Day 1 Blog 1 2-26-12

Hello out there, I am just winding my day down and thought this would be a good time to start this adventure.

Blogging, and the internet in general are completely new to me, this technology was not available when I was last in the free world. (1989)

But one aspect of prison life that can be a benefit is it encourages the autodidact to explore and I expect I'll get the hang of it rather quickly. :)

I have been in prison since 1989, prior to that I was free for about two years after serving seven. As you can see I have more time in prison than in the free world and as a result my psychology is adapted to my environemnt so if I am communicating in a way that seems odd to you just bear with me and ask for clarification.

I am well read and have spent many hours studying everything I coud get my hands on. I love to learn and I like to think of myself as a student of human nature and psychology. This is one of the early tools you develop to be successful in the prison environment.

You learn to read people, to see trends in groups, body language, and even just "feel" the energy around you. Your survival depends on your awareness.

But again, I think the same is true in your world and even the animal kingdom - Be aware, be alive. :)

I am currently in medium custody, have been for a year now and this feels a lot better than my stay at the "max". Maximum security is just what you would expect, violet and extremely stressful, but there are aspects of it I do miss.

That must sound odd to you but it's about perspective. For instance because of the level of violence the staff did not concern themselves with trivial rule infractions like doing tattoos, so I was able to make a good living for qute a while.

Now in the "medium" the staff will not let any rule infractions slide so I have to leave the tattoo equipment alone or I lose my guitar and in fact may earn a trip back to the max and though I miss some of the quirks of that life, living here is a lot better.

So i'll stick to drawing. (: I'm posting some photos of tattoo work I did while in the max so you can get an idea of what I'm capable of with a home-made tattoo gun with a single needle.

Also a picture of a tiger portriat I drew for my wife (who passed away from breast cancer on 1-7-06...miss her).

Losing my wife was a major turning point in my life. Nancy was such a important part of my growth and I still find myself reaching out to her when I need the support.

I have traveled a long weird road and there's a lot of ground to cover but I'll close this for now and post it as an opening.

I will return in a couple of days.

Be well all.

Daniel