this is true..what I meant by flash was get the design drawn up then have it placed where you want it. This way it's only temporary (without colors if you're getting colors) so you can kinda get an idea of what it will look like. I tend to not take friends with me while I'm making my final decision. I don't need other opinions clouding my point of view or my decision.

If you think you might be wearing a suit someday don't get one on your neck or wrist or someplace obvious!

LOL.

i would agree with you if i was REALLY concerned... but i'm not. it is just a small consideration.

Spoken like a true moron. If you need to deal with educated, wealthy clients, you need to look clean and professional. If you show up covered in tats, no matter how talented you are, you'll be shown the door.

Sometimes it's a matter of survival in the business world, and you need to play by the rules.

If, however, your customers/clients won't care how you look, get inked all you want.

It all depends on what you want out of life, and how you plan to get it.

My tattoo is a 'flash' piece, because my original design was too plain-the flash was nicer. My decision to get one was 20 years in the making and I don't regret it. Up til then I got temps or airbrushings. I had one henna, but it looked like crap after a week.
It's on my thigh for 2 reasons. 1) it's rather large and 2) it's only visible with shorts or a short skirt on-can't be seen in business attire.
I do have one beef about tats-those 'tramp stamps', as a friend calls them. The curly-cue, no-meaning ones girls have been getting on their lower back. Come on, kids, be original!!!

Well,

i finally done it...

i got my tattoo on 8/6/05 last Wednesday...

it looks pretty cool and i don't think its something i'm gunna get sick of...

i'll post pics as soon as i have them!

thanx for all the advise everyone...

Not necessarily true. I just started a job in corporate sales for one of the largest computer manufacturers in the world. I currently have a visible tat on the back of my neck, as well as both ears pierced and stretched to 7/16ths of an inch. I haven't had any problems, I dress appropriately, and the customers are happy with the service I give them, they don't pay attention to my ears or neck at all. The company I work for even has a policy on tattoos and piercings, as long as its not visible profanity, anything goes.

I've wanted to get the boondock saints tattoos on my hands for quite some time now. THey run along the index finger, latin for truth and justice, I believe.

A canadian and russian flag, too.

If you really want one then get it. If you are worrying about if your boss will see it or whether you will not get a job because of it, then a tattoo would not be the best choice. I would greatly recommend it, I like mine but it's a personal choice that is permanent.

The recurring theme seems to be "get it where it can be hidden". If you need to hide it then that must say something to you.

My feelings on tatoos are generally that people who have them are pikey, working class, from the bad end of the street, etc. I appreciate not everyone will share that view but this is a forum where we can be honest, right ?

It doesn't mean everyone with a tattoe actially is in those categories, but first impressions last and a nice big tattoo makes a big first impression!!!

As an interviewer, tatoos and piercings make the interviewee immediately fail the 3 second test.

For me, a potential date loses that potential upon presentation of tattoos, etc.

A bar full of tattooed people is not attractive, etc etc.

When you see people in their 50s and 60s that have the old shrivelled tatoos that are faded to that horrid blue/green colour you have to wonder if they regret it.

My personal views. I'm sure I'm not alone.

I've got a large tattoo over my heart, and my employers/coworkers will never see it. Not because I'm afraid they'll judge me differently, only because it'd be unproffessional to walk around the job with my shirt off. If anything, gut's more obscene than my tattoo.

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/801/dilligaf3ri.jpg

there it is...

after all this time and thinking about it...

thats all i got done.

but i'm really happy with it.

thanx for your advice everyone...

I only want one tattoo, A chinese birth symbol (Leo) i wanted to get it on the inside of my forearm at the top..But i'm taking into consideration that i also want to only make it visible when i want it to be, I'm not really sure where else to get it.

Umm... what's Dilligaf?

I got a dragon that wraps around my chest, arms and shoulder blade. It was a custom piece that took a total of 10 hrs of inking-3 sessions, 3 months to complete (have to wait for it to heal after each session). I work in a corporate environment and the only people that get to see it are the ones that goes to the same gym as I (my boss seen it)-No biggie for him (don't care either way).

