Piercings vs. Tattoos.... or both?

By the time I was twenty-two, I had ten piercings. Eight of which were acquired in a four year time span. I have debated for years on getting a tattoo, but eventually I opt out of it. Not because I'm a chicken... pak pak pakah, but more because it's oh so.... "permanent". Technically, piercings are supposed to close up and leave no visible trail of their probing, right? Well, not everyone's closes up. A tat, however, no matter how much you pay to remove it, a tattoo leaves a mark.

I stopped getting myself pierced when I got hitched as part of a truce. He wasn't fond of piercings and I wasn't too fond of tattoos. If he got another tattoo, I got a piercing. Neither of us gave in.

Now, it's a different story. I've been itching to get another piercing or piercings and possibly get inked. I'm not the only one who's itching. My Mini Me has been asking to have his ear(s) pierced for a couple of years now. Aside from seeing all of my piercings, he became more intrigued when he sas a young guy with gaged piercings in both ears (similar to the photo). I was in fourth grade the first time I saw a fellow male classmate with a pierced ear. My Mini Me is close to that age bracket.

I'm ok with him getting his ears pierced IF he starts sporting shorter hair and avoids using gages until he's older. However, his dad isn't ok with piercings and I have to respect it. More so, because my Mini Me also likes tattoos and claims he wants one. Luckily, there are fake tattoos he can have airbrushed or moistened on. Yeah, there are fake earrings, too, but where's the fun in that?! Anyhow, he can make the decision to permanently tattoo his body when he turns 18. End of story. lol

I'm old enough to get inked, but am still not sure if I want it done. Four years ago, I'd designed a tat for myself and drove to a local tattoo parlor. I put a down payment to reserve a time slot and walked out. I never did go back and the tattoo artist kept my down payment. Currently, I'm good w/ not having gone through with being inked up w/ the tattoo I'd originally designed; much less w/ the location on my body it would've been placed on. We'll just leave it at that. lol