In the year I turned twenty-one, I got my belly-button pierced. Now everyone is different, and I know people will emphatically tell you differently, but that piercing *hurt* like nothing else I've ever experienced. Not to mention it took about a year to completely heal.

I remember that I told my parents before I did it--I have cool parents, it's not like they were going to try to stop me. My Dad didn't want to see it--and you know, I don't think he ever did.

But my navel is still pierced. And I rather like it. If it ever grows out, of course, I don't know that I'll have the guts to do it again--pain may be dulled with time, but I have a vivid imagination, and I do remember thinking at the time that it *hurt*...

But I ramble :)

I recall thinking around that time that I would get a tattoo soon--maybe a Celtic cross, maybe a Celtic tree of life, maybe a fox, maybe a stylized version of the Gyaku-Nami-Do Eagle (hey, I had even gotten the permission of the head of the system, believe it or not). And these are still symbols I enjoy, so maybe I should have gotten one...but I didn't. No ink.

I considered getting a tattoo when I was 23, sort of as a Discordian tribute. It never occurred to me to get a golden apple with KALLISTI on it, but that would have amused me now... Still, no tattoo.

I considered getting one when I was 25, and still no tattoo, though at 26 I believe I'm getting closer. I will probably get a stylized harp at some point, for all its historic and poetic significance, and I'm still attracted to the fox, or a tree of life... But I have to be careful, you see. People say that tattoos are addictive, that they don't really hurt, that it's numbing and no worse than a bee sting...

But I hate bee stings. I can give blood, or take shots no problem, as long as I can watch so I don't jump when the needle hits. But get that bee away...the mere thought makes my skin prickle.

So I have to be careful about that tattoo. I have to choose the right one. After all, one may be all I get.

Life in general doesn't work like that, though--you realize that? (Of course you do, that's rhetorical.) You don't get to choose when you're stung, or pricked, or bitten--you only get to choose how you act, or react, and what you do next as a result...

I wonder how the last 26 years have marked me, in ways that do not show? What pains do I shy away from, without even realizing? I wonder, I wonder...

This time of year always brings charming thoughts such as these. I need spring, not more snow!

I did have a lovely birthday this past weekend. And several of my friends sent me cards, and lovely gifties, and warm and happy thoughts, for which I am eternally grateful! And I will have much happy reading to do, as soon as I have time... And I will make the time soon! In the meantime, I shall find time to sneak over to Sean's in the evenings, and...you guessed it...all night long...uh huh...play computer games! Getting sucked into Icewind Dale beats philosophy any day. (Did someone say escapism?)

Speaking of things to get sucked into (ooooh, quizzzziiiieeee...) Tracina sent me a little quizzie... What SF Writer Will You Marry? By the way, when I posted this, the picture said "Image Not Available" and in tiny type below "boy that sucks". Now wouldn't *that* be an interesting tattoo?


The only one for you is Neil! Yeah, too bad for you he's married. But you can
join the ranks of screaming fan girls just in
case anyways. Check him out at:
http://neilgaiman.com

What SF writer will you marry?
brought to you by Quizilla

I'm reminded of a cartoon I read just the other day, from a link off Gaiman's blog. Read it yourself, it's cute: Colours of Life

Well? Go on, go look at it, at least. We're all done here.