Starland Vocal Band?! They suck!
Well, I have an important announcement to make: earlier tonight, I went and got a tattoo!
I know this news may be downright shocking to those readers out there who've known me personally for a while. While my politics tend to be liberal, my social life is more conservative. I'm really quite dull, actually! ;-) I don't go out partying much, I hardly drink, I don't smoke or do drugs, I don't gamble...basically, I spend most of my free time at home reading a book, watching TV or surfing the Internet. I crave order, structure and consistency to such a degree that I'm certainly the last person one would expect could do something so spontaneous and impulsive.
Nevertheless, I did it anyway! Funny this is, this wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision for me at all. While working on this project and travelling around, I've taken the opportunity to do a little soul-searching and self-pondering. A personal evaluation, if you will. Basically, I've been trying to overcome my lack of self-confidence and shyness, to fundamentally become more comfortable in my own skin. I'm slowly teaching myself to break from the same old routine now and again, to embrace a certain degree of chaos in my life. Instead of resisting change, I should welcome it. Only then will I be closer to achieving a certain measure of spiritual balance or equilibrium, if you will...
To that end, over the past month I'd been contemplating getting a tattoo. I've always been a little intrigued at the idea; unlike body piercings, I've never been opposed to the notion of getting one for myself one day. Tattoos fascinate me - I've seen many examples which I find aesthetically beautiful and/or exceptionally clever. The artistry behind some designs is really quite remarkable, often worthy of putting on canvas, in my opinion! So, I built up the courage and resolved to get a tattoo whenever the opportunity presented itself!
Well, fate was kind! I was going for a brisk stroll around downtown Niagara Falls earlier this evening when I passed by a neat little tattoo parlour! The name of the place is the Lucky 13 [sorry, but this links to the website for the Saint Catharines branch...) Caught my eye immediately - clean, well-kept, didn't look sketchy at all. I had a wad of bills burning a hole in my wallet, so I figured what the hell...now's as good a time as any to follow through on my little self-promise. So, I went in and took the proverbial plunge!
I already had my own idea about what I wanted done. Being a big history enthusiast as well as an amateur student of linguistics, the idea of having a Latin saying or expression inscribed appealed to me. While interesting in their own right, I find that Chinese characters are a bit overused these days. I wanted something more original and unconventional. Latin was the first thing that came to mind.
What I came up with was simple yet apt, I think: the word "SAPIENTIA", which means "wisdom" in Latin. I had it put on the upper portion of my right arm, just below my shoulder. Nice and generic - something I won't regret in the next 10 or 20 years. And it represents a quality or trait to which I've always tried to aspire.
For the record, I was completely sober when I did it :-) No gasps of dismay when I look at myself in the bathroom mirror tomorrow morning... Indeed, I'm quite happy with the result. I'm actually proud of myself for going through with it. I hope my friends and family back home will like it when I show it to them!...
I'll try to get a picture of it that I can upload here at some point, just so you guys & gals out there can actually see the tattoo (instead of merely trying to imagine it)!
I know this news may be downright shocking to those readers out there who've known me personally for a while. While my politics tend to be liberal, my social life is more conservative. I'm really quite dull, actually! ;-) I don't go out partying much, I hardly drink, I don't smoke or do drugs, I don't gamble...basically, I spend most of my free time at home reading a book, watching TV or surfing the Internet. I crave order, structure and consistency to such a degree that I'm certainly the last person one would expect could do something so spontaneous and impulsive.
Nevertheless, I did it anyway! Funny this is, this wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision for me at all. While working on this project and travelling around, I've taken the opportunity to do a little soul-searching and self-pondering. A personal evaluation, if you will. Basically, I've been trying to overcome my lack of self-confidence and shyness, to fundamentally become more comfortable in my own skin. I'm slowly teaching myself to break from the same old routine now and again, to embrace a certain degree of chaos in my life. Instead of resisting change, I should welcome it. Only then will I be closer to achieving a certain measure of spiritual balance or equilibrium, if you will...
To that end, over the past month I'd been contemplating getting a tattoo. I've always been a little intrigued at the idea; unlike body piercings, I've never been opposed to the notion of getting one for myself one day. Tattoos fascinate me - I've seen many examples which I find aesthetically beautiful and/or exceptionally clever. The artistry behind some designs is really quite remarkable, often worthy of putting on canvas, in my opinion! So, I built up the courage and resolved to get a tattoo whenever the opportunity presented itself!
Well, fate was kind! I was going for a brisk stroll around downtown Niagara Falls earlier this evening when I passed by a neat little tattoo parlour! The name of the place is the Lucky 13 [sorry, but this links to the website for the Saint Catharines branch...) Caught my eye immediately - clean, well-kept, didn't look sketchy at all. I had a wad of bills burning a hole in my wallet, so I figured what the hell...now's as good a time as any to follow through on my little self-promise. So, I went in and took the proverbial plunge!
I already had my own idea about what I wanted done. Being a big history enthusiast as well as an amateur student of linguistics, the idea of having a Latin saying or expression inscribed appealed to me. While interesting in their own right, I find that Chinese characters are a bit overused these days. I wanted something more original and unconventional. Latin was the first thing that came to mind.
What I came up with was simple yet apt, I think: the word "SAPIENTIA", which means "wisdom" in Latin. I had it put on the upper portion of my right arm, just below my shoulder. Nice and generic - something I won't regret in the next 10 or 20 years. And it represents a quality or trait to which I've always tried to aspire.
For the record, I was completely sober when I did it :-) No gasps of dismay when I look at myself in the bathroom mirror tomorrow morning... Indeed, I'm quite happy with the result. I'm actually proud of myself for going through with it. I hope my friends and family back home will like it when I show it to them!...
I'll try to get a picture of it that I can upload here at some point, just so you guys & gals out there can actually see the tattoo (instead of merely trying to imagine it)!
posted by Blake @ 4:02 a.m.
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