Conches are crunchy!

At A Glance Author Wendi Contact PezActionFigures@aol.com Artist Justin Studio Andromeda NYC Location New York City, NY

I started to stretch my ears about 4 years ago and theyre now at 0 and 10g. When I turned 18 I finally decided that I needed so get "something real". About 3 years ago I saw a guy with his conches pierced and I thought it was the greatest thing ever. I loved the look of it and how it was in a place that most people wouldn't even think of. I was talking to my roommate also a very close friend that loves the fact that my ears look like swiss cheese about how I wanted my conches done but I was way too scared. She told me that she'd go with me. I spoke to my best friend that day and I promised him i wouldn't chicken out.

On November 18th, we boarded the Metro North down to NYC and took the subway down to Andromeda. I walked in and looked around for about a minute and then a guy asked me if he could help. I told him i wanted both my conches. He asked me for ID and I handed him my license. He threw it back at me and told me that I wasn't 18 yet. I slid it back to him and told him I was and he seemed really embarrassed about it because he was a little bit rude about throwing it to me. He said he was sorry and then asked me about jewelry. I chose 12g straight barbells because every conch ring that I have seen with rings in it looked odd to me and I don't like the looks of rings really anyway. He ended up knocking $12 off each barbell because I think he felt bad.

I waited about 5 minutes while they prepared the station and then he called me in. He talked to me while he was taking out the needles and all the other stuff that was needed to put the new hole in my head. I asked him if my roommate could hold my hand when he pierced them and he laughed and said that it was cool. He drew marks in my ears and told me how my ears were completely different and thats normal. I looked in the mirror at my ears for the last time before they were getting things shoved thru them. My feet didn't reach the floor in the chair and they were shaking.

"I'm gonna count to 3.. you're gonna take a deep breath in and let it out slowly and im gonna do it" so I did and he did. I heard a pop and then i felt blood trickling down my neck. My left ear he did that one first bled for about 4 minutes and it was crazy. I had never seen that much blood come out of an ear. It dripped on to my sweatshirt, but, I didn't notice the blood until I got back on the train about an hour later. The right one didn't seem as bad as the left one. It felt like a small sting and it bled only the corner of the paper towel. Amy my roommate was holding my hand during the left one. She saw the blood and sat down in the corner because she couldn't handle it. We laugh about that now because she wanted to get her belly button pierced that day.

When we got back to school, I needed to go work on a project I'm an art major. It was bitter cold out and i had to wear a hat. I couldnt wear the one I wanted because it squished my ears down too much. I wore a winter headband instead. My ears were still swollen and I couldn't use my headphones for about 3 days and it killed me. I also couldn't talk on the fone for about 3 days because any sdden movement around it made my eyes tear. The next day when I saw people at the dining hall I showed them my ears and their only reaction was "do those go all the way thru?? DIDN'T THAT HURT!?!?!?" And I told them one did and the other one was just a sting. Then they continue to stare at it for about 5 more minutes and just look away and tell me how gross it is and that that's not meant to be pierced. Then the go to touch them and i hit their hands away so quickly they didn't even remember that they tried.

I love them so much now. I try not to play with them too much because they're not healed yet. People stare at my ears and they're fascinated by my metal appendages. My mom has grown a liking to them and every time im sitting and talking to her she likes to stare at them.

I think that after these are fully healed im going to get another one above it... or not.. it's going to take a bit of thinking over... The best feeling of all was when the swelling went down and I could turn them.

peace..

wendi

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