Well, as I mentioned last weekend, my gastric bypass surgery date is set. Now, so is my tattoo’s inking date. The L.A. Ink casting director called me early this past week and gave me a date of January 24th. Then, she called me again on Thursday, and we rescheduled the tattoo for the 21st of January — something about a “scheduling conflict” on their end. So, that means my inking date is only eight days away!

The casting director confirmed that my tattoo artist will be Hannah Aitchison, who was my first choice.

I laid down a few ground rules for my participation on the show.  Among them: I specifically said that there will be n discussion my surgical status on air (as in no discussion about the current shape of my genitalia), no one is going to ask on air what my former male name was, and when they refer to me in their edited footage for the show, there will be no male pronouns used to describe me.  There were a couple of other rules I mentioned that I forget at the moment, but basically they agreed to my ground rules.  We all understand that part of what makes my narrative compelling for the show is that I identify as female, transgender, and transsexual, that I’m open to discussing most of my life’s history in front of the camera.

Some interesting things about my appearance on the show that they emailed in the FAQ email:

Here is a list of wardrobe requirements:

_NO Logos

_NO white, black or striped shirts

_Please dress according to where you will be getting inked.

­_NO Logos

_ Sunglasses cannot be worn in the shop.

_NO Logos

_Please bring a zip up hoodie or a sweater. We may ask you to put it on during your interview.

_You cannot wear a hat.

_NO Logos

-Please bring an extra shirt or outfit. We may need you to change your shirt.

Remember you are going to be on TV. Please look presentable.

And…

When will my episode air?

Which episode you will air in is undetermined as of right now. If you’re tattoo is chosen to air, our post department will call you and let you know.

And…

Do I need to bring my own lunch?

The production will be keeping you busy all day, therefore you will be not be able to leave and get your own lunch. We will provide lunch for you. If you are asked to bring someone, they will not be provided lunch. Your friend will be able to come and go freely; therefore they will be able to get their own lunch. There is a variety of eating locations walking distance from the shop.

So do you think I it would be okay if I wore a shirt with a logo on it? And, for someone who’s going in for gastric bypass surgery in mid-February, lunch would be a pretty important consideration! Heck, I’ll be starting a full liquid diet on the 23rd of January in preparation for surgery in February, so lunch better be excellent!

Seriously, I guess it’s an understatement to say I’m excited about this tattoo. It’s both my first and likely my last tattoo — I don’t think I could dream up another tattoo that would have as much meaning to me as I’ve packed into this one.

I’ll be sure to get a photo taken of the tattoo after I get it, so y’all can see the final product. And of course, after I get the call telling me when my episode will air, I’ll be sure to let y’all know when that is.