I got my belated birthday tattoo yesterday!
I love getting tattooed. It's the ultimate catharsis. It had been too long since I felt the familiar loving sting. The last time I had been tattooed was in 2011 and I had been aching for another.
I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of @dot yesterday. I spoke to her sparingly, but her loss is still tremendous. She suffered from the same malady as I do so I think her passing is having more of an affect on me than if we hadn't had that in common. I remember when she burst onto the Sg scene in 2006 I was a bit intimidated by her and also vaguely jealous. I mean, c'mon, who wouldn't be? Her presence and beauty were to die for.
I know, I'm a bit late on it, but last Fridays assignment from the staff was asking if we indulge in any superstitions. Even though I am an atheist and think very logically and scientifically there are still two superstitious things that I abide by, or 'believe in', if you will.
The first is pennies. I will not under any circumstance pick up a penny that is heads down. I've had pennies fall from my dresser and onto my rug and stay there for weeks until my cat decides to make it an impromptu play thing and bat it right side up in the process. Then and only then will I pick it back up and place it back on the dresser where I keep a small assortment of coins.
Second, even though I'm an atheist I believe in ghosts. A couple of key things have happened in my life to lead me to the conclusion that the things we know as 'ghosts' exist. I'll share one such story with you:
When I was 23-24 I lived with my aunt for a year. It was said that the spirit of my grandmother, who had died suddenly when I was 16, roamed the house. I was skeptical at best. One night, when my aunt and uncle were out and my cousin was fast asleep upstairs, my girlfriend at the time came to the house to pick me up for a date. I opened the door for her and a minute later she said, "I think your aunt saw me." "Great!" I said. We wouldn't have been able to left until she got back as I was baby sitting my cousin. I was finishing up getting ready when I realized that I hadn't heard the front door open signaling that my aunt was home.
"Maria, where did you see my aunt?" I asked my girlfriend. The only logical place she would have seen her was outside.
"In the kitchen," Maria answered, "she gave me a look, too."
"Maria, my aunts not home. No one is home except for my cousin and me, and he's upstairs in his room." I then led her to a picture of my grandmother and asked her if that was the woman she saw. She shook her head yes. "Maria, that's my grandmother. She's been dead for years."
And that clenched it for me. Maria didn't know my grandmother was dead. How would she have made that up? Also, my grandmother would never have approved my bisexual lifestyle and would definitely have given her a look.
However, I don't have a typical belief in ghosts as I don't believe in god. Instead, I think ghosts could be energy from the deceased body that's still on earth or that ghosts are just the result of multiple dimensions overlapping for a few moments.
I don't know if that's a typical superstition or not, but there ya go. A nice ghost story just in time for Halloween!
I'm heading up to New Jersey tonight in a van full of rescue dogs. It will be noisy and smelly, but it will be worth it to get them to safety. Also, I'm staying a day longer than I have been lately so I'll get to see my friends (including Maria!), which is awesome.
Picture of Maria and me. Just because.
