throwback: finally...i've found my artist

searching.analyzing.innerself.translating.concept

for the last year, this part of my tattoo journey has continously evolved due to the non-linear movement/flow of concept creation.

life brings new lessons everyday. an acute awareness of moments in relation to self speeds up this experience and in the process, i missed "things" that may have otherwise been significant had i stayed still.

so i did...i sat with myself. sometimes quietly, other times in frantic disaccord, all the time in pain and recollection. and then it came...man it came ( like a rainy day in frisco)! i revisited old questions i thought i had answers for. and looked at new questions that need "figuring out". i felt. i cried. i remembered. ultimately, i found what i momentarily lost. hurray! today, i move forward.

what a happy coincidence it is that on the day that i can once again say "i'm feelin' myself", i decided to pick up where i left off on my tattooing expedition and found the person meant to "ink" me. i almost gave up on the whole thing after feeling like i missed the perfect opportunity to get my work of art created while i was in the philippines. i think that when i decided to let go of my ideal "tattoo adventure" gracefully (since it was a situation i could not control), i stayed open to evolution as opposed to resenting the "what coulda been".

today, i went with d.hunt, a trusted friend and tattoo veteran, to visit aleks figaueroa - an artist i found online while researching filipino tribal symbols. i first contacted aleks two months ago before my p.i. trip. he replied while i was on vacation and i remember thinking that his email was really "polite". i must admit, i almost overlooked the email since i was set on getting tatted in the motherland. when that didn't happen, i tried keep the emotional impact to a minimum and refocused all my energy on what was present - grad school and work.

since then, i have experienced so many different things in such a short amount of time. from feeling overwhelmed and burnout by the amount of projects i had on my plate, to trying to support a friend losing a loved one, to feeling unable to mend strained relationships, to dealing with my own sense of disconnect with myself, my values and my goals. i don't know if its simply survival mode to focus on tasks and measurable things when things feel out of control, but that's what i did. i can't say that it doesn't have its benefits. i got shit i needed to do done impeccably. i got external validation for my accomplishments. but still i did not feel whole. i forgot/lost who i was/what i'm about along the way. and i didn't even see it happening. i call this my "hacky sack" moment (an ode to freddie prince jr. in "she's all that"). finally, time stood still for a moment and things became clearer.

so fast forward to today. i woke up looking at my tattoo research. although i was open to getting my tat done by the pros at body manipulations, who i really wanted was a pinoy/pinay skilled at the style i wanted. so i called up balisong tattoo in long beach to see if they could refer me to someone who could create my vision in ink here in the city. to my surprise (and my blessing) the shop's artist, aleks, was in town doing jobs. as soon as he told me he was available for a consultation, i put my ass in gear to go! i picked up d. and during the ride, we chopped it up about the who ritualism behind tattoing and the important things one should know before committing to getting inked. i was so blessed that i had d.'s support! his knowledge was invaluable. he helped to make me feel comfortable with my decision.

when we finally got to the shop, initially, i was like "whoa"...where the hell am i and what am i getting myself into? alek's san francisco studio (he's based in so. cal) was located in the back room of a house in the busy marina district. it wasn't ghetto or anything like that, but i must say my expectations were totally different (i've been watching miami ink). inside the room, we were greeted by alek's, a couple of his clients/buddies and his beautiful brendle pitbull, Oakland (who was sooooo sweet!!) despite my first impression, instantly, the vibe was cool. aleks seemed very experience, as well as calm and reassuring. i felt like knew what it was i wanted done and i felt confident in his ability to do it. so i sealed the deal and come june 30, 2007, i will be getting my first tattoo!!

next steps in the journey: manifestation.celebration

peace.