Tattoos and why you probably shouldn’t get one

First, a disclaimer, I have a tattoo. I’ve mostly forgotten about it. It’s on one of my shoulders, and honestly at times I forget which side it’s on.

I was young, dumb and stupid. It never occurred to me that if I got a tattoo that was a logo for my favorite rock band at the time, that I would hate them when I’m older. Using that logic, I should get a tattoo of a QR code now. QR codes are just as dumb as a tattoo. They’re meaningless and stupid, and no one really uses them for anything, yet they’re plastered all over the place, just like a tattoo of Donald Duck.

Now, you’re wondering, for which band does this dork have a tattoo?

I’ll give you a few pretty big hints. These douchebags are one of the reasons Napster died. Their drummer looks like a troll and their band leader was once set on fire.

I’ll keep you guessing for now. I’m not even sure I’ll post the answer, some people I know, have seen my tattoo and know.

**Update** It’s Metallica, but I’m only sharing this because the video below of these three girls covering one of their songs is awesome.

I might even be brave enough to post a picture of it on my website, but all that will do is help the coroner identify my body if I were murdered.

I’ve considered getting other tattoos, but as a kid I remember our neighbor at my parents lake cabin. He was an old sailor who was covered with tattoos. I think one of the tattoos was of a naked lady, maybe my memory is clouded but I’m pretty sure I recall that. The naked lady on his arm, didn’t look very appealing on 80 something year-old Lester.

Did that wrinkled, stretched tattoo dissuade me from getting a tattoo at a young age? Nope. It should have, but it didn’t. I guess I wasn’t thinking when I got the tattoo. I even recall when I got the tattoo, being told not to get something like a girlfriend’s name or something I’d regret. I figured I’d always love my favorite band at the time. I admit, I still like their music, but not as much.

If you’re considering getting a tattoo, think about it. In 10, 20, or 50 years from now, what will that marking on your skin mean?

I’m not even going to talk about the health implications of getting a tattoo, like getting a disease from a used needle or a nasty infection from that tattoo of Howard the Duck or even worse, Nickelback.

As a parent, I hope neither of my children get tattoos, but after they turn 18, there’s really not much I can do other than stop giving them money. Heck, by the time they turn 18 tattoos might not be a popular thing anymore, embedded skin holographs might be the next new fad.

Yes, you can get a tattoo removed but it’s painful and costly. Don’t put yourself through that ordeal if you don’t have to do so.

Get a fake tattoo, they fade away after a few days and then you put on a new one later. Plus, they’re much cheaper.