At A Glance
Author	modifiedcanadian
Contact	modifiedcanadian@bme.anon
IAM	modifiedcanadian
When	It just happened
Artist	Jason
Studio	Tattoos Forever
Location	Ft. Walton Beach, Florida

I walk outside to where my mother is soaking up sun by the pool.

"Mommy, mommy, mommy!"

Previously I had mentioned getting a piercing to her. I had told her where it was located, the fact that it could be flipped up and hidden at work, the studio I intended on going to, etc. She had told me she would... "think about it". Which basically means she's putting off the issue, hoping I'll forget about it or just not mention it. Not a chance, Madre, I want this way too badly to just give up. I beg her, plead, and bug her for about ten minutes. Finally, she decides to stop ignoring me and actually answer me.

"Fine. Could you get them to fax the waiver over?" She asks.
"Really?!" I say excitedly. "Sure!"
And so inside I rush, to the computer. I go to Tattoos Forever.com and find the phone number. I grab the phone and call them up and ask them to fax a waiver over to my work, Navarre Land Title.

"They faxed it!" I shout out to my mom.
"Alright, I'll call Jan." she replies.
Jan is a secretary at the law firm that is in the same building as Navarre Land Title. She also just so happens to be a notary, so, being as she is a friend of my mother's, she was our choice to call up and notarize the signature on the waiver.

Two phone calls, a voicemail message, and like an hour or so later I gave up on getting the piercing that day. But later in the day my sister and I decided we were bored enough to just drive over to Ft. Walton and look at tattoo flash at various shops. Part of the drive there, I pick up my sister's cell phone and my mom informs me that Jan called back. We meet Jan and my mom at my work, get the waiver from the fax machine, sign it and notarize it. Just like that! And off we go...

But then we had to turn around. I forgot my 10% off coupon and my driver's permit (to use as a form of ID). Finally, somewhere around like 8 pm we get to an AmSouth bank in Ft. Walton and I get about $60 cash out. We got to Tattoos Forever and there were a few people hanging out both outside and inside the place.

I hand the guy at the front my waiver, get out my ID, and tell Jason - the head piercer - that I want my septum pierced. He gives me this weird look and asks me if I know that septum piercings hurt really badly and I tell him I know and I don't care. The guy at the front had his septum pierced and encouraged me, saying that septum piercings were a cool piercing to get. So I signed the papers and let them know that my sister Janine was looking to get her tongue pierced. She proceeded to show them her ID (she's 18) and fill out her papers. Then we both paid up, with the discount included.

Jason came back and asked me what gauge and type of jewelry I wanted. I told him I wanted a captive bead ring in either 16 or 14 gauge. I asked him to show me both so I could better choose. He pulled out a huge... maybe ½ inch thick CBR and said it was 14 gauge. I rolled my eyes, completely not fazed by his joke, and then he pulled out two baggies filled with jewelry. I picked 16 gauge. He then asked Janine if an industrial barbell would be fine for her tongue piercing. She, not knowing, said it would be. He laughed and said it was way too big and got out a proper barbell.

Who's up first? Me. Definitely me. He reminded me again that it would hurt. Thanks, just make the anticipation more. But he continued making jokes and messing with our heads. Jason is great, he's really funny and nice and personable. Anyhow, he got out a septum clamp and a needle and cleaned my jewelry. He changed his gloves nearly a thousand times, I swear, but that was definitely a good thing. He's very scrupulous about being clean and careful.

I sat in the piercing chair and looked up slightly. He cleaned my nose with something that smelled really strong and slightly bad. I didn't mind it though. After that, Jason marked my nose with a purple marker. He assured me that in all of his years of piercing, he had never pierced a septum crookedly. I trusted him, but it was nice to hear that. He put the septum clamp on, and it wasn't the least bit uncomfortable. He told me to take a deep breath in through my nose and then breathe out through my mouth. It hurt quite a bit, but nothing I couldn't handle. My eyes watered profusely.

"You have a hard septum." Jason stated.
"Does it look like I'm crying?" I asked my sister. She shook her head. I smiled.

He put the jewelry in, which thankfully was a very smooth process and didn't hurt at all. I didn't even feel him putting it in. He closed the CBR and adjusted my jewelry. I went over to the full-length mirror and checked it out. It was very straight and looked really nice. It was a bit farther from my face then I had wanted, but I figured in the end that it was better that way. My piercer knows best for me. He then proceeded to go over aftercare instructions with me verbally and then handed me an aftercare sheet.

My sister, Janine, ended up getting her eyebrow pierced because Jason didn't feel comfortable piercing her tongue. He did a wonderful job with her piercing as well and it looks really nice on her.

He also gave me free 00 plugs, which was extremely kind of him. I haven't put them in because they are double flare and they don't fit, but I'm going to exchange them tonight. Upon leaving the tattoo shop, we gave Jason a $20 tip and thanked him for doing such an excellent job.

On the way home, we stopped at CVS and picked up some Bactine. We both cleaned our piercings before going to bed. We got our piercings last night [Saturday, June 17th, 2006] and neither of us had any problems with them today.

My mother thought mine looked silly, but I'm very happy with it. I feel a lot better, more like myself with it. My sister also seems to have increased self-confidence and esteem because of it. We're going back to the shop tonight and she is getting another piercing. Hopefully with proper care neither of us will get an infection or any other problems and maybe my mom will let me get another piercing in the future.