[insert friend's AIM]: Want to go get our tongues pierced today?
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Ben Studio Body Art Emporium Location Bardstown Road, Louisville, KY [insert my AIM]: Yea, alright.
That's how my piercing adventure started this morning. As is suggested, I didn't plan on getting a lip ring when I headed out to the piercing studio this afternoon. It'd been about two months since I got my nose pierced, and I'd been itching to get another since. I'd been staying with my mother for the summer, however, and while I lived in her house and ate her food, I was certainly going to respect her wishes. But now that I've been in my apartment for a week now, I figured a new piercing was a perfect way to kick off a new year at my university.
My concerns? That new apartment I'm so proud of was costing me all the cash I'd saved over the summer. I was content with going to simply watch my friend get her tongue, and feeling very jealous. Also, my boyfriend was not a fan of my nose ring, and isn't exactly a fan of piercings in general.
But after she offered to pay for my piercing if we went through it together? My boyfriend could [insert obscene phrase of choice here].
As I drove out to the studio we'd checked out a few nights before (which looked very clean and had a very welcoming staff), my friend announced she must have left her driver's license in her car, which her sister had taken. Thinking the place may take some other form of ID, we headed on anyway. Upon arrival, the piercer (Ben), checked out our tongues, announce that I wasn't a suitable candidate, as the veins in my tongue could easily rupture after the piercing had happened. Let down, I decided on an eyebrow instead.
Since my friend couldn't get her piercing without her ID, and she had a friend coming from the city her sister lived in headed our way, we arranged for the ID to get to us, and proceeded to eat some lunch, as we were worried she wouldn't be able to eat normally.
As I sat around over the next few hours, I decided that, while my boyfriend said he'd prefer an eyebrow piercing to a lip one, that I and just about everyone else I asked preferred the lip. It was a question then of a regular ring or a vertical labret, and I decided a normal center one would be best, since I could easily put a retainer in that, and I didn't like the look of the vertical labret on some, and was afraid I'd be one of them.
My friend got her tongue pierced (in what may have been 30 seconds total, between when she spat out the Listerine and had the bar in), and I got my lip, noting that it hurt more than my nose, but still wasn't horrible (the Listerine was by far the worst part). Upon seeing it, I nearly panicked. I'd asked what gauge it'd be pierced at, and the piercer said 14 (at least, I really think that's what he said), but it looked much bigger than I'd expected. Thoughts of my boyfriend's disapproval filled my head, but my friend and her friend (who brought her ID) assured me it looked awesome. The assistant talked about care with us, and my world shattered more. He announced that no dairy was allowed for two weeks, and with cottage cheese being nearly my favourite food, I was heartbroken. Also, oral contact was banned for two weeks, which I expected... but the thought of not kissing my boyfriend for two weeks was saddening. However, I still wasn't sure he'd want to kiss me at all after seeing it.
The piercing happened about two hours ago, and I'm still unsure about it. I do like it, as do all my friends, but my boyfriend has yet to see it. I'm not sure how I'll take his disapproval, but I know I have to avoid his parents (who are very conservative and told him to make me take my nose ring out) until it heals and I can purchase a retainer. Walking through Kroger to get my Listerine, I felt like everyone was looking at my lip. Drinking from a glass was an adventure. Eating feels a little odd (and eating a ham sandwich with no cheese felt awful odd too.)
I guess I just have to get used to it. Even if I decide not to keep it (and reimburse my friend for the $40 she spent on me), it was still an experience worth having. the piercer was great, and I highly reccomend him to anyone in the area. He's friendly, quick, and conciderate. If I do keep it, I'll likely try to get a ring with a smaller diameter, so that it doesn't feel as bulky.
That's life and modification, I guess.