It has recently come to my attention that I never got around to writing up my experience for my left nostril piercing. So, while review experiences this evening, I decided to do just that.
At A Glance Author she_could_choke Contact she_could_choke_@hotmail.com IAM she_could_choke When A month ago Artist Smitty Studio Big Brain Productions Location Omaha, NE A little over a month ago, I had my right nostril pierced. Another addition to what has loving become known as my "face metal". (Only, it's not all on my face). I decided that to go along with septum and right nostril, naturally, the left nostril was next on the agenda. I tentatively made plans for 2 weeks later to go in and have my right nostril done, at the same time, have ring in my left one changed to a screw. Well, things don't always turn out the way you plan.
It was a fair October day, a Saturday, and a day off. Not the type of day one likes to waste. My roomie and I decided that since we had both gotten paid, we would go do a bit of shopping, maybe look for some new jeans since we are both in desperate need, and go see the midnight movie at the Dundee with a couple friends. They were playing 'Dead Alive'. We wouldn't miss it.
We started out the day by heading to the mall. We talked to a friend that works there, had some lunch, and contemplated buying picking up a few CDs. we decided to forgo the whole CD buying venture, and head to Wal-Mart for the never failing grocery shopping. we walked around the store a while, my roomie find girls jeans he could not live without, me not finding any jeans that were longer than my ankles. We concluded our grocery shopping and decided we would make a run across the river to Omaha and check out a few stores that hold a plethora of Halloween decorum and accessories. Halloween is my very favorite holiday of all time, so I am fanatic about the costume and decorating deal. We went home to unload the groceries and ended up fielding a few phone calls. Needless to say, we never made it across the river.
The roomie and I had come to a dead-end of what to do for the remainder of the evening. I brought up the suggestion that we go and pay a visit to Smitty, and the response to that was "Why?" I told him what I had planned and he told me that it would look awful, that it would be just too much. Never the less, that's what I wanted. So, after an hour or so of bugging him and telling him that we should go, he finally gave in. he called a friend of ours, Danny-O, who wanted to get a piercing. Danny-O was a total piercing virgin up to this point. He was pretty sure he wanted a vertical labret, so we told him to come over to the house. He picked us up and we headed to Big Brain.
I hadn't started out the day with planning on going to see Smitty. I wasn't even sure if he was working on this particular day, but seeing as how it was a Saturday, I figured he probably was.
It was between 10:30 and 11:00 pm when we pulled up to Big Brain. We walked in and the place was pretty much packed. There was a girl at the desk that I didn't recognize, so we kind of hung back and waited to see if Smitty was around. We browsed the jewelry cases, flash posters, and piercing books. Not seeing an end to the stream of people going in back anytime soon, we took up seats on the couch. We waited until we saw Smitty come up to the counter, and he motioned that he would be right back.
A bit later, he came back to the counter. I went up and took a seat on one of the stools. He came over and gave me a hug, asked me how things were and what was up. We talked for a bit, and then he said he had a few more customers before us. I said ok, and we would be here. He finished up with the few he had left, and came up and took a seat behind the counter. We got to talking and I ended up having to ask him if he could pierce the left side of my roomies lip with a CBB instead of a CBR so it would match the other side. (My roomie isn't much one for doing this kind of thing for himself) Smitty said that would be no problem, and then asked if the CBB he had in his lip was the one that he had pierced my septum with. I wasn't paying any attention to the time. The roomie and Danny-O came up and told me it was almost 11:30, and we needed to hurry if we wanted to make the movie. Smitty asked what movie we were going to. We told him "Dead Alive" at the Dundee and he just smiled. He said he didn't have anyone else in front of us, so we could come on back.
We walked back in to the little white room that I have come to love so dearly. I asked who wanted to go first, and my roomie decided he wanted to go first. He sat down and Smitty went to work. We talked and I stood, watching. My roomie's eyes got huge when the needle went through, then he scrunched them closed. When he was all done, he stood up, shook his head, and told me to go ahead and sit.
