I’m having a tattoo done. Tomorrow.
I’ve wanted a tattoo for a very very long time, probably since I was ten or eleven, but I haven’t felt strongly enough about any design I’ve doodled on throughout the years to actually have it done.

Lately I have been trying out different ideas a lot more seriously. I’ve looked at different words I like; words like ‘faith’, ‘imagine’, ‘dream’ and ‘believe’ and I’ve toyed with different fonts to use. (I knew my years of practising calligraphy would come in sooner or later.) I’ve looked at Chinese calligraphy and the symbols for my favourite words. I even went so far as to learn the basics in the art of doing the calligraphy. Yet, in the end, after many hours of shaping and re-shaping, drafting and re-drafting, I’ve settled on something completely different.

Although the idea of having a word written on my skin still holds a certain appeal with me, I worry that I’ll come to feel that I’ve chosen the wrong word. So, I scrapped that idea. At least for now. I may add a word tattoo later.

What have I chosen? Well, the main motif is a triquetra. Why? Well, in all honesty the main reason is that I genuinely like the way it looks; the eternally interlocking loops, the symmetry. It isn’t known for sure what the true origin of the symbol is, but, contrary to popular belief, it was not originally a Christian trinity symbol. This is proven by the fact that it has been found on many rune stone carvings, which obviously pre-date Christianity. For example there is triquetra carving on the famous Funbo rune stone, which can be found in the park of the university of Uppsala in Sweden. It has been said to symbolise earth, sea and sky – in other words; creation, and that’s certainly a concept that I feel more comfortable with. Also, I guess, on a more personal level, it stands for my own trinity of beliefs. God, myself and kindness. I’ve also incorporated a flower growing through the triquetra, symbolising my own personal growth within creation, or how I am part of God’s creation.

I’ve had quite a mixed response to the idea of having a tattoo done from people. Most recently D., my counsellor, expressed a, let’s say, rather negative opinion of tattoos in general and me having one in particular. Or at least my reasons for wanting one.

It can be argued back and forth endlessly whether or not tattoos, piercings and other forms of body modifications are just different variations of self-harm, but I don’t believe it is. At least not in my case. In fact, I think that having a tattoo done on the inside of my left wrist will actually help me refrain from self-harming, since this is the place where I cut and it would ruin my tattoo to do it. (Oddly enough, until D. mentioned that if I really wanted to cut myself, I’d simply find another place on my body to do it, that thought had genuinely not even entered my mind as my various self-harm sessions have always been more or less solely focused on that specific area).

Either way, whether you think of tattoos as the ultimate tramp stamp or beautiful works of art; tomorrow is the day I’m having one done. Finally.

I’ve never had a tattoo done before, so I’m quite curious to find out what it’s like. I’m not particularly worried about it. That’s not to say that I won’t be nervous as anything come two o’clock tomorrow afternoon, but right now I feel fine about it.

I’m having it done at a tattoo studio in Camden. Chioko. I’ve done quite a lot of research about different places to have it done, and this is the one place in London I haven’t been able to find any negative feedback about. Also, I went there a couple of weeks ago, because I wanted to have a micro-dermal implant done on my hand, and to my great surprise, rather than just taking my money and doing it, they told me that they didn’t think it would be a good idea, because chances were that it wouldn’t heal properly since you constantly use your hands and dermals are notoriously difficult to get to ‘take’ even on other, less exposed, parts of the body. That definitely impressed me. A tattoo studio that turned down business because they couldn’t guarantee the outcome.

So, I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. I left my triquetra design with the studio yesterday so they can re-do it in a way that will work the best for a tattoo.

Anyway, dear friends, I must leave you now. Dev has heavily hinted that he’d greatly appreciate it if I made my way across the road to Tesco to pick up some Coke (-a- Cola) for the weekend, so I guess I’d best oblige. He is after all buying me dinner. Masala Zone. They rock.

Be good to yourselves and remember to smile!

xx