Today was fun! Went out with buddy Mur to get her tattoo, (which I designed.) I filmed part of it, as part of a promo for her new book, Playing For Keeps (expect me to go on about this at some point in the near future–I will be doing more filming as part of the promo, so you get both the awesome and photogenic Mur and the snark and wobby camera work of yours truly! (After we filmed the first segment, Mur said “Man, you’re exactly like I expected you to be with the filming.” We’ll assume that this was a compliment, and not an utterance of resigned despair, although the latter might have been more appropriate.) Links when available!

The only real difficult arose when I left my purse at the Wendy’s where we grabbed lunch. I realized my mistake, dropped Mur off to start the ink, and drove back to get it. While I was driving, the Wendy’s manager went through my cel phone to the first local number (Deb) and called her to inform her that I’d left my purse at the store, and did she have any way to contact me?* Deb called Carlota. Carlota called Kevin. Kevin called Mur. I returned to the tattoo place just in time to hear about the Great Chain of Ursula’s Incompetence, and to call and thank each link.

The tattoo guy was very very nice, a terrific sport about the filming, and told us stories of Tattoos He’s Tried To Talk People Out Of, which amuse me to no end. (Tattoo Lesson #81: Do NOT get a giant confederate flag tattooed across your neck when you are nineteen, even if you DO live in the South…)** He himself had a neck piece that covered his larynx, which I’d never seen before. His advice was not to do this. Apparently getting ink over that is A) unbelievably excruciating and B) makes you want to vomit uncontrollably. I don’t think I’ll be doing that.

I’m pleased to see that my desire to get another tattoo has NOT reoccurred–tattoos are like potato chips, it is difficult to stop at one, and tattoo parlors are very dangerous places if you are so inclined, and if you go to hold someone’s hand, you may well come out with an appointment for more ink–but my massive kingfisher (now–gasp!–eight months old…) seems to be holdin’ me. Maybe in another ten years…

*Now I feel guilty for having been a smartass to Mur about how long it took to get our food…

**Tattoo Lesson #1 is, of course, “The surest way to end a relationship is to get their name tattooed on your body.” ( Tattoo guy’s best take on this–he’d once tattooed a large VOID stamp over the name on someone who had failed to take Lesson #1 to heart. But if you can’t be smart, at least you can be clever…) 

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