Ep. 235 "An Honest Assessment" (After Paradise with your host)

[00:00:07] Welcome to The Apprenticeship Diaries, where raw meets refined. Let's be real, we're still working on refined. What it took, what it takes, and the stories that are made. Join us as we learn from professionals about how their stories begin.

[00:00:31] Diary listeners, happy today is Saturday. So this podcast is coming out really late. I would have liked to have given you guys a podcast on Tuesday. That would have been ideal.

[00:00:47] However, I had just gotten back from Paradise. We did come back and we did return about, it was like late afternoon.

[00:00:58] But I was, I was, I was done guys. Like I've been so done. So I wanted to have a personal entry just, just to reflect on Paradise, which was awesome.

[00:01:13] It's always awesome. It's always different. And it always has new things to offer me.

[00:01:20] Um, in this particular one, I think I learned a lot about myself.

[00:01:24] I'm calling this diary entry. I think I've been grappling with the, with the title. Um, but I think I'm gonna call it an honest assessment.

[00:01:43] Uh, but it's, it's not an assessment of Paradise because Paradise is always amazing. And it's so beyond me and what I can comment on.

[00:01:54] Um, if you really want to get a view of Paradise, I think, uh, you should go, uh, feel it for yourself.

[00:02:01] But, but also, you know, if you just want to tune into some of the perspectives, definitely follow the page.

[00:02:09] Um, uh, definitely look at some of the stories and all of that stuff, you know, like they're very, you just get a feel of how, um, how the whole thing goes and how wonderful it is.

[00:02:24] So definitely check them out on IG. It's Paradise Tattoo Gathering is the IG handle.

[00:02:30] So definitely follow that and, um, keep up with all the different things. There was lots of stories coming out while the actual event was happening.

[00:02:41] Um, I'm fortunate enough to, to join the team and promoting the event a little bit.

[00:02:47] So I had the, um, blessing of seeing a lot of the stories that were taking place. A lot of the artists were posting and tagging the event.

[00:02:55] And part of my role was helping Dan repost a lot of those things.

[00:03:01] I tattooed this year. Um, I tattooed this year. So in past years, uh, Paradise has done different kinds of events.

[00:03:12] Uh, in their heyday, they used to vacillate between, uh, artists' gatherings and tattoo gatherings.

[00:03:19] Artists' gatherings were really, really cool as far as I was concerned. Cause you know, you don't,

[00:03:25] you don't really get that kind of in-depth art education unless you directly pay for art school.

[00:03:31] And it felt very much so like my college time, but better and meeting people, uh, you know, as well,

[00:03:38] as well as fellow artists, I got to meet Alex Gray, his wife, Alison. Um, I, I got their book,

[00:03:45] you know, they, it was, it was a wonderful, wonderful event. And, uh, that one was in New Mexico.

[00:03:51] They've done others in other States, but, uh, since the reemergence of the event, they've kept it at a

[00:03:58] local place. The, the first place that it really happened at was Jiminy peak. And it's a, it's a

[00:04:04] wonderful mountain, glorious people. It's not, um, it's an atonement space. Um, I don't know if it's

[00:04:17] necessarily a great place to hope to tattoo unless you are unlike me, um, a lot more notable and a lot

[00:04:27] more well-traveled in the tattoo industry and people all around the world know your work and

[00:04:32] I want to collect your work. And, um, certainly I could, I could probably advertise better than I did

[00:04:40] for myself there. I just, I always go and see what's up and it didn't, it didn't let me down.

[00:04:47] Um, I, I don't think I'll ever go to that venue and tattoo again, just simply because, um, it's so,

[00:04:55] it's so broken up. You're not all in one, the same place. So you're not, you're not getting the,

[00:05:01] the energy of the tattoo convention per se, because it's a very seminar heavy event and educated,

[00:05:08] educational heavy event. Uh, I didn't, I'm so sorry to Gabe and to Jake Meeks and all of them. I

[00:05:16] didn't make a single panel, a single free event. I was just so overwhelmed with

[00:05:25] having a booth, honestly. And, you know, I've been tattooing for like 16 years now. And you'd think

[00:05:32] that, that I would be fine with tattooing, that it would all be in a rhythm, that I would be chill.

[00:05:38] I'm so not, uh, I don't know if that that's evident by my podcasts and how I'm very anal.

