At A Glance
Author	aniorange
Contact	aniorange@gmail.com
IAM	aniorange
When	Two years ago

I have mentioned before a young lady I met online. She works at a shop in Texas. I met up with her and also got my second tattoo. She was instrumental in helping me with my Pac Tat. That was not all that happened while I was there. Now get your mind out of the gutter, that is not what I meant. After a night of sleep, I met up with her in the early evening and followed her to her shop. She was opening things up. She showed me around the shop. I looked at some of the cool things she had on display. She had all kinds of voodoo type things. I also remember some neat model cars on display. I looked though some of the portfolios as well as some of the jewelry she had for sale. We made small talk while we waited for the tattoo artist to show.

After she got things situated and we worked on the design for my tattoo, she decided she wanted to give me a gift. She wanted to give me something personal she said. She wanted to pierce me. I, of course, was game. I do not think I could ever have enough piercings. We quickly decided on a nape piercing. She took me back to her little corner (no insult intended) and got me ready. I started asking a few questions about the piercing. I asked her what kind of jewelry she was going to use, and I believe I asked about rejection. She must have taken my questions the wrong way. She seemed upset and told me that if I did not trust her than there is no reason to go thought with it. I was taken back. Seeing as how I was trying to nurture a relationship with this woman, I apologized and tried to make things right. I should have seen that as a red flag. I must have been looking though different eyes that day.

I took my seat in her chair. She got her gloves on and clamps out. She pulled the skin on my neck a few times and then she put the clamps on. This I tell you was quite painful and uncomfortable. It caused me to tense up, which was not a good thing. She could easily tell I was uncomfortable. She kind of made fun of me and said something along the lines of, "That does not hurt." It hurt so much that I did not even notice the needle go though. I felt her work things around, put in the jewelry and finally, take off the clamp. What a relief that was.

Then it was done. She got me a small mirror to check things out on. I was quite excited to have new metal. I thanked her for the jewelry and piercing. The day progressed as I received my tattoo that I had come for. Later that night I found myself back home in Oklahoma City.

I was very excited about my new piercing as I usually am. I checked it out in mirrors a few times and with my proud eyes I saw nothing wrong. When I went back to work people started to notice it. Of all the piercings I have had, this one seemed to amaze people the most. I received lots of comments. Lots of people said wow in amazement and disbelief. I got the usual, "Why did you do that," and "Did it hurt." "It did hurt," I told them. "It hurt more than any other piercing by far." My friends where equally amazed. They even started telling other friends and co-workers about it. "Hey Brad, show (so and so) the back of your neck." I was loving it.

I took care of it as I always do with piercings these days. I soaked it with saline solution on a cotton ball two or three times a day. I cleaned it with provon and a q-tip two or three times a day usually after the soak or during a shower.

It took some time for the initial excitement to wear off and for me to start coming to my senses. I sort of knew from the start that it was not pierced right, or at least the wrong jewelry was used. I did not want to admit it to myself though. I did not want to believe that my trust was misplaced. I had to eventually accept it though. The piercing was tight. I could feel it pulling on my neck. It was way more apparent when I would turn my head. I kept looking at it in the mirror and telling myself it looks fine. I finally decided I needed another opinion.

I went to my local and very trusted piercing hole in town. I drove down to 23rd Street Body Piercing on my lunch break one day. I asked them to take a look at my nape and tell me how it was doing. I suspected it was not done very well. They told me it was rejecting already. It had only been maybe a week since I had it pierced. I was told the bar was the wrong kind of bar. It was a straight barbell. It was also way too short. There was too much pressure on the skin. They asked me why I did not just come there. I briefly told them the story. They told me my best bet would be to take it out and let it heal, and if I wanted it redone, they could fix me up. This was the news I dreaded to hear, but I expected as much.

My head started to fill with questions. I wondered why the lady I trusted could do such a bad job. I thought I had done my homework and wondered why I was fooled. I began to think about how she reacted to my asking questions. She had told me stories of people getting pierced badly at other shops and coming to her shop for help. She talked a good talk, but in the end, I was deeply let down.

I miss my nape so much. One day I hope to have it again. I hope that the next time will be more comfortable and much more long lasting. I still had friends asking me to show others my piercing. Sadly I did not have it to show anymore. This just made me feel even worse.

You live, you learn.