“Float” Typography
Inspiration from Freja Beha Erichsen.
She said it means ‘Float through life’.
Reblogging for future reference. Good font for that planned T.S. Eliot tattoo on my forearm (but not in the near future, not yet after that hip tattoo which was quite overwhelming). Hihi. Because the Gaiman on my back and the Bukowski on my hip will never be enough (because my body’s an anthology, and it will never be crowded). And because I crush Freja. Lol, ~rambles. Meh.
The story behind the story of my second tattoo.
Because sometimes, I feel like Charles Bukowski got the words out of my mouth. (Only that I can’t sue him because he’s much older/dead, and much more published than me.)
“there’s a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I’m too tough for him,
I say, stay in there, I’m not going
to let anybody see
you.”
And so I put walls. (Because cages are too weak.)
“there’s a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I pur whiskey on him and inhale
cigarette smoke
and the whores and the bartenders
and the grocery clerks
never know that
he’s
in there.”
Clandestine streetlamp-lit meetings are not my thing anymore. Years of pain have made me mellow (numb) and I don’t have any issues left. They are gone, like the days when my room reeks of whiskey and beer, stale cigarettes under my bed, and aimless wanderings on some street’s rain-soaked asphalt.
Stone-faced and stone-hearted, that’s what I’ve become.
“there’s a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I’m too tough for him,
I say,
stay down, do you want to mess
me up?
you want to screw up the
works?
you want to blow my book sales in
Europe?”
But I forget that I am alive and living. That I am never really who I am at this point. And to live, I must choose to set things free.
So for my second tattoo, I’m letting the bluebird fly.
“there’s a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I’m too clever, I only let him out
at night sometimes
when everybody’s asleep.
I say, I know that you’re there,
so don’t be
sad.
then I put him back,
but he’s singing a little
in there, I haven’t quite let him
die and we sleep together like that
with our
secret pact
and it’s nice enough to
make a man
weep, but I don’t
weep, do
you?”
This bird is alive. I can feel the flapping of its wings on my hip. And I like how it’s hidden. Like I can let it out only whenever I want. Like a secret that could be given out.
So this is the story behind the story of the bluebird from my heart which I’m letting out. The needle pressed down and pierced my skin. I listened to the whirring. I missed the sound of the tattoo gun. The pain was pleasant, and I like how it hurt.
—-
Still done in P&P tattoo (but in Eastwood this time around, which is the cleanest, most sanitary tattoo shop I’ve ever seen).
And a compass too, someday. To guide all the steps that will be used to walk forward (and those that will be used to walk away).
So, so pretty. :)
(via ache)
A forearm tattoo. Someday. Because I have it where it’s hidden. And I shall have it too where it can be seen.
And the forearm is a good place for permanence, isn’t it?
(via sapphiremuse)
And a nape tattoo, of course. Someday. Even if I already have one placed below my nape.
My body’s an anthology. And it will never be too crowded.
(via nykikaaa)
the old cliche “home is where the heart is” rings especially true for me. i’ve lived in five different countries, have a passion for people and different cultures, and those i consider my closest friends are scattered all over this beautiful world. it’s taken me along time to figure out where i belong…i guess this is my reminder:) the whole world is home.
I really envy girls who can get away with large tattoos that are placed somewhere visible. I wish I am as brave. (And how I wish I didn’t have a drab 9-6 corporate job so that I can just easily show off my tattoos without having people get shocked/amazed/raise their eyebrows.)
I’ll probably get something like this someday. A world map, or something related with traveling, flight, leaving. So many things I wanted to get etched on my body. But I can’t find that one thing that should go right after ‘desire’. I don’t know, maybe I’d like to think of it as writing. One word should go after another. And it should go beautifully. Writing, yes. I like writing. And I like writing on my body.
So my next tattoo would probably be something about the world. And I’ll place it on my feet. So I can just simply say that the world is on my feet. Lolwhut. (But no, yeah, seriously.)
