At A Glance
Author	cuthalcoven
Contact	cuthalcoven@bme.anon
IAM	cuthalcoven
When	A month ago
Artist	Jay Jay
Studio	Purrfectly Pierced
Location	Toledo, OH

I've always been an English nerd. At 12 years old I wrote my first screenplay, and I had already filled a whole bookshelf with journals that were filled with poetry and song lyrics. Naturally, when Shannon first posted about the Skin Project, I was instantly intrigued and sent out an essay right away. Honestly, it was so long ago, I can't even remember what I wrote. She sent me back a response a few weeks later letting me know that I had been accepted as a word, and included the release form in the email. Things got hectic and I started having second thoughts. What if I got a word I didn't like? Did I really want to get a word tattooed on me that didn't have any personal meaning? Would I have the money to get the tattoo once I received my word? It went on and on, the release form stayed in my "important emails" folder and was promptly forgotten. Two years later I cleaned out everything and deleted it, believing that it was too late to still join in. Right after I deleted it, the original fervor of the idea caught back on. I wanted to be a word, dammit!

Imagine my surprise when I got an email from Shelley this year! Apparently a lot of people had been like myself, and simply had not responded past the release form. She was asking those people to email her, as they still had their words assigned to them. I was so happy! I immediately emailed her back, explaining the delay and asked for a copy of the release form to be resent. She obliged within a day or two, and this time I wasted no time in getting it out...assuming I'd procrastinate again if I didn't send it off right away.

As usual, per my blondeness, I DID forget. A month later I received an envelope with "The Melancholy of Anatomy" stamped on it, as well as a bunch of packages. I pushed the envelope to the side and opened all my packages first, then turned to the envelope. Ripping it open, two sheets of paper fell out, along with a receipt paper. I scanned it over quickly, then realized... I got my word!

My word, should I choose to accept it...was "a".

I was actually a little disappointed. Other people were getting words and things. I got a letter. I sat there for awhile thinking about it and my participation in the project. I was wondering how I could turn it around to actually mean something to me. Suddenly, I realized two things. One- My name is Amanda, so technically I could always just tell people it was my initial if I didn't want to explain the project. Two- Everyone else got words that didn't really mean anything to them, they had to find their own connotations. Mine doesn't have any! Which means I can say "I am a...." and a whole realm of possibilities is open to me, I'm not limited to just one permanent enigma on my skin. Suddenly, I loved my word. My little tiny "a" became a token that I can be anything I want to be.

I scheduled myself for extra hours that week, just to get the money to get tattooed. I made enough, and set the appointment. Then I got sick with a kidney infection and shingles all in one go, which SUCKED for timing. Being a good girl, I took all my antibiotics and stayed out of the tattooist chair for a whole two weeks. The day after I took my last pill I called and made an appointment, and headed straight over. This was it, I was getting tattooed!

I got my kanji on my back touched up, and a family heirloom heart before I was ready to begin with my word. I had two placements picked out, and wanted to go based on what Jay Jay suggested. First I had to explain the project to him, and what the "a" stood for. He thought it was really neat, and appreciated that I had turned it into my own personal mantra as well. I wanted it either in the curve of the helix of my ear, or on my big toe. After talking a bit, Jay Jay convinced me that the ear would be a bad place, as it would tend to blow out and not look as well as I thought it would. We decided to do it on my right big toe, right on the joint.

Naturally, I was scared as hell. I'd always heard that toe tattoos hurt a lot, and I had just had two other tattoos done. Crawling into the seat, I stretched out my feet and curled my fingers into the arm rests, anticipating lots of pain. The stencil went on, Jay Jay got my approval, and reached for the gun. I admit it, I flinched. The first strike of the needles was excruciating. It hurt a lot more than I thought it would, but less than I was actually expecting. Which is good in the scheme of things I guess. Everytime he went over the toe joint bones, I flexed my foot a little without meaning to. It's a good thing he had a strong grip on me, or I would have messed up the process a lot. I gritted my teeth through most of it, which sucked. But honestly, the tattoo was so small it only took five minutes, so the pain was definitely bearable and worth it.

Once finished, he cleaned me up but didn't bandage it because I was wearing flip flops anyways. I was given aftercare information and sent on my merry way. I adored it. I couldn't stop looking at it and showing it off, I was just so proud! Even with the other two tattoos I had gotten, my word was my favorite and the cutest of them all!



Unfortunately, I got sick the day afterwards. It might have been a relapse of my infection, or I might have had a cold that was waiting until I did something stupid to effect my immune system. Either way, I ended up with one hell of a fever. I called my doctor because I don't have insurance, and he suggest hot baths as often as possible until the fever had broken. If I couldn't break it myself, he wanted me to go to the hospital. Quick judgement call- Spend hundreds at the hospital or ruin a brand new tattoo? I decided that I could always get the tattoo touched up for free, but I couldn't afford a hospital visit. Five steaming hot baths later, my fever had broken for the night and I could get to sleep...but the ink had leeched out of the tattoo and left some unsightly faded spots. I kept up with my aftercare of rinsing/patting dry and unscented lotion to keep it from drying out, but the damage had really already been done.



I am the perfect example of LISTENING TO YOUR ARTIST. You pay them a lot of money to tattoo you, so trust them to know what's good for you afterwards too. Yes, I knew what would happen and chose my health over my tattoo, which I'm sure anyone would do. However, if you think that you don't have to follow aftercare just because you don't want to, think again. That nice shiny tattoo needs to be cared for in order to stay nice.