Monday, February 19, 2007

Ask me about my poor self-image....Part 1

I've been sick, really sick. Truth be told I'm still sick, but after 6 straight days in bed I've hauled myself down to my Ikea Poang armchair for a change of scene. I'm telling you the name of the chair because I like the sound of it: Poang! It doesn't have any further role in this narrative. Forget about it.

The worst fucking part of living alone is being sick on your own. Such a drag. And of course, I've managed to lose my mobile, just to add to the felling of isolation. I tell you if it weren't for broadband, iChat and Skype....thank god for the internet. I was remembering my first year in Dublin when I knew no-one and lived in Rathfarnham next to the mountains (back in 1989 this was like living in Wales). And my landlords were an insanely houseproud newly married couple whose spare room I rented. They put a lock on the phone and were always away. And even if I could drag myself from bed the number 16 could keep you waiting an hour in the cold on Grange Road - I really was trapped there. At least with Femputer I can check out Britney's bald head. Yes, my finger is on the pulse of the zeitgeist, though the rest of me can barely sit up.

But I'm not here to talk about my phlegm- and fever-tastic journeys in self pity. I'm here to talk about tattoos.

I know, wierd segue. But there's a logical connection of sorts. This time last year I was interviewing for the job I now have. Around the time of my first interview I began to feel a bit wrong in the stomach, not nerves but something far more fearful: the winter stomach bug. I held it together for the interview and then spent the next 2 days shivering and sweating in my hotel room. And during that time I had the tv on and I watched episode after episode of Miami Ink.

Miami Ink: 5 guys and a token woman set up a tattoo business in Miami. The episodes are built around people coming in for tattoos, what they get, why they want to get it. With and ad break every 15 minutes it was perfectly geared for someone with no concentration who had to shoot to the bathroom.

And then this past week I found clips of those episodes on YouTube. And they got me to thinking about tattoos.

4 comments:

Queenie said...

Hope you're feeling better soon. I too watched endless episodes of Miami Ink when I had the Canadian stomach bug, which is relentless. I think you must have the Canadian flu now. I had it this time last year. Horrible. Hate hate hate being sick on my own.

What is it about Canada and tattoos - I've had two done since I got here.

mylescorcoran said...

Gah. I hope you're feeling better soon. I remember being sick when I was living in Paris and it's rotten suffering through a nasty bug alone.

Recently Sam and I came down with the winter vomiting bug. Unfortunately I got it first and had to be better in 24 hours when Sam came down with it the day after I did. Sometimes company doesn't help in all the ways you think it would.

Canadian tattoos? Has Queenie got a maple leaf somewhere private?

SaraB said...

Also hope you are feeling better soon. It is so miserable being ill when alone though I quite enjoy convalescence alone - guilt free slobbing about with no one to witness. Having said that, I would also agree with Mr Corcoran, some illnesses are better suffered in solitude.

Tattoos are so tempting but my horrible indecisiveness keeps getting in the way. Still, always something to muse about when on the tube with no room to read..

Chinn said...

the thing about being sick alone is there is no fun at the almost better stage. The one where you need to sit on the couch and chat about Dr Phil with some herbal tea.


hope you feel better soon xo