From the day I first got my ears pierced in 2nd grade, I have known that this is something that I'm going to do quite a bit. Unfortunately, my mother, always the conformist, would not allow me to add any more holes to my body. Finally, when I was fourteen, she caved in and agreed to let me pierce my ears for the second time. But still, I was not satisfied. I loved everything about piercings: the giddy anxiety that you feel leading up to it... the rush of pain while it's happening, the feeling of pride and accomplishment when it's all over with... I needed more. But my mom put her foot down. No more piercings.
At A Glance Author Pyralis Contact invisibleprison@hotmail.com Artist Mike Shea Studio Skinsations Location Arkansas City, Kansas "Well, screw that," I said. And I began counting down the days until I turned 18, and wouldn't NEED her consent. Then, of course, I had make a life-altering decision... what would I pierce first? After careful consideration, I finally made my choice: I was going to get my tongue pierced.
The weeks before my 18th birthday, I was restless. I was telling my family, my friends, people who passed by on the street – that I was going to pierce my tongue soon.
Fast forward to September 15th, 2001: my birthday. I jumped out of bed at 9 AM, told my mother and sister to get up, and opened my presents. I received 250 bucks from my parents. Sweet.
"Mom," I said, "I'm going to Ark City to pierce my tongue."
"You're what?!"
I'd been telling her about my glorious plan for the past few weeks. Of course, she disapproved, but she surely didn't think I'd listen to her. On top of that, she was ultra-concerned, because I had recently recovered from a disease that temporarily lowered my immune system. And apparently, the human mouth is a pretty nasty place, very prone to infections.
Sure, I'd considered this fact before, but I wanted the piercing so badly, that I didn't care. I was willing to risk infection. I just wanted a damn bar of metal through my tongue.
But that didn't settle well with her. So, she basically took my car keys away until I agreed to call my doctor and confirm that it was safe. I muttered a few obscenities, picked up the phone, and dialed. My doc wasn't there, but the nurse paged the doctor on call. It was some foreign dude. I explained my situation to him. To my dismay, he was completely against it. He had a very thick accent, but from what I gathered, it was better that I wait about 6 months until I get anything in my mouth pierced. But I could get any other area pierced.
Well, damned if I was going to wait six more months for my first piercing! So I decided to go with my second choice: the eyebrow. First, though, I figured I should educate myself more on the subject, as I previously had with the tongue-piercing; then I'd get it done tomorrow. So I came to BME and did a little research. I chatted about my plans with my friend, Andrea, who has been pierced twenty-some-odd times. Of course, SHE reminds me that the following day is a weekend. And Skinsations (the piercing/tattoo studio) is not open on weekends, OR Mondays.
"No big deal," I figured. I'd wait it out a couple of more days, then go down there. So Tuesday rolls around. I do the 45 – minute drive to Ark City, Kansas (because tattoo parlors are illegal in Oklahoma – how crappy is that?). Money in hand, I pull into the Skinsations parking lot. I run into the parlor. A bearded guy with several piercings looks up and asks if he can help me. "Yeah," I say. "I want my eyebrow pierced."
"Oh, sorry, the guy that does piercings is in Chicago for a little bit. He'll be back next Thursday, the 27th..."
By now, I have seriously begun to believe that God really hates me. I wanted to be PIERCED, dammiiiiiiiiiiit!!!!
"...but if you come back then, you can get the piercing done for half-price."
Didst mine ears deceive me? Half-price? Well, that's worth waiting a few more days.
I politely told the man thank you and went home.
When class got out the 27th, I literally dragged my friends Jay Jay and Angela to Ark City. I was psychedas hell. FINALLY, I was going to get pierced. I was shaking with excitement as we walked into the parlor. I ran up to the counter. "HI! I'MHERETOGETMYEYEBROWPIERCED!" I squealed. The same guy I had seen before gave me an application to fill out. It asked some basic questions, like my name, my age, location, phone number, etc. I filled it out and gave it back to the bearded dude. I showed him my ID. He studied it for a second, and gave it back to me. "Fifteen bucks," he said. FIFTEEN! Woo! I gave him the money.
Then, as a choir of angels began to sing joyous songs from the heav'ns above, THE piercer, "Big Mike" Shea, came up to the counter. He got all of his piercing tools ready, and gestured towards the piercing chair. I sat down, while Jay and Angela accompanied me behind the counter. Mike was awesome. He used a black ink marker to draw a spot on my eyebrow. He asked me if I liked the positioning. I took a look in the mirror. I didn't like it. It was too far off to the side. So I had him mark it further in. This time, I liked it.
The next few seconds were kind of a blur. He held up the needle, and told me that he would count to three; on three, I was to take a deep breath.
"One..."
"Two..."
"Three."
Before I even had a chance to breathe, it was over. I barely felt it. He put the bar in, explaining that putting in the jewelry was the most painful part. Still, I felt almost nothing. When he finished, Jay and Angela remarked on how cute it was. I picked up the mirror and checked it out... it was hot. I fell in love with it immediately.
I've had it for about two weeks, and I still find myself looking at it through any reflective surface I can find. Car windows and the like. The extent of the pain was during the first two or three days of healing – even then, it was barely noticeable. It wouldn't sting unless I rubbed it against my pillow or something.
As for the parlor - if anyone from the northern Oklahoma/southern Kansas region is considering getting a piercing, I would HIGHLY recommend Skinsations. I'm definitely going there for future piercings. The people there are very open and friendly, and it's very, very sanitary. The atmosphere is great as well. It's a wonderful feeling to be surrounded by fellow piercing fiends.