After design is decided on, I think size and location is also very important. Another thing, tattoos are addictive, I am fighting the urge to add-on or get another one. :hmm:

I've debated back and forth about getting a tat for awhile. Mostly I decide against it because the risk that I won't like it later, and that only a couple people will see it, so why bother? (As I wouldn't get one in a very visual place because of work).

DILLIGAF means:

Do I Look Like I Give A Fuck

I hadn't heard of that either. Learn something new every day.

LOL.

people keep sayin i will get sick of it...

i just keep replyin DILLIGAF :lol:

One won't be enough, you'll want more. All I wanted was one.....Now I got Fourteen!! :D

yer,

i've kinda considered getting another 1 on the other shoulder to match... :lol:

Hello. I'm bringing up an old post because it was suggested to me.

So here's the new one I started First Time Tattoo.

Here's the post I'm responding to Here's my response:

Zeraph, I did run a search, and they all said the same thing. 1) Get it where you can hide it, and 2) Make sure it means something.

I admit, biohazard is just a cool picture, and means nothing. So I would drop that.

I’m not Japanese, but I am a fan of Japanese culture. Also because Samurai was suggested to me, it just fits to have the Japanese Kanji. I mean… it’d look ridiculous to have “Samurai Strength” in Celtic design or something (though I am a fan of Celtic art).

Can you recommend an old language? My heritage is ½ German, ¼ Danish, and some Scottish, Irish, and British. Latin’s a bit long, but I won’t dismiss it.

I’d still like to get a cool looking fighter/warrior/samurai strength (or maybe spirit?) tattoo. Why? Because I appreciate the old warrior ways/mentality. Not the killing spirit, but the other parts… I can’t explain it well but I “feel” this way.

Do you think because I can’t explain it, I shouldn’t get it?

I guess I’ll sit on it for a while…

Thanks!

My buddy got a Biohazard symbol tattoo when he was drunk because he thought it "Looked cool".

I yelled at him: "No one will ever give you first aid, you fucking moron! You are telling people that you are diseased with an international symbol. If someone has ANY kind of first-aid training, they will see that tattoo and walk away."

"...I thought it looked cool."

"Well, congratulations. It doesn't look cool to me. It looks like a big sign that says 'DISEASED'."

AH HA HA HA! That's pretty ferking funny, though it carries a good point!

I did say that while it was cool, I dropped that idea. Zeraph convinced me of that.

I think you mean Bushido. It's OK I guess, just keep in mind part of the code is if you lose your honor you commit seppuku (ritual suicide.) Unless you follow that so strictly, which I doubt or you'd know more about it, I personally think it's silly to get it tattoo'd on you. Up to you though, I suppose it could be more of an homage.

It's really just more of a personal vexation of mine, (real) samurai are not cool. Their purpose was to kill people and kill themselves if they failed. Pirates too, we have created a romantic version of pirates/ninjas/samurai but they are not cool. You can enjoy reading about them, watching movies about them, but to me getting a tattoo related to them is going too far.

I didn't mean to imply to get "samurai strength" in celtic, just the word strength, or maybe "noble path" in german or something.

Just one person's opinion, I doubt most people would care.

I studied the ancient tattooing found on that ice man guy(otzi the iceman), and I thought it would be really cool to pay an homage to that...

He used tattoos as a means of accupuncture, to relieve pain.

Very cool, and they aren't that big either. They are little dots and dashes.

I didn't realize he had tattoos. That's very interesting!

Whatever you get, think about it for awhile. I knew 11 years ago that I wanted to get a tattoo, and that I wanted it to have handcuffs, a heart, and a rose. At the time, I was going to get an anklet with those linked to each other. I have since modified the design to be a grouping on my lower back, and have added the Virgo symbol to it as well. I had it done last November, and love it.

However, because it has the fetish piece on it (handcuffs are about as tame as I would go in a tattoo... I could also explain it away as "I wanted to be a cop"), I was advised to think about it, and see if I still liked the lifestyle later on. I figured 11 years was long enough, I'm still in it, so I had it done.

I'm glad I waited, because if I had gotten tired of that lifestyle, I wouldn't be happy now. I was into saying "Groovy" back then, but if I had had that tattooed on me, again, I wouldn't be happy now.

