Tattoos

[OptimusPrime]

Here's my £0.02:

At 18 you are barely qualified to make any decision that will permanetly affect your life. Don't take this the wrong way, but at 18 everyone is an immature idiot. Unfortunately it will take roughly 5-7 more years to figure this out for yourself. In some cases, it may take up to 12 or more years. Sadly the way society is set up, turning 18 brings certain rights as well as the need to make certain semi-permanent choices about your future (ie which career path you will start to head down). Its trite to observe that many people aged 25 or older will say "if I was 18 again I'd do this differently". At 22 you are a very different person than at 18, at 25 you are different to the person you are at 22. Look at it in reverse, at 12 were you into the same stuff you are now at 18? Of course not, and that is the same difference between now and 25. My point is that at 18 you swtich from having very little say in your life to having the ability to make a lot of decisions that will affect your life permanently. You'd be smart to hold off making decisions that truely are permanent until you get a little older and a little more mature. IMO.

Oh, you are absolutely, 100% correct. But let me put it this way, at 12, I liked Transformers, RATM/Tom Morello and bass. I'd like to think that I've got my life figured out a lot more than most people my age. I do good in school, I work 40 or more hours a week, never been arrested, no speeding tickets, and I'm in the position right now where I'm able to buy a $11,000 Mercedes AMG. Who else my age can afford that car all by themselves? But even still, everything you said is all very true.

 

[Marlat]

Oh, you are absolutely, 100% correct. But let me put it this way, at 12, I liked Transformers, RATM/Tom Morello and bass. I'd like to think that I've got my life figured out a lot more than most people my age. I do good in school, I work 40 or more hours a week, never been arrested, no speeding tickets, and I'm in the position right now where I'm able to buy a $11,000 Mercedes AMG. Who else my age can afford that car all by themselves? But even still, everything you said is all very true.

FWIW, buying an $11,000 high performance car at 18 is indicative of the fact that you should spend more time thinking than getting tattooed. Again, IMO, but the economy at the moment should be screaming at you where the wisest place to put $11,000 is, and its not into one of the worst money drains you will find in your life (eg a car).

 

[OptimusPrime]

FWIW, buying an $11,000 high performance car at 18 is indicative of the fact that you should spend more time thinking than getting tattooed. Again, IMO, but the economy at the moment should be screaming at you where the wisest place to put $11,000 is, and its not into one of the worst money drains you will find in your life (eg a car).

Right now, I drive an old 1997 Acura TL. I'm sick of driving a car that I don't enjoy getting in to. My only bill right now is my car/insurance/gas. I make MORE than enough to afford this car. I need something that will last me. The Acura has almost 200,000 miles on it. It's not going to make it another year. I need something that I can drive for 5 or 6 more years.

 

[rustynuts]

I'm not so sure an $11,000 Mercedes AMG fits that bill either. What year is it? How many miles? How hard of miles?

 

[Marlat]

Right now, I drive an old 1997 Acura TL. I'm sick of driving a car that I don't enjoy getting in to. My only bill right now is my car/insurance/gas. I make MORE than enough to afford this car. I need something that will last me. The Acura has almost 200,000 miles on it. It's not going to make it another year. I need something that I can drive for 5 or 6 more years.

Its completely your choice. I was in a similar position to yourself and also bought a car. Personally, if I were 18 and had $11k now, I would buy a cheap used Japanese or small European car for as little as possible and buy shares or put the deposit on a house with the balance. It will last you just as long as an AMG mercedes (which are fairly unreliable and expensive to repair anyway) and you'll be making money wit the balance. However, I understand the desire for a cool car.

 

[hover]

buy the more reliable vehicle as Mark suggested, and put the autobot logo there, where it belongs. that way it'll all make more sense. Car that will last, and you can pretend it'll fold into a robot and feel all bad ass.

 

[Marlat]

Speaking of tatoos, I hear that Brad Cook has a full body tatoo of the Qintar. Food for thought.

 

[rap138]

and here I am thinking on how am I goingto get the money to erase all mine. I thought that no way I was going to regret them, but after a few years I did :scowl:
I know this, I heard all the arguments against it in my time and just dismissed them as old peoples talk, now I have to tough it up. Chances are there is nothing I can tell you not to get any tatoo done, but please don't.
If you do, consider the colours that are easy to laser away, some of them don't do.
good luck,

 

[hover]

I hear that Brad Cook has a full body tatoo of the Qintar.

I've heard this!

 

[Jared Lash]

I have nothing to add to this thread other than that Street Sweeper Social Club rocks. Saw them when they opened for NIN and Jane's Addiction last month. Maybe the best part of the night. I personally wouldn't want that logo tattooed on me but it is pretty cool.

Oh, and their album dropped yesterday.

Tangentially related, this sounds suspiciously like a story of a girl who regretted her choice of tattoos as I'm not buying the "I fell asleep" excuse she gives.

Invalid Link Removed

 

[superblues]

Its your body. Do what you will.

