At A Glance
Author	Ka Crow
Contact	Ka Crow@bme.anon
IAM	Ka Crow
When	It just happened
Artist	Sean Philips
Studio	Comes a Time
Location	Fairfax, VA

It was all going to be so very simple.

My friend C. had obtained for me an extremely sick set of three hellaciously beautiful CBRs, all in a purple opalescent niobium finish that I fell in love with at once. The 16ga was to go in my existing helix, which had been bitchy and unhappy lately because I had a CBB with spiked ends in it which had been constantly getting snagged on my hair. The pair of 14ga were to form my third lobe piercings; I have small ears, and my two existing 6ga lobe holes didn't leave too much lobe tissue behind them to work with, so I decided starting -- and quite possibly remaining -- at 14 for the third lobe holes would be sensible.

The rings duly arrived in the mail from C. (along with a really tasty pair of burgundy titanium 16ga CBRs that are to be anti-helix piercings later, but that will be another story for another time), and since it was a sunny Friday afternoon, I went to my usual piercing shop, Comes a Time, expecting to have the niobium goodies installed by Tom.

I entered and found the waiting room incredibly crowded, with a short, bearded man standing just inside the door. I asked for Tom, and this guy told me that Tom was out at the moment, but that he could help me. Looking at this gentleman, and especially at his pair of lowbrets (not that his ink isn't fascinating too, but lowbrets are so rare), I trusted him, filled out the standard studio paperwork, and followed him into the work room.

I introduced myself and shook the piercer's hand; he introduced himself as Sean. Cool enough. I hopped up on the table and commenced to get incredibly picky about the placement of the third lobe holes, which Sean bore with patience. I chatted a bit about being at 6ga, and now having thoughts about 4ga -- and I added, "You know how that goes," since this patient man had bloody huge steel tunnels in his own lobes that I could just about put my fist through. (Not that I tried.)

Once I was back up on the table, I asked him about the large CBB-shaped implant on the back of his hand. He replied that Steve Haworth had done it, and added, "He's a friend of mine. Small world." This raised my still-unpierced eyebrows a bit (that, too, will be another story for another time), but I was too focused on the coming piercing to think about this in any depth.

Sean used the standard inhale, then pierce on the exhale method. I asked him if it got boring sticking navels all day, as there was a crowd of women in the waiting room debating navels for two of them, and he said no, that everyone's a little different. He got the first ear done, then went round to prep the second, and I said, "Sometimes I think it should be mandatory for people to read BMEzine before coming into the studio."

Sean said, "You do, huh?" and chuckled, before coming at me with the second needle and CBR. He asked me if I ever read QOD, and I said I did. By now, regular readers of BME will see where this is going; however, my excited brain was still fully in Getting Pierced Mode, and I was just not yet making the connection.

Finally, when both lobe rings had been installed and Sean had switched out my helix, I finally made the connection: he admitted to being Sean Philips, you know, IAM: LexTalonis, THAT Sean. My brain, still in its adrenaline-endorphine bath, silently sputtered, OMFG! I then proceeded to make perhaps the stupidest series of statements I have ever made in my life: "Okay, I'll just sit here and be starstruck for a minute. Dear God, I've been pierced by a FAMOUS person!" Sean merely looked down and stripped off his gloves.

So I picked his brain a little bit about my planned vert eyebrow; he said the burgundy Ti rings were a bit too big for a proper daith, but might be good up the anti-helix, and either way he was sure a good placement could be worked out. I even confided in him my consideration of a Christina. There's just nothing like the combo of Newly Pierced Mode and being starstruck at the same time!

I paid at the counter and made sure Counter Guy knew to take the change and tip Sean with it. This is, perhaps, an incredibly stupid series of thoughts all the way through, and I hope it doesn't read like suck-uppage -- but I now feel not only more like myself, but incredibly honored to have been pierced by one of the most knowledgeable needle-wielders on the continent.