Ball Bashtabula

I had this lovely post all typed out about my little detour to Ashtabula, OH,
to visit FX Tattoos, the Tubbs Family,
and to see the Ashtabula Lighthouse.
But Miss Mandi dropped a little comment on my blog before I published it,
so I erased it and decided to dedicate this to her, instead.
Mandi is the biggest ball buster in all of Ohio.
For real.
I'm no match for her abilities.
And she takes it to amazing lengths.
She keeps trying to get me to go out there and tattoo her,
but ever time I do,
she gets pregnant just to mess with me.
(pregnant women shouldn't get tattoos,
for any of those who didn't know)
So I still haven't tattooed her,
and she's working on her fourth kid.
ha.

















Here's Jr on the beach with me,
trying to find some "sea" glass.
It's amazing being on the great lakes,
because they seem just like an ocean,
but they are missing that salt water smell.
They still do have some top notch lighthouses, though.

The guys of FX Tattoos are super rad,
and I was given a sexy deer skull gift when I arrived.
I tried to tie it to the grill of my Yaris,
but it had to ride shotgun to MA instead.

I DID get a photo of me with my likeness on Dustin's leg.
(the portrait tattoo of me that JR did to win the Antler/Crutch War of 2008)
Yup, that's me, with antlers,
a Dr Pepper can (a little outdated, eh?),
some acorns/leaves,
and a banner that says "shawnhebrank.com".
I'm not sure why he's grabbing his balls in the photo.
I think over the years he's developed a fetish or something,
since every time his wiener is out,
my face is right there, too.
Yeah, I know, gross.
How do you think I feel?
I'm invited to every party in Dustin's pants,
and attendance is mandatory.






















All joking aside,
the Tubbs are an amazing family,
with wonderful kids,
and super sweet friends.
(except Dustin, he is actually a sexual deviant)
And it's nice knowing that I can make JR have another daughter whenever I want,
just by promising to visit.
And since it's always fun,
I'll plan on visiting every nine months or so.

Got Places to Be

Here's a picture Big Dean took of me while I tattooed him at Off the Map.
Maybe it's because it was the last day I was there and I was tired, but I look so sweet and peaceful.
In every picture of me, you can do a "Where's Waldo" type hunt for the Dr Pepper can.
(Even in tattooed portraits of me.)
The story of that tragedy just made it to some new website called TattooBlog.
They sent over 10 average questions, but I sent them back a little creative nonfiction instead.
You can read the short version of the Great Antler and Crutch War of '08 all over again here.

I'll be visiting the winner of said war, JR Tubbs, his beautiful family and FX Tattoos in OHIO late January for a 3 day adventure. I made up an arrival announcement card.

Get ready, Ashtabula.
Lock up your pop. (soda)
JR's gonna be vegan the whole weekend, Sophie's turning 5, and I will try and top the Philly Convention in pure absurdity and volume.
Really.
January 30th, 31rst, and Feb 1rst.

While I'm discussing travel days:

I'll be headed East for the Holidays December 23rd - January 2nd.


That means I'll be at Identity Tattoo till December 20th. (the 21rst and 22nd are a Sunday and Monday, so the shop is closed).
I'll be back in the shop January 3rd.

(then there's a Dark, Dark, Dark show January 4th. Meryl and I just bumped into them at Seward while they were home visiting, and are so excited for the show. They are on tour, so check the link to see if you're lucky enough to be near one of the tour stops.)

There's a lot going on before I take another trip East. Email me, call, or stop by the shop if you're wanting to get tattooed while it's still 2008.