It happened about 3 years ago, a week after my 18th birthday. I'd decided I would get my tongue pierced, but where? I busted out the yellow pages, flipping through, looking for the ones that were closest to my house. (I was scared to drive in Albuquerque!) I called around, asking prices and exact locations. Being a naive teenager, and thinking the best price is the best way to go, I ended up at Rune Stone, here in Albuquerque. Hey, come on now, some of these guys were asking like $40-$50!!
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When Two years ago Artist Some lady with a cigarette Studio Rune Stone Location Albuquerque, NM The shop was small, and a little too dark for my liking. But, I proceeded, because $25 for the piercing and the jewelry was a decent price. The lady-who-must-not-be-named, who was to perform this action, was short and chubby, and had tangled red hair. I watched her, as she waddled around behind the counter, rang up the sale, and handed me my change. Trying not to think about it, I looked into the glass case that held all the jewelry. Just then, she called me over into the back area.
I have to admit, I was scared to death. After I saw the needle (which, to my relief, was in it's sealed plastic), I panicked. My friend who was with me at the time, sees my fear, and says "There's no turning back now." How could she say that?! She knows I'm about to wet myself here!
Casually, the red-headed woman lit up a cigarette while preparing her tools. I started to sweat at this point, as the lady handed my a small dixie cup with mouthwash. Swishing away, I watched the lady's cigarette as the ashes fell onto her little table with the tools on it. (Thank God they were all in plastic wrapping!). Sixty seconds later, I spit, and the procedure begins.
Shaking in the chair, the woman gets irritated and tells me to quit moving. I stopped, but my sweat wouldn't. She kept fiddling around with the clamp, and didn't seem to have any remorse for hurting my mouth. She made me open wide, but she pushed further! What did she want me to do? Swallow a grapefruit whole?! Finally, she was satisfied, and put the rubber band around the clamp handles to secure it in place. (I'm surprised she did that much!) I took a deep breath, and.....now now, that wasn't too terrible...until she poked the pieces of my tongue through the stupid hollow needle! What a witch! I threw up in the nearest trash can, and went to lay down on her little rickety bed.
"I just wanted to show you what it looks like!" Oh my GOD, she didn't just say that! I threw up again, then passed out.
About 15 minutes later, I come to, watching a cloud of cigarette smoke swirl around the dimming light. My tongue is swollen, and I could barely talk. Immediately, I regretted coughing up the $25 so eagerly about a half our prior.
Walking out of that building, I felt faint. I couldn't talk, and I felt like I was going to vomit again and again. I couldn't stop thinking about her pushing the piece through the needle...I can't believe she thought I'd want to see something like that! Wait until my friends hear about this! (In about a week, when the swelling goes down!) Angry and thirsty, I head off to McDonalds for a cup of water. Hey, come to think of it, she never gave me the after care instructions! I was told that legally, she has to provide them! Oh well, I'll just get them from a friend of mine, and go to buy some mouthwash. I never wanted to go back there again!
I went to another parlor about a month later. I showed the man my tongue, and he told me something I didn't want to hear at that point. He told me if the piercing was even a millimeter more to the left, my tongue would have turned black. To this day, I do not recommend ANYONE to go to Rune Stone here in Albuquerque, for any body modification whatsoever.
Since then, my tongue has been fine with no problems. I kept the original 14g barbell in for the longest time, until I decided to go a bit bigger. I'm currently at a 12g, with the ball in my mouth sporting a picture of Gir, from Invader Zim. So, short story long, I'm never going back there, not letting any friends or family go there, and I never want to see that chubby red head ever again. I still feel the need to vomit every time I think about that place.
So, if you live here in Albuquerque, and you want to do some body mods, go to Duke City Ink....NEVER go to Rune Stone! Trust me, I've lived it.