At A Glance
Author	Miseria
Contact	Miseria@bme.anon
When	Three months ago
Artist	Pieta
Studio	Punktured at Off Ya Tree
Location	Adelaide, Australia

As much as I love my mother, she has a tendency to frustrate me to no end. Especially when conversation turns to piercings.

I got my nose pierced in February- an experience which left me with that familiar rush and desire for another piercing. So I raised this point with mother dearest, much to her annoyance and insistence that I "didn't need anything else". Never one to back down, I used my stubbornness to the best of my ability, spending the next few weeks trying to convince her of the benefits of various ways in which I could stick metal through myself.
Lip piercings were too noticeable. A tongue stud seemed to raise some kind of intense moral objection. A number of other things were met with horrified stares. Finally, I turned to her and asked what I could have.

"I don't know," she replied. "Fit something else on your ears. Or get that stomach piercing you wanted last year."

I wasn't so sure about the stomach surface piercing anymore. A friend got one after hearing me tell her that I wanted one, and it rejected fairly quickly, leaving a large and rather unsightly scar. My ears, though... my lobes were cluttered enough as it was, and I'd always thought that the usual upper cartilage piercings were ugly. A tragus piercing could be nice.

"What about here?" I asked, pointing to my left tragus. "They're okay, right?"

She thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. "I guess that would be okay".

And so it was settled. My next trip into the city would reward me with a lovely little tragus piercing.

The next Wednesday, I left uni at eleven o'clock, following an indescribably boring German history lecture. Picking up my brother, who was skipping school that day, I made my way to the train station and then into the city. On the way there, I realised that I still hadn't informed Dad about my plans. I gave him a quick call, and after reassuring him that I wouldn't come home with what he described as "some huge pirate ring", I was set.

After a quick lunch, we headed down to Punktured on Hindley Street, much to my brother's complaints that he didn't want to see me with a needle in my ear, he wanted to go shopping. Well, that was his problem. Because I wasn't waiting any longer.

I dragged him inside, and happily bounded up to a long haired guy standing at the counter. Worried that they might be too busy at the moment, I asked if they had time to pierce a tragus. He replied that I could head into the studio in ten minutes.

"Excellent," I said. "And how much is this going to set me back?"

"Twenty dollars for the piercing," he responded, "and ten dollars for a ring or another twenty for a labret stud." He added that the labret stud was preferred, since it healed better. I thought that they looked better, too, so I decided to fork out the extra ten dollars for a stud.

"The let's get the really painful part out of the way," he said to me. "Paying for the thing!"

I paid, and he had me sign a couple of forms stating that I wasn't drunk- something of a concern on a street renowned for its bars and strip joints. He checked with my (by this stage, more grumpy than usual) brother that this was true, and then let us wander around the store until the piercer would be ready.

I spent the next ten minutes looking at the jewellery in the cases and the variety of t-shirts on the racks, and trying futilely to make conversation with the brother. A woman then appeared from a doorway at the back of the store and called me inside. My brother reluctantly followed and sat on a chair in the corner of the studio.

The first thing that struck me was how big the room was, in comparison to the virtual closet of a room that I was pierced in last time. I then noted with relief that everything was laid out on a little table- sterilised and in small packets.

The woman who had invited me in introduced herself as Pieta, and the girl next to her as Kate. Kate was apparently new to Punktured, and their soon-to-be-newest qualified piercer. She would be helping out with my tragus piercing. I said hello, and introduced myself, before sitting down on the long, cushioned bench along the wall.

Pieta asked which tragus I wanted pierced. I had chosen the left, to add some balance with my right nostril piercing.

"This really is a lovely little tragus," she said, having a look at it.

"Oh, thank you," I replied. "I'm flattered."

She beckoned Kate over, and they both stared at it, commenting that it was a good one to pierce. It had two little ridges on it, one of which could be pierced, reducing the chance of it migrating, and also leaving me open to add a second stud to the other ridge later. I responded that it wasn't a bad idea, so I would get the bottom ridge pierced. They nodded, and got to work sterilising the area.

After cleaning it three times with small, wet pieces of cloth, and once more with Betadine, Kate marked the spot to be pierced, asking me to check it in the mirror. I did, and agreed that it was a good spot. Getting the equipment ready, Pieta asked me to lie down on the bench, facing the wall. As I stared at the blue paint, Kate clamped my tragus. A lot of people say that this is the most painful part, but I just found it more uncomfortable than anything. Having part of a metal contraption in your ear isn't the most pleasant experience. Kate then moved aside, as Pieta approached with the needle.

"Are you ready for this?" she asked.

"Sure am."

"Excellent. If it hurts, then just wiggle your toes. I always find that to be helpful."

And with that, she stuck the needle through the cartilage. It wasn't completely painless, and I followed her toe-wiggling advice (which, oddly enough, did help), but it was certainly bearable. The needle seemed to go through in two parts- it hurt a bit, then stopped, and then seemed to go through the last part of cartilage. Disappointingly, I didn't hear the infamous "pop" that so many describe.

I expected the jewelry being put in to hurt, but I was wrong. I just felt the needle and the stud being fiddled around with, and the ball being screwed on. While Pieta did this, she remarked at the lack of blood or mess.

"Normally a tragus rewards you with some blood or something," she said. "Not this one! I told you it was a good tragus!"

While I remained lying down, Pieta told me a bit about the required aftercare, and gave me a yellow sheet with advice on it. She recommended salt soaks, cleaning with liquid soap, and letting water pressure in the shower wash the area, as she had been doing with her recently-acquired row of five conch studs. She was also adamant that I should not touch it.

And my experience was over with. I reached for the hand mirror, thrilled with the result. I thanked both Pieta and Kate profusely, and happily rejoined my brother (who had spent the last few minutes staring at the wall, refusing to see a needle get stuck through my ear) for some shopping. I couldn't help but inspect it in every change-room mirror for the rest of the day.

Around six weeks have passed since then, and I haven't experienced any problems at all. My aftercare regime was fairly minimal- a quick wash in the shower with liquid soap sufficed. For the first month, I also refrained from touching it, sleeping on it or putting headphones in that ear when listening to music on the bus to uni. It hasn't completely healed yet (cartilage piercings such as this frequently don't heal entirely for up to a year, I'm told), but it no longer hurts when pressure is put on the area.

The only hassles I've had were a couple of times when I woke up with a jolt after rolling onto the piercing while asleep, which, while in the first stage of healing, can be rather painful. I also got annoyed when, on occasion, my ear would itch and I couldn't scratch it for fear of spreading bacteria or even just knocking the jewellery. But they're only minor, and really, quite irrelevant difficulties.

All in all, this has been a rather cute piercing to have, as well as a surprisingly easy one to care for. If you want one, then I say go for it- after you do a bit of research. Find out the best piercer in your area, and don't be afraid to pay a bit more if necessary. It could be worth it in the long run.

Happy piercing!