[00:05:46] I really like to bring everything in the kitchen sink with me. If I can,

[00:05:49] I actually had to sacrifice a few things that I was really upset to sacrifice because it was a lot

[00:05:55] of my comfort in tattooing. Uh, I have a saddle chair that I really enjoy that, that is more

[00:06:02] comfortable for me than anything. It has my roller blade wheels. It's great. Uh, so that got traded for

[00:06:08] just a stagnant, you know, chair. It wasn't, it wasn't a fold out chair. It was a, it was like a

[00:06:14] convention chair. Um, so it was like a hotel chair. So, so like I, I had, I had those chairs and I had

[00:06:27] a stagnant, uh, area to tattoo on, which, you know, if you're, if you're doing bigger, bigger things or

[00:06:36] what I, I tattoo off of a cart that I'm able to roll around as I need it to be in certain areas as

[00:06:43] I'm tattooing and going, going around the body. So, and, and it was, and I say this knowing full well

[00:06:53] that there were people who flew in and flew in from other countries too. Um, remiss was there. Um,

[00:07:03] people who flew in from other States, uh, Lita Edwards, she's been on the show. Uh, saga was there.

[00:07:10] Uh, unfortunately for him and his wife, they had to, they had to book it back home. They had an

[00:07:15] animal issue. So my prayers go out to them. I really hope that that turned around. I haven't

[00:07:19] checked back in, but I knew that they had to leave early. So lots of things happened to a lot of people

[00:07:25] while they were there. And almost everybody I saw had an explosion of some kind of ink that like,

[00:07:32] you know, these are people who are really well renowned. They've been tattooing sometimes,

[00:07:37] some of them like 20 plus years still, you know, still having, uh, hiccups. I mean,

[00:07:44] I had explosions and I didn't even fly. It was just going to higher altitudes. The liquids in my,

[00:07:50] in my cases, you know, feeling the pressure, uh, change was not conducive to keeping them in the

[00:07:56] bottles. So it wasn't not, it was green. So green. So it tends to be goofy that way. So yeah, I,

[00:08:08] I was in a room kind of apart from the main stage, but I was right opposite. A lot of amazing people

[00:08:15] like Shemak, uh, Shemak. I hope I'm, I hope I'm saying it right. He's so lovely. Um, him and his

[00:08:25] partner, Hannah were amazing. And we had so much fun by the end. Uh, this was, uh, I think the biggest,

[00:08:34] apart from the tattooing, which is always anxiety inducing for me at tattoo conventions, I'll just,

[00:08:40] I'm going to be honest. I don't like it. I don't, but I, I felt it necessary to do this, to

[00:08:48] tattoo at this show, to see what that was like. And at least, cause I'm going to go every year,

[00:08:54] like I'm not going to stop going. I love these people. Um, and I love the event

[00:08:59] and I love everything that it brings out in me and the, the, the time this time though, I,

[00:09:06] I was hoping for a lot more relaxation. I did not get it. Um, I partied a lot more than I

[00:09:16] typically do, uh, which doesn't mean that I party very much, but I drank more alcohol than I typically

[00:09:23] do. And because I was tattooing and because, uh, I was not sleeping very much, uh, my body,

[00:09:33] that's why you guys are hearing from me, uh, you know, like almost a week late is because my body felt

[00:09:40] like hammered shit. Um, I got tore up guys. Uh, I was really humbled physically, um, by this last

[00:09:51] convention in this last time at paradise, because, you know, I, I was watching Rico and the people

[00:09:57] that we stayed with and Gunner, they all hiked the mountain. They went all the way up to the mountain.

[00:10:03] And Rico has told me a number of times that it's not an easy walk or hike. And I wouldn't imagine it

[00:10:09] is. I've, I've hiked around there before, but if I were to try to imagine me doing that this year,

[00:10:17] I couldn't imagine it. Like I, I was so, I was, I was, I was so messed up now. Granted,

[00:10:26] I didn't do myself any favors, so I couldn't, I couldn't hope for better. Um,

[00:10:34] tattooing all day, you know, like, I guess, I guess that's, I guess that's the, I guess that's the,

[00:10:43] the honest assessment here is there's so many things that are so essential that you forget

[00:10:47] about as the practitioner, you know, your, your physical movement, your sleep, your recovery, your,

[00:10:55] your water intake. That was huge. I did not drink enough water. I'm in higher altitudes.

[00:11:02] Then I have, I have this inflammatory issue with my synovial chondromatosis of my knee.

[00:11:08] And so I'm just, I'm just doing everything that is so utterly and completely stupid for me.

