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Boba Bobble

I ordered some Star Wars boble heads from Woot.com, and they came in today. And, of course, I couldn't resist taking a shot of my favorite Star Wars character, Boba Fett.

Posted at 5:37pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hannah Aitchison Giddiness!

In almost one week, I'll be under the needle with Hannah Aitchison, getting my Family Crest tattooed — and I am TOTALLY STOKED! We've been going back and forth via email, nailing details down, and it's been an absolute pleasure to work with her. She genuinely seems (almost) as excited as I am to be doing this art for me, and that's because to her, tattooing is such a personal connection with the client. I'm entrusting her to permanently modify my body with her artwork — and I'm doing so because of her reputation, skills, and the beautiful work she's done for others. That's a MASSIVE level of trust for me (or anyone) to place into someone. On her side, she hears the story behind the art — the meaning. She is becoming a landmark in my life, and I'm coming to her to help me tell the story that will live on my body forever. I will always have a Hannah Aitchison on my arm, and knowing that she's doing art for me (or anyone) that contains such massive meaning and personal importance — that a big load of pressure for her to do her best for the client. Her vision and talent will bring the story to life forever. Add to that the fact that we'll be hanging together for around 6 hours, and you can't help be get to know the other person just a little bit as you pass the hours.

I'm also stoked to see if she'll let me have her original art, because that would just be totally cool to have hanging in my office! And I must admit that I'm curious as to her height for some reason, because she doesn't look like she's a whole lot shorter than me — unless everyone else is really small. We'll see.

Hotel reservations are made. Airline tickets are bought. The car is rented. Now comes the waiting for the day to arrive, and the inevitable passing of 6 some-odd hours simply known as "Earning the Right to Wear My Tattoo." My type of work is usually done in a couple of sessions due to the size, detail, and color — but Hannah says I'm I'm "stalwart," we can try and get as much done as we can both handle.

We'll see! woot!!

/Okay, I'm trying this after a full dose of Lunesta, so hopefully it all came out okay. zzZZzzZZzzZZzz

Posted at 2:35am CDT | Permalink | Comments (0)

What A Week

This post is to let everyone know I'm still around — but it's been a hellish week. We took my Dad to the MDACC Emergency Center Friday and didn't get home until Monday afternoon. He was doing great Sunday, but after getting a diuretic late that afternoon, he started feeling not as good. Monday came, and he was ready to leave, though still not feeling as well. Fast forward, and today — Wednesday — I'm back up here with him in the Emergency Center.

The Docs aren't totally certain what's going on, but a big portion of it — in my opinion — is stress related. I mean, how can you not feel panicked when you feel like you can't breathe? How can you not obsess over oxygen tanks, etc.? It would be hard to not be OCD with all the crap he's dealing with, and I think that the more he thinks about it all, the more he gets stressed. Stress increases heart rate, heart rate increase triggers faster breathing, low lung capacity and increased breathing makes you freak out.

We do know that they are going to change the medication he uses with his nebulizer. Albuterol just doesn't work for him, but the junk they use up here seems to work a little. Other than that, we just have to make sure he keeps getting plenty of fluids, etc.

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On a totally different note, and in an attempt to have some good news in this post, I have sent a deposit for my tattoo artwork to be done by Hannah Aitchison! She emailed me back and said she'd do the work, and we nailed-down a date at the end of this month. What's extra cool (to me, at least), is that she blocked out the entire day just for my artwork because she knows I'm flying in from Texas and I don't want to be gone long. How awesome is she for that?

She's going to tattoo the full family crest, too, which looks like this:

The background of torn mantling will be totally redone only as Hannah can do it, as will the shape of the banner and shield. I told her, essentially, to take the main elements then do her thing — that I want Hannah's Version. I cannot WAIT to see what she comes up with! I'm also going to see if she'll let me have the original art so that I can frame it and hang it in my office.

Hopefully, for more reasons that just this, my Dad will be better and it'll be okay for me to be gone to Los Angeles for a couple of days. If not, I'll just have to wait a while longer to get the work — but Dad's the priority, of course.

Posted at 11:47am CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tattoos and Dad

Since tattoos have been a topic of conversation around here lately, I may as well continue that thread by telling a quick story about something potentially really cool.

Back when I decided I wanted to get my Family Crest tattooed, I knew hands-down who I wanted to do the art — I just knew the chances of it happening were slim to none. That person was Hannah Aitchison. I sent her an email describing what I want and why I want it, and I sent similar messages to other top tattoo artists — but it was Hannah I always wanted to hear from. Long story short, I never heard back, and I figured that was because her web site says she's not taking new clients due to filming LA Ink. I got in touch with a couple of other artists, but nothing ever fell into place, so I was kind of left in limbo.

