My best friend and I have been completely obsessed with piercings since we were 12, and dreamed about them until we were legal to actually get some. I remember we used to call random piercing parlors and ask a million questions, even though we knew there was no way we'd be allowed to get anything done for a long time. I satisfied myself with eight self-done ear piercings that I still have and love, until I became of age to actually get some. I begged and begged for a navel piercing for 4 years before my mother said yes, and even then she made me lose 15 lbs, which, I guess wasn't so bad because I needed to at the time anyway! The whole experience (easy peasy) just made my love of piercings grow more and more and I have been yearning for more ever since. My best friend's mother became indifferent to the piercings she kept coming home with (tongue, navel, nose), but unfortunately, my parents and private school are anything but indifferent. Night before last, my best friend and I were talking online and I decid ed I wanted a new piercing – I NEEDED a new piercing! We brainstormed about easy-to-hide piercings and the only thing I could come up with that I really wanted was the septum. She thought I was crazy because it's a pretty intense piercing for someone like me who never showed any previous interest in it before, but decided to come along because she wanted her industrial done. I couldn't believe I was doing it – I hate needles. I was so excited I could barely take it. I felt pretty smug with myself – a hideable facial piercing!
At A Glance Author Lemur Contact Lemur@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Nick Location Duncan, BC The very next day after lounging at the beach for a while, we drove to Subway to fill our stomachs before piercing time. I devoured my sandwich, wanting to get on with it. After eating, we dropped into see Nick (the piercer) who shares a studio with Mike the tattoo artist, in Duncan BC. He is the best piercer either of us has come across - friendly, not intimidating in the least, full of jokes, and just the nicest man ever. He has a flat rate of $60 for each piercing, which some say is expensive, but it's worth it because with him, you feel very safe. His studio is simple – it's a corner of the building, in which there is a chair and a bunch of piercing equipment with some crystals on the ledge and a photo of a vertical industrial he did. Everything is very clean. I had decided to go first, before my friend, because I wanted to make sure I wouldn't back out after seeing the needles go through her ear. He was ecstatic to be able to pierce me because the septum is his favourite thing to pierce. He commented on my eye colour, showed us a neat crystal with thousand-year-old water trapped inside, and just made me feel very comfortable.
I lay down in his chair while he put the gloves on. I was excited but getting pretty nervous at this point. I have a crooked nose and septum, so he took his time figuring out where to pierce to make it appear straight. I really appreciated the thought he put into it, and he explained to me why he did everything he was doing, which was appreciated. He said it would look crooked at first, but that's because my cartilage would take a day or so to start forming to the jewellery. After figuring out the placement he wanted and how he wanted to do it, he dotted my nose and got out the needle - I started feeling a bit panicky but took a few breaths and was okay. I clutched my best friend's hand as tightly as I could -- I couldn't exactly back out then! He asked me to breathe as he counted, and 1, 2, BAM it's done. It was so fast that I was embarrassed about even being nervous in the first place. I expressed my thoughts as "What? It's over? That's it?" Yeah, the pain was sharp but it was only for, literally, a second . It hurt when he put the jewellery in, but by that time, I was so excited I couldn't have cared less. After I was done, I sat squirming excitedly in the chair while he explained everything about my piercing – I was shaking with adrenaline. It was the least likely piercing I ever could have gotten, but I got it anyway! Flipped up, my septum piercing is totally invisible which is really useful because my parents aren't going to be finding out about this one for a very long time, I can assure you.
He did my friend's industrial piercing and took the time to custom make and bend a bar for it, so it looked cooler than a regular straight bar. She paid for my piercing as a late birthday present, and we walked out of there incredibly excited about our new additions.