[00:11:15] And it really, uh, affected my body. Um, so, you know, I thought pictures at Christmas,

[00:11:27] which were not good and I gained a lot of weight and I still have all of it on me.

[00:11:33] I, I tried to be, uh, a, uh, carnivore, uh, for, uh, almost a full month and failed at that

[00:11:43] miserably. I did have very low inflammation, but I got to do something guys, because I don't want to

[00:11:50] feel like that. I don't want this much recovery in the future. I I'm too young to need, uh, almost a

[00:11:57] week of recovery. Um, but I, I think it was a great cocktail of things that I did that really put me in

[00:12:07] that position. So I, again, like I said, an honest assessment of myself, uh, how I played,

[00:12:15] how I played it. And I, and I did what I usually don't do at conventions, which is

[00:12:21] I mingled and I networked and I met people. I can't regret this one iota because it was phenomenal.

[00:12:31] I do think it was worth it. I just personally with my body and all that I know that I need to do

[00:12:37] now that I'm back home, feel utterly overwhelmed. But in terms of the event, the success,

[00:12:46] the way Rico was after he, he was like, babe, this is, this was honestly the best paradise that

[00:12:52] we've had. And I have to say that it was, um, I felt awful afterwards, but it wasn't because of

[00:13:00] paradise. It was because of how I treated myself. Um, I got to tattoo far more than I thought I would.

[00:13:09] Every single thing on my booth for the most part sold. If it didn't sell, it had a purpose other than

[00:13:15] other than what, what I had, you know, meant to do with it, either sell it. I was able to give,

[00:13:23] um, Gabe, a painting that I had done with resin layers. And, uh, you know, I was thinking I might

[00:13:30] sell it, but you know, I, it didn't, it didn't move. It didn't sell. And it had many iterations.

[00:13:37] Like I was, I had painted it initially for a contest that I thought was going on. My mom sent it to me.

[00:13:43] And then I realized that the contest was actually last year and nobody checked the date. So I had,

[00:13:50] I had, I had made the deadline for the actual, uh, contests for a year prior. And so I was like, well,

[00:14:00] okay, well now I have this beautiful painting. So what now? And at that point, I, I guess I was

[00:14:09] content to keep it, but then it was like a half horse, half skull kind of thing. And, and a lot

[00:14:15] of the stuff that I was selling was, um, very much that the macabre, um, it's right around, you know,

[00:14:25] the spooky season Halloween. I don't really celebrate it anymore. I don't begrudge anybody

[00:14:30] for celebrating it. I just don't. Um, I, uh, you know, as a, as a Christian, I don't really

[00:14:39] dive into too many themes now that I, I feel might be borderline, but the one that I feel very

[00:14:47] confident in exploring and that I, that I don't have any reservations about is just death. Um,

[00:14:54] uh, because I, I, I, I believe, I think that the representation of death and the com the

[00:15:03] confrontation of death and, and looking at it from its most real and most, um, I guess that's the only

[00:15:14] way to say it, uh, is good. I don't really, you know, in my, in my biggest sense, I don't really

[00:15:24] believe in death. I believe that something, something new starts that life just continues.

[00:15:32] I don't know how it continues past this body, past this particular phase, but I don't really believe

[00:15:39] that anything ends. So I don't really believe in death like that. Um, I know that's an odd concept,

[00:15:48] but I, I don't, I believe that, um, there's phases and there's, there's change, um, very,

[00:15:58] very acute changes that happen. Um, and I think that, uh, looking at those things,

[00:16:07] both literally abstractly and in any other way is very healthy to do. Um, it's about conquering fear

[00:16:13] for me, but also, um, you know, I, I think it's a very potent and beautiful imagery to explore.

[00:16:22] And so I love skulls and I love, I love things that have a touch of the, the macabre to them and,

[00:16:30] and more, uh, I don't know, like, uh, just raw introspection of, of the whole thing. Um,

[00:16:42] and I think people should look at it, um, and should ponder it that they shouldn't. And for what

[00:16:48] it is, not necessarily what they make it, you know, I think there's a lot of fear about death,

[00:16:53] um, which, you know, I get fearing the unknown. Um, I, I would have to say for me, that it's more

[00:17:02] dying than I would fear than death. Um, dying seems pretty horrible. Death doesn't seem that bad.

