No More Wasted Qi

According to Mystic Medusa, this is me this Christmas:

My feeling is that the Mutables (Gemini, Sagittarius, Virgo and Pisces) will be celebrating Saturn having gotten off their arse. And Pluto too. They will be in a mood to reprise the decadent self of their yesteryear, only with some of their hardwon sagacious wisdom blended in to the madness. They’re thinking strategic pulling, no nonsense and no Qi wasted on twerps or pointless liasions. See? Saturn worked. But make no mistake about it, they’re getting ready to act up.

 She's exactly on the money. I'm sick of wasting my Qi on twerps. Bring on the festivities.

Too much, even for me.

Image @ Daily Mail UK

Beautifully decorated Mr McQueen, but practical? No, not in the slightest.

Cool stuff that's been lingering in my inbox

* The Photodiarist - Aaaamazing for black & white photographs of NY.

* F*ck Yeah, Tattoos! - Still thinking about the inking.

* Learn Something New Every Day - Too cute.

* A Day at the Office - Youtube hilarity: You know you love it.

* Oprah's Leaving :'( - Must get to Chicago before she finishes up!

*Azerbaijan Bloggers Jailed - We live in the lucky country and I am so very, very grateful for that. 

* Runaway Bus - Oh. My. God.

* Pay Problem Parents not to Breed - One of those situations where you can think it, but you just shouldn't say it.

Have you ever...

I had to Google "Huge" the other day. This is what Google's predictive search results suggested for me...

Forget all the genital references - what's with "huge lips skinny hips"? But who the hell is searching for "huge balls" so often anyway? No thanks! 

Random inspiration

"Thinking brand new thoughts that you've never thought before is wildly more conducive to creating big life changes than just thinking different varieties of the same old thoughts."

  ♥ The Photodiarist 

Inkin' tribe

I'm considering joining the inked.

It's something I've always had a fascination with but I've never found the right design. I also struggle to wear the same outfit for an entire day without getting bored so the permanence of the thing has always freaked me a little.

And I think, along with putting a cigarette behind your ear, a bad tattoo can be one of the most effective ways to look like a filthy bogan.

That said though, I do know of some super people whose tattoos form part of their personal style and amp their coolness factor far beyond ever being considered bogan.

While I have no plans whatsoever to get even a half-sleeve, Gala Darling is one example of someone who does tattoos in an uber cool way, without being known as "that girl with the tattoos".

Image from Love Letter to the Universe

I've found a few designs that I like - mostly centering around birds. Although they are a little done to death these days (what isn't!), I've always thought that they'd be in the eventual tattoo of my choice. Swallows more specifically are what I'm looking at. They represent a whole load of stuff in different cultures but this info, from Vanishing Tattoo seems to have the most well-rounded wrap-up:

• In ancient times, the swallow was associated with the 'imperishable' stars and the souls of the dead. According to Greek legend, secret texts told how to transform into a swallow, something the ancient deities liked to do. 
• It heralds the coming of spring and happiness, poets praise it, and it appears on the flowering peach branch in classical Chinese painting. In China it symbolizes daring, danger and a change for good in the future. 
• In Egyptian love poetry, the swallow sings of the first signs of a new love. For some, it's a symbol of fertility and renewal, a harbinger of good and a symbol of transformation. Swallows mate for life, and therefore represents fidelity and loyalty (except in Japan).
• For the pilgrim to Mecca, the swallow is the symbol of constancy and faith, and is said to fly to that holy city each year.
• Swallow tattoos are also heavily tied to sailors - a swallow flying nearby would be a symbol that land is near. It was also a tradition for sailors to get a new swallow tattoo after each 5000 miles logged at sea. 

I think I'd prefer a plain black design but here are some randoms I like so far:

 

i. ii. iii. iv. v.

I'm still not decided on the best place for such a tattoo either. Naturally, I'm not a fan of the tramp stamp but it'd need to be somewhere that wasn't always visible. As my friend says, if it'll be visible at your wedding, it's a no-go. Hmm decisions.