At A Glance
Author	Steve-O
IAM	ThunderBoxCrash
When	A week ago
Artist	Keith M.
Studio	Peter Tat-2
Location	Pittsfield, Mass.

Most of my tattoos have undergone what I call "the planning ritual". For me, it can take weeks and sometimes even months before I settle on a design and decide to get it tattooed on my body. The ritual includes drawing the design, re-drawing the design, printing it on a plastic laminating sheet and sticking it on my body, re-drawing the design again, followed by another re-draw before I finally settle on the design in question and make an appointment. Sometimes I'll go through all of this only to decide it isn't going to work out. A bit crazy maybe, but I have to make sure I want it.

Now, I say most because my latest tattoo took only minutes before I knew it was something I would be proud to have tattooed on me. I decided on a "family" tattoo. The design itself was pretty simple, consisting of five stars - one star for each member of my family, including myself. The stars were arranged in a V shape (which is also the number five in roman numerals):

The center star would be the largest and the remaining stars would get progressively smaller. For a location, I decided there was just enough room high up on the center of my chest, just below my collarbones and just above my sternum.

I was so sure of this design, that I stopped down at the shop the following day and booked an appointment. Once I book an appointment, there's no turning back. Keith placed the drawing against my chest and said there should be just enough room. I told him that if it needed to be shrunk down a bit, that was OK. He told me to write my name in and I did. Knowing that I'd have some chair time for the first time this year made me pretty happy. Of course Keith had to tell me that where I was getting the tattoo was a "tough spot" as far as how it'll feel. Honestly, I wasn't concerned. I knew that it would probably suck - but that's how a tattoo is earned, through the pain it creates. My appointment was booked for the following day (June 2) at 1pm.

The day arrived - early. My alarm clock went off at 6am and 6:15am. I tried to sleep a little longer, but by 8am my body was wanting to get up. It was Saturday also. For years, I used to get tattooed on either a Monday or a Friday, since those were my days off from work. Since my last tattoo, they gave me a promotion at work, which included weekends off, so Saturday has become my official tattooing day.

I had to get some cash out of my account, so I threw on some shorts and a beater before heading to the bank. It was muggy as all hell and not a cloud in the sea of blue above. The sun was blazing and the temperature seemed to be climbing fast. At the bank, I used my awesome ATM skills and withdrew the amount I needed in mere seconds. Decided it would be a good idea to get some grub in my belly as well.

With my belly full, I headed back to the house since I still had close to an hour and a half before my appointment. I watched some TV, smoke a couple cigarettes and looked at my chest one last time - knowing that I would soon have a new addition.

I had to do a Dunkin' run before going to the shop. Got two iced coffees, a coffee coolatta and a carmel swirl iced latte. It was closing in on 1 when I walked in. Gabe, who's apprenticing, was vacuuming the floor. Keith was at his station. The beverages were handed out and then it was time to go out for a pre-tattoo smoke.

The station was in the beginning stages of being set up for my appointment. All he needed to do was assemble the machine, place in a new needle, get a cup of water and pour the ink. He already made the stencil and wanted to stick it on me so I took off my beater and stood up straight as he sprayed the area on my chest with Green Soap and applied the stencil. He looked at it for a bit and then told me to have a look myself. At first, the design looked a little off. The other tattoos on my chest were making it look that way, so Keith grabbed a piece of paper and held it in between where my collarbones start. The bottom star's top point matched perfectly with the paper, so the placement was good. I'm pretty sure the design itself wasn't perfectly symmetrical - something that represents no family is perfect.

I was surprised by how calm I was. I wasn't nervous at all, yet I was pretty excited. So much so, I grabbed another smoke before we started and Keith joined me a few moments later. He gave me a play-by-play account of how he would do this tattoo. He had it all planned out, which was good to hear.

Then it was time. I laid on the chair and just closed my eyes, feeling very comfortable and relaxed. He asked if I was ready and I replied "let's do this." He rubbed in some A&D and fired up the machine. The first line was about to be inked. When the needles touched my skin and left their mark, I was pleasantly surprised. It felt great. He was starting right in the center with the biggest star. It happened to be over bone but the feeling wasn't excruciating at all. It didn't tickle, but it hardly hurt either. He continued with the line work and overall, it wasn't too bad. I guess my pain tolerance is pretty high because when ever I'm told that it's "gonna suck" - it never does. Guess that's a good thing.

With the line work complete it was time for a short break. I took a couple of swigs of my iced latte as I checked out how the tattoo was coming along. It was looking good. The area was pretty red, so my chest was getting worked pretty good. The next part would be to fill the area in between the outlines with black. I got back in the chair and waited for the filling in to begin. This was a different sensation. It was more noticeable than the line work - especially on the center star. "Man, that feels great." I said in a tone loaded with sarcasm. Truth is, it burned like hell but it wasn't excruciatingly painful. The fill in continued and I took video and watched the TV, which was tuned in to The Weather Channel. A severe t-storm watch had just been issued for our area! Sweet. As if this day could get any better.

When the fill in was complete, Keith wiped the area with Green Soap and it was amazingly cold. Then I checked out the results in the mirror. I liked what I saw very much. There was one more step to go and this tattoo would be finished. Keith was going to add some shading to the stars. I have to say that this part did suck. The big star being right over bone just felt less than desirable. Luckily it took just a few minutes for him to finish. One last wipe-down of the area and I was finished. I looked in the mirror and was very pleased. The shading was subtle, which I liked.

I stood in the mirror for a bit, taking in the new tattoo from a few angles. The tattoo really fit the location perfectly. Keith asked if I wanted it bandaged and I told him no. It was hardly bleeding and a dab from a paper towel would take care of it. I paid him for the tattoo and hung out for a bit.

When it was time to leave, Keith told me to stop back in so we could do some touch-ups on my other tattoos. I agreed. Not wanting to ruin a perfectly good - although stretched out - wife beater, I just grabbed it and left the shop to enjoy the rest of the day. For me to walk down the main street in town with my shirt off says a lot. In addition to showing how much more confident I am in myself and my body, I figured being "eye candy" to the ladies wouldn't hurt. It was still pretty warm out but clouds were starting to build up in the western sky. It looked like rain wasn't far off.

After being home for a few hours, I gave the tattoo its first cleaning. I used Dial antibacterial soap using my fingers to clean it. Once rinsed, I patted the tattoo with a paper towel. Then using a hair dryer, I dried the tattoo. I didn't use any ointment for two reasons. First, I was out and second, A&D and Bacitracin are not tolerated by my skin. I can use Neosporin. Normally, that would raise a big red flag, as I've read that it can cause some pretty severe reactions. However, my skin tends to tolerate it - even though there's some bacitracin as an ingredient. Strange, but then again my skin is strange, so maybe that's why it works.

When I woke up the next morning, I could tell the tattoo needed to be cleaned. I slept on my side with my arms wrapped up in my pillow, which crammed it into my chest and onto the tattoo. It had oozed a bit and felt a bit tacky. I saw some black on one of the blankets, so there was a transfer sometime during the night. Damn. I gave it a really good cleaning, really using the pads of my fingertips to get it nice and clean. I knew that this incident would likely mar the chance for the tattoo to heal normally. Perhaps wearing a shirt would have produced a different outcome.

Later that afternoon, I did buy some Neosporin and used a very small amount. It's healing well, though I have noticed some scabbing on some parts of each star - especially the ones on the left. The center star looks good. Worse case scenario (besides a Staph infection) would be a touch-up, which I'm cool with. I like to compare my tattoos to painting a wall. Sometimes one coat doesn't do it and a second coat is needed.

Here's a picture of the tattoo: