Photo and Blog a Day Challenge-Day 9/28: Under

Today ended what was more than a seven year itch. I got my first tattoo in North Carolina in December of 2002. By Spring of 2005 I had seven tattoos from seven different states. Around St. Patrick's Day in 2006 I got my life-sized, seven piece constellation in northern California. And before I knew it, the buzz of a needle gun was just a memory.

Moving to Indiana provided many new opportunities, and today highlights the reopening of a challenge I started for myself back in 2003. Tattoos from as many different states as possible.

First there was this photo. The last known photo of my naked left forearm/inner wrist.

This is the last picture and final account of what will be...wait for it...under my new tattoo. But  it isn't my official entry for the day. The following photo is:

I went under the needle tonight. Almost two hours ago. For the first time since March of 2006. Almost eight years since my last tattoo

Thanks to a coworker's suggestion, I was put in contact with an artist/shop in Niles, Michigan. So, shout out to Lambo at Paparazzi Tattoos for knockin the dust off of my collection and throwin down some new ink for me! I can now cross Michigan off the list of states I've been inked in. And I'm definitely going back for more.

Don't be deceived, that isn't a look of pain on my face. It's an expression of, "I'm not gonna lie. I love this. And I miss it." I must admit, I was a bit anxious having gone so long without a tattoo, so I was unsure about how my pain level would fare.

For those of you who have considered tattoos but have not  taken the dive yet, I won't lie, they do hurt--you're getting stabbed thousands of times--but, at least for me, with the wonderful hum of the tattoo gun, it becomes more tickling/annoying than painful.

For the first time in my (now) 15 tattoos, I was live tweeting a couple of Instagram posts because I felt compelled to share my tatventure, aside from the day's blog.

And before I knew it, Lambo's light hand was done with my newest piece in the collection. I present to you, The ghoti fish.

Inspired by Craig Fleming, a professor from CSULB, whose Writing for the Theatre course inspired me to start writing again, I chose to bring the ghoti fish (pronounced "fish fish") to life for all to see.

If you've had the pleasure of Craig's inspiration, wisdom, and passion, this may look familiar to you. If not, and you'd like to figure out how it says "fish," then go ahead, I'll give you a moment to roll that around...

[insert commercial break here]

As many of you know (or can tell) I love writing. And this past November I participated in (and won) NaNoWriMo 2013 (sidenote: I'm wearing my NaNo 2013 Winner tee in the above pictures.) I take pride in my work, and have been accused of taking my job too seriously.

I love to have fun, and this new piece will help remind me to not take things so seriously all the time. Especially when it comes to words, which I thoroughly enjoy wielding with confidence.

And so, the explanation of how GHOTI is pronounced "fish."

GH--as in words like "tough" or "rough" provides the "phh" sound.
O--as in "women" sounds like a short vowel "i" or "ih."
TI--as in "action" and "direction," provides the "sh" sound.

Strung together...go ahead and sound it out if you haven't already...

phh--ih--sh.

FISH.

Ghoti fish. Fish fish. Nailed it.

I love words. I love stories. And the more I learn about English as a language, the more complex it becomes. But maybe that's part of what I love about it so much.

Don't let it stress you out there, because taking it too seriously will drag you down. How far down? Really far...under.

I'll be here all month, folks.

Thanks again, Lambo and Paparazzi Tattoos!