[00:17:11] Um, and I've, I've died enough within this life already to what I was and what now I've become that I,

[00:17:20] I, I feel like it's pretty awesome to, to go through that kind of transition. But I would have

[00:17:28] to imagine that the death of a whole life, um, is pretty, pretty powerful and probably a lot of

[00:17:35] suffering that I can't imagine and humility. But again, it's, it's something to look at,

[00:17:42] I think, and consider. So I try to make it beautiful and I like to decorate skulls. So

[00:17:48] everything that I had decorated, painted, it all, it all got sold or moved or, you know,

[00:17:57] gifted to somebody that, that really needed it. So, or that, that I felt like it should belong to

[00:18:05] our relationship. So it was pretty cool. It was pretty cool. I, um, I had also these little

[00:18:13] coffins too, speaking of death that I had painted and I painted these half alive, half skeletal beings

[00:18:20] on, and they were, they were cheery. Like they weren't, you know, they weren't dark colors or

[00:18:25] anything. It was contrasting colors. They were really bright. One was red and blue. And the other one

[00:18:30] was, uh, uh, uh, like a, like a orangey red and like a teal. And one of them, I got to tattoo, uh,

[00:18:40] the woman, Judith White, I got to meet her. She's a fantastic tattoo artist in Kansas. Uh, she owns

[00:18:47] Looking Glass Tattoo Studio in Kansas. And, um, her husband, Danny, got it tattooed on him.

[00:18:56] And she got a bird because his things is birds and her things are rabbits. So they, they both were able

[00:19:03] to, um, you know, get a, get a tattoo for each other and celebrate their, their very long partnership,

[00:19:12] which was great. Um, and I just felt honored to do that and to be the inspiration behind not only,

[00:19:21] you know, uh, one art piece that I thought it was just a one-off. I didn't even take a picture of it

[00:19:25] when they said, when they said they wanted to get a tattoo of it, I was like, oh crap. I didn't even

[00:19:30] take a picture of that little coffin that I painted. I probably should have taken pictures of all these

[00:19:35] things, but I just, I just figured like, yeah, I'll go to a tattoo convention and I'll put it out in the

[00:19:40] world, you know, make some money. Like it was, it was very whimsical, the whole thing. Like I've been

[00:19:45] putting my hands to so many different types of art that, um, you know, I was just seeing what would

[00:19:51] stick and what wouldn't, and those things moved. So I'm, I'm really kind of happy that those things

[00:19:57] moved because it was really fun to make them seasonally. I think it was a great time. It was,

[00:20:02] it was awesome. Um, yeah, I, I, I felt it was really fun. Um, and because I had a booth,

[00:20:12] I ended up being right next to an iconic person in the tattoo industry, Marvin Moskowitz. Um, he's a

[00:20:22] generational tattoo artist, uh, of the Bowery Boys and, uh, his grandfather was a tattoo artist and his

[00:20:29] father and now him and all of his family for the most part have kind of, you know, surrounded

[00:20:37] themselves with this culture. And he just, he just was so cool, man. Um, we became instant friends.

[00:20:46] He was a really nice guy. Um, Rico kept him in the coffee, the coffee. Uh, he's, he's, you know, very

[00:20:54] like New York kind of Jew, uh, vibe, which is great. I, I love that. Um, you know, he is what he is and

[00:21:02] he was very, um, transparent and beautiful. And by the end I was like, Marvin, you're dope. And he's

[00:21:09] like, I'm dope. And he's like, I don't have to get that on a shirt. I was like, you should,

[00:21:16] you should get that on a shirt. Um, but he, he doted on us so much. He ended up giving us a book.

[00:21:23] He signed a book. Um, you know, a lot of the things that he was selling just to, you know,

[00:21:28] provide for his family and the legacy of, of all of what they've done in the tattoo industry and

[00:21:34] what they've been a part of. He just gifted us because I guess cause he liked us, um,

[00:21:42] because I'm the type of person who likes to bring everything in the kitchen sink for anybody that

[00:21:46] was not able to do that, was not able to drive and bring anything they wanted to the event. I was

[00:21:52] able to be very generous, um, about anything, ink caps, uh, ink, uh, green soap tape. Uh, at one point,

[00:22:03] uh, we didn't have, um, something that we needed in the booth. So I was,

[00:22:09] I was going around just trying to make sure that that was taken care of for everybody that was there.

