Today, I finally got my first tattoo! I had been planning to get this tattoo since I was about the age of twelve, but I finally had the opportunity (and the legal status) to get one. I spoke to the friends that were coming with me two days beforehand and asked them if they would like to come along. One of my friends had been planning to get a tattoo as well, a treble clef on her ankle, and so she was really excited to be able to get hers with me. We arrived at Ron and Dave's Tattooing at about 12:15, fifteen minutes after they had opened. There were already three people in front of us, so we sat down and waited patiently for about two and a half hours as they filed in and out of the tattooing area. We watched Maury, America's Funniest Home Videos, and the Travel Channel while we waited, striking up a conversation with one of the men who worked in the parlor, whose name was Joe. This same guy was the one who asked us what we were getting and where.
At A Glance Author Ilyssa When It just happened Artist Ted Studio Ron and Dave's Tattooing Location Staten Island, NY My friend's design was simple enough, but when I tried to explain what I wanted, I got a little confused, and I think Joe did, too. I was at last able to spit it out, while showing him the papers I had brought with me, that I wanted a red rose with a blue rose stemming from it on the left, with both flowers in full bloom. He brought over one of the plaques with rose flashes on them and showed me what a good sized rose would be for my ankle, and I agreed to it. He chuckled and took the three sheets that I had brought with me into the room where the tattoo artist was. When he came back, he told us that my friend's tattoo would cost $140 and that mine would cost $230. My friend didn't have enough, and I had more than enough for mine, so I gave her the money that she would need to cover the cost of her tattoo. After I had done this, I discovered that I had exactly $230 left, while she had exactly $140. We got really excited, probably from the adrenaline rushing through the both of us, and decided that it was fate. It was just really uncanny that we would have the exact amount between the both of us for both of our tattoos.
Finally, it was time for the both of us to fill out the paperwork and show our IDs. My friend went into the tattooing area first, because her design was really simple and wouldn't take too long. She was in and out within twenty minutes, and she was absolutely beaming with happiness. She had even had him take a picture of the finished product with my other friend's camera. As we waited for the tattoo artist to set up for me, my friends went out to get some coffee. A few minutes before I was called into the room, Joe came out with the stencil of what the tattoo artist had drawn, and I stared at it in amazement: somehow, between the two pictures, the mediocre sketch I had drawn, and my absolutely bonkers explanation of what I wanted, he had drawn the perfect design. When I went into the tattooing room, I told the artist, whose name was Ted, that I couldn't have drawn it better if I had been able to. He was very humble about it, saying playfully that that was why he did this for a living. Before he began work, I asked him about the needles, and he said that they were all one-time use only needles, and he showed me the packages that they came out of. He then asked me if I would feel better if he changed the needle in front of me, and I replied yes, so he did. It definitely made me feel more comfortable that he asked me without prompting, and that he agreed to do it so nicely. Finally, I sat on the chair, removed my left shoe, placed my leg on the footrest, and prepped myself.
I heard the needle buzzing, and I felt the needle penetrate my skin as he started the outline of the tattoo. I'll be honest, I was not expecting that kind of pain. It wasn't excruciating, but it was definitely more painful than I had expected it to be. I gritted my teeth, grabbed onto the back of the chair, and dealt with it. At first, I couldn't watch as he worked, but then my curiosity got the best of me and I turned to face the needle. I was absolutely mesmerized as I watched it move across my skin, implanting the ink into it. I had watched countless episodes of Miami Ink, and it was quite interesting to watch other people get tattooed, but now that it was my own skin being tattooed, it was a completely different experience. Once the outline was finished, he began work on the color. He did the stems, leaves, and the teeny thorns first, then he did the red rose, and then finally the blue. The coloring was definitely not as painful as the outline was, but I think that as he worked, the pain sort of dulled from the repetition. At last, the tattoo was finished, and he let me take a look in the mirror at it. I felt so happy with the result, and I repeated that it couldn't have been done any better if I had wanted it to. He took a picture of my tattoo as well, and then my friend and I paid for them.
This tattoo is as perfect as it could possibly get, and I know I keep saying it, but it's absolutely true. I could not have asked for a better design, nor for a better tattoo artist.