11/30: RAAAANDOM
I’m sort of half as$ing the NaBloPoMo thing tonight, mostly because I had a great day but am super super tired and just want to veg on the cough while I stare at a wall and reflect. If you aren’t on twitter yet, what the heck is wrong with you, just get with the times already, I am racking up the interview rejections, as expected, but something somewhat unexpected happened today: I got my first interview invite!!! I don’t want to write too much without passwording, but I will say I mentioned this city in my “places I think we’d like living in” post…it was the curveball I mentioned;) Needless to say, we are psyched about this opportunity. My interview isn’t until mid-December, so I have a little time to prepare. Derm interviews can be kind of intense – they’re often panel interviews or groups interviews, where you sit in a room with multiple interviewers, and sometimes multiple interviewees (with whom you are pretty much in direct competition because there are so few spots). Other programs require you to present research you have done in front of all the faculty, residents, and the other interviewees.
Anyway, enough of that talk. Oh, my camera has been in the shop all week – long overdue, but it STINKS to be without it. SO MANY cute moments missed this week. Oh well, I’m sure there’ll be more;) I’m dying to take our Christmas card photos, but I REALLY wanted to cut Jack’s hair first. I ask him almost daily if he’d like his haircut, and he says the same thing every time: “nope, I’m growing it long so I can wear bows.” Grrrrreeeaaaaat. He’s rocking a mini fro right now and I’m thinking that super awkward stage of “in-between-length-hair” is going to hit RIGHT around Christmas when I’ll be taking tons of photos! I always said I’d allow my kids to express themselves almost however they please…as long as it’s not overly sexualized or totally mutilating. Mild mutilations are ok, and anything easily reversible is totally cool. I’ll struggle if tattoos ever come up though. Personally, I have grown to dislike them, so I’m really grateful my mom talked me out of that cutesy little lower abdominal butterfly that would’ve gone man-eating-moth on me when I gained 52lbs during pregnancy! On another self-expression note, Jack chose to wear 2 different shoes on his feet today (1 croc and 1 keen). It was stylish, and he got a few comments that made him beam;)
What are your feelings on tattoos and body piercings?
Subscribe to Posts
23 comments
I can’t wait to see Jack’s bow collection. Are the Holly’s Kick-Ass bows?
No tattoos and no piercings except for my ears that were pierced the day I was born. That’s how they did it in the old country.
I’m not against tattoos or piercings…just dont’ like the pain.
I can’t wait to see Jack’s bows in his hair. I think maybe a headband would come in handy over the holidays for his weird in-between length stage.
I have one tattoo behind my ankle that was a big mistake I made when I was 18 and rebelling against my little sheltered world. I have plans to have it covered with a new tattoo after my daughter is born, and have it be something about her - her birth flower or her newborn handprint or something of that nature. I also have plans to get 42.195 tattooed on my foot in honor of my marathon (I ran it in Japan, hence the km instead of miles), and I plan to get 26.2 tattooed beneath it after I run a marathon in the States.
My ears were pierced when I was about 4 months old and I had second holes punched when I was 13, but I haven’t worn earrings in them since about 10 years ago, so they’ve mostly healed shut.
I have to second what Tara said, a headband may be needed for those inbetween stages.
I do hope the camera is fixed for Jack’s big hair bow reveal.
I don’t mind piercings but the ones that are done to stretch your earlobe I find gross just wear a basic ring or bar. I don’t need to bea ble to see the movie through your earlobe hole. Tattoo’s I really like them, I think a tattoo really says alot about a person, they usually tell a stroy about someone’s life. I have one tattoo on my rear, I was 18 had just left a Bob Marley concert/festival and was loving life. I do plan on getting a second of a Phoenix to represent the death of the son I was supposed to be mothering right now and the life of my daughter.
I am ALL ABOUT PEIRCINGS AND TATOOS!!
Actually, I really am.
I have told my husband and various other people that if my kids want that stuff I will pay for it and go with them.
