Well after being out of town for 7 days the old adage remains true. There is no place like home. I arrived in Pittsburgh on Monday the 24th  around 3pm to be greeted by my best pal Kernal Tubbs and Adon Curley. After a brief catch up moment we were in the car at around 100 laughs per minute. I dont remember laughing so much ever. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, the time change, or the mushmouth jokes coming from a couple of good ol boys (whose sole purpose it would seem), is to butcher what the rest of the civilized world calls the English Language. Perhaps a combination of all three but hysterical none the less. I miss these guys for a reason.

We ended up getting back to Ohio that night and hung out at the FX Tattoos til close. I miss working there so bad. The lobby is smothered in awesome flash and the hallway is draped with original artwork dedicated to the shop. It is such a rad place. We ended up tattooing there til Wednesday hanging out with some of my old customers and meeting some new faces. Everyone was super nice. By the time Wednesday came  there were 5 additional artists from different states all meeting at Tubbsys shop to get ready for Pittsburgh. It was tight quarters for sure but we liked it that way.(eeewwww)

Thursday night in Pittsburgh was the beginning of the end, and included some back alley haircuts with broken shards of glass, kidnapping a steelers fan, and a few cocktails to get the weekend started. If that was a sign of things to come we were all doomed.

Friday brought us all together again in the ballroom ready for action. It was a lot for me to take in still. Every time I see my booth in line with all the heavy hitters I wonder if I can hold my own, and honestly I still dont know. As for Saturday and Sunday the weekend picked up and lots of people came through aisles. It seemed like everybody was doing something amazing. Its nice to see everyone doing great work and having a good time together. I think thats what gives me the biggest rush, the sense of community I feel.

There were so many major details that and funny stories that eventually brain whiskey soaked brain had to push  some of them to the way back to make room for new ones. In the end I took away a re-enforced feeling of camaraderie, some awesome new reference from Kernal Tubbs and Lowercase J, some new flash from Joe Thompson, a gallon of new friends and a new nickname. Lets hope its doesnt stick to well. haha. You can bet you’ll find me there next year. Its well worth all the Mexican jokes.

Special thanks to (In order of appearance)
Jr and Mandi Tubbs, Dustin Arnett, Jeremy Seese, Josh Pyle, Billy, Adon Curley, Dan Paone, Josh Fallon, Krooked Ken, Tim Beck, Zane Leibowitz, Johnny Fry, Nate Deal, Kevin Chasek, Erich Foster, John Hogan, Lowercase J, Seth Leibowitz, Jeff Cornell, Charliegrrl, Josh, Tim Azinger, Joe Thompson, Pete Larkin, Desmond Mooney, and of course Wes ( the steelers fan i kidnapped). Im probably forgetting a couple of rad people so thanks to everyone that was awesome to me! Im very blessed to know you all.

David Meek basking in the glory of his regurgitation during a late night. Moment Immortalized by Desmond Mooney