Tattoos Are Awesome

I am generally a cold person. Not personality-wise. Temperature-wise. Unless I am standing/lying/sleeping in a sunny spot or outside when it is at least 85 degrees, I am probably cold. As a result, I wear a lot of long sleeve shirts and I keep a zippered sweatshirt jacket at work. (At home, it's my beloved Snuggie. Say what you will about them, they are goddamn warm.) The unfortunate side effect is that I rarely get to show off my tattoos.

Right this minute, I have three tattoos. There is a panther on the right side of my lower back, a shooting star on my left arm, and Silvermist on my right arm. Sadly, I don't have decent pictures of them. I promise that if I win this contest (more on that in a bit) I'll post tons of pictures of them.

The shooting star was the very first tattoo I got way back when I was in college. A friend of mine wanted some company while she got her nipple pierced. While I couldn't bring myself to do that, I could manage a tiny star tattoo. Call it the beginning of my rebellious phase. I thought my mother would be mortified. Her actual response? "At least you're not pregnant." Thanks, Mom.

I got the panther while I was living on my own for the very first time (no, living in a college dorm does not count as 'on your own.') in North Carolina. It was a very lonely time. Panthers are my favorite animal and I kinda needed someone to watch my back so there he is. For the record, it's actually only the outline of a panther. He's big enough that his head rests on my spine while his tail wraps up around my lower ribs. Needless to say, it was my most painful tattoo ever. I couldn't sit still long enough for the artist to finish. He kicked me out after the outline was finished and told me to come back for the coloring. I never went back.

Finally, Silvermist. This tattoo is in honor of my daughter. She is named after Morgan le Fay from the King Arthur legend. Morgan le Fay translates to Morgan of the Fairies, hence a fairy tattoo. My daughter picked out the design herself. It is my favorite tattoo and I look at it almost daily.

One of the local radio stations is running a tattoo contest. The tattoo with the most votes wins a $1000 gift certificate to a local tattoo shop. I would absolutely love to win this. I am begging everyone to vote for me as many times as possible. You can vote once per day and the contest ends April 1 at midnight. Spread the word and ask your friends to vote for me too. If I win, I will take tons of pictures - both of my current tattoos and the new ones I'd be getting. (If the artist lets me, I'll take pictures while he's inking me up.)

Here is the direct link to my tattoo.

Please vote and ask your friends to vote. The tattooed freak inside of me will love you forever if you do.