"So What Are You Planning on Doing With That?"

At A Glance Author Tanya Contact Peachy720@aol.com Artist Karen Studio AAA Tattoos and Body Piercing Location Lafayette, La

Hey everyone!!

First of all, I want to thank everyone at BME, especially all of you who have shared your piercing experiences. I don't think I would have gone through with it without you guys.

Okie dokie..I'll just give ya'll a little background info on me. My name is Tanya and I'm 21. I was born and raised in New Orleans, but now live a couple hours away in Lafayette. I have a tattoo on my left shoulder blade (man in the moon with a cloud draped around him) that I got when I was 18. I've wanted a tongue ring for years, ever since I saw someone with one back in New Orleans, but I've gone to Catholic Schools all my life, and was too scared of being kicked out. When I got up here, I found that Lafayette is a small, "family" town, so there's not a lot of pierced tongues, but that's okay with me!

Anyways, so after visiting BME daily, I finally had enough nerve.

I'm a manager at Blockbuster Video (and full-time student) and there's a rule that no visible tattoos or piercings. I talked to my store manager, and she says that as long as I try and hide it from anyone important, it's cool with her. Woohoo! ;Þ So I talk to my best friend and she said she'd come with me the next day for support.

So Wednesday comes around..I wake up with butterflies having a party in my stomach. I go to class and come back, to wait for my friend's call. Her class ended at 1, and it's now 3pm..ACK! I try calling and she's chickened out..she has to go shopping with her parents. Why don't I wait til next week? she asks. I knew that was out of the question, so I assure her I'll be fine on my own. I get to the studio and find a guy my age looking like a nervous wreck on a chair.

Two of his friends are with Karen, the piercer. She's doing one's ear, and the other is watching. She gives them the total, and while they're coughing up money she looks at me, "Can I help you with something?" I manage to get out, "I'd like to get my tongue pierced, please." "I'd like to get my tongue pierced-please," she repeats.

She hands me the release form to sign while she finishes with the guys.

She's ready for me. She leads me to the little table in the corner and has me hop up. She was nice, but not very talkative. She had me stick out my tongue to map my veins and make sure it was piercable.

She freaked out when I stuck out my tongue. She said it was one of the longest she had seen. Heeeeey ;Þ She really got a kick when I touched my tongue to the tip of my nose....hehehehe . So she opened all the equipment in front of me and was ready to go. Now, from reading so many BME experiences, I was ready for Listerine or whatever. So I was really thrown off when she brandished the clamp and asked if I was ready. I stuck my tongue out, she clamped my tongue (not uncomfortable at all, just like holding your tongue) and told me to breathe. I closed my eyes, felt a quick stick, and.."All Done!" She went over the aftercare with me, and told me that a)she had to use bigger balls than normal because of the size of my tongue and b)she had to put it in at a bit of an angle. I could just nod cuz my speech was uncomprehendable. I paid my $55 and tipped Karen $10 and I was off.

First stop was Cracker Barrel, where I bought a "Gator Gulp" cupful of ice...the cups are pretty huge and the guys were laughing at me.

Then it was off to work to rent a movie for the night, then to Winn-Dixie. There I bought Zinc, Vitamin C, Soup, Cheesecake Pudding, Tea, Advil, Applesauce and Store Brand Aniseptic Mouthwash. Got home and had my soup and pudding, and relaxed for the nite. No pain, no swelling.

Days 2 & 3...No pain or swelling...Did my rinsing routine religiously.

Only trouble was speaking.

Day 4..Went to a wedding a half hour away. Didn't take as good care of my piercing as I should. I was trying to eat solid food for the first time. I took a bite into some Shrimp Fettucine and out came a long orange thread! WTF?! Other than that, a little sore. When I got back into town, I called AAA and they told me to come in. A different piercer, Jennifer, said the thread was just debris from the piercing, but I did have a big puss deposit on my tongue and to put pressure after rotating the balls. To this day (DAY 12) I've been putting pressure and still don't see a difference.

So now on Day 12, I feel completely normal..no pain or swelling. I still have a slight speech impediment, but I've always had one, so oh well. I LOVE MY PIERCING!! I really really do. I can't WAIT til I can change out the barbell. I've found some really great styles at www.tonguestud.com...They have glow in the dark, glitter...also at www.thechaingang.com they have an awesome dice barbell.

Okay, so I still need more, so I'll rant a bit. I don't know bout you guys, but the one thing I do not like is that it seems EVERY person (usually guy) who sees my piercing has a question for me (you know what's coming don't you?) "What are you planning on doing with that thing?" Just because I have my tongue pierced does not mean I got it done for oral sex. I got it done for me. I've always been VERY self conscious. I'm always afraid of what people think and avoid doing things that would draw attention to me. Recently, I realized I'm the one who has to live my life and be happy with me. So I wanted to do something for myself that would give me confidence. Sure, down the road, it'll be a nice bonus for someone. But right now it's MY bonus. Wow, don't I sound like I belong on Full House? ;Þ

To end, once again, thanks to everyone who has made my piercing possible and thank everyone who's reading MINE. I promise that it doesn't hurt at all and you won't regret it!! If anyone has questions, comments, or just wants to chat, feel free to e-mail or IM me!

Love,

Tanya