Ahh, new schools. Who can explain it? Unfamiliar faces, unexplored hallways and a chance to do something a little different before people know you. My friends Kathryn, Nikki, and Stephanie had been promising me they would pay for my nose piercing since my birthday (October 24), and come February the outlook for this was kinda bleak. So after my first day of the new semester at my brand-new high school, Alternative, I headed down to 17th Avenue-the trendy strip of town, with my friends Liz and Kevin and Steph (different from the one who had been promising me my birthday present.) Liz finally had to leave to meet someone, so Kevin and Steph and I hopped on the bus to take to the train station. I had just finished a stint working at MusicWorld, so with a fat bank account and a sudden urge, I convinced them to come to the piercing studio with me.
At A Glance Author Aphrodite Contact Junkie_Chic@hotmail.com Artist Rob Hill Studio Beecool Location Calgary, Alberta I knew Rob Hill, the piercer, fairly well- he had done my belly button for me, and the aforementioned Liz had worked at Beecool during the summer, so I always used to go with her after summer school and chill there. I knew it was clean and I had already been the bearer of some of Rob's work, so I felt confident to put myself in his adept hands once again. We walked in and Elisha was manning the counter- I asked her where Rob was and he was in the back piercing someone already. I told her I wanted to get my nose done, so she said he'd be probably another half an hour or so and that we were welcome to stay there and wait. Kevin said he was hungry (he's always hungry dammit), so we headed over to the Subway on the other end of the strip mall. I really didn't feel like eating but I hadn't eaten since about 8:00 (It was now close to 5:00 p.m)that morning so Steph and I headed over to the Mac's for a candy run. We sat in the Subway as Kevin dumped out the contents of my wallet and I pondered my decision to put a new hole in my body. I'm a real weenie when it comes to pain- beforehand I freak out, but then I'm always so happy with the piercing afterward, I wonder how I even got myself in that state of mind.
We went and browsed around in Skater's for awhile then decided to go back into Beecool. Rob was lounging in one of the chairs and said hi to me as I walked in. I returned the welcome and then told him I wanted to get my nose pierced- I had to do it right away, cut the chitchat, cause my hands were all clammy and gross from my nerves. We did the prerequisite forms, I paid (and silently berated myself knowing that I was probably never going to get paid back for this), and then Steph and I headed behind the curtain with Rob. I made Kevin wait in the front of the studio, I knew he would just make fun of me if he watched. I hopped into the chair and took a deep breath as Rob began to explain the procedure.
He put on his gloves and opened up a new package of needles, all the while going over how he was going to puncture my nose fore me. He carefully dotted where he was going to pierce and then held up a mirror in front of my face so I could nod my approval. I started to babble. "Rob, I know how much this is going to hurt, and I know you say it't not but it is, let's face it, and we all know that I'm a big wimp and oh, no, maybe I don't want you to do it, but wait, it'll be so pretty afterwards and I'll just love it, so go!" So he did. No pain, no gain, right? (Lame-o.)And needless to say, it didn't hurt nearly as bad as I had convinced myself it would. It really didn't hurt at all. The only uncomfortable part was when Rob put the jewllery in and was twisting the stud post, but he knocked me unconcious with his elbow so I didn't feel very much. He held the mirror up and displayed it for me- a tiny, 18 ga stud. And it really was pretty.
So I've had my nose pierced for about 2 months now, and I love it. I've been cleaning it twice a day with lavender soap and saline solution, and taking multi-vitamins every day as Rob instructed. It has been healing well, there was one day when I hit it while I was washing my face and it bled for a little while and was sore, but I took it out and cleaned it thoroughly and it was fine by the next day. So thanks to Rob Hill of Beecool, and thanks for reading my experience.
Peace,
drew