Well, I broke down and went to the doctor Friday night. Sure enough, it was infected. Of course, being doctors, they freaked out that my ear was going to fall off or something. They not only gave me a shot of antibiotics in the ass, but a tetnus shot. I was due for one anyway, but the implication that my jewelry was going to give me tetnus pissed me off more than a little bit. So now I'm on a 10 day course of antibiotics. The swelling is almost entirely gone, I'm pain free except for if I knock it or something, and it just generally feels better all around. And that's after essentially 5 doses of the stuff.
I also got inked yesterday and it was an amazing experience. However, I think it deserves its own entry and I have to shower and get to work. I'll give it the due time it deserves when I get home.
|
|
|---|
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Sore and Cranky Mods Part Deux
I think my left rook might be infected. It's red, hot to the touch, swollen to almost twice the size of my other ear, and when I cleaned it, blood and a bit of brownish yellow gunk came off. The pain is a little better now. Obviously our expired Advil still had a little kick to it. Fortunately, there's some good stuff at the office, so I hoarded a bunch. I'm gonna take more in about an hour and I need to examine the swelling when I get the chance. I have no idea what could've caused it, but who knows? I'm debating over going to the doctor. I guess I'll see how it looks/feels this afternoon. If it's still bad, I'll suck it up and get some antibiotics.
In other news, I think I'm finally going to go over to Ink & Dagger and introduce myself. They've got a guest artist there who is offering work at a "significant" discount because he's only in town for a week or so and is apparently not well known in these parts. They do a lot of old school stuff and, I admit, I don't know much about old school tattoos. I'm slowly learning, but most (if not all) of mine are new school. Of course, if I have an infection, any kind of inking is out of the question for a while. I'd be just finishing up my antibiotics course by the time it was time to finish Lola. Euch.
Since I keep getting interrupted, I'll blog more later.
In other news, I think I'm finally going to go over to Ink & Dagger and introduce myself. They've got a guest artist there who is offering work at a "significant" discount because he's only in town for a week or so and is apparently not well known in these parts. They do a lot of old school stuff and, I admit, I don't know much about old school tattoos. I'm slowly learning, but most (if not all) of mine are new school. Of course, if I have an infection, any kind of inking is out of the question for a while. I'd be just finishing up my antibiotics course by the time it was time to finish Lola. Euch.
Since I keep getting interrupted, I'll blog more later.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Sore and Cranky Mods
Lola's very sore today. It's not very comfortable to turn to either side. I also can't get half the tape gunk off and it's been 3 days. As if my skin didn't like the tape to begin with, it had to stick around for a while. She'll be finished (ideally) in 12 days. It depends on two things. If I'm the only one he has on the schedule that day, then we can go as long as I can hang in there. If he's got someone else coming in that day, then it's a matter of how much we can get done in the time he allotted. Three to three and a half hours seems to be my limit, but unlike last time, her face isn't already done. That alone takes a good hour to 90 minutes. She is considerably smaller than her sister, so it's possible she could be done in that time frame. For those keeping score at home, Mae goes from about 1.5 inches below my armpit to about 3.5 inches above my hip bone. Lola is about even with Mae on the bottom, but her head stops right below my bra line.
The nose is doing pretty well. It's still a little red, but not painful. I'm loving the H20cean. How did I not know about this stuff before? It's perfect for someone like me who's pretty darn lazy. I'm even using it on some of my older piercings to see if that helps them along. My left rook has been sore for no apparent reason, so I gave it a good cleaning this morning and took some Advil.
My chest dermal is happy as can be. The bruising is gone. It's still flush into my skin. I spray it 2-3 times a day and it's good. It was itching a little this morning, so hopefully that means healing is well underway. It may be the easiest piercing to heal so far. Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself.
The nose is doing pretty well. It's still a little red, but not painful. I'm loving the H20cean. How did I not know about this stuff before? It's perfect for someone like me who's pretty darn lazy. I'm even using it on some of my older piercings to see if that helps them along. My left rook has been sore for no apparent reason, so I gave it a good cleaning this morning and took some Advil.
My chest dermal is happy as can be. The bruising is gone. It's still flush into my skin. I spray it 2-3 times a day and it's good. It was itching a little this morning, so hopefully that means healing is well underway. It may be the easiest piercing to heal so far. Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Lola Part 1
Quote of the Day:
Mark (to me): You're starting to look like a tattooed person!
Shane: Don't tell her that! Then she'll start to think she knows something about tattoos.
Shane then clarified saying I actually do know something about good tattoos because I've been going to Mark for so long. I told him I just admire and only know what I absorb going to see them.