[00:22:14] You know, it was, it was, I felt, I felt like it was where I needed to be. Um, I had the entire week

[00:22:22] weekend, a case of FOMO, um, because there was so much going on that I just couldn't be at,

[00:22:31] I guess I could have been at if I had elected not to stay at my booth, but whenever I feel

[00:22:38] obligated to do something, uh, or divided, I will always stick to the thing that feels the most

[00:22:46] integral and for me to have a tattoo booth, but never be there. And if somebody came by and wanted

[00:22:51] a tattoo or wanted to talk to me, I just felt like that was, that was not integral to, to them and not

[00:22:58] fair. So I, you know, this wasn't an educational, uh, event for me, uh, though it was for so many.

[00:23:06] And I'd like to think that, that the atmosphere, atmosphere that Rico and I really tried to bring

[00:23:11] to Jiminy and the kind of joy and energy that we bring, I hope it provided a space for the people

[00:23:20] that we stayed with and that we met to just have a wonderful time. The other thing that we did that I

[00:23:25] totally recommend to anybody going to Jiminy peak is definitely book your, your stay early

[00:23:35] and try to get friends. You know, if you're going to go as a tattoo artist, I highly recommend

[00:23:41] you go with at least five other people, uh, four or five other people and, and book a condo. Uh,

[00:23:50] it really makes the difference. Uh, the condos are, I think a lot better, uh, maintenance, uh,

[00:23:58] their, I don't know. I want to say maintenance, but their accommodations are better. They have full

[00:24:03] kitchens, they have space, they have living rooms, they, you know, they have, uh, laundry services,

[00:24:11] everything's right there in that condo. So you can, you can really hang out and have a great weekend.

[00:24:16] Um, our condo was awesome this time. It wasn't right at the event, but it wasn't far away. And it was,

[00:24:25] uh, an upper floor that, you know, again, having to hike up and down stairs the whole time for my knee

[00:24:33] wasn't ideal for me, but for everyone else was fine. Um, and the view, we had an epic view. Um,

[00:24:40] everything was gorgeous all around us. We had a beautiful balcony and we just allowed for people

[00:24:47] to like pretty much come and go as they please. The only night that I shut it down was apparently

[00:24:52] a night that I, I don't know how I got signed up for some kind of art night, but I said, no,

[00:24:59] it was the last night. And I was like, guys, I said, I can't, I'm sorry. My audio keeps flipping

[00:25:05] in and out my, my speaker. I don't know if this connection, the speaker, now my cat's on

[00:25:10] my lap too, everybody. So if you hear him purring, it's because he missed me, but he's trying to be

[00:25:17] a butt and get on my stuff and hurt this enterprise of mine. Yes. I, you, you, you look, you wanted to

[00:25:27] get up here. So now you stay up here. Okay. Yeah. Well, I don't have, I don't need to deal with your

[00:25:35] shit. What is this? What is this? Yeah. Oh my God. He's just being a butt. I don't know what his deal

[00:25:46] is, but anyway, um, I met so many people and I also started a painting. I worked in oils again,

[00:25:57] which was really great. Um, but what we did, I guess I'm sorry. That is my cat getting on the floor

[00:26:08] because he is annoying me. All right. So, um, what we did was, uh, sign our condo up for the condo crawl.

[00:26:18] And it was like a rotating smorgasbord of awesome artists who came in and out. And we had a fantastic

[00:26:26] time. Um, like I said, I, I did not sleep nearly enough. Almost every night I went to bed. Probably

[00:26:33] the earliest I went to bed was 2 AM. Um, most nights it was like three 34 P 4 AM. And then,

[00:26:41] you know, you're up and the first panel starts at 11. If you do the math, that's, that's not asleep.

[00:26:49] And, um, so I was very lacking in sleep, very lacking in liquids. I was not drinking enough

[00:26:56] water. I was drinking other things. Uh, but I don't, I'm not a heavy drinker. I just drink

[00:27:01] enough to feel something. And yeah, but, but anything for me that's inflammatory is not good

[00:27:09] with higher altitudes and everything. Um, so know this and being a tattoo artist, uh, I'm in my forties,

[00:27:17] but I think I'm, I'm, I'm probably pretty special even in my forties. Just, just take care of your

[00:27:23] body. You know, if you're going to go to a tattoo convention party, you know, don't be dumb. Say

[00:27:29] goodbye when it's necessary. I really don't have the ability to disconnect. I can get a third or

[00:27:35] fourth or fifth win sometimes with people depending on the conversation. That's why Rico and I really

[00:27:42] have camped on Bob Ross being the thing that we go to bed to, uh, he has to have the television on.

