my first tattoo: StarMan

i had my first tattoo done earlier today. i had been thinking of getting one since last year, but due to a lot of things that i needed to get out of the way, ngayon lang ito nangyari. may ilang designs akong ini-consider, all of which ay balak ko ding ipalagay lahat – but i had to choose one because i believe that my first tattoo should have a personal significance. i have always said that i am a professional wrestling nerd/geek – i go out of my way to watch matches on TV/the internet, get the latest news, analyze storylines, read articles, and even play pro wrestling video games. and speaking of video games, pro wrestling for the japanese family computer console/american nintendo entertainment system was one 8-bit/old school game that i was only able to play once in the original famicom console. why is that so? first, pro wrestling was one of the more expensive game cartridges back in the day – mga 500-600 PhP ang presyo niya – and second, yung mga tapes namin sa bahay, with the exception of mike tyson’s punch out and castlevania, were the cheaper but still entertaining ones like popeye, mappy, donkey kong jr., super mario bros., adventure island, gradius, zippy race, tag team pro wrestling, and wrecking crew. the one and only time that i was able to play the famicom pro wrestling game was during a visit to our neighbor eric’s house. out of the six playable characters, i chose starman, and eric chose the amazon. needless to say, i got such a bad ass-whooping in that 2 out of 3 falls match that we never played the game again. to elaborate, i got several kicks, punches, clotheslines, backdrops and brainbusters – but i never took it personally, hahaha! that was in 1989, as far as i can remember. before playing the game, i had read eric’s nintendo magazine and that’s where i first saw a short article about the game and the six playable characters, plus various screenshots of them in action. with all due respect to the amazon, i always thought that starman was the coolest character in the game. fast forward to 2007, our original famicom console and cartridges have become a thing of the past, but thanks to game emulators like fceux, i have been able to play pro wrestling again and finish it, as well as take screenshots in my PC. the starman design was taken from a screenshot after i pinned the great puma (the game’s boss character) after a match to unify our 2 titles, that’s why starman wears the video wrestling association title on his waist and holds the video wrestling federation title (that he won from great puma) above his head. i modified starman’s colors to make his tights and mask white and his boots yellow gold, as opposed to his original pink bodysuit, blue trunks and blue boots – just to make him look like an old school luchador. and that, in a nutshell, is the aesthetic aspect/reasoning for the design i chose for my first tattoo.

for the philosophical aspect, pro wrestling as a part of popular culture can be likened to a soap opera, a movie, or, when i look at the bigger picture, life itself. i am making an analogy that i am a wrestler, and my life is the game/storyline. each day is a struggle, a challenge to give my best effort in spite of obstacles and adversity - like a wrestling match. ultimately, we are uncertain if we are booked to win or lose our matches, but we can always choose to give a 5-star effort every time – so that regardless of results, we could say that we tried our best. i can accept losing, but i will never love it – and i believe losing with honor is better than winning without it. but i also believe that someday, God will give me that hard push and book me “to be the man.” and if that means that i have to “do the job” and make sacrifices, then i will accept. i will keep working and trying until i get over, until i become “the one” – and i will not give up. oo, para sa akin, ang buhay ay parang wrestling.

going back to getting my first tattoo, i emailed my inquiry as well as my preferred design to P&P Tattoo last November 12. i waited for a reply, but after two weeks there was still none, so i decided to send a message through yahoo messenger last November 26 (friday) – wala namang mawawala kung susubukan, di ba? the secretary, Ms. Ebby did a wonderful job in facilitating/setting up my appointment, so i was both excited and nervous as i awaited November 29. on Saturday, November 27, it was my birthday so i kept busy by eating, watching Forgetting Sarah Marshall, answering birthday greetings, reading Foley Is Good (a book written by then 3-time world champion Mick Foley given to me by my cousin Noel), sleeping, grilling meat, drinking beer, sharing stories, and preparing take-home goody bags for my friends. the following day, i spent time watching the WWE Survivor Series 2010 and Monday Night Raw replay as well as surfing the net. this morning, i got up before 10 am, surfed the net a bit before taking a bath and proceeding to Makati for my appointment. i arrived a bit early at P&P because i didn’t want to be late for my 1 pm appointment. i didn’t know who would be the artist, so i just sat on the couch and read one of my books while i waited. While listening to Eat Bulaga! on the TV, Mr. Ron Poe arrived with a companion and said: “Patambay, ha?” to Ms. Ebby. as it turned out, Ron Poe worked on my 8-bit starman design while i kept reading and some more clients and visitors arrived. he asked me a few questions about the design, such as would it be the same size as the print-out, and where do i want it done, while working on the stencil. Ms. Ebby then gave me a form that was sort of a contract of which the terms and conditions i had to comply with, initial and sign, as well as provide a valid ID. as Mr. Jake Cuerpo and Mr. Myke Sambajon arrived, more clients and guests hung out at the shop also. when Mr. Poe called on me, i was quite nervous as i got my bag and proceeded to sit on the chair at his work station. he set up his equipment and then proceeded to lay down the stencil on my arm. he asked me if i was nervous and i said a little bit because it’s my first time to get inked. he told me that it would not be possible to make the starman design’s tights and mask white so he suggested that we go for gray and i immediately agreed – because i believe that the artist always knows better when it comes to color. he also told me that he was going to do the red parts first, so i just put my arm on the platform and watched Ron ink me. the first few jabs of the needle felt like my skin being scraped like a blade, but the pain was tolerable – at least i didn’t scream, because that would have been quite embarrassing (and probably hilarious). from time to time, Ron asked if i could take the pain, and i said yes every time – i guess i was too busy being amazed at how this artist was placing art on my arm – it was like starman was coming to life. it may seem silly to some, but that was what’s going through my mind while i was getting inked – and i also realized that i had a decent tolerance for pain. after Ron was done, i looked at my arm in the mirror and was in awe of his work – a StarMan 3:16 moment, if you will. Ms. Ebby then took a picture of my tattoo – i guess it would be posted in their gallery – and afterwards, i asked if she could take a snapshot of my tat using Nanay’s camera as well as a picture with Mr. Ron Poe. as i paid for their great services, they told me how to take care of my tattoo for the next few days, and to call them at the shop if ever there’s a problem. Ms. Ebby then proceeded to tape a patch on my tattoo, and they told me that i could remove it after an hour. as i said goodbye, Mr. Poe humbly said that he hopes i could come back again some time. as an answer to that, i say: yes i will.

after all, the bleeding and the pain was all worth it. trust me.