This is my first tattoo. I got a sunflower for many reasons, cuz sunflowers mean a lot. My mentor once showed me a poem called the Sunflower Sutra, by Allen Ginsberg. It's about hope, and humanity, and knowing your worth. I think it's an important poem, and I think sunflowers are important. When I look at my wrist I have hope, I remember my mentor, and I remember my first tattoo experience, which you can read about here.

I got the dollar sign about six months after the sunflower. Both were done by Dawn at Red Crown Body Art in Farmington Hills. Recently I called about getting my next tattoo, and I was informed that Dawn had left. That sucked big time, because even though I hardly knew her, I expected to eventually form a tight bond with her. I saw myself being tattooed by her twenty years down the line. But now I have to find another artist. So I haven't picked up a third tattoo (at the time of writing this) yet because I don't have an artist I trust yet. My friend went to Detroit Tattoo a few weeks back, and they did a really nice job, but I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with the artists, they seem a little shady. Anyway, I got the dollar sign because I love money. I mean I REALLY love it. I'm both greedy and generous. I love to have it, I love to give it, I use it to express my feelings more often than words. It is my release, it is my independance, it is everything I want and need. The end.

K, so I went to Detroit Tattoo and got this, a bull charging out of the skin, with those bullfight darts stuck in it. Shannon was my artist. Why a bull, you ask? Well, because I like bulls. And because most minority groups have been insulted with certain terms throughout history, and most of those groups have turned around and made those terms something almost endearing to call one another. For example, dyke, and bulldyke, and bulldagger with reference to the butch lesbian community?Here's my BME experience of this one.

The symbol for transgendered. Go to the NTAC webpage to learn more about trangender issues. I need to have this one redone, I think. My skin didn't hold the ink as well in a couple places so it looks kind of... mottled. That may have been the result of going to Detroit Tattoo again. I think they're a little shady over there all right. I think Red Crown uses better quality ink. On the other hand, there must be industry standards, so how bad could it be? It's not all twisty like it looks in the pic though. I just had to maneuver my arm a little to take the pic.