At A Glance Author Estoy_Muerto_X Contact Estoy_Muerto_X@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist Slugger Studio Skyline Tattoo Location Arlington, VA My lobe piercing experience was a long and drawn-out ride. Not because the procedure went wrong mind you, that all went off without a hitch. Because of a certain outside force. A force so strong, that no logical reason and explanation in the tongue of man can be used to reason with it. You all may be familiar with this force. It is known to some as: scared parents.
That's "scared" parents, not "scarred", you mod-obsessed freaks! (Just a bit of bad humor.) "Scared" as in frightened, terrified, petrified. Varying degrees of utter and mortal terror can be expressed through a parental unit when they learn of their progeny's desire to bod-mod. Even just m'goddamn earlobes. (In the South, we use contractions a lot.)
Now, back to the story. You see friends, I'm a guy who makes up his mind to do something, and I stick with it. One day, I made up my mind to get my ears pierced. My dear father, being raised in the conservo-baptist boondock of Martinsville, VA, was not so thrilled about the idea. I am a male of course, and in his mind, only girls are supposed to get their ears pierced. He also believes, in all his liberal and enlightened wonder, that female earlobe piercings are the only acceptable kind. Now, fast forward. My father does deserve some credit, because hell, my ears are pierced. But he by no means aided in the process, nor did he ever compliment me on them after the fact. He pretty much stayed to the side and looked glum, occasionally letting slip some anecdote of disapproval. Credit to his name, my dad ain't so bad and wasn't the main road-block on my proverbial highway to earlobe piercing. He did eventually say it was okay, after all.
My dear, sweet mother, was an entirely different story. See, worrying runs in her family. Her mother constantly worried about her kids, and this chronic concern was passed mother-to-daughter. My mother was not ideologically opposed to the idea of getting my ears pierced. She was just prepared to sacrifice hours and hours and hours searching for the cleanest, most sterile shop the DC area had to offer. Now, some of you may be wondering, "Where's the harm in that? That's actually a good thing!" Sure, on paper, it looks good. But remember folks, we are talking about ear piercing. It's not exactly an extremely dangerous procedure that needs surgical-style prepping and anesthetics. I don't mean for a second that sterilization is unnecessary. Quite the opposite, actually. I myself do not take body modification lightly, and I could be classified as someone who has "done their homework" when it comes to knowing risks and finding a good shop. I already had a shop picked out: Skylin e Tattoo. I had called them and several other places, and decided that they could probably pull it off the best. I know, I hadn't checked the place out yet, but again, it's just lobes, and I'd get the chance to check it out when I went to get them done. If it was totally putrid and dirty, I could have high-tailed it out of there.
Again, I digress. My mother, bless her soul (seriously, she's pretty cool, even though she worries) was prepared to go beyond merely checking out the places and reading up on risks. She wanted me to ask doctors, ask friends, read pages and pages of horror stories. She wanted to go to the Better Business Bureau and look up the records of every shop we checked out. Again, this may look great on paper, but it was just my lobes! This was a bit excessive.
Her worrying lead to a big fight between her and me. I yelled about how I was prepared for it, and had looked up the place, and how I was aware of the risks. Her genetic predisposition to worrying lead her to argue that she wasn't prepared for it and that I should respect her wishes. Did I mention how I am pretty strong-minded? Well, it was hard for me to take "No" for an answer. To make a long story short, the argument ended up with an agreement that should would take me to the parlor to "check it out". I agreed that if she felt strongly against it, we could leave. But she agreed to stay open-minded about it all.
We drive to the parlor (name: Skyline Tattoo). There were some folks waitin' to get tattooed, but I told them I was just interested in getting my lobes pierced. After my mom had asked the piercer, Slugger, a good deal of questions, he agreed to show us the piercing room. He showed us the autoclave and how sterile everything was. My mom was nervous, but I got her to agree to let me get my ears done, as long as I promised to stop bugging them about it. What's this? Did I accomplish the impossible? Close to it, friends. Close to it. I agreed to that deal quicker than a crack-smokin' jackrabbit.
(This is where most normal, non-ADHD people, would start their experience posting. I have ADHD. I talk and type a lot. Bear with me.) We slapped down our respective ID cards and signed all the proper legal forms 'n' such. The people waiting to get tattooed just had to wait a little longer because ol' Slugger decided to get my ears over with before he got to them.
Now down to the nitty-gritty. The dirty deed itself. I went and washed my hands, and sat nervously down in the dentist-like exam chair. My mom watched, even though she has a fear of blood and needles, and the like. As most women did, she got her ears pierced at the mall with a gun. I intend to follow the safe path! Anywho, I waited anxiously in the chair as Slugger washed his hands and prepped the area. First, he put on rubber gloves. He got out two hollow 12g needles (this is the gauge I had decided on), all in their cute, little autoclave bags. He got out two standard 12g CBRs (also bagged). I never really picked them, that's just what he had out so I didn't argue. In retrospect, I probably could have picked out something else, but it was all gravy. I was so scared it wouldn't have mattered. He keeps telling me it's alright, and maintaining a calm, professional demeanor. He swings me around so he was facing my right side, the ear he was doing first. He marked my ear with a marker and checked it with me in return. It looked fine.
"This is what separates the men from the boys." Says Slugger eloquently as he holds the needle close to my ear. Then I felt it. Holy hell! My ears are fire! Well, I calmed down a few seconds later. It hurt a lot, and I have a low pain threshold, so that worked out nicely. It was a fluid motion at least, and the CBR was in before I knew it. He sprayed the piercing with Magic Dragon Mist spray to clean it and ease some of the burning sensation.
He spun me around to my left ear. He marked it with a marker in the same way, pretty damn well lined up if you ask me. "Nah dude, you're doin' fine." Says Slugger as he pierces my left ear. Again: OUCH! I was more prepared that time, but it still hurt like hell. It's weird how some people say earlobes hurt the least, or not at all. Mine sure hurt a lot! The deed was done quickly though, and I am thankful for that.
There was some bleeding and soreness up until a few days later. It died down a lot after a few weeks, and it felt good as new a month and a half later. Now, I played with the rings ALL THE TIME, so that probably hindered healing, but now it's all good.
I learned a lot from my lobe piercings. I learned how to handle pain better, and how to accept change more. I learned a lot about myself and self-image. Piercings enhance the looks you already have, and add an edge to your appearance. For vain people like me, it helps you feel a little cooler, a little more original, a little more spiritual, even. You are more in touch with yourself and how you look, finally in control of your external appearance – taking control over what nature has given you. Piercing and tattooing are a very important, and powerful thing, and should never be taken (too) lightly. In retrospect, I would have handled my parents with more courtesy. I try to be courteous when bothering them now!
This piercing, as I said, went off without a hitch. I am now in the world of body modification. What's next you ask? Lobes are going to at least 0g, left eyebrow at 16g, labret at 14g, tongue at 14g, and maybe a *yikes* small septum, but I need to think about it a lot more!
Don't be too scared, moms and dads. Your kid is growing up!