A while back, while talking with the girl at Jiffy Lube who was always
getting a new piercing or tatoo, the other old guy in the waiting room
got in to the conversation about "ink".

"You know, I was a marine - in two different "conflicts" - and somehow
avoided getting a tatoo. Then my son became a tatoo artist and I got
this." He pointed to a small chinese character on the inside of his
forearm.

"What's it say?" we asked.

"Ouch!" was the reply.

That's when I started thinking about getting something like that done.

So the day before my 63rd birthday I started searching the web for the
chinese character for OUCH, wanting to make sure that what I THOUGHT the
character I was going to go with was in FACT the character with the
meaning OUCH.

Never did find it, but did find the character for TREE, which can also
mean WOOD.

For "only" $70, and about 20 minutes of having a black pigment poked
into my skin - with a small, rapidly vibrating needle - ta da! - TREE -
in chinese - in my forearm. By next year - with some luck - I'll have
found the chinese character for TURNING.

I see this as a commitment to wood and woodworking. Other's may see it
as justification for having me committed.

Fun way to mark, literally, a day in my life.

Well done Charlie. Always good to think out of the box.

My last serious thoughts of a tattoo was about 33 years ago when
sitting on the streets of Nuevo Laredo with a bottle of tequila in my
hand. Those were strange days, and no telling what I would have
received as a tatoo, but more importantly what I would have received
WITH the tattoo.

I really wanted the screaming eagle with the lightening bolts in his
talons. Thank Gawd I didn't get it... every member of the 101st would
have wanted to kick my ass!

I got a chuckle too, out of the fact you looked up your characters
before starting. I have seen some really neat skin art, but I always
figured someone would tattoo something like "moron" on me and I would
never know.

Living in a community that is 68% Latino, I saw a tee shirt at a
tourist shop that said "Soy un pendejo".

Underneath it it said "I am your friend".

Not so. I have a great picture of some unsuspecting nitwit walking
around with that shirt on, the laughing stock of every place he
went.

"Soy un pendejo" means " I am a real idiot". (I know, I know, your
local translation may vary - but it's close enough in any variant)

Funny since you can take the shirt off. Not so much so if it is
emblazoned on your skin!

Robert

"charlieb" wrote in message
...
A while back, while talking with the girl at Jiffy Lube who was always
getting a new piercing or tatoo, the other old guy in the waiting room
got in to the conversation about "ink".

"You know, I was a marine - in two different "conflicts" - and somehow
avoided getting a tatoo. Then my son became a tatoo artist and I got
this." He pointed to a small chinese character on the inside of his
forearm.

"What's it say?" we asked.

"Ouch!" was the reply.

That's when I started thinking about getting something like that done.

So the day before my 63rd birthday I started searching the web for the
chinese character for OUCH, wanting to make sure that what I THOUGHT the
character I was going to go with was in FACT the character with the
meaning OUCH.

Never did find it, but did find the character for TREE, which can also
mean WOOD.

For "only" $70, and about 20 minutes of having a black pigment poked
into my skin - with a small, rapidly vibrating needle - ta da! - TREE -
in chinese - in my forearm. By next year - with some luck - I'll have
found the chinese character for TURNING.

I see this as a commitment to wood and woodworking. Other's may see it
as justification for having me committed.

Fun way to mark, literally, a day in my life.


same, same Lam?

Alcohol and ink should never be mixed. Waking up the next morning (or
afternoon) hung over and wondering "Who the hell is Ruby and why in the
hell is her name tatooed on my chest?" is definitely NOT a good thing.
Almost as bad is being awaken the morning after the last night of
Carnival by congratulatory phone calls - about your engagement - and you
don't remember much after leaving the Hilton Hotel bar with the intent
of heading for the Continental Hotel bar down the street.

This particular choice for a tatool was reasonably thought out and
researched a bit. And the research - looking at and studying chinese
caligraphic characters -gave me some interesting ideas for patterns to
put on otherwise bland turnings. Chinese characters are apparently made
up of just six brush strokes. Combined they can make up an almost
infinite number of patterns - or very stylized pictographs.

Because, I guess like hebrew, a single Chinese character is almost
meaningless without a context - incorporating one or more in a turned
piece can add some space for a viewer to interpret.

The written Farsi has some interesting lines that might be used on a
turning.

Sources of inspiration are everywhere - if you take the time to look for
them.

I have had intresting correspondence with japanese and chinese wood
turners - I would suggest searching them out -

they can be found on the web, many speak enough english that you can
converse well



"charlieb" wrote in message
...
A while back, while talking with the girl at Jiffy Lube who was always
getting a new piercing or tatoo, the other old guy in the waiting room
got in to the conversation about "ink".

"You know, I was a marine - in two different "conflicts" - and somehow
avoided getting a tatoo. Then my son became a tatoo artist and I got
this." He pointed to a small chinese character on the inside of his
forearm.

"What's it say?" we asked.

"Ouch!" was the reply.

That's when I started thinking about getting something like that done.

So the day before my 63rd birthday I started searching the web for the
chinese character for OUCH, wanting to make sure that what I THOUGHT the
character I was going to go with was in FACT the character with the
meaning OUCH.