And here’s why-
Especially with the daughter- I want her to KNOW that she can choose to express herself in all kinds of ways with fashion, and including on her body, without having to give in to the disgusting over-sexualized styles and pressures that our society put on girls starting at oh, about age… BIRTH!!!
Eyebrow piercing at 12? Go for it!!! bikini or thong underwear for 10 year olds(available at T@rget BTW) ? NO WAY
It makes me feel ill that most of the people that I rub shoulders with would be/will be HORRIFIED when my kids show up with piercings and tattoos, and would be FAR more comfortable with my daughter wearing a mid-riff baring tube top at 13…
Sorry for that hi-jack my friend!
Oh, and so I guess that means that your derm interview is NOT on the east coast…*sigh*
Well, I have had a total of 10 body piercings, all are gone except for my tongue ring that i wear when I’m not at work, and i have 7 tattoos - all can be covered if I want. My husband has been down the piercing road as well, and is down only to a tongue ring as well, and he has 5? tattoos. We have plans for more tattoos, but ours are and will be easily coverable (and I do not have on on my lower abdomen for the reason you mentioned).
As for my kids (my opinion is subject to change without prior warning) - right now if the topic came up I would share the risks openly with them and encourage them to wait as long as possible. As for piercings, depending on what it is, I think 16 or 17 would be the youngest I would consider entertaining the idea. As for a tattoo - in TX it is illegal to have a tattoo younger than 18 (from my understanding, it is considered child abuse). Even if it was legal, i would not allow it. If they want it, they can wait until they are a legal adult at 18 years old!
Hmm… after writing all this out, I really wonder what my views will be when my kids get that age….
Anyways, super congrats on the interview! I’m totally excited for ya’ll and will definitely be praying!!!!
Laurie,
Just wanted to drop you a not to say thanks for posting my fundraiser on your blog. I am grateful…
Riann
Hey, great one on the the interview! I’m stoked for you.
As for tatoos and piercings..I go more for things that you don’t have to live with when you’re old and saggy. I’m all for self-expression, so if my kids want pink hair or something like that, I’m all for it. If they’re good kids, we should be thankful something like that is the least of a parent’s worries. I just personally can’t think of anything that I want printed on my body for the rest of my life, even when I’m old. I think of the nursing homes filled with tatooed octogenarians in 50 years! Ha! I think it just kind a fad that has faded even in the last few years.
I had a belly button piercing when I was 22-32, back when I had a six pack. (soo long agoo…) I would hate if I had a tatoo there instead. What would that look like now that I am like 500lbs. heavier, ok, maybe not 500.
Here’s a funny story, once I was at a military base and this guy was showing his “cool, new Asian tatoo”. He said the kanji was something like “love” or one of those other run of the mill kanji things. I looked at it and started laughing. I told him it was the kanji for “Tuesday”! That idiot has “Tuesday” tatooed to him for the rest of his life!
So for me, if I want to remember something important in my life, take a picuture, make a scrap book, or buy a piece of jewelry. No tatoos.
I have never contemplated a tat so much as since becoming a mom - I kind of fantasize about what kind I would get to represent my kids. I even envy angelina jolie’s lat and longitude tattoos for her kids - but I know someone who got a huge one and the ink irritated his skin and he has a lifelong problem now on his leg because his body is rejecting his tattoo! And if that could happen to anyone, it would be me - I am a delicate flower. Case in point - I can’t get piercings, I am “allergic” to the metals!
I have no problem with piercings and tattoos. Each to their own!
I had my ears pierced as an infant. I added a second hole at age 12, third holes at age 14 along with an upper ear piercing. I got my tongue done at 17, tragus and a nose stud at 21.
I have one tattoo. It’s a Jesus fish with a cross on it’s tail with the word “Love” in Hebrew above it and 3:16 below it (it’s very small, only about an inch long). I plan on at least one more tattoo for sure (my dad’s initals/dob/dod), and maybe one day a small one for each of my children.
