Needles and Ink

I hate needles. I have two tattoos. Nurses always point out my tattoos after i tell them i hate needles.
hating needles is a common statement from patients. nobody likes cold steel poking into their body and blood extracted. when I had surgery in May, I remember lying on my hospital bed before the operation and freaking out. not over the fact I was about to lose a testicle but that I was going to have multiple needles in my body for an extended period of time.
like I was saying, the nurses ask how can I hate needles but have tattoos, especially the big posada piece that nearly covers my right bicep. it's different, I tell them. of course, all the small talk about tattoos is just to distract me, the nervous patient, from the needle in my arm and the blood that they're taking. a tattoo needle doesn't go as deep as a doctor's needle. and a tattoo only begins to hurt after the skin is really bruised, like when tattoo artists shade in for effect. or when it's over bone. besides, I find the sensation of being tattooed slightly erotic. but that's another discussion.
I spoke with Adrian last night. he told me I'm going to get poked alot over the course of chemo. he said he got needles three times a day and it made him feel like a junkie.
I got used to the sensation during my weekly blood tests. but a few of the nurses said people actually get more sensitive to the pin prick as the frequency increases.
we'll see.
before any of this happened, I planned to get a new tattoo over the summer. the insignia of los golondrinas, ancient family property that's now a museum outside Santa Fe. guess I'll have to wait until after all the doctor needles are done pricking me.