Our tattoo journey began when we were trying to think of something to do as a family when we were gathering in Michigan for Rachel's graduation from college. Januck came up with the idea of getting a tattoo since he had always thought about getting one and Alex had already gotten his first tattoo. We tossed around the idea and asked Alex what he thought and he was all for it. Then...there was Rachel. How would she react to the idea? We were Skyping her and finally brought it up and she was totally for it or as she said, "I'm totally down for it!"
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We struggled with what we all wanted to get as a lasting memory of our family. One of the ideas was getting four pairs of chopsticks with each one having a design unique to each person. We then shifted to paper cranes and we could never come to a consensus as to what we should get. How could we bridge the gap between the Japan and California and what could we get that we could all agree on? Time was short and Alex finally came up with the idea of getting our hanko (family stamp) which is round with kanji (Japanese characters) inside that basically said Polikaitis. We all liked the idea and decided we would make each tattoo our own but the same.
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We found a place in Grand Rapids and went without an appointment hoping we could get it done. Rachel was pressed for time because she had her commencement rehearsal and needed to leave by a certain time. We met our tattoo artist and he came up with designs for all of us. Rachel was undecided on what and where she wanted hers and she finally decided that she would get it down by her ankle instead of on her wrist due to the size. Rachel was able to get hers on time and then the rest of us got ours. It was a bit painful but not to the point of wanting to stop. We've heard people say that once you start getting tattoos, then you'll never stop. It's true and our journey has just begun.
Rachel and I decided to get her birthplace, Gotsu, Japan tattooed on her shoulder and my arm. I just wanted Gotsu and she wanted Gotsu City. We weren't sure about where to go however Joanna noticed a sign outside of a house near us that said Billiken Tattoo. Luckily we had been drinking so on our way home that night we took a chance and knocked on the door. The guy inside was very nice and we gave him our ideas. We made an appointment and went in for the procedure. It sure was a different experience from our Michigan experience but the gentleman was amazing and little did I know that it would be the beginning of my experience with Masa.
My third tattoo came about while talking to Joanna about getting another tattoo. Joanna wanted to get a red dragonfly that would sit atop our Polikaitis tattoo so we went to see Masa and get his input. He said he would design something and when we went back, we were amazed at his design and we were completely down for it. Joanna went first and I could tell by her face that she was in some discomfort. Turns how he was shading part of the wings and the shading was a bit more painful than just a regular tattoo. I was nervous but after it started, then I was in a good place.
I thought this would be my first tattoo but it will always be special to me!
A few years ago a student gave me the nickname Poligon and it stuck. She made me a stamp during Stamp Club so I decided to get it because it was so special to me.
This is the city symbol for Numazu which I've always thought was very cool.
When I was a young boy, I never had a very close relationship with my father. When I was older I came home and found 5 pieces of paper on my wall that said Good For 1 Ata-Boy. I can't remember what I had done but it was enough to impress my dad and these became very special to me. I had taped them in my scrapbook and one time when I was in the States I dug around for the scrapbook in storage and finally found it in the last box I checked. I had the first one done and then asked our guy Masa if he could do the other heads instead of four new ones and this is what he came up with. I love it!
This is my motto and I always share it with my students.
The first Math song I ever leaned was the Quadratic Formula and I've created so many songs ever since. It will always have a special place in my heart!
I wanted to get a cross or crosses on my arm to display my Christian faith but couldn't really come up with anything. I decided to get a wrap around on both arms and designed it myself.
My favorite animated movie is My Neighbor Totoro. It is so cute and I bought a Totoro calendar which had little drawings on it so I decided to get them tattooed on my arm.
One of the characters in Totoro is a dust sprite that is in the old house where the family moves. The Totoro tattoo didn't seem complete without a dust sprite. I really like the tattoos and may continue on with more characters. I also wanted to get something that would represent me as a Lithuanian and thought about the Lithuanian flag but Masa wasn't sure if he could get the colors correct so I decided to get Lithuania in Lithuanian which is Lietuva.
For my last tattoo, I was looking for something that looked very Japanese and Joanna was looking for a wave tattoo. She couldn't find anything she liked but I found this artwork featuring waves that is 100+ years old.
Well, Joanna and I went to get our last tattoo here in California but as it turns out, you shouldn't get a tattoo while on antibiotics. I had a tooth extracted on Tuesday and was put on antibiotics so...no tattoo for now. We will update you in the future when it becomes possible.
