The Reluctant Traveler

Good morning, world. I want to get a new tattoo.

I haven’t decided on the exact design I want, but I do know that I want it on my right forearm. The reason is basic asymmetry: my first tattoo is on my left shoulder, my second above my heart. Therefore, a tattoo on my right forearm would create a diagonal line and win the “Tattoo Bingo Game” I am apparently playing in my head.

Choosing a tattoo requires great foresight (or alcohol in the case of some friends I know). You have to choose something that you know you will not grow out of; something personal and unchanging about your personality.

My first tattoo was a picture of a Grim Reaper. As a kid, I thought the Angel of Death was so cool (I was a cheerful child, I know). It was my favourite Halloween costume, my favourite video-game (Grim Fandango), and my favourite TV show (Dead Like Me). For me, what I like about the concept of the Grim Reaper wasn’t so much the doom and gloom, but the idea of a supernatural being charged with the undesirable, yet necessary, task of guiding lost souls to their proper destination in the afterlife. As scary as he may be, he is really just a shepard. It’s a dark job, but someone has to do it. Also, they looked so bad-ass with their dark hoods and scythes.

Unfortunately, I insisted on drawing the design myself. Alas, my attempt to marry my love of the Grim Reaper with my love of minimalist art didn’t play out so well; my tattoo ended up looking less like the spectre of death and rather more like a black necktie with a big slash through it. Suffice to say that it now more accurately reflects my attitude regarding proper office-wear than my admiration for the angel of death.

For my second tattoo, I opted to skip the process of designing something deep and meaningful and instead just got the stupidest tattoo I could think of. It ended up being a reference to a comedic sci-fi novel I once read in high school (I’m sure some of you have already guessed the title). It turned out to be the better of my two tattoos because, unlike my first tattoo wherein I lament its loss of coolness due to my shitty artistic skills, the second one never ceases to make me laugh because, hey, I can’t believe I got such a stupid tattoo. Plus, it’s always fun to tell people I have the answer to life written in my chest.

For my next tattoo, I want to get something that represents my time spent in Indonesia. I’m currently deciding between a band of traditional Batik design around my arm … or a bowl of fried rice.

What do you guys think?