I DID IT!:)

soooo i got the tattoo!! i met with the artist yesterday, Toban, who only spoke Bahasa, and then Roger, who was the translator ( note- it is very scary to get a permanant marking on your own by a person who is not speaking the same language as you......you never when you might have just agreed to maake it three times bigger!!!Haaha) actually he was incredible, he took a pic that i brought that was only sort of what i wanted and free hand sketched onto my arm the most amazing design! so i said. ok:)

proof that lifes challenges only make you stronger- i didnt even flinch!!! and trust me- i know it hurt, but i didnt tear up, i didnt cry out, and i didnt even have a hand to squeeze ( lucky mel:)) because puj's hands were so small i was worried i might break her teeny fingers:)

but they were so nice in there- they let TIm put on the music from my computer so DJ mixmaster TIm had some Rihanna going to put me at ease! even TOban, who knew no english, sang along when a little james blunt "your beautiful" came on!!!

all in all it was a great experience, the vibe of the place was great and i felt really comfortable having meg and tim and jon chatting my ear off about anything they could just to distract!

the last time i had a tattoo i thought i was going to die from the pain but i think this time i just internalized it and it made a huge difference. it felt good in a way-very defining , if that makes any sense!

so the tattoo is an original design by Toban, an orchid with a few vines- i wanted the orchid because its the flower of singapore and singapore has made such a huge impact on who i am today and i forever have a special plac ein my heart for the place i call home. i also learned that orchids symbolize beauty charm and refinement:)It also represents luxury and harmony-- both things i would love to have in my life!

i feel like it meant a lot to get this tattoo ten years after the first and to see how different it feels to have been through things and to really know what it means this time. I know it seems like 'woo hooo you got another tattoo people do that everyday' but it is an example, to me, of one of the things in my life that i let manifest into powerful fear. I have wanted this tattoo for years now, have thought about it, but let it build into the great thing in my head that crushed me when i thought of actually doing it. i was full of fear of the pain and the regret and i feel like it is a milestone for me to come to terms with something like fear, and how when you really want to, your mind and body are powerful enough to overcome even the most daunting of fears.

so...pics:)