Citizens of the Body

Dear Kissing Willow Kate,

So much has happened over the past few days – the good, the bad and the totally crazy. The good being classes are over and I can finally hit the beach in a few days. The bad being I still don’t have the budget for a Vape of my very own and I’m still often sucking death-sticks at parties And the crazy being, well, I guess its just the usual March madness, everyone’s rushing to get things done, people are on edge and the head is starting to settle in.

As you know, two friends of ours are now store managers at this new tattoo parlor called Tattoo X. They have a pink neon sign on their window, (reminded me of the X-files) at Cubao Expo. We were all having a few drinks there last Saturday actually.

I was thinking about maybe getting my next tattoo done at this place, but I haven’t decided.

As you also know (or might not know), I have a total of four tattoos. The sword on my neck- Which is my homage to the very first movie I had ever seen which was Heavy Metal (1976)  the rabbit moon- a homage to my favorite book “Watership down” by Richard  , the lotus flowers and the strawberry spinal cord all on my back.

Here’s a picture of my back (taken by the very skilled Kevin Cayuca).

Now comes the time when tattoo number 5 is being thought about.

The next design I want to get is an Ouroboros, which is an image of a snake eating itself.

Basically, something like this. I wanted an image that represented “one-ness” or how things that go around come around. Since the Ouroboros is a very ancient symbol, dates all the way back to the Egyptian book of the dead, I thought that it would be something classic that could change its meaning for me as time goes by.

I had my back piece (spine) done by DyunTat from 55 tinta, the tattoo parlor at maginhawa street (beside Tomato kick and Bookay-ukay) and they gave me a decent price for it. My budget for my next tattoo should be only about 2k at the most, and I have a couple of months to save up for it. (my target date is August).

Are you thinking about getting a new piece too? Tell me what you think.

Love, Rosemary Pocket

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Dear Rosey Pocket,

Have been suffering maddening Marchness as well… or could it be this thing ‘grown ups’ call stress? Side note: ask me about my ‘grown downs theory’ next time we see each other. Am happy to report that the vape is doing me well… it’s also proving to be effective for curbing unwanted food cravings (though a lot of of mine are the wanted kind!).

Your pictures are pure beauty! I went through all the shots in the album and they are really something. Doesn’t it feel so empowering to pose/see and I guess even share, these kinds of photos? Photos that cast you in a new light. A light that captures Woman in you. My favorite is the one of you on the bed – I stopped breathing when I saw it. Gotta tell you though, felt a pang of protectiveness for you since the shot is so risqué, but this was soon overpowered by pride and celebration of the body (the female body at that)! Go body!

Here is one of mine (shot by our friend, Goldie Poblador):
You can see 1/2 of the peony covering my shoulder. This one holds second place in my heart… my favorite tattoo is a very small triangle on my arm – there are three trees inside it, growing to meet each other. To some, a tattoo serves as a marker or reminder – be it of a loved one, some valuable lesson gleaned, or a specific time/event worth preserving. Other tattoos are talismans that represent qualities that the wearers are proud of or would like to acquire. Like other adornments, they are of course largely about enhancing the beauty of the body.

I really like your tattoo design, but I think you should sit on it a while longer! I was so set on getting a thigh garter tattoo.. kind of like this but with a locket and not a gun, yech.

So glad I didn’t dive into that impulse! Still want to have something around my thigh but I want it to be more ME and less sex and flirt – less of a standard tattoo. Know what I mean? Get this  – D and I were (are!) planning to get tattooed by DyunTat! The coincidences just keep coming, wow. How much was the strawberry spine? It’s so you! There seems to be a growing trend of commissioning artists to make tattoo designs – here are examples of abadvibes’ tattoo designs by the artist Ricardo Cavolo from Spain.

Well, the tattoo romance will continue…

Sending you sweet thoughts before I sink into my pillow.

Good night,

Kissing Willow Kate