She ended up being smaller than anticipated. When Mark fit the sketch against my side, her foot would've been right on my boob. We both looked at each other and went "Nah". So he shrunk her down and placed her lower. Her foot is now right under my boob and her head is right below my bra line. It will definitely make healing easier. He wasn't totally happy with having to make her smaller, but I still have good symmetry when you see me from the front. I teased him that meant I had space to put something up under my bra. He just rolled his eyes.
Today was a tough session. The shop was super busy. People kept walking in and distracting Mark more than usual. I don't think we even got started until 2:40 or so. Shane made a privacy screen so there were no free shows this time. It was kinda nice. I told Mark I always have the urge to throw random undergarments in the air when I'm behind one of those. He got a good laugh out of that.
He got interrupted at least 4 times while he was working on me. First he had to get a second machine ready because he needed two different sized needles. Then the phone rang. Then he ran out of ink and I actually got up and stretched my legs during that point. Then the phone rang again. By the fourth time, he was a swearing mess. I'm really the best person to deal with these situations because I'm totally chill. It sucked that he had to keep stopping, but I just hung in there. Even if he'd planned to do something other than the outline, he had another client waiting and we needed to get moving. I'm getting her finished off on Sunday the 25th. Hopefully we'll get her finished. I'll do a third session if necessary, but the idea doesn't really thrill me much.
While I was there, I got Jason to check out my nose. As it turns out, it wasn't really swollen at all. I had all this stuff stuck on the bottom of the stud. That was pulling the stud into the hole. Once he'd cleaned it off, it popped right back up. I finally picked up the H2Ocean. I'm going to go with the max recommended treatments for the next few days to help it settle down. He admired my chest dermal. Melanie wanted to get another picture, but when she left, I was in the middle of getting inked. She works Sundays, so we'll probably just do it when I go back to get Lola finished. My nose feels a ton better already after being cleaned.
I'm so happy to have her started. I think she's going to be even better than Mae. I just hope she doesn't get too upset that she's shorter than her sister. ;)
Mark (to me): You're starting to look like a tattooed person!
Shane: Don't tell her that! Then she'll start to think she knows something about tattoos.
Shane then clarified saying I actually do know something about good tattoos because I've been going to Mark for so long. I told him I just admire and only know what I absorb going to see them.
She ended up being smaller than anticipated. When Mark fit the sketch against my side, her foot would've been right on my boob. We both looked at each other and went "Nah". So he shrunk her down and placed her lower. Her foot is now right under my boob and her head is right below my bra line. It will definitely make healing easier. He wasn't totally happy with having to make her smaller, but I still have good symmetry when you see me from the front. I teased him that meant I had space to put something up under my bra. He just rolled his eyes.
Today was a tough session. The shop was super busy. People kept walking in and distracting Mark more than usual. I don't think we even got started until 2:40 or so. Shane made a privacy screen so there were no free shows this time. It was kinda nice. I told Mark I always have the urge to throw random undergarments in the air when I'm behind one of those. He got a good laugh out of that.
He got interrupted at least 4 times while he was working on me. First he had to get a second machine ready because he needed two different sized needles. Then the phone rang. Then he ran out of ink and I actually got up and stretched my legs during that point. Then the phone rang again. By the fourth time, he was a swearing mess. I'm really the best person to deal with these situations because I'm totally chill. It sucked that he had to keep stopping, but I just hung in there. Even if he'd planned to do something other than the outline, he had another client waiting and we needed to get moving. I'm getting her finished off on Sunday the 25th. Hopefully we'll get her finished. I'll do a third session if necessary, but the idea doesn't really thrill me much.
While I was there, I got Jason to check out my nose. As it turns out, it wasn't really swollen at all. I had all this stuff stuck on the bottom of the stud. That was pulling the stud into the hole. Once he'd cleaned it off, it popped right back up. I finally picked up the H2Ocean. I'm going to go with the max recommended treatments for the next few days to help it settle down. He admired my chest dermal. Melanie wanted to get another picture, but when she left, I was in the middle of getting inked. She works Sundays, so we'll probably just do it when I go back to get Lola finished. My nose feels a ton better already after being cleaned.
I'm so happy to have her started. I think she's going to be even better than Mae. I just hope she doesn't get too upset that she's shorter than her sister. ;)
Friday, January 9, 2009
Getting Rid of Stress
I'm going to put myself out of this ridiculous stress over how much Lola is going to cost tomorrow. I'm just going to call Mark later today and say how much I can afford. It's still on par with what he's charged in the past, so I don't feel like I'm a cheap bitch because of it. It doesn't look like my birthday money is going to arrive on time, so I just have to make due with what I have. I know I'll feel much better when there's a set price.