[00:27:49] I prefer not to, but, um, yeah, I, I, I, uh, basically, um, decided that Bob Ross was fine because

[00:28:04] he's always making a painting. He's very calm and there's no plot. The plot is he's going to make a

[00:28:11] painting. So if, if I get enthralled in a really great conversation, I can't disconnect. Like I,

[00:28:19] I'm then up, my brain is going again. So I really need to like slow down in the evening and

[00:28:29] almost let my body get utterly and completely tired before I can, I can go to sleep. And then

[00:28:35] I like silence. I like complete and utter shut down silence and that didn't happen. And it hasn't

[00:28:43] happened for a really long time, even within my marriage, but it particularly didn't have been

[00:28:48] in paradise. So, um, again, I know I'm, I'm painting, uh, not the greatest picture and in a,

[00:28:57] in a big way, but I can't stress how awesome it was. I can't stress how awesome every single human

[00:29:04] being I met was. I really think that the podcast might actually do some really cool things from

[00:29:10] here on out because I met a lot of people who I think have interest in being on the podcast. Um,

[00:29:16] um, I was really pleased to help in any way that I could, any of the artists that were actually

[00:29:23] tattooing and to assist in whatever minute ways, um, Gabe and all of them, uh, in, in their efforts.

[00:29:32] Uh, I was really very, very happy to do that. And, um, yeah, it was wonderful that I, and a great

[00:29:41] thing that I, I was really, uh, apart from Marvin who that was, it was just incredible to, um, be a part

[00:29:51] of, of, you know, a little bit of history with him to meet him to all of it was just incredible.

[00:30:03] You know, everybody, I am just realizing that I am working off of a different, uh, audio right now.

[00:30:13] So I'm going to stop for a second and then pick. All right. I think, I think that we're back with,

[00:30:18] uh, my Yeti speaker. I was just noting that the sound was a lot different. I'm sorry, uh, for the

[00:30:25] shift in this, but you know, raw to refined, right? Um, so yeah, Marvin was awesome. And then also I had,

[00:30:35] um, the opportunity to hang out. Uh, we stayed a few days extra because we, we never really have

[00:30:41] much downtime after the convention. So I really wanted to have that just because Rico and I really

[00:30:48] didn't have a honeymoon. So I figured, you know, some extra time in paradise. Well,

[00:30:54] I honestly had forgot for a second that it was Gabe's birthday. And I'm so glad that we made the

[00:31:00] decision to stay extra late, you know, later because we got to party with Gabe and Jake. And

[00:31:07] it was like the first time I got to really hang with them all week. So however much I had fear of

[00:31:12] missing out, um, I didn't miss out on something really cool that a lot of people had already left

[00:31:18] and couldn't experience. Um, so that was, that was pretty awesome. I also got to chill with, um,

[00:31:29] with, uh, Bob Terrell and tell him all about the substance, which, you know, he was like, Oh my God,

[00:31:35] I heard about this movie. So I got to see some of the stuff that he was into as far as makeup and horror.

[00:31:42] And, and, uh, I got to see a lot of Bob. I looked up from, I think it was, I was talking to Kim,

[00:31:50] uh, Gabe's wife and I just beyond her, I saw just Bob with his pants down, uh, showing off his leg

[00:31:58] tattoos to everybody. And it, it was, it was quite a awesome thing to see. And it didn't stop there.

[00:32:06] You know, like the, the clothing came off in the whole, the whole way around. He was showing off

[00:32:12] all of his tattoos. Um, a lot of them, Paul Booth, which was really cool to see Paul Booth work.

[00:32:18] Um, and it was just so cool to, to see him. He, uh, you know, that was another humbling thing was,

[00:32:26] uh, to, to see Bob and how, how well he handled the convention. He tattooed at the convention. He,

[00:32:37] you know, walked around the mountain. He was like, and, and here I am like hurting and he's fine.

[00:32:44] Um, so there was a lot of humility in this, um, in this, uh, this time at paradise.

