Not-so-taboo Tattoos, Part Deux

This seedy tattoo parlor is where I returned one fine day when I was bored and thinking about tattoos - I know, I'm a glutton for punishment. I walked in and looked at the yellowed flash on the walls, and only saw the typical Popeye the Sailor Man type tattoos, mixed with tribal and biker tattoos. Until I spied a pretty little mermaid with flowing brunette hair and a fluid tail. 'Hmm...,' I thought. She needed some adjusting (her tail was originally freakishly long and wrapped around an ugly piece of coral, and she had bright red nipples - WTF?), but this tattoo was the first tattoo I saw that really stood out. I asked about the pricing and stood there and thought about it, then decided to bite the bullet and get it done right then and there before I chickened out. Besides, what fun is there in life without impulsive and wreckless decisions?

Now it's 2004, and my life has completely changed. I'm getting divorced (thank god), I have a different job, different house, a new man (who has a couple of very cool and VERY sexy tattoos, I might add) and I still have my pretty little mermaid tattoo.

My philosophy on tattoos is this (you knew this was coming): I think tattoos should represent the person who has them, symbolically or aesthetically, in some way. They are, after all, a permanent decoration on your skin. I don't get the 'random tattoo' thing, like at tattoo conventions where people just pick something and have it done, for no particular reason. What if you were in a weird mood, and end up hating it the next day? Having a tattoo removed is a much more painful, laborious, and expensive process than getting one, by far. My man has a tattoo of a cross-like dagger with a sun on the cross piece of the hilt. It doesn't mean anything in particular, but it is a very intricate, well done tattoo and suits him perfectly - and looks sexy as hell on his muscular arm. My tattoo represents one of my daughters, and I plan on getting another mermaid to represent my other daughter very soon. I will never regret my tattoos, because I will always love my daughters.

But, of course, I still want MORE tattoos. A few water lillies to go with the mermaids, and something flowing and pretty on my lower back... I'm finally planning my 'target' tattoo.