(Source: fuckyeahtattoos)
Seeing this made me want to erase my back tattoo and have something like this done instead. Sexxaaaayyy.
(Don’t get me wrong. Of course there aren’t any regrets, but yeah, tell me… Why didn’t I think of this before? :-P)
(via thatgirlchuicide)
(via chudessny)
After years of wanting one, researching, and contemplating if I should really get one, I finally, finally, finally took the leap. Although it was a very small and cowardly leap (I almost chickened out at the sight of this one guy who looked like he was really in pain).
I’ve been wanting to get inked since I turned 18 and I finally decided to get one last November before the Virac trip. But it was put off when I told my best friend that I’m going to get one and she got intrigued and wanted to get one as well. So she asked me to wait for her until she’s ready. And that is how we found our way to P&P Tattoo on a Saturday afternoon.
There were already three guys having their tattoos done when we arrived. Two looked steady, and the other one looked like he’s in pain. So I asked my best friend, “What are we doing?”, and then we both laughed. We’re already there and we can’t anymore chicken out because that would be hilarious and we would never forgive ourselves afterwards for backing out.
So that was it. I went first since I’m originally the one who really wanted to get a tattoo. I signed the waiver, said goodbye to my bare back, and off went the tattoo gun.
Did it hurt? Well, honestly, it didn’t. I don’t know if I have a high tolerance for pain, or I just expected too much. Yes of course, it stung a bit, but it was really really bearable. It’s just a really small tattoo and I’d be such a wuss if I say that it hurt when it actually didn’t.
I was asking my artist (master himself, Jake Cuerpo) lots of questions when I sat at that tattoo chair and clasped the pillow they gave me to lean on. I was going on and on asking if it hurts, how long it’s gonna take, and what level of pain would it be. I even asked them if it’s okay if I scream once the tattoo gun meets my back and Jake laughed and said I could even cry, free of charge. And when that tattoo gun met my skin, I was shocked to realize that yes, it doesn’t hurt. I was even bobbing my head up and down to the music that was playing inside the shop and it only took less than thirty minutes to finish the process.
And for the final product…
I did this tattoo design last November, wrote it in a piece of bond paper and brought it this afternoon to P&P. They scanned it, measured it against my back, had it enlarged, then stenciled it on my back.
You’d probably wonder why I got myself inked with the word “Desire”. I’ve always wanted a literary tattoo (I told myself that if ever I’m gonna place something permanent on my body, I wanted it to be words only and not a mumbo jumbo of symbols). Something like Vonnegut’s “So it goes”. Or a song lyric like “One love”, or “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds”. But after much contemplation, I finally settled on the word “Desire”.
It is literary, in a way, for Desire has always been my favorite Sandman character. And as to quote, “For Desire who is male and female, fair and dark, old and young, anything and everything you have ever wished for, or coveted, or needed, is irresistible.” Ask my friends and they’ll say, yes, my personality is just like Desire. Not that I’m irresistible, but I am full of dualities and always on the extreme.
And Desire, desire, is the root of all happiness and pain, right?
Regrets, you ask? As of now, there are none. I am happy and in love with my new tattoo.
And just to share my favorite Sandman quote about Desire: “Love is not a game to Desire as it is to so many mortals. Or if it is, it is a game with a foregone conclusion: Desire always wins.”
—-
For anyone who’d like to get a tattoo, I’d recommend you get it from P&P (it’s just located in Makati, yo!). Not only the artists are masters themselves, the aura of the shop is really cozy. You can watch movies on their flat screen, or hit the web on their Mac desktop, have some drinks or so. All of the people inside the shop were super nice. The owner, Ronian Poe kept entertaining me while I was waiting for my best friend to finish her tattoo. All in all, it was a very nice, and unforgettable experience. I’d definitely get another one sometime soon. Thank you P&P!
And for any relatives reading this, nope, parents don’t know. Thankyouverymuch.
—-
And oh, 9 years ago, my best friend and I got a “rebellious” ear piercing. Flash forward 9 years later and here we are getting a tattoo. :)
