I was looking forward to the evening from the minute I woke up! I knew that Meagan was getting her tattoo tonight. I knew it was going to be awesome, and I knew you would all be so happy to hear about it (right?!).
5.40pm – I arrive at Peter-Tat-2. I’m really early, but I wasn’t sure how traffic would be during rush hour. I text Meagan, and within minutes, she arrives.
5.46pm – We walk into the tattoo parlor. Meagan is “ready as she’ll ever be.” Tony greets us, and ducks back into the room for some paperwork. He shows Meagan what he has drawn up to make sure she approves. She drew a shamrock with Celtic knotting to show Tony what she wanted. He has simply reworked her design to make it cleaner.
5.47pm – Meagan presents her ID and begins filling out paperwork. She can remember her information, so that’s a good sign she’s not too nervous!
6.02pm – Tony calls us into his room, and Meagan stretches out on the tattoo chair. It has the feel of a dentist’s office. It smells as clean as it did on Thursday, so we’re pretty comfortable with it.
6.04pm – Tony has placed the stencil on Meagan’s back and she’s happy with the placement. To ease her into the tattoo, he begins with just a short piece of the outline. There’s no turning back now, but Meagan doesn’t want to anyway.
6.09pm – The first phase is underway. Tony starts by tracing the outline of the shamrock with a thin black line. Meagan’s taking it like a trooper. She flinches every once in a while, but nothing more. We are even carrying on a conversation without skipping a beat. You would think she was lying out at the pool, not being needled. I am impressed!
6.17pm – The tattoo machine is right at Meagan’s right ear, and she twists her neck a little, wishing she could see what is going on. I have the unfair advantage of watching every step, but at least I am recording it. If all goes as planned, she will be a Youtube celebrity by sunrise.
6.20pm – “You’re finished with the outline,” I told her. “The first part, anyway,” Tony corrected. Oops. Sorry, Meagan. Still no obvious signs of pain, though. Her face is calm for the most part, and her fingers are absently drumming the end of her chair.
6.23pm – Tony is needling away on phase 2 of the outline, a thicker, darker black line around the outside. I am snapping a picture when my screen goes black. Replace Batteries. Uh oh…
6.24pm – I rush out to my car, hoping I can find something to steal 2 AA batteries from. As I approach my car, the alarm goes off for no apparent reason. I’m convinced my car is possessed. I rummage around, steal the batteries from an emergency phone charger, and run back inside.
6.26pm – These batteries don’t work either. Crap.
6.30pm – The owner of the studio peeks in. “Is she still alive,” he asks with a grin. We all giggle a little (but not to much, Meagan doesn’t want in crooked lines permanently etched into her back), and begin discussing female pain tolerance. Not that I’m poking fun at men, but women just seem to deal with pain better. Even the male owner agrees.
6.38pm – The thick outline is almost complete, and Tony will soon begin to color in the shamrock with a bright green ink. In my opinion, coloring is more agitating than the outline, but I decide not to tell Meagan that until after the fact. Judgment call. Meagan is still doing great! She sheds no tears, never screams, and barely winces.
6.42pm – The coloring begins, and I watch Meagan’s face and listen to her voice for hints of pain. None whatsoever. What a trooper!
6.58pm – The color is now finished, and Tony inspects his work to make sure he hasn’t overlooked anything. He seems happy with it, and wipes the tattoo down with Vaseline. It is important to care for tattoos correctly, or else they can dry out or get infected.
7.00pm – Meagan stands up, and admits that her abs are sore from holding her breath. She inspects the tattoo and smiles. It’s over, it looks great, and she’s happy she did it.
7.01pm – Tony tells Meagan how to care for her tattoo, explains that the shop offers a lifetime guarantee, and tells her the tattoo costs $80. Not too bad at all.
7.03pm – After some quick chatter in the parking lot, Meagan and I part ways. I can’t wait to get home and post about the experience.
I love tattoos, and tonight just reminded me of how much. Now I can’t wait for my third… Maybe I’ll live blog my tattoo next!
Thanks to Meagan for letting me tag along, video the process and post about it for the entire Internet world to read!
Also- I am working on the video, in the meantime, here are just a few photos to tease you.
