It was about mid-July 2002. I had always wanted a rook piercing. I think they're just about the most beautiful piercings that exist. I'd paid numerous visits to various piercing shops, inquiring, pricing and comparing cleanliness and the like. As it was, for the year before I got it done, I was dating a guy who wasn't incredibly fond of body mods. Usually, when I went to get it done, I'd bring him and he'd discourage me somehow and I'd return home piercingless, much to the delight of my parents.
At A Glance Author Dee When A year ago Artist Julio Studio Ancient Arts Location Pierrefonds, Mtl. Well, you see, in July 2002, the guy cheated on me, ending a 3-year relationship. I was crushed and upset and had no idea what to do with myself. Fortunately a bunch of my co-workers were going to get piercings the following weekend and invited me along. I jumped at the opportunity to finally get the rook piercing I'd been craving for over a year. It was a good time to finally do it, seeing as how I wasn't with the boy anymore.
My friends wanted to go to Ancient Arts (on Montreal's West Island – near where I live), which freaked me out slightly, as I'm used to going to Adrenaline (in Downtown Montreal). Nonetheless, I figured if it wasn't clean enough for my standards, I'd forego the piercing for the day and get it done at Adrenaline another time. So I found myself with about 5 other girls sitting in the waiting room at Ancient Arts (which is actually very clean and respectable). Most of them were getting tongue piercings. I was the only one getting a rook – I was a little nervous, but hey – I was also excited!
So Julio (the piercer and owner of Ancient Arts) spoke to me a little about getting my rook pierced. He made sure I knew it was painful and also that it would bleed a bit (all things I was aware of anyway). He asked me what type of jewellery I wanted and I explained that I wanted a curved barbell – something really simple, so we picked a nice 16g plain silver titanium one and I was ready to go – when it was my turn, of course. All the tongue piercing girls went first, so I'm sitting there for a good hour just waiting in suspense. Finally, my turn arrived.
Julio asked me to wash my hands and he washed his - again - he does this like every 5 minutes – it's amazing. He wouldn't allow anyone into the room with me while I got it done. He said it's because sometimes people faint watching other people get pierced and he's just prefer everyone to wait outside. I was okay with that, I guess. Julio then explained the whole procedure to me. He removed all the equipment from sterile packages and slid the needle through the cartilage. It hurt a lot, but I was okay with that. I was still in emotional anguish over the breakup, so any other feeling was welcome, plus I knew that after it was all done I would spend all evening looking at it in the mirror and that would make me happy – for a change. I needed that.
While Julio was getting the jewellery ready to follow through, he stuck the needle into a Q-tip, which I thought was efficient. Then he followed the barbell through. He had a little difficulty screwing the ball back on, but after jumping up onto the table next to me like a cat, finally got it. The barbell was in! There was no mirror in the piercing room, so I couldn't look at it just yet. I was so excited but he had to keep me for a minute to make sure I saw him break the needle in half and dispose of it properly.
When I finally saw it, I was so amazed. It was beautiful. It was also quite painful. I was now realizing that the piercing itself hurt like a crazy bitch. My ear felt hot, as always with ear piercings and I could feel a little blood on my ear. I absolutely hate having blood on my ear. I cleaned it compulsively with bactistat (the bottle I got from Adrenaline) for the next while, as best I could, of course. Rook piercings are not always easy to clean as you can't see them very easily. I often use two mirrors to see the bottom of it.
Now, my rook is very well healed and I generally have no problems with it. On the very odd occasion (usually when I have the flu or something) I will get a few crusties, but compared to my helix, it's healed beautifully. I believe one factor contributing to this is that being pierced with a curved barbell, it's out of the way when I'm sleeping, and hence, is less irritated. I love looking at my rook, and so do the kids I work with. They love to count my earrings. It makes for a great conversation piece, really, because I'm very proud of my rook.