My personal advice is adapted from some advice shared by Kenny Allen of MojoSonic. Think of every stupid decision you make as tuition in the school of life.

 

[john turner]

Haha. How sad is it that I know what septuagenarian means? I doubt I'll make it that long. I don't want to.

dude, in 50 years when that's going to be an issue for you, 70 will be the new 30. the new wrinkly 30. or maybe not even wrinkly.

 

[john turner]

Oh, you are absolutely, 100% correct. But let me put it this way, at 12, I liked Transformers, RATM/Tom Morello and bass.

so basically you're saying you -haven't- changed since you were 12.

and this is selling your case...how?

(j/k knock yourself out, and happy b-day ).

 

[EricF]

Think of every stupid decision you make as tuition in the school of life.

I love this statement!!!!

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

I wouldn't get any tattoos without sitting on the idea for at least six months. My first tattoo was one that I had decided on for almost a year before I got it done, and my second took almost three.

Too true, that's why I've been planning mine for ~7 years

I wouldn't recommend NOT getting any of those tattoos, but the odds are that if you get a copycat tattoo, you're going to get tired of it eventually. Instead, do some research and find a tattoo artist in your area whose style you really like, who works at a good shop. Talk to him about what you want and have him draw something up for you. I think that a full, detailed portrait of Optimus Prime would be pretty BA.

I'd say it's up to the OP what to get, I'm not denying a full back piece of optimus prime tearing megatron a 'new one'. Always take other peoples advice with a pinch of salt, it isn't them carving things whatever on themselves

Also, any tattoo shop worth going to isn't just going to be able to fit you in when you walk in. Any show that CAN do that, especially on a saturday, is a shop that you want to avoid at all costs. Most decent artists are going to have at least a couple of weeks' wait before you can get in to have work done.

True, or with the boom in tattoo's, it's getting worse, mine is ~6 months now

 

[popinfresh]

Ehh, rreaaallly think about it. When I was 18 I thought I had all these great ideas for tattoos, most are out the window 3 years later on.
I'd much prefer to have an artist draw up an original art piece than band/show logos. Tattooing has moved ahead so much that you can really get a nice piece of art that you can appreciate all the time, even if your tastes in music/shows change. You should find a good artist who's style you like and go from there.
At 18 I loved RATM, RHCP, Primus etc etc, and had since I was about 10-13, I still like those bands but I wouldn't want anything directly linked to them tattooed in me.

It's really up to you, but take your time to think about it. A lot of people have transformers tattoos, but you might be fine with that (lately it's becoming even more popular for whatever reason), a lot of people have bass clefs (I have one on my wrist, I still like it because it's simple, but sooo many people have the same thing or always ask where the treble clef is to match).
As for 'whatever it takes', ehh. If you did do it, I definitely wouldn't do the star, that would just look childish and disproportionate IMO. But do you really just want to be ripping off other people?

Seriously, you have a lot of ideas going through your head, they'll change a lot over the years. For instance you might put the Z on your ribs or what not, then 5-10 years down the track want a nice piece (or bigger) and then just have to cover up. The ribs, though a hard place to tattoo, give you a lot of room and body lines to work with.

Oh and I agree with Latimour about the car, Merc should be a no no.

 

[OptimusPrime]

I'm not so sure an $11,000 Mercedes AMG fits that bill either. What year is it? How many miles? How hard of miles?

2001. 100,000. Highway miles. Clean car. Manual. All blacked out, call it suicide.

 

[OptimusPrime]

Its completely your choice. I was in a similar position to yourself and also bought a car. Personally, if I were 18 and had $11k now, I would buy a cheap used Japanese or small European car for as little as possible and buy shares or put the deposit on a house with the balance. It will last you just as long as an AMG mercedes (which are fairly unreliable and expensive to repair anyway) and you'll be making money wit the balance. However, I understand the desire for a cool car.

Well, I don't have $11k. I have my Acura and a 2003 Saturn Ion to trade in. And a bank that's willing to loan me whatever else I need. $180 a month for 5 years. Or $230 for 3. Which I make in a week, or less. Are Mercedes unreliable? I thought they ran forever, like 300,000 miles. I know BMWs are expensive as hell to run too.

 

[OptimusPrime]

buy the more reliable vehicle as Mark suggested, and put the autobot logo there, where it belongs. that way it'll all make more sense. Car that will last, and you can pretend it'll fold into a robot and feel all bad ass.

I actually have a couple sticker Autobot logos for my car. Never put them on.

 

[popinfresh]

Erm, I don't know your future plans, but I wouldn't be taking out a loan for a Mercedes any time soon.
What happens when you move out and have bills, food etc? Plans change? Making $200 a week is hardly making big/any money, no offence.
Seriously I took out a $6k loan for my car when I was earning 6-700 a week, paid off 2-3 in a lump sum, then put 1-200 odd on it a week for a while, then lost my job unexpectedly and since have moved to the other side of the world. Still got a good ~3k worth of debt sitting at home.