Longer story short, people change. Give it some time to make sure you like the idea.

Okay, now for my alter ego (she wasn't willing to share a post with the "conservative" side)... I've been watching a lot of tattoo shows, and some people end up with a lot of tattoos not only because they're addictive (they so are!), but because they're chronicling different times in their lives, and with each new phase of their life comes a new tattoo to represent that. That could also be an option for you, if you're willing to have a lot of tattoos (you can still place them all in spots that don't show in t-shirts, for workplace purposes).

Zeraph, that’s it. Bushido… though I didn’t exactly want to claim myself as a person of the Bushido code in the Japanese sense.

I actually know more about Samurai/Bushido than most people (thanks History Channel!), but am no historian.

Samurai were soldiers (to my knowledge), with the same ideals as the USMC (ok, slight exaggeration there, but hey, the analogy fits). Ninjas were more like what you described. Though they were killed, they didn’t kill themselves.

I like the idea of noble path, but I’m gonna try to think of something “cooler”/more meaningful/fitting. The only reason I came up with Samurai was because my Japanese friend (from Japan said she’d have me get Samurai)

I would like more examples of old time languages… any examples?

BigBen, interesting fact about otzi the iceman, but not sure I’d want some dots and dashes. :p

CaliLivChick, thanks for the advice. Once I decide on a tattoo, I’ll get a henna of it. See how I like it. I’m also planning on printing it out and putting it someplace where I’ll see it everyday.

I’ve heard tat’s are addictive… why is that? I’m only planning on getting one. *imitating Gandalf* One tattoo to end all tattoos */imitating Gandalf* or something like that :lol:

That's a good idea. However, my suggestion was not necessarily having the idea on your body for a week, but more to have the idea in your head for a year (remember, this is the "conservative" side talking) or more, to make sure that the idea of having that on your body still appeals to you after time.

I said that I'd only want the one tattoo too, but once I got it, I realized that I love having that expression on my body. If I were to put all the expression into one tattoo that I realized I want to have, it would be a jumbled mess, and wouldn't make any sense. Also, the placement of the tattoos mean something, at least to me. A lower back tattoo I feel is very sexy. It's a sensual place, and having attention drawn to that area makes me feel good. My next tattoo is going to be two pairs of angel wings on my left shoulder blade. They will represent my parents (who are still living), and how they're my guardian angels, watching over me. I didn't realize that I wanted the angel wings tattoo until after I had my first tattoo, so after I get the wings, who know what will be next? =)

Egyptian, sanskrit, arabic, greek, hebrew, latvian, baltic

Just another perspective on the warrior code, in my opinion a true warrior would not permanently mark him or herself in anyway that might distinguish so as not to give any extra information to the enemy. Obviously this isn't really applicable now, again though just in my opinion does not convey the spirit of a warrior. Sounds more like hubris to me. But no one bite my head off, when I see someone with a tattoo I do not make these judgements on them, they are just personal opinions of mine applicable to me that I thought I would just share to offer another perspective.

Well, I've gotten my idea in my head, just need someone to put it all together.

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?p=2066199

My first tattoo is visible in the pic on my profile... I designed it myself and it is very very meaningful to me. The second one (they are addicting!) a dear friend designed for me as a gift. My zodiac sign, several roses, a staff topped in a crescent moon with the moon phases on it and the handle having gemstone chakra colors, sheaves of wheat and stars. Both are in places I can either show or not show. Mind you I work in bank management. You CAN have a career in a fabulous field and have tattoos. I am currently in the process of designing my third tattoo again an original design that has much meaning to myself. Also, I have 11 piercings. Nine in my ears and two elsewhere. This doesnt mean I wear all the earrings at work, on the contrary, I only wear the small stud in my cartilage. I wear a pentacle with the triple goddess moons to work as well. Customers either think I am jewish (haha) or think it is great that I am comfortable in my beliefs. Many times its not the package, but how you do your job and treat your customers/clients. However, as someone stated above, a lot of people will judge you for stupid inert things and just be ...themselves.