Fast forward to Monday night, and Hannah's daughter and (sometimes) assistant emailed me to tell me (after a couple of exchanges) "Typically, her wait is a few months, but right now, she has some limited availability in the near future that I might be able to squeeze you in for. I'd love to be able to help you out with getting something your dad could see."

How dadgum sweet is that?!? While I don't want to get my hopes up, the prospect of getting Hannah to tattoo something so personal under the circumstances I want this artwork done is just awesome. From the beginning, I wanted the best artist, and the one I liked the most — and now there's actually a literal chance I may actually get a Hannah Aitchison tattoo. SWEET! And again, for something that has the amount of importance to me as this, it would be so amazing to have such a great artist do the work.

So now I'm waiting to hear back from Holly and/or Hannah about if and when I'll be able to get an appointment. Cross your fingers for me!

••••••••

Speaking of Dad, we're on week two of his third round of chemo. It's still too soon to tell whether or not it's doing any good, but it's definitely making him massively tired and weak. Things don't look good, to be honest — but I'm still hopeful. God and Life have a way of turning things around when you least expect it, and I'm just not at the point of giving up hope. Yes, he feels like crap and feels like he's close to dying (to be brutally honest) — but we aren't there yet. There's still a very real possibility (and probability) that this new chemo will do the trick, and in so doing, his breathing could get better and the cancer will die.

Please keep him and our family in your thoughts and prayers.

Posted at 4:53pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (0)

Self-Portrait Tuesday

Me and thousands of other Flickr users participate in a group called Self Portrait Tuesday, and man, has it been a long time since I added anything. So, I took a quick shot, did some voodoo, and thought I'd share the pic here, too:

I heart the colors in this shot, myself.

Posted at 6:55pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)

Coming Soon!

I've finalized the etched version of my io Super Distortion, and here it is in all its shiny glory:

I still have to update the listing over at RAILhead Effects, but I couldn't resist posting it here. =)

Posted at 10:52pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (3)

Deluxe Tattoo!

Oh. My. Whosits.

I have recently found out about Deluxe Tattoo, and more importantly, Tim Bierdron. This guy is jaw-drop amazing. I've been reading reviews on his work, and no one has any complaints, and no one has any qualms about referring him. I am in the process of emailing him the story behind my honor tattoo for my Dad to see if he may be able to get me in sometime in the (hopefully) somewhat near future. Neck and neck with Tim is Miles Maniaci, who I would also love to get work from. We'll see!

So what about High Voltage and Dennis Halbritter? They must not want the work, because they quit responding to email. You'd think that a potentially $1000+ tattoo would be some sort of impetus to get work, but I guess not.

The main thing, though, is that Tim's work beats the pants off anyone at High Voltage, hands down. But this is part of the process of finding an artist, no? You look and look, and doors close and close, and by the end, you find someone you really like — even though you thought you already found that person. Now, it'll be up to how long Tim thinks the wait will be, and whether or not he's taking on new clients. And, I think I'd rather do Chicago than L.A. anyway.

Stay tuned...!

Posted at 9:06am CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)

Monday Sundry

My Dad started the third chemo treatment today, and he's dozing in the bed next to me as I type this. This cocktail is known as GemOx (Gemcitabine-Oxaliplatin), and it has a high response rate — so I'm quite hopeful. The main concern is that it won't affect his breathing or lungs, so that remains to be seen. But again, I'm hopeful. If you're the praying type, please continue to remember Dad, and pray that this will kill the cancer once and for all — and that this will lead to his breathing normalizing.

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It's curious to me that I'm selling more effects internationally than I am in the U.S. — and all with no advertising. I just got an order from South Africa, which is cool. however, I will not feel complete until I get an order from Ireland — so if any of my Irish brothers are reading this, place an order, you ould sweats!

••••••••

I'm still nailing down details on getting my tattoo at High Voltage in L.A., so there's not a whole lot new to report on that front. I'm still going back and forth with Dennis on various topics, but I haven't officially scheduled anything yet. One thing, though, is that the more I think about it, the more I'm leaning toward getting a half-sleeve tattoo — that would be totally awesome.

So, the final tattoo would be a mix of my Family Crest on my right shoulder, then who knows what wrapping down and around until just above my elbow. Stay tuned!

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An old friend built me an amp, and so far, it freakin' rules. I haven't had much time to play with it yet, but I may keep it because it looks so awesome, if nothing else! Stay tuned on this, too...

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I scored some more work for Ford Models, so that's pretty dadgum cool. I think most of the pics will be used in ads in and around New York and San Francisco, and I think it's going to be for some perfume or something like that. We'll see.

••••••••

That's it. I'm getting sleepy sitting in this chair, so I'm going to take a nap...

Posted at 5:11pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (0)