Steve's Modifications

Hello from Charm-City-by-the-Bay. I'm Steve Rouzer, the Assistant Head of the Acquisitions Department at the Eisenhower Library, Johns Hopkins University. I share the responsibility for managing the Serials Unit, and I'm responsible for licensing and acquisition of electronic information. I've had my MLS since 1983, and have been at Hopkins since 1990.

My interest in tattoos was piqued after I met someone at Eisenhower that has two: a butterfly and a floral design. Up to that point the only tattoos I had seen were either blue or blue and red, and were restricted to one of a few very traditional designs. The tattoos my coworker had were certainly not what I was accustomed to seeing. I was quite impressed with the artistry, and asked her where she had gotten them. The thought of getting one myself rattled around in my head for a while until I had the nerve (and the money) to visit the tattoo parlor belonging to the guy who had done her work, Tux's Studio in Glen Burnie. His wife does a lot of the flash in the shop, while he does most of the actual work. Both have degrees from the Baltimore School of Art.

I was impressed, and made arrangements for my first tattoo, the dragon on my right arm. I was into a Nietzsche thing at the time and meant the dragon to be a representation of the eternal recurrence. This was in May of last year.

A few months later I was back in the same shop to get the eagle and snake on my left shoulder. I'm really proud of that one. I've gotten a lot of compliments on it. It took four hours to do it, which I managed all in one sitting. I was surprised at how little it hurt once the outline was done.

I agree with whoever said that getting these things is addictive. One was definitely not enough, and I'm not so sure that two is either.

I've never had anyone at Hopkins give me a hard time about the tattoos or the two piercings in my left ear, but of course the tattoos can't be seen when I'm working. A lot of my coworkers know that they're there. My staff kid me that I had the tattoos done as a result of a midlife crisis (I'm 46) which maybe I did, I can't be sure. Even if I did, tattoos are cheaper than Porsches, and a lot easier to maintain.

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