Meanderings

Okay, I realise that I haven't been so much with the sexndrugsnrocknroll in recent times. This is mostly due to a lack of any of the above in my current lifestyle, but let's not think that I've completely given up on occasionally visiting the edge (as I am no longer living on it...)

Got my official ZuckerBaby in New Zealand tattoo today.

You heard me, baybee.

Got off the bus in Wellington at 3pm, dumped my stuff at the hostel at 4pm (after saying hello to Thomas the hostel cat), dashed up to Underground Arts by 4.45pm and was on the tattooists chair at 5.30pm, tattooed up by 6.30pm.

Hah!!

Underground Arts is the tattoo parlour attached to the National Tattoo Museum. The guy who runs it is Steve Droog (that's what he says!!), and he is also the tattooist who did my new inkjob!!

I can't really describe the design accurately, but it's got something of a tribal design that I've had in my head for about 8 years, some very strong Maori influences, and Steve and I worked on it together which was cool. It's mostly line work, with spirals and some shading.

Steve doesn't use stencils. He prefers to draw up the design on paper, and then draw it onto your skin. He makes some minor flourishes and embellishing as he goes, always consulting before he does them.

The tattoo itself takes up a fair amount of skin on my upper left arm. It's going to be interesting to keep it out of the sun, because Steve kind of expanded a bit as he went, I think. Then again, I was almost asleep for most of it (oh yes, after the initial ouchy part, I just got into the Zen of the experience and spent a lot of time in another place. I'm sure everyone who has a tattoo has one of those places of their own!!)

And, best of all, the price came in waaaaaaaaayyyyyy under the I'm-not-going-to-get-it-if-it-costs-more-than-blah limit I had in my head. I won't be going on the LotR Wellington locations tour (it was an either/or deal), but I'm going to go to Mt Victoria, where some of my favourite bits were filmed (including the "Get off the Road!!" scene with the groovy contracting tunnel of trees from Fellowship of the Ring), so that's all good. And, as a bonus, free.

So yeah. Tattoos on both arms now. Whee!!! Steve took a photo of the design, so one day I'm going to come back to Wellington and go to Underground Arts and there will be the memory of an afternoon in 2005 in a photo album in the waiting room.