It always happens that the minute I sit in that dentist-esque chair, we start talking. it's a funny thing, because I always work myself up to expect so much more pain from a piercing than there is, that the longer I sit in that chair before I get pierced, the more nervous I get.
Smitty turned the chair so I was facing the mirrored wall above the sink. Not because I like to watch getting metal shoved through my face, but because I stayed facing the other way, he would have to lean across me to pierce me. And that could be a problem. We always make jokes about that.
We sat and talked while he marked my nostril, trying to get it symmetrical with my right one. He laughed and said that it wasn't often he had to do two symmetrical piercings within minutes of each other. He also cursed that symmetrical factor. This made me laugh, and I could see his point. After a few remarkings, looking in the mirror, and asking my entourage how it looked, Smitty and I decided it was perfectly placed. He changed his gloves and got out the clamps, unwrapped the needle and the jewelry, and got a nice bit of lubricant for the needle. He changed his gloves yet again and took the clamps to my nose.
The clamps were on and my nose started to itch. This made me laugh. It's a rather tickling sensation, and it made my eyes water a bit. Smitty just laughed at me and we continued to talk. I was having a hard time remembering what it felt like to get my septum pierced, let alone my other nostril that I'd done only two weeks prior, when I felt the needle being pushed through my skin. My eyes blinked reflexively and my nose started to run. He removed the clamps, and there I sat with a needle sticking out of my nose. It must have been a site, me sitting there, a needle hanging out my nostril, and my left eye snapped shut. My eye was watering horribly and I couldn't get it open. The jewelry was slid in, the needle was slid out, and the bead was put on the ring. Smitty told me I did awesome, as always, and he handed me a paper towel. It was then I noticed the tears running down my face. That's the only thing I hate about nose-related piercings. Your eyes water like mad. He smiled and told me it looked really good. I looked like hell, but the piercing looked wonderful.
Danny-O sat down next. Both the roomie and I have had our vertical labrets done, and we both agreed that the threaded jewelry was the worst part. Danny-O did really well. Until the threaded jewelry. Watching it even made my skin crawl.
When everyone was pierced and ready, Smitty walked us up to the counter. He asked me how much I wanted to give him, and I asked him how much he wanted. He considered this a while, and told me $20. I was paying for both my roomie and I. I then asked him if he would accept any extra money from me. He asked me why, and I told him the extra money I always try and give him, but he refuses. He told me no, save it for next time. Yea, right. He says that every time.
Danny-O paid, and we said our goodbyes to Smitty. When we got in the car, I pulled down the visor mirror. I absolutely loved it. I turned to look at my roomie in the back seat and asked what he thought now. "It looks really good. It's a lot cuter than I thought it would be. I was expecting you to look like a bull."
We made it to the theatre with 10 minutes to spare. One of the friends we were meeting there I hadn't seen in a while, and when he looked at me, he said "did you know the metal in your face is multiplying?" everyone is a comedian.
In retrospect, it was the perfect end to a perfect day. A brand new piercing and a zombie movie. What more could a girl ask for?
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It's been a little over two weeks since I had my left nostril pierced. Smitty recommends soap and water and not touching fresh piercings with dirty hands. So, that's how I've taken care of it. I managed to pick up the sniffles a dew days after having it pierced, but that's happened with all three of my nose piercings. After having this one done, my septum and other nostril got a little sore. But then, it was the same way with my lip. Trauma to the afflicted area and all that.
It's healed very well. I never did get the right one changed out to a screw, and now I'm just thinking about leaving the rings in. I like them just the way they are. The first thing my mother said was that I looked like a bull. Oddly enough, so did one of my bosses. It's funny how the second nostril makes everyone think that, but not the septum, even though it's called my "bull ring" at work.
To anyone in the council bluffs/Omaha area, or anyone just looking to make a drive, I highly recommend Big Brain Productions. Smitty is an amazing piercer, and I have multiple piercings to prove it. The shop is always clean and tidy, glove changes are frequent, and the nicest people work there. Even if you aren't in the mood for a new mod and you are in the area, stop in and say hello. You'll love the place.