Rant...?

I don't feel like its too bad of a rant, but, you have been warned.

I was on Facebook, and one of my friends asked for a tattoo parlor recommendation, to which one of her friends responded that tattoos are horrible, and make people ugly, and that it is a bad decision all around.

I took offense. Lots and lots of offense.

But not because I am a tattooed person, but because I am for equal rights and support a body positive attitude. 

So, being the person that I am, I called this person out on their anti-body positive attitude. Seems pretty reasonable, or so I thought.

Naturally-since it IS the internet and all-she accused me of hating people that I had never met. 

To which my response was:

 I don't hate you because you're right, I don't know you. That said, I dislike people forcing their judgements 
on others. You don't like tattoos, so you think no one else should have them. What if someone said they 
didn't like gay people, so they couldn't marry. Or they were prolife so no one could have a choice if they 
wanted a baby. Or what if they said women have no rights so rape didn't exist. By telling someone they 
shouldn't do something that they have chosen to for, you are telling them that YOU know what's best for 
them, thus taking away the basic human right of choice. 
And that is a world I will fight against.

This is one of those things that I feel pretty strongly against. By telling someone that they cannot do something, you are saying that they are stupid and need to be cared for, like a subhuman, and not worthy of their own choices.
As much as I think that most people ARE stupid, I also believe that they have every right to be, without someone trying to take their right away from them.

I think, if anything, you-and I use you in the sense of a collective-you have control over what you do with your own body. You, and you alone.

So, this one time...

Well, actually, it wasn't just one time. It happened several times-twice in Korea now. I got more ink done. Huzzah!

Originally, I had planned on going to the same place that I had previously-Sunrat Tattoo in Hongdae. Now, I made appointments and everything, but, when we arrived for them, the shop wasn't open. We waited around for almost 45 minutes, but to no avail, so we left. I feel bad, since the shop lost out on a boatload of money, but, professionalism is a must in this sort of industry.

Moving right along, we went and found another shop to get tattooed at-Yellow Monkey tattoo, also in Hongdae.

This shop was really clean and professional. The people were super nice,even if their English is limited. We managed to walk right in, before all the appointments arrived. There were 3 of us, and we all got a little something done.

Yea, I got some clouds put in behind my whale. It looks a lot more complete now. But, its weird-everyone I meet seems to think that the whale is new too. And I'm all like "Have you looked at me, like, ever?" Oh well. And the hubs got stars on his ankles. Super badass, and swollen as shit right after. They have gone down now, but, I guess the still hurt.

xox

June is hella busy

This is my last month in Korea, and I am going to make the most out of it! Or at least, as much as my budget can handle. That's the problem with being a "mature student"-you have to pay for everything yourself. Not just here in Korea, but also when I go back to Canada.
There are, of course, some things here that I will not get to see or do, but time and money prevent them. I'll come back to Korea at some point-I've come too far in learning the language to not use it again.

So, here is the plans for the next (stupid) busy month!

June 9-Tattoo appointment.
June 18-20-6 exams/packing
June 21-25-Vietnam trip (?!?! I know, right?)
June 26-Move out of SCH
June 28-World Expo in Yeosu
June 30-July 2-Busan
July 3-Seoul
July 4-Fly to Canada.
July 4-?-Sleep like the dead.

The only place I am sad I don't get to visit in Korea is Jeju Island. But, it is SO expensive to get to, and then expensive to be at. It's sad, but it is also necessary. Oh well, next time!

This all said, if my updates-both here and at my comic-are spotty, please forgive me! I'll do my best!

xox

There is always a first

I went to Seoul-Hongdae, to be specific-and had my first go at a Korean tattoo shop. I had send a few emails to several shops over the past month or so in order to find a shop that could speak any English, and was up to my (very high) standards. Eventually, after several conversations, I decided to go with Sunrat tattoo.
There were three of us getting tattoos this day-two Canadians and a Japanese.
We also had a Korean friend with us to help with the translations, which was very handy once we got there. The artist could speak very little English, and having our friend with us was amazing. It was also his first time seeing a tattoo be done, so it was a new experience for everyone. Our Japanese friend was also a tattoo newbie, so this was a brand new thing for him as well.
This is what I got, which is based off of a painting from the Museum of Korean history, which is also below.

Forgive the picture quality.
Overall, I really liked Sunrat tattoo, and I will gladly go back there again soon. They were clean, professional, and they did some great work. They were also decently priced, and efficient. From what I could tell, between their broken English, and my broken Korean, they were very nice as well.

Temple Stay

This weekend, I will be participating in a Temple stay at Myogaksa Temple, located in Seoul. (Website is here). This will be my first trek into Eastern religion, or, to be quite honest, any religion. I try to stay away from them, however, this is a unique opportunity that I simply could not pass up. I have practiced both yoga and meditation before, so many of the things that are on the "to do" list of the temple stay are not entirely new to me, but the setting, the environment and the intentions are.

I will also be visiting a tattoo shop before the temple stay to see how Korea's tattoo shops are, and to book an appointment, hopefully.