Yes, that is a tattoo

I don’t mind people looking at my tattoo. But a few weeks ago I noticed people in the elevator staring at my foot. They would peer down at the dots and lines, look at me, and then break eye contact. Totally could tell they were curious, but for whatever reason, they felt it was more appropriate to awkwardly look at it and then ignore me than to just ask, “hey, what’s that design?”

After this event  repeated itself for days in a row, I began feeling really self-consciousness about my ink – and then I had a nightmare. In my dream, my tattoo was nothing but blurry markings made with blue ballpoint pen.  The ink was running off my foot, like a letter being bombarded with tears dropping. I freaked out so much in the dream that I  woke up, pulled my foot close to my blind eyes, and saw it was still there. Instant relief and a clear reminder of how much this design means to me – no matter how people look at it.

inked

I have been intrigued by tattoos for a long time. And from the first time I met a Sharpie, I have been drawing on myself. Dots. Symbols. Things I  saw on TV. I even have a file somewhere with printouts and drawings of different tattoos I liked. Some were things I could see myself getting. Others I would never get (see: on the face).

But there has only been one tattoo I ever really saw myself getting. As any of my friends can tell you, I have obsessed about it over the last 4 years. Drawn it here and there. Toyed with getting it here and there. I’ll do it after this happens I’d say. And then I wouldn’t.

The thing about that one tattoo is that getting it wasn’t originally my idea. It was my mother’s. But after her surgeries from breast cancer she didn’t want to get it anymore. In her words, “I’ve had enough pain for a while.” And with that, she passed the desire onto me. And this Saturday I finally did it.

My friend Ashley M. had also been thinking about a tattoo for a few years now. She had the script picked out and everything. And we agreed to do it together. So here is the inspiration for mine:

And here is mine:

The tattoo is the same one Leeloo has in The Fifth Element. The difference in mine is that each line is made of 13 (a fibonacci number) dots. Each set of 6 lines represents a different element: Earth & Water (near my toes) Fire and Air (closer to my ankle). I opted to place it on my foot (vs. the wrist in the movie) because it is not as typical as some places, because I don’t want it to interfere with any possible interviews, and because it will look cute with sandals but won’t be the first thing someone notices. I typically don’t walk around looking at people’s feet first.

What do you think?

Resolving

While I used to not be a fan of new year’s resolutions – all talk, no act – last year’s worked out pretty well. So, here I go:

1. Get back into the shape I was in last May, before I left for Germany and was surrounded by wurst and kartoffel.
2. Start making my own lunch to take to campus. Must save $.
3. Take off to somewhere this summer.
4. Take better care of my cuticles and nails. Fo. Ev. A.
5. Keep in touch with the people I met in Germany, my friends who have graduated and those that will.
6. Run a 5k.

2008

Because I wanted to join the crowd (Lindsay & Ashley), and because 2008 was kind of big.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Went to Europe, had two jobs (and will have them next year), Lost two jobs, dated three guys, worked during winter break.

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Although I am usually against them, I did last year (and will this year). I think I kept them, but the “Child on plane ruins laptop incident of ‘08″ made me lose the list. Oh, wait – does it count if I kept one half the year? Because I was really healthy, went to Germany, and well…

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
My godsister.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Thankfully, no. Although some came close.

5. What countries did you visit?
Germany, Switzerland, France, The Netherland, Spain and Mexico (I don’t know if that counts for me).

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
A job at the NIH. My B.S. A cute, heavy coat to wear in Bethesda Maryland.

7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
May 22. The day I left the US for exactly 90 days (Ha! Fooled you, Visa requirements).

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Backpacking through Spain alone and not killing two of my 422 students.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Physics II, because I didn’t get an A, but devoted enough time to it that I was stressed and did not get to see the people I cared about more. And not calling Fernando.