liquor is my only friend

[some_stars]

SO the last two days have been goddamn awful, and--mostly unrelatedly--I realized sometime in the last couple weeks that I've been abstaining from alcohol (more than a glass of wine) for...IDK, about a couple years now, for no real reason. Well, originally it started because I was going through some weird phase where any alcohol at all made me feel horrifically sick, but then that stopped. And of course there's school, but that only rules out a few nights a week, and I haven't been drinking over vacations either.

Obviously this could not be allowed to stand. I'm now most of the way through a glass of vodka, limoncello, and cranberry juice, and I have gone up about eighteen mood points since I started. (On my scale of 1-10 for use in therapy and my little mood tracker app; it was 2 this morning and only because I reserve 1 for major acute literally-cannot-get-out-of-bed-or-stop-crying episodes. There really should be a zero. Although I have yet to use 9 or 10 ever, like ever in living memory, so possibly I should just adjust my scale a little.) Also I'm jamming out to this cover of The Book of Love on repeat, switching randomly between the melody and harmony parts. I am pretty awesome at both.

Other news: I'm thinking about getting my tattoo in NYC, since I'll be heading up there right after graduation.

1. Pluses to this idea: massive emotional significance, slightly higher possibility of finding someone who's done a Hebrew text tattoo before if I start researching and calling now.

2. Neutrals: It's not like I'll be any less able to get personal recommendations and testimonials, since I don't have any friends or acquaintances down here either.

3. Downsides: I will definitely have to get it done all in one sitting. Also I spend eight hours a day wearing my shoulder bag, usually crammed overfull of stuff, when I'm up there, and I want to get the tattoo above my shoulderblades/below my neck, an inch or two below where a t-shirt neckline hits. Also I'll have to be on a plane for 4+ hours while it's only a few days old.

From what little I know about fresh tattoos, these are fairly major obstacles. Anyone with experience care to advise me?

Comments

[lilacsigil]

Where does your bag sit in relation to the tattoo? If it's not actually rubbing or heavily pulling on the tattoo site itself, it should be fine. Same for being on a plane.

I haven't got a tattoo myself but I know plenty of people who've been hiking/on planes/surfing/carrying heavy gear/doing farmwork the same day as getting the tattoo with no problems unless something is rubbing directly on the tattoo site.

[some_stars]

alas, someone in the LJ comments just reminded me that bras exist, so doing this when I have to wear them all day every day is not really going to work.

[lilacsigil]

If it's going to be wide enough to interfere with bra straps, then yeah, backpacks and bras will be a problem! I grew a mole right under where one bra strap sits, and it shortly started getting really sore and bleeding then it was a getting it removed skin cancer panic...but it was just my bra causing issues.

[sohotrightnow]

The plane won't be much of a problem, I don't think -- IME, by a few days in, it's just itchy and flaking and kind of gross. Depending on the complexity -- how big, is there color, is it solid black or just linework, etc. -- all on one sitting might make it expensive, for whatever that's worth.

The bag will probably be an issue, but I would think only for a day or two. Again, though, I found with mine that within a day or so the worst of the pain was gone and it was just a bit sunburn-y, turning to pretty fierce itching within two or three days. The worst of the pain will be during and immediately after, but if it's not too complex it shouldn't be too bad -- this one of mine only took about twenty minutes, and this only took about fifty. I'd say get it done in the evening, when it's going to be the last thing you do for the day.

[phosfate]

I think, being New York, that there is probably some sort of rate-a-tattooist site out there that may help.

[thingswithwings]

*shrug* tattoos are different for everyone, so if you're the kind of person who has skin sensitivities or the like, you might want to be more cautious, but I've never found new tattoos particularly painful or sensitive. Especially not several days later. The day after I got each of my tattoos, I didn't want tight clothes on them chafing, but only because it irritated, not because it hurt. Frankly, I feel like there's real tattoo pain and there's the cultural idea of tattoo pain, and the two aren't really related. I have a medium sized tattoo in the exact spot you're discussing, and don't recall it being painful at all the next day.

It sounds like your tattoo isn't all that big, either, and if it's text you'll be getting it all done in one colour, yes? So the artist will only go over each area once? Because those factors also mean that it will be less sensitive and less of a problem.