1. Become fluent in Spanish.
2. Learn to play guitar.
3. Visit a family member who lives in California.
4. Go to New Orleans.
5. Take a mechanics class/learn about engines.
6. Take a self-defense class.
7. Learn to swing dance.
8. Master bellydancing.
9. Learn other formal dances.
10. Publish something -- book, short story, or poem.
11.
12. Learn massage therapy.
13. Conquer my anxiety and its symptoms.
14. Become competent at sewing.
15. Do something of an activist nature -- participate in a protest or rally.
16. Learn to drive a stick shift.
17. Picnic in a pine forest.
Well, as you can see, I've finally crossed off one of my bucket list items. I got a tattoo.
It's a peacock feather, on my hip, and it represents Stevie Ray Vaughan. I discovered Stevie Ray about 10 years ago. I love listening to him flat out wail on a guitar, and I love to sing his songs. I know a good many of them by heart. I listened to SRV so much, that after my daughter was born, the only way I could calm her down when she was inconsolably colicky was to sing SRV songs as loud as I could.
SRV had a tattoo of a peacock on his chest, and originally, my idea was to get the same tattoo on my hip. But as I came to the decision, I realized I didn't want the whole bird -- I'd rather just have the feather.
It took me 10 years to decide I really did want a tattoo enough to live with it forever. It took me 2 more years to pick just the right design. And today, I did it.
It hurt. I gasped. I trembled. I said ow and fuck a lot. I asked the tattoo artist if this was a typical reaction, and he said, "For an area this tender? Yeah." So for once, I guess I'm normal at something.
About 2/3 of the way through, I stumbled onto a trick. I breathed in. I hissed out the air. I realized that when I focused on hissing, the pain wasn't quite as bad. I ended up hissing the rest of the way through. The tattoo artist probably thought I'd lost my marbles, but he was a total pro and never said a word.
I am absolutely in love with it. And now I want another.
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For those of you paying attention, you'll have noticed I've added two more items to the list. I crossed off one and added two more. I must be ambitious.