[00:32:53] I had a reality check about myself. I have to make some moves that are gonna, you know, help,

[00:33:02] hopefully help me in the future. And it, and it's been long overdue. I just need to do it

[00:33:08] and, um, physically do better. Uh, I, I think alcohol, I really have to,

[00:33:14] I think I really have to be smart about not to anymore. It's just, I can't, I am sure the altitude

[00:33:21] had something to do it. Probably, probably the sleep more than anything, honestly, because the

[00:33:26] sleep deprivation was, was probably, I don't, I can't, there was never any one thing. Just don't

[00:33:31] do it. Don't do it. Diary listeners. If you get into tattooing and you go to, you go to tattoo

[00:33:38] conventions, they're not going to be that fun. You're going to have FOMO. There's always going to

[00:33:44] be something going on that you miss out on. Um, play it, play it very decisively and wisely

[00:33:54] because you will pay, you will pay if you don't. And I did. Um, so, you know, um, but I did make

[00:34:03] money. Um, this is the first paradise that I, I really felt like I walked away with, um,

[00:34:08] with some coin and I, I didn't overspend. Um, so there was a lot of pluses, a lot of,

[00:34:15] a lot of different pluses. It was nothing like I imagined. And yet so far beyond anything I could

[00:34:22] have planned for myself that I was in a, in the best way. Um, so I would, I just wanted to give you

[00:34:28] guys like a little podcast treat. Um, I am tonight, I think, because I started this painting and I haven't

[00:34:38] touched it since paradise and Rico has actually been quite the slave driver. Um, he's like, you're

[00:34:44] never going to finish my painting. Are you? And I was like, Oh, it's yours. And he's like, yeah,

[00:34:47] it's mine. Uh, it's, it's of a white tail deer. So of course it's his, um, so I, and it's fine. He can

[00:34:56] have it, but, um, I'd really like to paint it. So I'm going to probably stay up tonight and record

[00:35:03] myself painting it and maybe even share some of it with you guys. Uh, I'm not sure if I'm going to

[00:35:09] do a live, uh, painting, which I think is kind of boring. I don't know. Maybe, maybe people would

[00:35:15] like to watch me paint. They've kind of missed the whole foundational part of the deer, which I feel

[00:35:24] personally is the best part because I don't draw anything. I just carve it out. I just, you know,

[00:35:32] kind of slowly build and build and build until there's a deer. Now it's not the deer that I am

[00:35:38] referencing. It's a deer. So if, if all I need to do is convince you that it's a deer, then it's

[00:35:46] successful as a painting already. Um, but I, I really want to hone it and put a lot more into it detail.

[00:35:53] I want some fun, like foreground, middle ground, background to it. Um, so I, I might share that with

[00:36:00] all of you, um, moving forward. I definitely have a lot of video and posts and stuff for paradise that

[00:36:06] I want to put out, um, that are amazing. So those need to be, uh, edited and gone over. I'm just

[00:36:15] backlog folks. I, not only that, but I just got married as you guys well know. So I have, I have

[00:36:20] thank you cards to write. I have pictures of that to go through. There's just a, there's a litany of

[00:36:26] crap and I don't even know how people do this with children. Um, I got my cat like jumping up on me,

[00:36:31] you know, halfway through this cause I can't even get through this without, you know, that. So, and,

[00:36:37] and this is just like, you know, I can't even believe I'm complaining about it. Cause like,

[00:36:42] what a wonderful life. Right. But yeah, I, I wanted to touch base with all of you, not leave you

[00:36:48] hanging, uh, let you know what this, uh, past paradise has been like. I highly recommend them

[00:36:54] next year. Um, the dates for it are going to be October 16th through the 19th. So book your calendar

[00:37:02] now for it. Just make a commitment. Say you're going to go. And, um, I do recommend if you're a

[00:37:08] new person entering into the field of tattooing that you go, I recommend if you're a person who wants

[00:37:14] to get into tattooing to go, um, you know, check out seminars, meet people, talk to people,

[00:37:22] you know, leverage a vacation, you know, once and, you know, really save up to have something that could

[00:37:29] really level up your life in a way that you never imagine. Um, but that I'm, I assure you will do

[00:37:36] wonders for you. Sit and paint, you know, like do, do that, you know, have an art time with these

[00:37:43] really incredible artists that any one of them can give you some insight, but if nothing, you might be

[00:37:49] incredible enough for them to like have their head turn because of you. Um, you know, last year I met,

[00:37:55] uh, this wonderful woman, Kelly, who was starting her apprenticeship at the age of 50. And so, you know,

[00:38:02] and she was an incredible painter, incredible artist. And so like, just by going and showing,

[00:38:09] you know, what you have your own prowess, your own abilities that can only pay in dividends as far as

[00:38:15] I'm concerned. And it's a beautiful place. And next year there isn't going to be tattooing. It's,

[00:38:21] it's an art focused event. So it's going to be an artist gathering. So I'm super excited. Um, because

[00:38:29] I want to make a lot of paintings and a lot of art and that's going to be my jam. So,

