Ink on Skin

I know it is very impolite to stare but I cannot help looking at my brother's big tattoo scar on his lower arm. He had tattoos inked while growing up and passing the tumultuous stage of adolescence. I'm sure, that phase drove my parents really mad and crazy. I think it was my brother's way of rebelling or showing off that he was already a grown man. Albeit, still trapped in a little boy's body.

Well, the scar was his own doing. Several years ago, he didn't know how to remove it so he used an acid to scar the upper skin layer. If he knew the best tattoo removal cream during that time, he would buy one to cover the marks of his rebellious past.

I pat him on the back for his bravery and tap him on his head for his irrational behavior and poor judgment. I know, people will have their own personal perspective on putting ink on their skin. It can be for aesthetic reasons, a phase one go through, a sign of toughness, of bravery or just fad. However, my brother now regrets having those tattoos on some parts of his arms. They reminded him of a past best left where it should be.

Modern Day Dating

I reminisce the time when I used to date (of course, I was still not married to my husband then) and get pampered silly. I didn't have too many admirers like how my sister had tons and tons of them. However, my suitors were the persistent kind. They would never take "no" for an answer. Much as I rue the fact that I had to meet them for a casual date, I must admit, I still had fun. Fun in a sense that I got to know the person more and realized that there were so much more beneath that "rough" exterior.

Dating was more of an obligation I had to meet then. I didn't find myself that interesting to be pursued. So, I preferred going out with my friends and just chilling at Greenhills or malling. My mom would often tease me for having to lock myself most of the time in my room, head under my favorite books - text books, while the rest of teens my age would party and date like crazy. I know, boring. I get so conscious when I go on one-on-one dates because I felt dorky. You see, I was never given the gift of gab. Talking to someone and trying to hold the conversation for long was such a feat.

Nowadays, dating has taken a different turn. People sometimes don't meet in person. They do it online via the Internet through the visual aid of the web cam. I wonder if the girls these days get flowers and box of chocolates from their suitors. Hmmmm?