Tattoo

I got a new tattoo a few months ago. It's my third tattoo, but my first that's almost always visible (it's on my forearm). It says "I fear no fate for you are my fate," which is from a poem by e.e. cummings (it's also my blog! What a strange coincidence). I planned this particular tattoo for over a year before I got it, and I'm really happy with it. The only thing that I wish I'd known before I got it was how often people would comment on it. This blog is partially to let off some air, partially to share my amusement at what people will say without realizing how awkward it is, and potentially to educate someone about tattoo etiquette.

I frequently cashier by myself at work, which is usually fine, but sometimes makes me sad. One guy caught me by myself one morning right after we had opened, saw my tattoo, barked "Why did you do that to your arm?", and started lecturing me about how I was going to hell for desecrating God's temple and my satanic peer group. That's awkward for anyone, but especially so because I was at work and didn't feel comfortable telling him to back off. I'm sure my tattoo wasn't the only reason he felt he could talk to me like that - I'm young, he was older; I'm a woman, he's a man; and I wasn't in a position of authority (I'm sure he wouldn't have said that to a manager). That's definitely the most awkward and hostile situation I've been in yet, and I don't think there's any way I could have been forewarned to expect stuff like that. So weird. 

Other favorite comments about my tattoo have been:
"It gives the reader too much power." (Said to me after he requested to read the tattoo - so I shouldn't have let him per his own comment? I don't know.)

"I really like that - it looks like you wrote it on there yourself!" (Trust me, my handwriting is not this good.)

"And did you find your fate?" (When I briefly explained that it was self-empowering and also for my husband, she literally shrugged her shoulders and walked away.)

And now to the etiquette. "I'm sure you'll be tired of that in fifty years!" I don't get my tattoos on a whim. You're not calling my attention to anything I haven't already considered. I get my tattoos because they mean something to me and because it makes me happy when I see them. That's enough. It's rude to tell someone else that they'll regret something that is obviously their choice and permanent.

"How do you expect to get a job with that?" Yes. Someone said this to me. While I was at work. As far as I know, having ink etched into my skin hasn't affected my capabilities or intelligence, but I'll keep an open mind.

Most importantly, please don't grab my arm when you see I have a tattoo so you can read it. I mean - really? Does it really need to be said?

I know that tattoos are still taboo for some generations, and that's fine. There are definitely some choices that people make about their physical appearance that I myself would not do (like wear leggings as pants. I would be so cold!). But I am willing to keep my judgments to myself (or, ahem, my blog) and would never walk up to someone and berate them for how they look. That's just weird. I'm sure none of my blog-reading constituency would do that, but now I have others who can appreciate the strange comments I get working retail.

Moxie & Co.

Debbi and Steve recently got a puppy of their very own - Maya, a Boxer/Golden Retriever mix. Don't google that to see what she looks like - she looks like very few of those dogs. She darts in and out of a video I posted a few blogs back if you're that curious. Anyway, we went with Steve and Debbi to visit Maya while she was still living with her mom and littermates. It was really interesting (for me) to compare her with her brothers, and it made me wonder what Moxie behaved like with the two brothers she has who were already adopted by the time we became interested in her. (Maya was significantly cuddlier than her brothers and also looked to Debbi and Steve to protect her if anything was scary, which was adorable. Now she is still pretty cute, but we can't wait to see how she and Moxie will play when she is Moxie's size or bigger instead of 1/5 of her size.) 

I sleuthed around a bit until I found their old petfinder links. We didn't know anything about them except that they were bigger and looked a little more like Newfoundlands than our girl - I must say, after seeing their pictures, both those claims have me skeptical. Here's Adam and Andy (and Moxie for reference). They're so cute and fluffy! I emailed the shelter to see if they could give me the contact information for the people who adopted Moxie's brothers, so we'll see how that goes. I'm curious to know if they are that much bigger than Moxie now that they're almost full sized (Moxie IS full sized, we think) - if they have similar personalities - and if they're also terrified of random household objects like trash bags and hampers.

Also, I can't help but wonder if the pups were named for April and Andy from Parks and Recreation - Adam Scott is also in that show, so maybe they went for the alliteration instead of the pattern? Kind of a stretch, but I love that show, and that would make Moxie even more awesomesauce.

Oscar night

I know the Oscars were several nights ago, but I'm pretty sure nobody expects live blogging from me (because I usually forget I have a blog).

Before I actually get into the Oscars, let me say this - it is one of my favorite things when David drives me to work. I think it's a holdover from when he drove me everywhere because I was am terrified of driving stick. Now I am genuinely surprised every time he says something like "No, Heather. Stop asking. I am never taking you to work because it is a ridiculous waste of my time. You're an adult! Adults do things like this!" Anyway, he did drive me to work (yaaaay!) on Oscar Sunday because I had a low-air tire on my car. I was thrilled - and extra surprised when he told me after my extra long shift that he had planned a little Oscar party for us, complete with a stop at Sheetz for snacks, little voting sheets, and champagne.

That's already really nice, but you have to know something about David to fully appreciate this - he knows absolutely nothing about celebrities. He was shocked to learn that Rachel from Friends was once married to Brad Pitt. But he knows that I know a little about celebrities and am pretty good at recognizing them in weird roles, and being as good-spirited as he is, he tries to play along (resulting in his guessing that Jennifer Lawrence starred as Eponine in Les Mis). So it was especially nice for him to devote an entire night to watch a show based on people he doesn't know, like when I watch election night. 

It's not entirely fair to say that I won the Oscars by predicting the most categories out of the two of us, because I think the only people he knew were Ben Affleck, George Clooney, Jennifer Lawrence (because I talk about her), and Bradley Cooper (because I pointed out that he was in Wedding Crashers). Still, it was a really fun night and demonstrates one of the things I love best about David - we have fun hanging out together even when one of us is totally out of their element.