At A Glance
Author	Jen
Contact	Jen@bme.anon
IAM	blackbird__fly
When	It just happened
Artist	Corey?
Studio	Adrenaline Tattoos
Location	Vancouver, BC, Canada

Friday, August 5th.
I had gotten paid the remaining fifty dollars from my last paycheque, so after picking up my comics for the week (obviously a necessity), I walked down to Adrenaline to check the price on a labret piercing. I asked about both a side and a vertical, and apparently they were the same price, but unfortunately, it was more than I had on me at the moment.

Saturday, August 6th.
I somehow got roped into working Saturday (probably because it was a short week because of the holiday on Monday), and thought that since I'd be getting off earlier than usual, I might head back to the studio. So, I took about ninety dollars and stuffed it into my back pocket in the morning, and then forgot about it for about the next three hours. But by the time lunch rolled around, the possibility of getting a piercing was all I could think about. But I was still torn about what I wanted to get. It's been a long, long time since I could afford to get a new piercing – I believe the last was my nostril about nine months ago (and in case anyone's wondering, it's healed up quite nicely, finally) – so I had several different things in mind: septum, inner conch, inverse navel, lip... I figured that I would just go to the studio and see if maybe I could get an idea of how I would look with each one, and then decide what to get.

I hopped on the bus at three, and by the time I exited at Nelson and Burrard, I knew I was going to get my side labret. I hadn't been weighing my options or anything, I just somehow knew that this was what I had to get done, this was what I wanted most. So walking up Nelson Street all by my lonesome, I was more excited than was strictly necessary. My second facial piercing, my first oral piercing, and also my first time getting a mod without a companion to share it with. So while it was a little crappy to not have someone there to share my enthusiasm, I also felt very independent: I wasn't doing this because someone else was getting a piercing and I didn't want to feel left out, I didn't need anyone there to hold my hand – I was doing this for me, and it was going to be awesome.

I walked into Adrenaline and the man who had helped me the previous day approached me and asked, "Were you in this morning, or was it yesterday?" I confirmed that it was yesterday, and I had come back to get my lip pierced. He procured the forms for me, and I filled them out and asked how long the wait would be, and he told me about ten, maybe fifteen minutes. I paid in advance, and unfortunately a labret stud is about fifteen dollars more expensive than a cbr, but as I'm the type to endlessly play with and pick at things, a stud would be much better for me. Thus, I paid the difference and also picked up a bottle of non-alcoholic mouthwash. Then I sat and read some Harry Potter as I waited, while various people kept coming up to me and saying I'd be in soon, and apologizing for the wait. I thought that was cute.

I can't be certain of the fellow's name, since I wasn't introduced, and it was my first time getting pierced at the studio and the only person I know of enough to put a name to a face is Erin. I think it may have been Corey, but don't quote me on that. Anyway, he came out and told me to come in and have a seat. He said, "Get comfortable... although that chair's not exactly made for comfort," I said, "Yeah, it's kind of... industrial." The 'chair' was enormous – I felt dwarfed sitting on it. He bustled around, getting things in place, while talking to me about my job and such before moving on to tell me about the piercing. He showed me the stud he was going to use, and it looked huge - it was 16G, but man, was it ever long. He explained that it was extra long to allow for swelling, and that I could come back to change it in two weeks or so. Unfortunately, they don't do free downsizing – in fact, Big Brain is the only place I've ever been to that doesn't make you pay for the second piece of jewelery. But c'est la vie.

After cleaning the outside of my mouth and having me rinse with mouthwash, he picked up a toothpick dipped in gentian violet and made a mark on the left side, just below my lip. He asked how it looked, and I checked in the mirror and told him it was great. Perfect placement on the first try... I love when that happens. He took the clamp out of its sterile packaging and put it on. I've heard from some people that this is painful, but it wasn't at all for me. Not even really noticeable... well, at least in a pain-inducing sense. Having a large piece of metal holding your lip out isn't exactly comfortable, nor is it very flattering – I could see myself in the various mirrors, and was reminded of the times when I'd fallen asleep on bus and plane rides with my jaw hanging open. He unpackaged the needle, and told me to take a deep breath in. This was the only time in the whole process that I was actually nervous, because I know that the memory for pain is inaccurate, and a labret piercing goes through a fair amount of tissue. I actually prefer it if I'm pierced without any warning, because that way I don't have a chance to think about it before it happens.

As the needle went through, I was told to let my breath out. It was painful, but less so than any of my cartilage piercings, although because of the amount of skin it's going through, it took longer and I could definitely feel it going all the way through. That was actually really neat. I caught a glimpse of myself, clamp- and needle-adorned, in the mirror just as the rush hit me. How did I let myself go so long without feeling this?

Corey(?) then bent the needle so that it curved around to avoid it jabbing me someplace it shouldn't while he prepared to put the jewelery in. The bending of the needle was a bit sensitive, and there was a sharp prick as the stud went through, but after that, I felt great. I didn't even bleed! He screwed the ball onto the end of the stud, and told me, "It looks beautiful," and let me check myself out in the mirror. I agreed enthusiastically, and thanked him. We had a quick chat about aftercare, and then he sent me off with an invitation to return in two weeks for a shorter bar.

On the skytrain home, I could not stop poking at it with my tongue. It was just so... noticeable. I could feel the backing against my teeth when I smiled or swallowed, but I knew that would be unavoidable, unless the piercing had been done very tilted towards the top of my mouth, which obviously wouldn't have been good. When I got home I cleaned off the remaining bits of gentian violet and the small amount of crusties with a q-tip and some warm water. Putting on chapstick was a bit sore because the pressure it puts on the hole to hold my lips like that, but otherwise there was no pain to speak of. Right now it's taking forever for me to eat because I keep chomping on the damn thing because the bar's so long, and I keep trying to grab the backing with my tongue, thinking it's a bit of food. Brushing my teeth is weird too, but there was no bleeding or pain, so that's got to be a good sign.

I always try to keep aftercare pretty minimal, so this will just be warm water and mouthwash in the morning, and sea salt and mouthwash in the evening. I find that 'taking care' of it too much can actually irritate it more, so I won't be doing anything else besides rising with water after eating and such. I'm hoping for a better healing period with this piercing – most of my others have been problematic, but I've heard oral piercings heal quickly because the inside of the mouth is already used to trying to keep clean and free of wounds.

My new labret is definitely going to take some getting used to, just like my others. There's just a bit more of a learning curve with a new piece of metal in your mouth. As for reactions, so far it's been like when I got my nostril piercing: "Have you always had that?"

Possible snakebites? We'll see how this heals up first... and how my employers react.