These are a few of my favourite things

Read it an weep....bitches!!

So, i thought i'd rap/freestyle with you for a bit and see where this goes

Why not, i might even let the truth slip out, it might not be a bad thing.

But first, let me tell you the story of how i got my latest (no one has said greatest tattoo?) 

Joanna and myself in St Kilda

Well it all happened when i was showing all my couch surfers Melbourne over Christmas, especially my favourite one Joanna, and then we (I)  partied like rock stars, i did anyways, especially in the Edinburgh gardens and then my mind went BANG!!

The bang wasn't someones car, it was my brain, the revelation was, I love Melbourne, it's given me everything i've ever wanted, it's who i am, i am it, it is me, and then Immigration said i had to stay another 3 weeks, after i said goodbye to Fitzroy, for what i thought would be the last time, only to find myself back there a few daze later talking to 'Mad' Cathy from Cork, who thinks i'm mad? Is she mad or what?

Pole dancing anyone? People make money at this, if you can believe it?

I say to Cathy

What am i going to do for the next 3 weeks? I've already been hanging out for 2 months.

Cathy says,

'Why don't you go to Rainbow Serpent?'

 My mind agrees, off i go and get a ticket, who else is going?
I was going to go volunteer in Brisbane, but no point adding to the madness and they had too many volunteers anyways.

Doesn't matter, i was now going to Rainbow once i got that ticket and i got it quick, i saw some couch surfers were getting the train, i met 2 people at the train station, we were off, 2 became 5 on the train, pretty soon we were in Beauford, the nearest town, which had been completely flooded a few days before drinking beer waiting for a bus to get us to the festival, the slab of beer finished, so we got another, we had no beer cooler, so the intelligent thing would be to drink them all before they get warm, this we did spectacularly!

Mob mentality, it's the only kind of mentality that works sometimes.

Red is for Cork, of course!! 
As Jay Z would say 'Cough up a lung, where i'm from Marcey son'

So, during this Rainbow festival, it almost came to me in a vision, to get a tattoo, at the tattoo convention, after all it was coming up and it would be the perfect opportunity!

Originally i wanted the following

'Made in Cork, citizen of the world'

But, the tattoo would be made in Melbourne, that was the thing.

Originally i wanted it made in Japan, but what does Japan mean to me...yet? It had to be Melbourne!!

So, with this in mind, i went to to the tattoo convention, i got there too early, so i went for coffee, and came back and got in.

I was lucky too, the council rocked up and asked all the standard health questions and wouldn't let any more people until they questioned all the artists, they also requested them all to have running hot water, which only cost an additional 40k, the profits from the whole festival were going to save old rain forest's, you have to love the councils, love them so much they just disappear!!

Saw this tattoo, apparently it from a movie called 'Where the wild things are' by Maurice Sendok, cool!!

The first artist i talked to Fred from 'Left hand path' tattoos, Fred understood my idea, he said they were still setting up, come back in 15 minutes, i walked around thinking 'Maybe i should talk to some other people', but no, no backing out, he got the idea, he was an invited artist, he must be good, i saw his portfolio, he was good, it was going ahead.

I go back, he still doesn't have all his equipment, come back in 45 minutes, i walk around taking in the sights, i buy some after care cream, for the tattoo i don't have...yet, a lot of the artists are married.

Would you like this face on your leg for ever and ever and ever?

I saw one tattoo for Seth Rogen, i say to the chick, 'Who would get that?', she says 'My husband got it', the husband then rolls up his leg and i see a smiling Canadian dude, ok, fair enough. Who was i to talk? But it was funny, maybe that was the point?

There were Japanese dudes giving tattoos, i though that would be cool, but i'm committed to Fred, i'm in, no backing out now boy.

I walk around and i come to a chick called Chelsea, at a photograph stall, i tell her about the tattoo idea i'm going to get, she says, why don't you get

'Materials from Cork Made in Melbourne'

As Chelsea said, 'Where you live makes you who you are'. And i'm definitely not Irish anymore, i crossed over, i no longer feel like an Irish guy living in Melbourne. I'm in, here, and here is Melbourne.

I am Melbourne.

And i said.

'That's a better idea, i'm getting it'

She says

'Come back and show me'

Off i go and i go back, 2 hours later, it's done, i go back and show Chelsea, we have a laugh and that's how my latest tattoo happened.