You Fancy Me Mad

A Nerdy Personal Blog

9/11: Remembering John Patrick Hart

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If you’ve been a reader of this blog, you know that this is something I post every 9/11. I think it’s important we remember the names of those who passed that day, and not just the cause of it. Last year I was able to visit the 9/11 Museum in NYC. While there, I found John’s name on a memorial and was able to view a video his family sharing memories. I couldn’t watch for long, because I started to get too emotional. Honesty, the entire experience was. I have no idea if the links below are still active, but if they are, take some time today to learn about the lives of those we lost that September day. And be kind to each other. (This section was added in 2017)

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A few months ago I signed up for the 2,996 Project. I had no idea who I would be assigned to. I didn’t lose anyone during 9-11 so I didn’t have a certain person that I wanted to blog about. I was assigned John Patrick Hart who was in the World Trade Center, Tower 2, 90th floor on that September day five years ago. I’m going to do my best to write about the man who was lost, and not the event that took his life.

After reading some information on Mr. Hart, it sounds like he was a one of a kind guy. He met his wife of 10 years when she was a flight attendant. She would always be showing off pictures of her two children on an airport shuttle. John would then make it a point to always take the shuttle she was on. After five trips he finally asked her out but there was a catch. He explained that she would have to bring her children. They went out for pizza and had fun bowling.

He was a dad would lend a helping hand at his children’s t-ball games. His sister, Jeanine, said that John was the type of dad that whenever he walked into a room, all the kids would just run to him. He would arrange his work schedule around his kids activities. He made sure his family always came first. He knew how important family was since he came from a large family of 5 siblings and had 4 children himself.

John was a typical guy in some aspects though. He was a huge “Cheese Head” who was a lifetime Green Bay Packers fan. During opening season of deer hunting in Wisconsin, you’d find him out there on his annual hunting trip. When in front of the TV, it would always be sports or shows about wars.

He was in New York City that day 17 years ago to teach a management class. The class was on the 90th floor of the World Trade Center’s south tower. After the plane slammed into the building he had enough time to call his wife at home to let her know he was OK. They think John had enough time to escape the Tower but his wife Laurie said that John felt that it was his responsibility to let those who were arriving for class know they didn’t have to stay.

In my eyes this man was a hero. He helped Laurie after her 1st marriage fell apart and adopted her two children. Not many men would step up to the plate like that. Not many men would ask that the children come along on the 1st date. This dad could have been any of our fathers and he reminds me of mine in a way. A father who always made sure he had time for his kids but did whatever he had to in order to make sure they had what they needed.

I don’t know if any of his friends or family are reading this but if you are, I want to let you know that even though I don’t know you or him, I could tell he was special just by reading the various articles I found. I’m sorry that you lost such an important part of your lives but I know that his spirit lives on inside you.

On this 9-11 I’ll be attending a local memorial service, I’ll be lighting my candle in honor of Mr. John Patrick Hart.

To see a list of other tribute post just click here.

You can find the new list and website here

Sideshow Is Now Carrying Loungefly Bags!

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Imagine my surprise when I was clicking around the Sideshow website when I saw that they started carrying Loungefly! If you aren’t familiar with the brand, they make some really awesome and nerdy bags. You’ll find Star Wars, Marvel, Disney, and many more brands. I have a Black Widow wallet myself, along with an Avengers bag! I always get compliments when I use them. The bag theyr’e currently offering aren’t in stock but are pre-orders. Don’t worry though! They’re due out in the next few months. Here’s what you’ll find so far!

Marvel Captain America Cosplay Crossbody Bag: $68

Marvel Captain America Cosplay Mini Backpack $64

Star Wars Phantom Menace Backpack $40

Star Wars Ewok Backpack $68

Marvel Spider-Man Suit Mini Backpack $64

Star Wars X-Wing and TIE Fighter Backpack $40

Star Wars X-Wing and TIE Fighter Mini Backpack $56

I think that’s all of them! They’re expected to be in by November which means they could make awesome Holiday gifts! I’m not sure which one is my favorite. I really like the Ewok bag. It’s just really adorable and different! How bout you? Do any of these bags grab your eye?

