My notebook says I was supposed to write this post October 4th but apparently it is still relevant and this is a minor topic I’m still peeved about (in a get off my lawn type of way).
The thing about getting old is that everything goes away. Like your shows get canceled, your celebrities reveal themselves to be terrible humans, your social media gets bought by Lex Luthor, yet another marriage gets torn asunder by the pandemic. The more things change, the more things change.
I’m used to the idea of ephemera. Aesthetics. Getting something temporary just for the thrill of it and then stashing it away and then you pack up a house to move and you’re like “who the fuck brought all these Starbucks mugs?!” Y’all there are like 150 in here.
But there’s one thing that’s permanent. It’s tattoos. And I tell people that I get them 1, cause they look cool and 2, as a marker for where I was at that stage of life. Like when I’m a little old lady and they’re like do you have any regrets and I’ll be like “Yeah I probably should have got more tattoos.” Yes, I just got that Florence tattoo a month ago but still.
I say all of that to bitch about this semi-permanent tattoo thing that’s popping up. There’s a shop here in the Montrose area that will put a needle to your skin, but the ink only lasts like 9-12 months. And I’m furious??? I got an ad for it and I cursed to nobody. We are already subject to the faceless gods of the ether that will move your comfort show/movie from one platform to another with no warning. (Schitt’s Creek is now on Hulu.) I already complained about the way they can just change the music you stream. Concert venues are torn down for parking lots (RIP Fitzgeralds). There is a general lack of object permanence and then they are coming for your tattoos?
Maybe I’m just an old tattooed lady screaming from her corner of the ever-disappearing internet, or maybe NOTHING IS SACRED ANYMORE.
Nothing lasts forever but be honest babe/hurts but it may be the only way
Maroon 5
Omg, why would you let people stab you for something that only lasts a year or less?!?! Love this post. It makes me want to hoard. Haha.
So I’ve been thinking about lack of permanence lately (esp when it comes to pop culture) and—hear me out—I think we’ve gotten WAY too attached to too many things. I was on Tumblr watching the kids freak out about shows disappearing from HBO Max and remembered network television when shows just…ended? A season didn’t work out and it disappeared and we were like “Damn, I kinda liked that show” but then just moved on to other stuff? Or in our 20s when our fav club closed and you missed it (RIP Clubs and When My Knees Could Handle Them), but ultimately you went to whatever opened next. It feels like since things have gone digital and everything can be archived, we’ve forgotten just how much life we’re supposed to pass through instead of carrying every single thing we’ve ever experienced until we die or some tech bro pulls the plug.
However… the temporary tattoo thing DOES sound kind of wack. Commit, you cowards!