New Tattoo, maybe New Direction

Not that a cupcake tattoo warrants a life-altering decision, but it may subconsciously signify one. I have several other tattoos and multiple piercings, but up until now I have always made sure to choice locations that are easily hidden by clothing. The tattoo on top of my right foot challenged  that a bit, but I rationalized it with  the possibilities of boots or dark stockings. Then a month or so ago I told Seth I wanted a silly cute tattoo, something that bespoke my personality but was more than a damn smiley face. Pie? Pumpkin pie? I knew that wouldn't translate into 'tattoo' well, with me ending up with some orange blob on some random part of my body. "What's that one, Sarah?" "Oh, just an abstract interpretation of the sun." Then 'cupcake' hit me though I think I first told Seth I wanted it on a hipbone or some easily hidden shit like that. Then yesterday I went with the roommate Ryan as he got his first tattoo on his calf and I said aloud, "I need to get a tattoo on some painless spots again (my stomach being the last site of pain; before that the top of my foot." An hour later I asked Mana if he would tattoo a cupcake on my hand. I don't question my mind or its rationality and neither should you.

I love my new tattoo. It is incredibly cute - I was squealing as Mana shaded in the pink and lilac - and at the same time silly. Seth likes it but admits that he never thought I would get a cupcake tattoo, especially one on my hand; neither did I. I think maybe subconsciously I am admitting I will never walk down the professional road I once had in mind for myself. Sure, the Foreign Service is still lightly on my radar, but that "Driving with a BAC level about .08%" conviction (which is legally different than a DUI, mind you) worries me that I will never gain the required Top Secret clearance. Regardless of clearance or even background checks, maybe some jobs won't hire me because of a silly tattoo on my hand. Then again, if a job doesn't want me because of a tattoo, would I really want the job? Probably not. And if one job doesn't want me then another one will. So I will embed cake in my flesh and eat it too.

Once I bake a batch.