/4 to have Gina from Studio 69 (Ronkonkoma NY) freshen up my fu-dog. Its 31 years old, 'bout time I got it done over. Rob

The one shop I deal with had the apprentice make up the whole flash sheet and nothing was very big or involved. He worked for nothing and the $13 went to the shop and probably didn't cover the supplies expended. But it got people into the shop and the kid got to lay some ink on people. Rob

Any I've seen were tasks given to apprentices as drawing lessons. For the most part, what more can you expect for your $13? Rob

I've lost a ton of respect for Nunez. The rest of them are tooled-up to go with the (menstrual...) flow of the show's format. A general sad example of the septic depths that a "reality" show will sink to. Rob

I can see it taking sugar-skull ink to another level. Rob

As a musician, I've always given him much respect. Once he got into Stink Masters, my opinion of him has plummeted. Everyone now seems to accept him as pretty much being a douche bag. Rob