[00:38:35] so until next year, uh, this is an honest assessment of myself. I can't give an honest

[00:38:44] one of paradise, uh, because I wasn't there for all of it, but from what I've seen and heard from

[00:38:50] every single person that went and attended the seminars, it was excellent. And everybody by the

[00:38:57] end, I know, uh, based on just hanging out with the coordinators of the event post event,

[00:39:03] it seemed like it went really, really well. So that's an assessment from, you know, my very

[00:39:11] limited perspective of what it was this year, uh, this week coming up this Tuesday, I know it,

[00:39:18] you know, we're getting this now, but I do want to give you something Tuesday. I'm going to start

[00:39:23] part one of my friend, Kevin Klein. He is a tattoo artist, uh, uh, local to here in Maryland.

[00:39:30] Is it Maryland? I think he's Maryland. I'm fairly certain he's Maryland. Um, he's not far from me.

[00:39:37] I know that. Um, but we met, we met online and, uh, we started talking through some Facebook forums

[00:39:46] and networks and groups and stuff. And we just, I don't know, uh, had a, a very similar mind about a

[00:39:55] lot of things. So I have him on the show. Uh, he didn't want to interview right away because he

[00:40:01] wanted to get going again and tattooing. So it's been a couple of years since we actually,

[00:40:06] actually jumped into him and talk to him, but now he's fully tattooing and, uh, yeah,

[00:40:13] I'm really excited for him. So next week will be Kevin Klein. Uh, I hope to have you listeners tune

[00:40:20] in then. In the meantime, have a powerful weekend. I know that Saturday's almost over as this is now

[00:40:27] almost 7 PM on Saturday, but I want you guys to have a powerful weekend and keep in mind one thing,

[00:40:33] if I can have a prayer, because we have, we have something happening on Tuesday of this week.

[00:40:40] And I know I'll be competing with it and poor Kevin, I'll be competing with this.

[00:40:43] There's an election cycle coming up, but my hope is, and I want everyone to know that as opinionated

[00:40:51] as I am, uh, it is my faith in God and my faith that everything that we're supposed to go through,

[00:41:00] we will go through and we will do so well. And it's all going to be fine. I truly believe that.

[00:41:10] I don't, I can't tell you that there's not going to be suffering, but I can tell you that I,

[00:41:17] I believe truly that the suffering will be worth it and to keep your chin up and don't

[00:41:26] aggrandize and don't give away too much power because you have a lot more than you think.

[00:41:34] And those that you give it up to are probably not worthy of it.

[00:41:38] Uh, only God in my mind is worthy of that kind of homage. So don't freak out, whatever happens. I

[00:41:48] promise you, I will not be freaking out. I'm going to keep it powerful. I'm going to keep it hopeful.

[00:41:54] You're my prayers. I love you all. Thank you. God bless you. And again, I'll catch you Tuesday with

[00:42:01] Kevin later listeners. Thanks for listening. You can find the apprenticeship diaries on Twitter,

[00:42:09] Facebook, and Instagram. Our IG is the underscore apprenticeship underscore diaries. If you would

[00:42:15] like to offer constructive criticism or an interview, drop us an email at the apprenticeship

[00:42:19] diaries at gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from our listeners. I wanted to add, I don't usually

[00:42:42] do this. This is a PS, uh, after the fact, um, I know you thought it was over on top of God bless

[00:42:51] and all of that. I just wanted you guys to know how much I missed my cats. I know I had a moment with my

[00:42:57] cat in this one, but, uh, one thing that I will say is I did terribly miss them. They get older all the

[00:43:02] time. I love my cats to death. They were very mad at me when I got home. They were yelling at me and

[00:43:10] telling me how scared they were and how much they thought they'd never seen me again. And I couldn't

[00:43:16] sit down without one of them getting in my lap. There's been, uh, a basic cuddle war going on ever

[00:43:22] since battles over who gets to sleep closest to me. So, um, I didn't want to seem ungrateful to my cat.

[00:43:31] He's beautiful and they both are. I love them very much. And as we all get older and as I, um,

[00:43:41] note their age, it gets harder for me to leave them. So there was a, a worry for me, uh, towards

[00:43:50] them because anything could happen. And as I said, Saga and his partner had to go back home because of a

[00:43:57] pet issue, an emergency issue with, um, a member of their family. So love your pets. That's,

[00:44:05] that's what I wanted to end with. Love your pets. They matter so much. And, uh, I'm going to go now

[00:44:13] and love on mine again. Good week listeners. Love you.