Critter’s Krib

It’s been a long few days. The time change coupled with a hectic schedule on Sunday played havoc on Phoenix. His naps were off in the morning and afternoon, and by nighttime he was ready to crash at 6pm. He didn’t get up until 7am on Monday. He’s definitely got Jenene’s ‘I like to sleep genes’

Talon received his report card this past Tuesday. Everything was pretty much average. He does (as expected) need to work on his talking and pay better attention, as he is easily distracted. He was also marked with 4 marks for tardiness. This came as a small surprise considering that fact that Talon has been put on the bus everyday since school began. I phoned the school yesterday, and was told they would fix his record. Not that big of a deal, but I’m not all pleased to hear that the bus was late to school 4 times and I had no idea.

I was finally able to get Talon and I scheduled for the dentist (read: I finally got off my ass and did it). I went in for my initial consult yesterday. I have a porcelain onlay that he says is not fit properly. I could have told anyone that. I have a gap at the bottom of it that acts as a food trap. I did mention that I would eventually like to get my teeth whitened. He recommended Crest White Strips. *shrug* Ok, that works for me.

He started his exam.

>> “Did something happen to your tongue?”

“I split it”

>> “On what?”

“Not on, with. We used a scalpel”

>> *blink*  “You did that on purpose?” (both he and the dental hygienist had stopped doing what they were doing)

I explained the procedure and the why, but I think they were both a bit shocked. Both of them commented that they had never seen anything like that before. *shrug* After that he went back to talking about ‘Baby Spice’ (seriously).

Talon and I go back for our cleanings today. In other good dental news, while my medical premiums have shot up over $300 for next year. Dental has gone down $2. Score!

I met up with Neal (website coming soon, kthnxgbye) this past Sunday for a couple hours of ink. Now that the outline is completed, the exciting work has begun. I cannot wait to see it finished. It gets better and better with each session.

Oh, and yes, them were some sensitive areas.

I have had a ton of queries on how we did the actual tongue splitting. Rather than constantly repeat myself, I thought I would make a short post about it.

For those of you that don’t know, I have had my tongue pierced since the early 90’s, and had successfully stretched the piercing to an impressive (if I do say so myself) 1/2″ (thank you very much). I haven’t worn the tongue ring in over 3 years, but due to the large size it never fully closed. Even after 3 years I can easily fit a pen through the hole.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about the procedure. I wasn’t at first, but the closer it got, I was definitely a tad lot nervous. Not that I doubted Jason’s ability to do the procedure, but the thought of cutting through my tongue with a scalpel brought along with it a few images of intense pain.

I was sitting in Jason’s room, and ready to put it off for another day, but Jason LOVES doing this stuff. No way he was letting me back out LOL.

Jason did his markings - top and bottom.

It was time.

I held the left side of my tongue with the forceps, while Jason held the right side. He brought the scalpel up through the bottom of my existing  piercing and began to cut forward. My anticipation of the pain was actually worse than the pain itself. The tip was a bit sensitive and apparently a bit tougher to cut through as Jason had to do a bit of sawing with the scalpel.

I had a large container to catch all the blood, and pretty much all the bleeding stopped within 15-20 minutes. Since then it’s been healing up rather well. The tips feel a bit weird, and I still have to get used to working the tips. Practice makes perfect. I imagine that holds true to tongue wiggling as well.

short video of healed tongue after the jump

The outline was finished a few weeks ago. The design is all Neal’s. We started the fill yesterday, and from the looks of it, it’s going to look awesome when it’s finished.

The phoenix was done last year, just prior to Phoenix being born.

Dear mom,

I must insist that you not view the full contents of this post. So that you are not disappointed, I will leave you with a picture of Talon and Phoenix.

If you are not my mother, you may continue after the jump…

I read ModBlog.com daily. Careful before you click that link though, it is definitely NOT SAFE FOR WORK, nor in some cases  easy on the stomach. I’ve always been into body modification, in one form or another, and I love reading that blog, because it is amazing some of the things people do.

I was shocked to find this when I opened up my RSS reader this morning:

It is also posted on Shannon’s IAM page. Drama sucks. I hope they are able to get it all sorted out… whatever the mess…

I guess that’ll teach me to fully ink sections of my body!

I get quite a few links into my website via searches for tattoo’s, with a large majority of them for “tattoo sleeves”. I figured I should
pimp out the guy that does my work. Neal has been doing my
ink for many years. He works at Kevin’s Tattoo Zoo in
Cary, NC. I cannot say enough good great things about Neal’s work. He has hand drawn both of my sleeves, taking my ideas and turning
them into a reality. Simply amazing, and on top of all that, a great friend.

I added a copy of his business card to one of the pods. It currently takes you to his site, which I hope to be working with him soon to spruce
up.. and bring into the year 2006

If you are looking for a great and personable artist for some ink work. I wholeheartedly suggest you give Neal
a call (919-469-0770 @ Kevin’s Tattoo Zoo). It cannot hurt to just talk to him, and since a tattoo is a permanent decision, it can’t
hurt to check all your options.

In closing I would like to say one thing. If you are thinking of getting a tattoo, I really want to push you towards a personal solution
as opposed to just picking one off the shelf. I think the walls of flash are a good place to start, perhaps to just give you an idea or such. Even if you
really like a piece of flash, I suggest making it your own by using that as a starting point and having your artist personalize it in some way. Do you
really want to have a carbon copy tattoo? No, of course you don’t. You want something that is your own. Trust me, in the end, you will be much happier
with your decision.

And the sands have settled.

A change in weather? No, we just ran out of canvas. My sleeve has been completed, for the most part. All that we have left to finish is a bit of touching up.

It is always a weird feeling at the end of a piece. I am not sure how to describe it. It definitely feels like the end of some sort of chapter.

I wonder what will be next?