I have 3 piercings in each ear, but haven’t worn anything in them for the last 5 1/2 yrs. They are mostly closed now. In my teens and early 20s I desperately wished for a tongue ring, navel piercing and some kind of tattoo. Now I think that the human body is so beautiful in itsself, that tattoos and too many piercings spoil it. I’m really glad I didn’t get anything done back then.
oh, how i went through the lower abdomen tattoo phase! i really wanted a sun. however, i talked myself out of it by reminding myself that it would look ridiculous after a pregnancy. however, now that i’m pretty sure i won’t be going through one of those, the itch has returned. this time i would love to get the vn symbols of ’son’ and ‘daughter’ along with g&r dates for each of the kiddos. it’s a pipedream though… we have more pressing things to spend cash on, like our iphones!
as for our kids, i would really hope that if they did tats or piercings that they be very careful where they put them. it is just so hard to visualize how terrible these things will look in 40/50 years.
In regards to tatoos…my Dad told me to wait a year and if I still wanted the tatoo after one year he would allow me to do it. Good trick and I am tatoo free
Hmmm…I don’t have any tattoos. I figure I will never like something FOREVER and they are pretty permanent. As for other people’s tattoos…I used to think they were trashy esp. on women (don’t hate me - my awesome sister is COVERED in them), but they have become much more mainstream now. I actually really like a bicep tattoo on a man. Not necessarily my exboyfriend John’s batman signal (WTF?) but anything else is pretty hot.
Body piercings…do nothing for me. I could take them or leave them. They seem kinda unsanitary looking to me. OMG, I sound like my mother.
Lina
maybe when I am old, I will get a tattoo. we’ll see! the midwest is a great place to be. I’m at the “condiment” place as Shawna lovingly calls it. It pays nice, but I don’t know anything about residency!
haha…I’m a tattoo kind of gal. I have 4 and want some more
People are usually shocked when they find out, given my professional career and all. But I think it is an awesome form of expression and I would certainly support my kiddos if they decided to get some ink in the future! It’s so interesting how people are really split on this topic
LOVE tattoos and body piercings! Love them. I grew up in a conservative household. Until I hit about 25, I was certain that I’d NEVER have a tattoo because then I’d be White Trash! My dad was military for several years and never got a single tattoo. That should tell you how anti-tattoo my dad was, and my mom would have died before EVER doing anything like that. I was sooo anti-tattoo it wasn’t even funny. Then one day when I was about 25, I decided I needed a tattoo. I’m not about random crap, though, because that $hit is permanent, so I waited and thought and waited and thought. Then we got Matty’s referral, and my husband, who was sort of neutral on the tattoo thing but didn’t have any, thought of having Mattix’s Vietnamese name tattooed on us. I LOVED it. We flew to Vegas after Matty’s referral, went to Hart and Huntington, and paid through the nose to have his VNese name tattooed. Ed has it on his chest, I have it on my lower, lower, lower abdomen, just inside of my hip bone. Unless I were to wear a crazy low rise bikini, which I’d never do out of fear of being harpooned, it’s not visible. It was a fun experience and it is meaningful. Then we got Molley’s referral, so back to Vegas we went! Ed had Molley’s Ethiopian name placed below Matty’s VNese name, and I had it put on the opposing lower abdomen/hip area. I LOVE my tattoos. Now I want more! Next up is either the city/province where my littles were born (in addition to the country) or their country flags. I’m really thinking down my side. Freaky, right? If someone had told me ten years ago that I’d be considering this now, I would have laughed my a$$ off. For me, tattoos are all about meaning. I’m so never getting KU’d (very committed to that), so other than the fact that I packed on a cool 25 after adopting kids, I don’t have to worry about the area stretching out crazy gross. I’ve lost 2/3 of that weight and they look just like they did before, so no worries. One day, I’ll be older and probably wrinkly and gross and my tats will look old and wrinkly and gross, too, but at that point, does it much matter? I mean, if my lower abs are all wrinkled up and saggy, is a wrinkled up and saggy tattoo really gonna be the deal breaker?
