Tattoo

So 13 years after getting my first tattoo, I decided to get another one. So what made me decide this was a good time to get one…a mid-life crisis? Something “missing” in my life? The need to stand out from the crowd?….bzzzzzz…wrong….none of the above! Honestly, my decision was soley based on it was now or never. At 35 and a manager in a highly visible role with a prominent company, the average person would assume that I am the typical cookie cutter conservative that would frown upon such a “nonsensical” whim and “disecrate” my body. Fooled ya! I had been considering it for quite some time now, but wanted to be very selective about what I wanted on my body. After all, if I am putting something that permanent on my body, I want to make sure it was something I could live with. I did quite a bit of research over the years and more during the last 2 to 3 months. I wanted to make sure it was meaningful, as well as represented me and my culture. Being biracial (chinese and black), it was very important that it had some cultural aspects. I chose a phoenix because of it’s blended connotations; elements of my Asian, African and American roots. In Asia the Fenghuang has very positive connotations. It is a symbol of high virtue and grace. The Fenghuang also symbolizes the union of yin and yang. It appears in peaceful and prosperous times but hides when trouble is near. Shan Hai Jing – chapter 1 Nanshan jing records each part of Fenghuang’s body symbolizes a word, the head represents virtue (德), the wing represents duty (義)，the back represents propriety (禮) the abdomen says belief (信) and the chest represents mercy (仁). Interestingly enough, the ancient Egyptians referred to the phoenix as Bennu and was thought to be the soul of the Sun-God Ra, representing creation and renewal. Both certainly describe the constant evolution of me as a person and of my life.

As I researched, I learned some fascinating information. Did you now that Asian culture regards any image of a dragon tattooed on your body is bad luck, but it is okay to represent a dragon in Chinese script?

They say tattoos have an “addictive” nature too them…and I have started scoping out tribal tattoos for a leg sleeve. I also plan to get more work done to my newest tattoo and have my old one touched up…maybe even give it a new look.

iPhone: Apps, Apps and more Apps

So…Apple’s iTunes released their new “App Store” for those of us not willing to drink the Kool-Aid and fork over another $200 (especially with gas prices at $4.00 a gallon).

Instead, they created applications that could downloaded to your “old” iPhone…near 400 applications that range from games to utilities to social networking tools. Now for the braver and more technically savvy individuals, like my friend MacDork, some of these apps could be installed via the original jailbreak that the not so weak at heart were willing try in order to download and use some of the apps you see on iTunes. Certainly there was the risk of “bricking” their phones through the jailbreak, but you were ahead of the curve. So in response, earlier this year Steve Jobs released an SDK for the iPhone in order to create apps for the technically handicapped and the general public use (like my Wifey).

So far, I am pleased with what I have seen and downloaded quite a few apps…

I have added a couple more since I started this post (last week…what can can I say…I’m busy), like Monkey Ball and Aurora Feint. I am also trying to decide between Pandora and Last FM (currently using) for my social networking radio, but have not had anytime to really evaluate them.

Overall…happy with what Apple has done with the iPhone and . One huge complaint is the back-up process. It stinks and takes waaaaaayyy too long. MobileMe will help alleviate that issue, but hopefully Apple will quickly find a solution.