osaraba | travel, tats, and the fucking humidity

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travel, tats, and the fucking humidity

I've really got to get back into the habit of posting again, I really hate going a whole week without checking my flist and then having to play catch-up and missing awesome things like music friending memes and M&G/concert reports, and then also having like a million things to update about, too. So here goes.

Drove down to Philly on Tuesday so Juliet and I could get inked. This was also THE DAY OF THE DC EARTHQUAKE WTF. Juliet had to take the bus back that night so Nicole did her first; I stayed over and she did me and I drove back to NYC on Wednesday afternoon. So actually, these weren't as painful as the chest tats I had done a couple years ago (and didn't take as long, either -- 5 hours altogether instead of 8), but the aftermath has been way worse. My upper arms are very swollen, which is sometimes uncomfortable and sometimes very painful; I've got heat rash from the humidity like you wouldn't believe. Don't even ask me to describe it because it's horrible and icky and you don't want to know. The redness probably won't go away for another two weeks, but I'm hoping the swelling will lessen soon because it SUCKS. And also I've got a fucking P!ATD concert to go to on Thursday and I'm going to be on the fucking rail if it kills me. Which, let's face it, it won't, because it's a P!ATD concert and I'll have to restrain myself from popping 15-year olds in the face, but maybe I can find a bunch of guys and convince them to start a mosh pit with me. LOLZ.

Anyway, I'm not posting pics of the back-of-the-arm tats til they look better. But here's a pic of the third one, on my right forearm. A prize for you if it rings a bell:

The other big news of the day is that I'M GOING TO INDONESIA FOR SIX WEEKS!!! Um, yeah. So, I'm currently unemployed and I've got relatives there that I can stay with for free and a dollar goes a LOT farther there than here, so... yeah. I'm sort of SUPER EXCITED and also like, SIX FUCKING WEEKS, WTF. But I mean, I've meant to go to Indonesia for a couple of years now and what better time to go than when I don't actually have to take vacation days to do it? Liz is going to come with for 10 days at the beginning and then leave to go back to work. I'm ecstatic over that because while I still would've gone, it just wouldn't be the same without her. And meeting a hundred relatives for the first time, most of whom don't speak English, will be a lot less intimidating and a lot easier to handle when we've got each other. =D

You know what's going to be the weirdest? I'm going to a place where I will BLEND IN WITH THE NATIVES. Think about that for a second. And I don't mean that I will, really, because I'm sure I'll be dressed differently and relatively easily-identified as a foreigner (or a freak), but-- I could theoretically just disappear into the crowd. I've never, NEVER, looked like anyone else. In NYC there are so many ethnicities -- and I've only ever lived in areas that have extremely diverse populations (Queens is really good at that) -- but the Indonesian population here is relatively small and I've never really been part of it and I've NEVER looked like everyone else. This whole idea is sort of freaking me out!

So, two things of note:

Indonesia is 11 HOURS AHEAD. Which means, tweeps, that I will try to stalk your twitters anyway and DON'T LEAVE ME OUT OF ANY IMPORTANT CONVOS OR UPDATES, OR I WILL BE VERY DISSAPOINT. #wolfpack
Do you or someone you trust happen to be looking for a room in NYC to sublet for 4-6 weeks? If so, please point them my way!

To reiterate: INDONESIA. SIX WEEKS.
Spencer Smith is now going to demonstrate how I feel:

ETA:...oh yeah, that whole itinerary thing I meant to post:

Friday 09/09/11:
CX 841 JFK 10:05 → HKG 14:05
CX 719 HKG 16:00 → CGK 19:40 (arrive Saturday evening)
[22.5 hours travel time]

Monday 10/24/11:
CX 798 CGK 00:05 → HKG 05:50
CX 830 HKG 09:20 → JFK 13:10
[24 hours travel time]

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I don't know what the forearm tattoo is in reference to, but it looks fucking awesome!! Wait. So you got two back of the arm tattoos and a forearm tattoo all done at the same time. OUCH. You are one brave lady.

Hee, the forearm tat is a reference to a P!ATD lyric that goes "if birds are just hollow words" and then later "if words are just hollow birds". I... don't even like the song, actually, but those lines were just awesome and I got the idea for the tat immediately the first time I heard it. So, thank you! I love that you like it!!! =D

And yeah, I did the two back-of-arm tats plus the forearm -- one at night and then the other two the next morning. It wasn't really that bad-- last time my chest tats were 5hrs one day and 3 hrs the next to finish them up. THAT was way more painful. =/

<3333

Hnng, nasi goreng and sop kambing ...