I Started Laser Hair Removal

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I swear I was just going for a consultation and the next thing I know I’m on a table getting lasered! All kidding aside though, it’s something I’ve been thinking about for awhile. This might all be TMI but I have pretty thick and dark hair. I suffer from ingrown hair no matter if I wax or shave. Yes, waxing lead to less but they still happened. Then there’s the whole having to let things grow to keep waxing and well, in the summer time I want to be able to just hit the pool whenever I want. I don’t want to have to schedule around waxing and other bullshit. I don’t want scars or dark marks due to ingrown hair. After doing some reading, I came to the conclusion that I was pretty much the “perfect” candidate. My skin tone and hair type/color played in my favor. I found a local place, did some research, and on Saturday stopped in. I met with a nurse who took a look at the area I wanted treated (bikini obviously), answered any questions/concerns that I had, and took my medical history. I met with the office manager (I’m guessing that’s her title, she was in charge of the finance aspect of things) and we went over pricing and payment options, plus things like a lifetime treatment guarantee, how many treatments are needed, and all the paperwork. Honestly everyone I met with was very nice and knowledgeable about their part of the treatments. I felt 100% relaxed and any questions I had were answered. Plus I received tons of compliments on my tattoos which is always nice.

This wasn’t my first time dealing with lasers. Many moons ago I had a tattoo removed, so I was kinda familiar with it and knew what to expect. The laser felt just like the one I had for the tattoo removal. It feels like being hit with rubber bands. There is the smell of burning hair which is worse than the laser in my opinion. It’s always the weirdest part. I want to say it took maybe 15-20 minutes from marking the area and doing prep to finishing up with the laser. There was no pain or issues afterwards. It’s been a few days and still, no weird reactions or anything which is always a good thing. I just have to make sure I exfoliate the area a week after to help clear out the hair and keep any ingrowns at bay. I then go back every 8 weeks for the first few treatments and then it goes to 10 weeks near the end. I have to make sure I keep the area out of the sun and I can shave, but no waxing since that removes the hair and they need the area to go through the various stages of growth. Fun stuff, right? I think I picked the perfect time to start though since most of my beach/pool time is over.

I’m really curious to see how this goes. I’m confident that it’ll work but I’m not expecting miracles either. Like anything else, for every success story you read there’s another one where someone was disappointed with the outcome. I’ll probably wait till my 3rd treatment to post any updates. I can’t imagine I’ll have to much else to write about after the next one in September. If anyone out there tried laser hair removal, let me know in the comments!

How I Keep My Purple Hair Purple

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I’m someone who likes to have fun with hair color. I’m not talented enough to do it myself which means I spend a pretty penny in order to get the looks that I want. The thing is, fun colors can fade pretty quickly and it’s not always feasible to go get color touched up weekly or even monthly. We all have bills to pay. When I did a few purple streaks late last year, my barber recommended Viral Colorwash. It’s a colored shampoo that deposits color back into your hair but doesn’t mess up any uncolored area. Basically it keeps whatever hair you have colored, colored. I didn’t use it much then because I just had a few streaks and it wasn’t a big deal (to me) when it faded. Currently though I’m rocking this:

(You can see more of her work here)

That’s a lot of purple right? And as I mentioned before, I don’t have the time or extra cash to keep getting it touched up. That’s why I’ve been using Viral about every other time I wash my hair! And it’s been a lifesaver! I can really tell that it’s keeping the color fresh. Does it look like I just left the salon? Well, no. It’s still a vibrant purple though and looks great considering normally by now I’d probably would have colored it a darker color to just start everything fresh. If you use it every time you wash your hair, it’ll keep it even brighter. I normally go that route if I have a vacation or event coming up. The colorwash is around $35 but it’s worth it. You can find it in a lot of salons that specialize in the fun and vibrant colors. It comes in a pretty wide range of colors including blue, red, pink, and teal.

Here’s what my hair currently looks like. I took this photo outside in natural light and it’s been almost a month since I had it professionally done.

