My kids are, like, my life. And my kids are my 2 cats and a dog. They really bring me so much joy. I am trying really hard to make up for past mistakes. This pains me to talk about, actually.
My sisters know the guilt I carry with regard to how I (we) treated Duke. Dukey was our dog from when I was about 10 to about 17. I remember when we picked him up at the shelter. He was called a “husky/collie” mix. He was an ivory long-haired handsome puppy. I remember the ticket on his crate saying “Owner Did Not Want.” We took him home and I remember being really happy at first.
But from age 14 on, while I fancied myself an animal lover, I did not help take care of to Dukey in the least. Looking back, Dukey had behavior problems which were largely caused by our neglect.
We didn’t walk him because he pulled so hard on the leash. He was tied up outside all the time. He was never inside. And I was so self-absorbed, as most teenagers are, so I just didn’t notice him. From what Cesar Millan has taught me now, I know that we as a family did nothing for Dukey’s well-being. We weren’t armed with the knowledge of what would make Dukey happy and balanced. Mom fed him, but that was basically all.
I don’t blame anyone else but myself, but now that I have pets of my own, I want to make sure that I don’t fail them like I failed Dukey.
I remember when we picked him up at the shelter. He was called a “husky/collie” mix. He was an ivory long-haired handsome puppy.
So yesterday I had the amazing pleasure of making tattoo needles for
about five hours. Let’s just start by laying down the basic…
I’m terrible with small detailed mechanical things. I’m terrible at
soldering. And I have (as Mason points out) girly hands. They’re not
tough, I sit at a computer all day. How can they be tough, right?
So making needles. In the old days tattoo artists had to make their
own. One day a week was spent making needles for all the different
types you needed. Now they’re made in china. But 15 years ago it was a
different story. Chinese needle making didn’t exist. Needles cost
$4-5/piece back then. They’re a quarter these days.
So I got to learn the art of needle making yesterday. Here’s the
process. I made seven mags. You start with seven needles, gather those
little tiny guys up. Lay them flat, line them up making sure the
needles are all facing the same way and parallel, tap a little bit of
solder on the bottom to group them up. Step one down. Take a spare
needle and thread it through the group. Three on top, four on bottom.
Then hit it with another little piece of solder closer to the tip.
Don’t burn your finger. That’s the easy part. Now check the group
under a loop to see if you bent any of the tips. Next grab a bar and
the needle jig. Throw your grouping on one side of the jig, bar on
other side, solder them together. Make sure they’re lined up, a pain
in the ass. Make sure you don’t burn yourself, very easy to do. You’re
done. And all that is worth a quarter. It took me about four hours to
make 25.I figure if you’re really fast you could make 10 an hour.
So from what I understand, just about every tattoo needle you buy is
made in one factory in china. Hand made! No machines! And we buy them
for a quarter. So the question is this: how shitty can that job be?
You know they work 14 hour days. Bent over, leaned over the needle
jig. Back hurts cuz they sit in that position all damn day. Stress
headaches cuz your eyes are straining to focus on those tiny little
needles. Blister fingers cuz you burn yourself constantly on the
solder. And finally, flux all over the place that is so corrosive it
slowly eats your skin. The warning on the bottle says ‘immediately
wash off skin’. Yeah right.