I miss living in Southeast Asia. My dad spent a lot of time working in Indonesia and I visited Bandung a couple times. Oh, the food. <3

- Mel

MMmmmmmmm, I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE FOOD NOMNOMNOM!

I've never been to Indonesia before so I'm aslfdjlsafldj SUPER EXCITED FOR EVERYTHING! I'll be mostly in Jakarta but definitely visiting Bandung and Bali! =D

woah it is word art. *____* AWESOMESAUCE. Also, Indonesia sounds amazing. Will it be hot? But doting relatives and humidity and a tiny cultural barrier IS OK (well, I became a hermit, but...) YOU SHALL THRIVE! :)

YES it'll be insanely hot. I think. I've been told to bring very light clothing, which.... is too bad because I prefer layering, even in the summer, but I'll just have to deal, I guess.

I WILL PERSEVERE <3

YES, the word/bird tat is pretty cool, isn't it? IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY EVERY TIME I LOOK DOWN AND SEE IT!!!!! =D

When you mentioned the concept for that tat, I thought it was cool but I couldn't really visualize how it'd look. I've got to say that's really awesome and nifty.

I had only partially visualized it myself until I looked up some bird silhouettes on google images.... and then trying to describe it to the tat artist was difficult at first too. But we finally got there! And I'm soooooooo happy with how it turned out, so thank youuu~~~~! =D

That's awesome about going to Indonesia!

And I understand you about blending in with the natives - the first time I went to Israel, it was amazing being able to be surrounded by people who look similar enough to me, believe in the same thing I do, and speak the same language as I do.

Have an amazing time!

EEEE \o/ Thank you, I'm positive I will! =D

(No matter what, it'll certainly be an experience to remember.)

Woohoo, Indonesia! Well, you'll only be 4 hours ahead of me, so I'll still include you in conversations. ;)

YAYYYYYY, you must not sleep, or well, I know I keep weird hours anyway, because we manage to get some conversation in despite the time difference now anyway. So I'll definitely look forward to that! =D My only concern is that... what will I do without twitter notifications?! LOL. I'm not even sure whether I'll actually even have a smart phone while I'm there (and I can't imagine life without one nowadays).

I'm EST+6h. You're often still up when I have to get up for work. ;)

Awww, Twitter notifications. I think for six weeks you should check out a pre-paid cell--depending on what of system they use you might still be able to use your American phone. :)

I'm definitely going to look into that when I'm there!! I CAN'T BE TOO DISCONNECTED FROM YOU GUYS. WHAT WOULD I DO?

I like that you'll be back in time for the Rangers to come back home. XD

THEY DIDN'T WANT TO PLAY AT MSG UNTIL I WAS BACK IN NYC.

The other big news of the day is that I'M GOING TO INDONESIA FOR SIX WEEKS!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! \o/ \o/ We totally need to hang before you leave!

YES YES OMG. Um. Let me know what days you might be in the city. I'm not available this week-- how's next week for you?

HEY SINGAPORE IS NOT THAT FAR AWAY FROM INDONESIA, JUST SAYING.

I WAS THINKING ABOUT THAT. LAJSFLSALFDJD I should go look up how much flights cost! =D

THERE ARE BUDGET AIRLINES.

OH MY GOD. $20-40 FOR SERIOUS?!!!!! Okay lady, I am determined to come visit you~!!!!!!! I feel weird just bluntly asking (I hope I'm not making it too awkward because I WILL STILL VISIT), but do you have crash space or should I look for something else?

Ack, sorry, no crash space BUT TOTALLY COME VISIT! preferably over a weekend! I will check out cheap hostels for you!

(aren't budget airlines the best???)

Okay, if you could check out cheap hostels for me, that would be a huge help! I probably won't go til late September, so I get some family time in first. BUT DEFINITELY I WILL VISIT! YAYYYY!

Budget airlines are TOTALLY the best! My father was telling me that if I couldn't get a 3mo visa (here in NYC) then I could just take a flight to Singapore and then re-enter Indonesia for another 1mo tourist visa, but I thought the flight were like $100+!

EVEN MORE EXCITED NOW!!! \o/

YAYYYYYYY I WILL GET ON THAT FOR YOU.

Oh, this is sooooo pretty! What did you get on the back of your arms? *is seriously craving more ink*

Enjoy Indonesia!

I got a variation on Murakami's jellyfish eyes. So they're verrrrry similar to these, but with different colors. I'll post a pic as soon as they're healed, they still look sort of like I got an awful sunburn over them. =(

And YAY THANK YOU, I'm sure I will (I hope) enjoy Indonesia!!!! =D

Oh, you're totes most faboo tattooed lady ever, O! :D!

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