We just finished filming the first season of LA Ink [2], so things aren't really as crazy these days. Between production, filming, running the actual shop, working with the clientele, taking care of my dogs Chopper and Cupcake and my cat Monkey and spending time with my boyfriend and friends, things got pretty busy there for a while, but that's reality on reality TV.

Before the show came along, I was doing make up freelance, which is something I absolutely love to do. I was also working at a gym, so I could work out for free, and working in a diner that I absolutely loved to death.

In a way, it was easy to give it all up because LA Ink is a great show. I was getting paid a little more than what I had been, so of course I was excited about that, and it was like embarking on a fun adventure. But I absolutely miss the diner.

I know that sounds funny, because it's just a diner, but I really, really, really loved my job there, the outfits we got to wear, the customers and the people I worked with. I love the people I'm working with now too though. Kat and I have been friends for about four years now, and the people I work with have become my best friends.

Even though I don't tattoo on the show, I've loved tattoos since I was a little girl. I started getting tattooed and pierced when I was 14, and then I was a body piercer for four years, so I was really heavy into the industry. I gave up body piercing because I was doing make up on the side and wanted to pursue it. I realized LA is really saturated with tattoo and body piercing shops, so I wanted to do something different...and I change a lot, so it was time to change.

I started doing make up when I was super young. I wasn't allowed to wear it, which made me want to do it even more. I remember buying 4-pack eyeshadows from Safeway (laughs), and when I was really young, I always used to watch my mom like a hawk while she did her make up before work. Then in junior high school I started doing everybody else's make up.

I went on to aesthetician school in San Francisco when I was 18 and then got into it more in my 20s. I had a lot of friends at the fashion institute and art school in San Francisco, and so I did make up for the fashion shows and stuff. I worked for Mac for a year, and they teach you a ton. I learned so much in that year about colors and skin tones for all ages, everything from normal make up to crazy avant-garde make up. I've just been doing it ever since. My freelance company doesn't have a name. It's just me: Pixie.

*****

One of my favorite tattoos is my Care Bear tattoo. I like all my tattoos though; they're all really colorful and they all make me happy. A lot of people get tattoos for a sad event, like a memorial, or all these really dark, morbid things. My tattoos are all really lighthearted, bright and colorful. They don't necessarily have a deeper meaning. Even though they're kind of ridiculous, they make other people smile, so that makes me smile.

People are always asking me about having my tongue split. It's a pretty simple procedure, but it's pretty excruciating for about a week. It's definitely one of the more extreme body alterations one can do, but it's becoming more popular in the industry.

In one of the shows, Kat and I were debating the value of breast implants, but that was one of those episodes that was really over-produced. That's not what was really going on at all. Kat doesn't have any insecurities at all about her body.

But for me, I do like breast implants. I feel that if someone wants to change their body to make themselves feel better, then do it. You only get one life, you only have one body and you only have one chance; if you think plastic surgery will make you happy, you might as well go for it. I also love beautiful women. If I see a beautiful woman, I'll tell her she's beautiful. I think the human figure in general is beautiful, with plastic surgery or without.

*****
I didn't actually grow up in LA; I grew up in Southern California, so I was never really around celebrities. People keep asking me about fame because of the show, and it's funny because I don't see this as a fame thing. People may recognize me, but it's not because I have some amazing talent. I'm not an amazing tattoo artist, I'm not a phenomenal actress, I've never aspired to be an actress or anything like that-for me it's kind of strange, and I feel like I'm lost somewhere in the middle.

In Canada, we were recognized a ton, and we had crazy fans! It was so sweet and I couldn't believe that people loved us as much as they do and wanted to take our pictures and get our autographs. It blew my mind. But I still don't think of it as fame. I mean, Kat is famous, but she's not famous because she's on TV. She's famous because she's amazing at what she does and a female artist in a male-dominated industry.

For me, I don't really see that happening. On the show, I'm totally replaceable. They could get another shop manager in a second. I mean, Yoji's [3] not famous. (laughs) It's one thing to be famous for being extraordinary. It's another to be recognized because you're on TV.

Some people remember me from my appearance on Fear Factor. We won $20,000 and a trip to Florida, but we didn't win the final prize. We didn't have to eat anything gross, because I'm a vegetarian, although I do eat fish. But if we had had to eat something, we probably would have won. (giggles)

We had to go in a tank with all these baby alligators, and they tried to make it sound like it was all scary. I was so excited that I jumped up and down, and we had to re-shoot it and they told me I was supposed to be scared. I love animals, so I wasn't scared of the baby alligators. They're raised on the Fear Factor farm, and so they're pretty docile.

*****

LA Ink has been an awesome experience. Kat has assembled a team of amazing individuals, and they're actually my closest friends in LA now. I feel like we're all really fortunate to have had this opportunity. It's awesome to have people sending gifts and kind words and love letters. I've been amazed at the things people are willing to share with me because of this show and a funky little shop. I'm really privileged and thankful for it all.

Sure, it's challenging; Sometimes you get discouraged-you may get a bad fan letter once in a while. I have friends and family that I don't get to see and they miss me. It's long hours, but it's all worth it. It's all what you make of it. I always have a positive attitude and I plan on keeping it, you know.

One of my favorite movies is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It's about erasing painful experiences from your memory. I went through some pretty painful things in my childhood, but I wouldn't take them back. They made me who I am. Knowing I conquered them is one thing that gives me my drive. I'm a happy girl.

*****

If you enjoyed this story, you may also enjoy Yoji: The Humble Apprentice's Big Deal [4]

If you know someone who loves Pixie - pass this story along to them!