made it. huzzah
and to honour this momentous(??) occasion, i will... hmm... explain why i want to get my tattoo (photo at the end).
i found this image on a website that has a collection of all things Irish. the site itself is www.eirefirst.com and i found it randomly a few years back. i was probably making a family history project for school (i'm sure everybody and their mother has had to do those a time or three), and was perusing the clipart section, laughing at their lame leprechauns and the whatnot when i found this image. to me, it symbolises (corny alert! corny alert!) how the Irish always shine through, and to have faith. throughout my life, various obstacles have arisen (some large, some laughably small), and between my love for my family and my faith in the idea that everything will be fine in the end, i've managed to pull myself through.
indeed, my family could be the poster kids for Irish-America, with a hint of Russian for flavour. St. Patrick's Day celebrations since before i was born, and my family is the "token protestant" influence in an overwhelmingly catholic celtic band that my dad, along with a few slightly inebriated friends, started over 25 years ago.
yeah, basically, Irish pride. gotta love it.
so, without further ado, my tattoo idea:

isn't it nice? i'd like to get it on my back, just below the collar line (easier to cover up for work than my first choice- the back of my neck). either that, or this option, possibly somewhere on my arm:

(the text font would be different, but the idea is the same)
and there you have it. a 10 dollar answer to a 2 cent question that was never asked.
Currently:
Reading: between books right now.... trying to find out if the SOU library has Madge's suggestion
Listening to: "Sandhya Raga" by Ravi Shankar