CLEVELAND – You guys are as bizarro as I am, and I love it. Yes, the blog just reached 666 hits. And no, I will not embark on an insidious, esoteric ramble-fest. I will, however, share some oddball moments from 2006 — a year much like those of 2005 and 2009 for me.
A year mired in challenges, personal victories, defeats, loss et cetera — but also defining moments that brought about opportunities to stretch, rejuvenate and let go. A year where, as Paul Roetzer puts it, you begin to truly understand “Fate is what we’re given, but destiny is what we choose…” (12 Life Lessons of an Entrepreneur).
I turned 21 that year, and was mainly in Vegas for risky — er, strictly business (of course) when not attending classes at Baldwin-Wallace College. I got my first tat (Johann Sebastian Bach‘s crest on the face of my left deltoid — mindful of my business/career aspirations) down the street from the Stratosphere on Las Vegas Blvd, after painstaking research and referrals from a trusted network of artists and friends.
Slicker than G.Henle Verlag
The artist’s name was Lunchbox, and I knew immediately after seeing the sketch he brought back to me that he was the one for the gig. He acknowledged the antique, Baroque integrity of the design while sharpening some of the ends (getting rid of the dingle-berries and such) to give it a more masculine edge. Using a dark, wine-like mauve, burgundy, maroon (something like that) with black accents and white, he created a sort of 3-D, shadow effect. Wanting the design to look as if it was rising out of my arm, his vision was immaculate — impeccable. I know Bach would be proud.
Bach's Original Crest
Today the design is as fresh, neat, clean and graphic as it was when he did it, and I look forward to visiting him at his new studio in Park City for free touch-ups in the near future. He also wanted to get shots for his portfolio and gallery archives, as it was an original design and he never repeats them. My kind of swag lol.
All those hours with Das Wohltemperierte Klavier a bit more permanent now...
Other than that, 2006 was pretty uneventful.
Did I mention my W2 refund was 666.66?
Byron Isaac 