As for piercings, I’m all about them, too. I had my ears pierced when I was nine. That only happened b/c I was diagnosed with Type I diabetes and my parents felt awful about all of the stabbings I was going to deal with for the rest of my life, so in a moment of pure sympathy, they offered to let me have my ears pierced, something I would have otherwise been forced to wait for until I was 13. (Told you they were conservative!) I think they let me get my second holes when I was 12 or 13. My mom took me to get my cartilage pierced when I was 17, which was a HUGE mistake b/c it became a nasty, giant, infected mess. I took it out after a few months. Apparently, the infection went to my brain b/c I went and had it re-done a few months later.
That second super gross mess eventually landed me in the ER with a serious blood infection. When I was 18, I had my belly button pierced, and it’s still there. Again, another thing I don’t have to worry about removing for babies! I like my belly button piercing a lot. I’ve taken it out for a few weeks before and I feel like somethings missing. It’s been there for 11 years! I’ve always wanted my nose pierced. I almost did it during law school b/c I thought that would be my last chance to have a nose piercing before I became a “real professional” where that stuff wasn’t acceptable . Well, now it wouldn’t matter, but I feel like maybe the time has passed. We’ll see…
If my kids want tats or piercings, it will be something Ed and I set an age for, and then it will be something we’ll make them take a LOT of time to consider. We’ll agree on both the age and the amount of time they need to mull it over (say six months or something) before they can do it well before anyone gets to that point. I’m TOTALLY with J on her thoughts on the issue. GREAT comment, J!
Okay, I’m done being random and all over the place. And no, I’m not drinking at 2:00 p.m. or anything. Just haven’t really slept in a week…
Hey Laurie! Congrats on the interview! I like that you continue to mention things that you have twittered, as I am not a part of that technology currently.
Lame, I know.
Anyhoo, I wanted to say that I second kelly’s comment about Angelina Jolie’s lat/long tattoos. Awesome. But all of my kids were born here in CO, so not as cool on me.
I currently have one tattoo on my lower back and have every intention for at least one more to honor my dad. I have considered something for my kids, too, but the right image hasn’t presented itself.
I have two holes in one ear and three in the other. I plan to pierce the 3-holer one last time to house the stone my dad had set in a ring for me before he died.
Now that I’ve written it down … Hmmm, am I becoming a shrine to my father?!
PS — Where do you take your camera? And what’s going on with it that it needs to be in the shop?
On tattoos and piercings, I am definitely opposed on the 3 year old set. well not for the piercings, so much, I guess
I made Dalton shave for Christmas photos. I let them self-express 364 days of the year. I get one day of nice looking kids
I definitely feel your pain about the camera. It totally sucks and breaks my heart to see cute moments pass by totally undocumented. Sigh.
Not too keen on tats, but….well no not really at all! My brother got several as an 18-20 year old. When he joined the Marines 2 years ago, he almost didn’t get accepted, b/c his were visable. He literally had to get permission from someone high up that they weren’t gang related or said anything unrespectful. He regrets some of them, others well…he loves them!
Piercings can be removed. As Billy also had several piercings he had to remove to join the Marines.
NO way, Jose’ on the tattoos. Where I come from, it’s too much associated with the Harley-riding-redneck-type. I would let my kids get piercings, though, since they are removable and generally not disfiguring while they are in place.
i said to my kids that they could have what the hell they liked pierced, even went with my daughter to get her belly button pierced when she was 14 because i wanted to make sure she went to a decent place. tats, a huge no-no until they were 21. strangely laurie, they both have no tats (both now over 21) and the only piercing my daughter has now is her ears!
I am pretty okay with it all really. I have piercings (ears and upper ear) but no tats yet, though I do plan to get one in the next 5 years… I know what I want but I have some things in life to complete before getting it.
As for my kids.. piercings are okay as far as I am concerned. Tattoos.. well I would hope they would wait till they are over 18, but I would rather they come to me and say they are getting it regardless so I can take them to a reputible place to avoid exposure to hep.
So… does that mean you’ll be in LR for an interview? I am dying to know if that’s the case. If it is, there are a number of families with kiddos from VN here, just so you know, and likely a number of your readers who would be available for lunch should you need entertaining.
LOVE ink on other people, but not so much for me. I have a clotting issue and that would be a nasty mess.
Leave a Comment