Kate's Modifications

me?

my name is kate - online i'm often referred to as katester, and the kids in the neighborhood around my branch call me Ms. Kate. i'm a Branch Librarian Supervisor at a branch of a public library in suburban Detroit. i've been working as a professional in library land for four years, but have been a library worker (page/clerk/woman of many hats) for almost 13 years.

which came first, modification or library job?

technically the library job came first, if you count my many years as a page and clerk in my hometown public library. i got my first tattoo, though, right after i started library school. in fact, my design (a cartoon fish on the inside of my left ankle) came to me from a doodle i made during the Introduction to Reference course! my first non-traditional piercing(s) started the following spring with a tragus piercing, and i've since added the other tragus, both rook piercings, a tongue piercing, septum, and a few others. piercings come and go, though; right now my only visible piercings are my tongue, my 8ga earlobes, and my rook piercings.

my graduation gift to myself for surviving library school was my second tattoo, placed on my right thigh. i'm not sure what it is - again it's a doodle, but it's got many circles and, well, i just like it and love having it as a permanent fixture on me. i've got at least two more tattoos in the works - a celtic knot work wristband and a Charles Rennie Mackintosh inspired rose for my back. over the years, too, i've toyed with getting the "universal library symbol" - you know, the blue and white angular silhouette of a person reading that usually is on a "Library is here sign", tattooed on my bicep. (:

why did i get my modifications?

good question! and to be quite honest, i'm not 100% sure. i mean, i know i got them because i wanted them. getting a piercing or a tattoo is not a simple thing for me - i have to make sure i want it and often spend lots of time in various stages of deliberation before actually getting the work done. sometimes, though, i think the added intrigue of a mod is partly why i've done it. i get a kick out of hearing "you're a librarian? but you have your tongue pierced!" as if bodyart and librarianship are mutually exclusive or something! overall, i think my interest in bodyart (first inspired by the *very* librarian populated newsgroup, rec.arts.bodyart) has gone hand in hand with a personal acceptance of my body. as i've become more comfortable in my own skin, i'm much more comfortable with decorating it (:

personal webpage: http://www.digitalangel.com/katester

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