The nose was swollen pretty badly this morning. I know I whacked it at least once when I was asleep. It was the worst I've seen it. I did the usual routine and iced it twice using my water bottle. I'll probably do it again when I get a refill. I don't know if any of the swelling has gone down, but there isn't really much more I can do. I can't drink at my party tonight because I've taken so much Advil. I'd like to keep my kidneys and liver functioning beyond my 24th birthday. :P Oh the sacrifices I make for my mods...
The nose was swollen pretty badly this morning. I know I whacked it at least once when I was asleep. It was the worst I've seen it. I did the usual routine and iced it twice using my water bottle. I'll probably do it again when I get a refill. I don't know if any of the swelling has gone down, but there isn't really much more I can do. I can't drink at my party tonight because I've taken so much Advil. I'd like to keep my kidneys and liver functioning beyond my 24th birthday. :P Oh the sacrifices I make for my mods...
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Another Goal...
In addition to getting a tattoo when I reach my weight loss goal (and as a constant reminder to stay fit and sexy), I might get an inverse navel piercing or a dermal anchor. My stomach and hips are easily the parts of my body I hate the most. And it's inevitably the last part to change. I'm not 100% sure I'm suited to an inverse navel because of how the top part is pierced. If not, then I'll just get a dermal there. I want to eventually be proud of that area and show it off. It'll be even better if it's nice and sparkly.
Who knows how long it will take, but a minimum of 6 weeks. And that's losing at the rate of 2 lbs a week. So at the earliest, the end of February. I also need to focus on the toning. I should be doing Pilates 4-5 days a week and situps with the medicine ball 3 days a week. Having the weight come off is only have the battle. I need to make sure I'm toned up to take advantage of getting all the flab off. ;)
I'm absolutely not going to let myself jump the gun and get them early. That's why it's a goal. My weight loss site recommends making a collage of "goal pictures" and posting it somewhere prominent. I'm beginning to think it might actually help. If I'm constantly keeping my eye on the prize, so to speak, then it's all the more motivation to get out there and work hard to take the last 13 or so pounds off. I've let myself backslide and I'm hoping I haven't done too much damage. I'm weighing in tomorrow morning and from there, I'll know just what I need to do. I'm really hoping I can finally beat this mental plateau and begin maintaining a healthy and happy way of life.
Who knows how long it will take, but a minimum of 6 weeks. And that's losing at the rate of 2 lbs a week. So at the earliest, the end of February. I also need to focus on the toning. I should be doing Pilates 4-5 days a week and situps with the medicine ball 3 days a week. Having the weight come off is only have the battle. I need to make sure I'm toned up to take advantage of getting all the flab off. ;)
I'm absolutely not going to let myself jump the gun and get them early. That's why it's a goal. My weight loss site recommends making a collage of "goal pictures" and posting it somewhere prominent. I'm beginning to think it might actually help. If I'm constantly keeping my eye on the prize, so to speak, then it's all the more motivation to get out there and work hard to take the last 13 or so pounds off. I've let myself backslide and I'm hoping I haven't done too much damage. I'm weighing in tomorrow morning and from there, I'll know just what I need to do. I'm really hoping I can finally beat this mental plateau and begin maintaining a healthy and happy way of life.
Into Reality
In two days Lola will finally be a reality. I'm so excited. I've wanted her for at least a year. I'm practically giddy, I'm so excited. I can't wait to get there and get started. I figure it'll be another 3-3.5 hour sitting. I'd like to get her done in 2 sessions, but if necessary, we'll do a third. I don't anticipate needing to change my appointment times, so that should help. When I opted to change my second session of Mae, that's what threw a wrench into the works. He had to squeeze me in and that's not an ideal situation for a piece that needs as much attention to detail as a pin up girl.
Hopefully I can get a decent picture of Mae as well. I took down the one I had up because it wasn't as good as it could be. I'm sure between the two of us, Mark and I will figure out exactly what position is the ideal picture. I know I have a habit of leaning when I try to take pictures of myself and that distorts her quite a bit. I'd like to have a good picture of her to post and I'm sure he would, too. She was a lot of work and she deserves to be seen. I was afraid her face was going to be too dark, but it lightened up nicely after it finished peeling. Further proof that I should just have faith.
Now back to being giddy...
Hopefully I can get a decent picture of Mae as well. I took down the one I had up because it wasn't as good as it could be. I'm sure between the two of us, Mark and I will figure out exactly what position is the ideal picture. I know I have a habit of leaning when I try to take pictures of myself and that distorts her quite a bit. I'd like to have a good picture of her to post and I'm sure he would, too. She was a lot of work and she deserves to be seen. I was afraid her face was going to be too dark, but it lightened up nicely after it finished peeling. Further proof that I should just have faith.
Now back to being giddy...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