Never did find it, but did find the character for TREE, which can also
mean WOOD.

For "only" $70, and about 20 minutes of having a black pigment poked
into my skin - with a small, rapidly vibrating needle - ta da! - TREE -
in chinese - in my forearm. By next year - with some luck - I'll have
found the chinese character for TURNING.

I see this as a commitment to wood and woodworking. Other's may see it
as justification for having me committed.

Fun way to mark, literally, a day in my life.

charlieb wrote:
A while back, while talking with the girl at Jiffy Lube who was always
getting a new piercing or tatoo, the other old guy in the waiting room
got in to the conversation about "ink".

"You know, I was a marine - in two different "conflicts" - and somehow
avoided getting a tatoo. Then my son became a tatoo artist and I got
this." He pointed to a small chinese character on the inside of his
forearm.

"What's it say?" we asked.

"Ouch!" was the reply.

That's when I started thinking about getting something like that done.

So the day before my 63rd birthday I started searching the web for the
chinese character for OUCH, wanting to make sure that what I THOUGHT the
character I was going to go with was in FACT the character with the
meaning OUCH.

Never did find it, but did find the character for TREE, which can also
mean WOOD.

For "only" $70, and about 20 minutes of having a black pigment poked
into my skin - with a small, rapidly vibrating needle - ta da! - TREE -
in chinese - in my forearm. By next year - with some luck - I'll have
found the chinese character for TURNING.

I see this as a commitment to wood and woodworking. Other's may see it
as justification for having me committed.

Fun way to mark, literally, a day in my life.

I once saw a marine with a nice tattoo on his arm. It was an eagle or
some such with a scroll across the top with the inscription "YOUR NAME
HERE". He must have pointed to it in a book and the Japanese tattooer
copied it exactly.

--
Gerald Ross
Cochran, GA

May the Farce be with you!

In article , " wrote:

I got a chuckle too, out of the fact you looked up your characters
before starting. I have seen some really neat skin art, but I always
figured someone would tattoo something like "moron" on me and I would
never know.

Google tattoo "gullible white boy"
:-)

For "only" $70, and about 20 minutes of having a black pigment poked
into my skin - with a small, rapidly vibrating needle - ta da! - TREE -
in chinese - in my forearm. By next year - with some luck - I'll have
found the chinese character for TURNING.

Didn't see the original post, hence the double-quoting. According to

http://usa.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php,

"wood turning" is "(gIè¹R", which looked a lot more
Chinese before I pasted it in here. Anyway, it will
produce something you can look at and presumably copy
in some way.

Mike Beede

Gerald Ross wrote in news:YiWPl.42514$v8.23753
@bignews3.bellsouth.net:

charlieb wrote:
A while back, while talking with the girl at Jiffy Lube who was always
getting a new piercing or tatoo, the other old guy in the waiting room
got in to the conversation about "ink".

"You know, I was a marine - in two different "conflicts" - and somehow
avoided getting a tatoo. Then my son became a tatoo artist and I got
this." He pointed to a small chinese character on the inside of his
forearm.

"What's it say?" we asked.

"Ouch!" was the reply.

That's when I started thinking about getting something like that done.

So the day before my 63rd birthday I started searching the web for the
chinese character for OUCH, wanting to make sure that what I THOUGHT the
character I was going to go with was in FACT the character with the
meaning OUCH.

Never did find it, but did find the character for TREE, which can also
mean WOOD.

For "only" $70, and about 20 minutes of having a black pigment poked
into my skin - with a small, rapidly vibrating needle - ta da! - TREE -
in chinese - in my forearm. By next year - with some luck - I'll have
found the chinese character for TURNING.

I see this as a commitment to wood and woodworking. Other's may see it
as justification for having me committed.

Fun way to mark, literally, a day in my life.

I once saw a marine with a nice tattoo on his arm. It was an eagle or
some such with a scroll across the top with the inscription "YOUR NAME
HERE". He must have pointed to it in a book and the Japanese tattooer
copied it exactly.


Where did I hear that one before?
Hank

On Sat, 16 May 2009 19:36:40 -0500, charlieb wrote
(in message ):

A while back, while talking with the girl at Jiffy Lube who was always
getting a new piercing or tatoo, the other old guy in the waiting room
got in to the conversation about "ink".




That's when I started thinking about getting something like that done.



y'know, tattoos are kind of addicting. It is only a matter of time, now,
'till you get your next one...

Part of the aftercare is keeping it dry and not picking or scratching, etc.

I had a tat done on my back, and some time later was doing some work in the
woods. In the evening, I'd felt a little raised ridge on my back, and figured
it was just part of the healing process, and let it be. A couple of days
later, it was still there, and I thought that was a bit curious... it should
have flaked off on its own. I looked in the mirror (a couple of mirrors,
actually, as it was in the middle of my back) and it was a darn balsam
needle, pasted to my back with pitch. The rest of my back was healed up, so I
guess it was past time for a bit of showering. uffda.

enjoy your new ink

tom k.


--
I will find a way or make one.