I still get compliments on it too! I guess that mean it’s not half bad? Of course a few other tips to keep your hair color looking fresh is trying not to wash it as often, staying out of pools, and using color safe shampoos, even if it’s not something like Viral. That about covers it! If you have any questions let me know and I’ll try my best to answer them!

How I Snagged An Appointment With An In Demand Tattoo Artist

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There have always been tattoo artists who are more sought after that others. Maybe they specialize in portraits, or amazing color. Maybe they happened to win a tattoo reality show, or they really nail cover ups. The fact of the matter is, there are artists out there that have their books filled for months, if not years in advance. These artists have the ability and luxury to pick and choose what they work on as well. That means it’s not as easy as calling a shop or sending an email in order to get a spot with them. So, how did I manage to secure a spot with Halo? I’m glad you asked!

My client @bri_partridge wanted a portrait of her horse in the frame shape of a lighting bolt. I love love tattooing horses, what a majestic creature these big guys are. @eternalink @heliostattoo @quickcaps #dabtattoocream #dabtattoocreamproteam #welcometothedabside #baltimore #tattoo #halo #inkmaster @SpikeTV #blacklotus @eternalink @heliostattoo @painfulpleasures @blacklotustat2gallery #heliostattoo #portrait #instadaily #tattoosbyhalo #maryland #baltimore @WATERLOOWORKSTATION #art #nofilter #custom #trekell #createx #teamHalo @illustratedmonthly @lydiabruno13 @larryhtattoo @tattoosbylildan @meow.em @mattblacklotus @merv_heiner @honeypie_tattoos @jackie_blacklotus @danny.b_tattoos @inkymcstapleface @247INKMAG

A post shared by Halo Damien Grey (@tattoosbyhalo) on


I started following him on Instagram awhile ago and honestly this is my number one tip. It’s the easiest way to find out when they open their books or if they had a cancellation. About a year ago he posted a collage of a few super hero related portraits that he wanted to do. All you had to do was send an email with the subject you wanted. One of those was “Batman Returns” Catwoman. This is actually a tattoo I’ve had in the back of my mind for awhile but wanted to make sure I had the right artist. When I saw she was included, I quickly sent off an email. I was lucky enough to get picked! But the timeline didn’t exactly work. Since it was something he really wanted to do, he opened his books later in the year for me. I put down my deposit and then just waited! Then around October the day finally arrived and 5.5 hours later, I had a beautiful new piece of art on my body.


If you’re open about the subject of the tattoo, you’ll probably have better luck securing a spot. You’ll find a lot of times tattoo artists will do what Halo did. They might post flash they’ve worked on and are looking to tattoo, or just ideas that they’ve been playing around with. Of course you shouldn’t get something done if it’s not something you actually want or like. It is something that will be on you forever. I recommend paying attention to what they like to do as well. Are you going after someone who does portraits mainly? Then maybe don’t submit an idea about flowers. If they do amazing color work, don’t go in looking for black and gray. You want to play to their strengths! If they love doing jewel work like Jenna Kerr above, then that’s what you go for! The most important thing though is to just follow them on as much of their social media as you can. Some artists travel around and don’t really have a “home shop” or they have their own private studio. Speaking of traveling around, tattoo conventions are a huge thing now. If there’s an artist that you’ve had your eye on, be sure to see if they ever do conventions. It’s a great way to get amazing work done by non-local talent. Again, most of the time they’ll post on social media about their con schedule and how to get booked for those events. The most important thing is to just be sure to read everything they ask when it comes to sending in a request. This might include having a few ideas or spots open on your body. It might mean only paying in cash. Maybe they want you to send in reference photos. Just be sure to read and re-read everything before hitting send on that email. You don’t want to miss out because you didn’t read the rules.

That’s it really. It’s not magic or something complicated. It’s just about keeping your eyes open and paying attention to the artists you enjoy. Plus a nice mix of keeping an open mind when it comes to what you want tattooed. If you have any other questions, let me know in the comments! And just to be clear, the only tattoo above that’s mine is the Catwoman! Though I’d love to have artwork from Jenna one day!

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