Icecreams and tongue piercing..

At A Glance Author kirst Contact kirstiemonster@hotmail.com Artist Andrew Studio Adrenaline Piercing Location ACT

I went to an all girl's school, and the rule at home was ­ you get a tattoo or piercing, you move out, which I did when I was 18. Almost immediately I got a 3inch by 4inch tattoo of a winged horse on my back, one round my ankle, and then I discovered body piercing when I got my navel done at Adrenaline Piercing.

I was hooked! It was that simple, the question was what next? I had read about tongue piercing and was totally grossed out at first, I couldn't help thinking about all the stuff you'd be swallowing whilst it healed. Still, the thought was always at the back of my mind and the idea grew on me pretty quickly. Soon I found myself looking for a time when I could get pierced (it was awkward in my job, that's all I can say!!!). Eventually I grabbed my boyfriend even though he's not into mods at all, and he even made the appointment for me because I was too nervous to use the phone!

So one Tuesday night my trusty boyfriend drove me to the studio. Andrew is fairly intimidating to look at (he scared me the first time!) but he is really calm and collected and of course, meticulously clean. He did a great job with my naval ring. Anyway, I signed, paid up, and when he went to get a receipt I grabbed my boyfriend and said, "Wait, let's go, I've changed my mind!!" He just laughed and then Andrew came back, and I found myself sitting on the bed gargling Listerine. I'd never used it before and I hated it! Then Andrew had this trolley with all the "implements" laid out and my adrenaline really kicked in. I had to poke out my tongue for all the marking, I had to stick it up and down for Andrew to check it out. I have a really long tongue ­ I can touch my nose with it! After a he was happy (and he didn't show me! I was a bit surprised...) he put the clamps on tightly which was a bit uncomfortable. I mean, your tongue's a pretty intimate thing to be hanging out your mouth sandwiched in two bits of metal! Anyway, he brought up the needle which I had already checked out ­ a stainless steel tube with the diagonally cut end, it looked huge! ­ and in a second it was through my tongue! It hurt, but I was too shocked at seeing it to say anything (which I couldn't do anyway). Then Andrew asked me if I was going to faint. I never faint, so I said indignantly, "Of course not!" He replied, "Good, hold this," and to my surprise handed me the end of the clamp thingy whilst he put the barbell in. I think the thing that hurt most was when he was screwing the end of the barbell on, he wanted to make sure it was nice and tight. Yay, but ouch.

It felt really gangly and awkward in my mouth, I couldn't talk or eat or anything. The first thing I did was to go to a servo and buy a plain icy pole and it was sooo weird to feel the cold shoot through my tongue! A warning here, metal conducts heat pretty fast, and it pays to remember that you have metal running through your tongue! I burnt myself on hot drinks the first few weeks... but I think it's toughened up a bit now. Anyway, it swelled heaps and totally filled my mouth. I used hydrogen peroxide twice a day, and Listerine after I ate anything. Another note here, I didn't dilute it and it burned like all hell! Plus because it was strong and I was using it a lot, it killed the natural mouth enzymes and my tongue got white and furry which is not at all attractive either!!!! I developed an awesome lisp too, which went away as the swelling went down gradually over the week. As soon as my tongue was normal size, I bought I new short barbell which is blue and purple. It's great! I've never accidentally chewed on this one EVER, as it sits very snugly on my tongue.

I must say that my tongue piercing is awesome, it turns out that Andrew placed it perfectly, and I love it heaps ­ it's definitely worth the initial pain and lisping! Now I happily wander around shopping malls licking ice cream cones and watch the reactions people have to it. Mostly older people are horrified, but in my age group (I'm 20, by the way!) lots of people love it. I have had guys winking at me, actually coming up to me and saying that they've always wanted a girl with a pierced tongue..! The first time I rode on a motorbike with it I was worried that I'd bite it with the helmet pushing on my cheeks a bit, but I haven't so far and it's been about four months now. It's so satisfying to look like a "good" girl, yet having the power to dispel the stereotype in a flash of tongue... If you want it, do it! :P