The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry~Shawshank Redemption

I love technology, I really do, I embrace it like that cute boyfriend, that you just knew was bad for you but damn it he was fun. I want an entire jukebox at the tip of my fingers, I like instant mail, and I want to play Draw Something with random people when I want to play. Technology caters to the five year old in us. “I want what I want when I want it..and now”

That being said, I’m pretty certain it’s contributed to the human race’s growing impatience.  Like the title. We don’t wait for mail, wait to look something up, wait until someone has a phone to call us. It’s there.  Everything and everyone is right at our fingertips. Did that one bitch in high school go and get fat? Let’s look. Any random pondering any need is attainable. This plays to my ADD side nicely. The downside. I don’t have patience for people’s impatience.

It bothers me the most at work.  I blame Miami Ink. This is a day at the tattoo shop on television.

Kat: Can I help you?

Random dude with sketches and ideas.

Kat: yeah that sounds cool, when are you thinking about getting it?

Dude: I’m ready

Kat: Let me go draw this up..

One hour later and a good bit of video splicing you’re witnessing a beautiful backpiece photography shoot.

Things, that seem to confuse my clients in the last few weeks. When I say “can I help you?” It often means can I answer a few questions maybe jot down your ideas to draw on later, and get back to work.

The other problem is my time frame. I run late. I’m sorry I do. No one video splices for me. If I have an appointment that I think will take an hour or hour and a half I book 2 hours off in my calender. This leaves a little time to size the design, make changes set up, break down etc. This doesn’t account for the half dozen people who will probably come in and want to get prices and information. It doesn’t account for the guy that forgot to eat and got light-headed, or for the client who has to take that emergency phone call from her boss.  To be honest it doesn’t leave me time to eat or smoke. Smoking I manage (I have priorities) but eating is often done 10 hours later at home. To guess how long a tattoo is going to take is a lot more guess than knowledge. That easy rework I guessed at an hour didn’t account for the scar tissue or stretch marks I discovered later.. Shit slows me down.

Things to know about me. I really don’t fucking care. I don’t have a clock in my tattoo room, because it doesn’t matter. I can only promise that when I’m tattooing a person. Their time is my time. While they are in my room, it takes however long it takes and it doesn’t matter if there is someone waiting in the lobby because I know in my heart that when it’s that lobby person’s turn, I’ll take my time with them too. Tattoos hurt, they cost a lot, the least I could do is care. This is my system. Most people are cool with it, this last month has been a strange bombardment of impatient folks. They want to tell me their ideas and have me design it on demand, they are pissed if I stop to eat, they are pissed about the wait, they want me to rush my other clients because they are excited about their stuff.  It’s weird, and it’s slightly problematic for me, because in the end, I really don’t give a fuck. I love happy people, I love enthusiastic people, I love 99.9% of my clients. Impatient and rude people don’t make that cut.

And please for the love of god don’t make it a point to tell me how bored your small child is getting. Of course they are, that’s why babysitters rock.

I can’t really blame Kat Von D for ruining my life as much as I’d like too, because she paid her dues. Every tattoo artist knows if your machines aren’t running you aren’t getting paid. Clients don’t know this. They don’t know that I have to sketch on my days off so I can work at work and hopefully pay the rent man. I don’t want them to know that. I want them to have fun, be happy and have a great experience, and lately I just want them to be patient.