My tat didn't hurt that much. Except when I showed up at the same time as a bunch of dudes having some dick-waving ritual...it totally dented their pride when the blonde in the wheelchair was more stoic than them. That was at least as nice as the design.

I hate needles, too. As in I must look away at the doctor's office for blood draws or booster shots. But the end result? Totally worth it. When I had the Eskatonic jumpgate cross tattooed on the back of my right calf, and spent about 2 hours laying on my stomach, I just read the whole time.

(I also keep reminding myself "Don't flinch, there are needles in your skin, don't flinch." That focuses the attention spectacularly.)

Except when I showed up at the same time as a bunch of dudes having some dick-waving ritual...it totally dented their pride when the blonde in the wheelchair was more stoic than them. That was at least as nice as the design.

Bwah!

Mos def...bunch of biker-looking dudes waited for me to come out all "Wow, that must have hurt." and I was all "Not really...have a nice day." My mother was totally proud; I think she was afraid she'd raised a candy ass until that happened.

Seska, no but I have travelled there many times, and it is my favorite city.

I have an etiquette question: if you say you are buying someone dinner, does that include alcoholic beverages with the meal as well? Because I get incredibly annoyed when I buy my uncle dinner for something and he orders three beers. I thought it was just me, but my co-worker also agrees that it's rude to order drinks—which can cost as much as a food item on the menu—when someone's buying you dinner. Or does it depend on whether you yourself are drinking?

I'd have to say that, if you agree to pick up the tab, you agree to the whole tab. If I were your uncle, I'd be checking to see what you were planning to order before I make my final decision, so I could get a feel for what your budget for the evening is. But I would feel weird if I asked my dad (for example) not to order the beer or manhattan if I had already told him I'd be paying for dinner that night.

But, I don't know that actual rules of etiquette in this situation.

I would find ordering a bottle of champagne or something really out of the ordinary to be taking advantage. Drinks with dinner that are in the range of what you would normally have - quality and quantity - are part of buying dinner, to my mind.

Drinks with dinner that are in the range of what you would normally have - quality and quantity - are part of buying dinner, to my mind.

Yeah, I'd think that "dinner" would include a drink or two (but maybe not an expensive drink). If someone offered to buy me dinner and I wanted lots o' drinks too, I'd just pay for my own drinks.

Yeah, if I were paying, I would expect to be paying for alcohol, too. Although with my religious company, it tends to be the awkward little dance while we figure out which brand of religious everyone is, and if they expect to drink or not.

I'd forgotten that Dana & I are non-pierced-ear-twins. I never did get them pierced and at this point have no interest in it. It's not like I wear any other jewelry, either, so it would be unlikely that I would wear earrings.

How long do tattoos take to heal? Does it depend on how big they are?