Watch The Birdie

Saturday, Oct. 22, 2005 - 1:17 p.m.

Okay. Go look over there at the bottom of the left column. I'm going to be having ink done, and this is the design I settled on. I never did find anything else that I really liked, so this is a design I produced from scratch. I do not doubt that it will remind you of other works, but what I wanted was a phoenix in the shape of a circle, but also a simple design that would stand alone without elaborate or extensive detail, unless I wanted to add it at a later date.

So here it is.

I have been considering a phoenix tattoo for a very long time. There are a myriad of reasons for this:

When I was seventeen, I had a life-threatening illness called ulcerative colitis. Worldwide, ulcerative colitis kills about 75% of the people who have it. I was very lucky. The symbol for people who have endured this disease and survived it and grown healthy again is the phoenix.

I have been and will forever be a fan of Days Of Our Lives. About fifteen or years ago, there was a really good storyline featuring a mysterious stranger with a phoenix tattoo on his left shoulder. I really enjoyed that story arc.

In the last three years, I had problems the likes of which I could never have imagined having or surviving. But here I still am. The phoenix represents my triumph over all of these things.

Finally, the symbol that resides on the flag of the city of San Francisco is -- a phoenix.

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Have I recently reminded you about Googlemilking?

Put the following quoted phrases into Google and see what you find:

1. "You killed my father. Prepare to die." -- this one finds the classic quote from the Princess Bride, but it also will find the variations. (Hello. My name is Batman. You killed my father. Prepare to die.)

2. "I laughed so hard, I almost" -- this one usually follows what it was that was laughed at. I'm finding that these stories largely consist of 'I guess you had to be there' situations, but there's some funny stuff to be found.

3. "I have no idea how it happened, but" -- this one usually accompanies something gross or dangerous, so be forewarned.

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Have a good Saturday!

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3 of my readers commented on this entry

Jemma - 2005-10-22 16:38:01
My brother has ulcerative colitis and I didn't know that about the Phoenix being the symbol for survivors. Do you have any links?
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Jemma - 2005-10-22 16:40:19
Forgot to add that I didn't know those odds either and am trying not to think about them.
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Cheryl - 2005-10-23 10:27:57
I got my first tat a couple of months ago and I have a beautiful phoenix on the small of my back. The symbol and the placement were very, very important and has great meaning for me.
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