Yeah, your side piece is pretty much exactly what I was thinking. I think it accomplishes the idea of having an artistic tatoo that is a bit more than the average bear would dare to have, yet it's not always out in the open.
We've never met, but we are the same age and both work corporate jobs. While people of our generation are generally more accepting of tatoos and piercings, persons older than us generally do not share the same accepting behavior. While they may never say anything to you directly it certainly can affect their opinion of you. While I'm all for saying "F-em" to people who don't understand, it can burn you down the road in ways you may never even realize. It also doesn't seem that you're going to want to go thru the trouble of covering it up at all times at work, so a sleeve may not be your best bet.