On impulse

At A Glance Author anonymous Artist Ryan Studio Wizards & Dreams Location Boston

For about a month I had been in a very impulsive state, during which time I found myself wanting to do all sorts of crazy, daring things that I had never done before. Things like sky diving, or just spontaneously buying myself a Harley & trekking across country at a moment's notice, even though I've never even ridden one before (at least not with me driving). It was very difficult for me to suppress these urges, so I began trying to think of possible smaller ways I could quench these desires to do something a bit outrageous.

I had considered a small tattoo, but decided against it for several reasons. I work as computer professional and part of my job is to deal face to face with clients in the health care industry, such as doctors and nurses. Thus a tattoo in plain site would not be appropriate, though I could have always got it somewhere on my person that would be inconspicuous, I kept asking myself "what if I don't like it, then what do I do?" I finally decided on getting my belly button pierced.

I had seen them on others and thought they looked cool, particularly on a flat belly, which I do have. And with spring & summer approaching quickly it would soon be a tan, flat tummy, on which a gold ring in particular would look quite good. The first advantage to having my belly button pierced over my consideration of a small tattoo was location. A tattoo, I would have wanted on my ankle or my shoulder blade, both of which would have shown in some of my work attire. A belly button ring would be in a more inconspicuous place, as none of my business suits would ever be showing my belly button. Not only that, but with a piercing instead of a tattoo, it wasn't permanent. So, if I decided that later I didn't like it, I could always just let it close up.

I had already spoken to my brother's fiancé several months before about her belly button ring, though only briefly. Hers had got infected a month after she got it done, but her and my brother said that it only happened because she kept playing with it. But, she had gone to her family doctor that prescribed an antibiotic & the infection ceased shortly thereafter. Ever since, she has been happy with her decision to get it pierced. I had also spoken, just in passing, to a couple of others who had them over the few months prior to that, and they seemed happy with their piercings as well.

So it was decided. I was definitely going to get my belly button pierced. But the when and where were still in question. I decided I wanted to do it as soon as I could find a place to do it. I wanted to talk to my brother's fiancé again to see where she had hers done, but then I didn't see her much for a week or so. After about two weeks of not getting a chance to talk to her, I decided to just go out one night to try to find a place to do it on my own.

First I tried a place that I thought I had seen body piercing listed as one of their services on the sign they had out front, but I was mistaken. So, then I tried the mall. Being they had so many places that do ear piercing, I thought that one of them just might. No luck there either. As a woman working in one of the places told me that nowhere in the mall does it. I asked her if she knew of anywhere that does do it and she said she thought there was a place in the town next to the one I live in, that does it. She also suggest I try the tattoo parlours, as that's what most of the places were where she had seen body piercing advertised on their signs. I thanked her and left the mall.

It was too late in the evening to start driving all over town to the tattoo parlours in the area, as they'd all most likely be closed, so I decided to head home and look in the yellow pages to see if any of the tattoo parlour ads in there mentioned body piercing. Before I even got the phone book out a friend of mine called & I told him about my trouble finding a place to do the belly button piercing. Being the group of people we hang with already had plans to go to the Jersey shore that coming Saturday he mentioned that I could probably get it done there. I told him that thought had already crossed my mind.

My friend Vince, who had originally suggested getting it done at the shore that weekend was the only one who went in with me...all of the others that were at the shore with us had decided not to stick around while I got it done. They said something about going to take a walk. Once we were inside the store, the sales person at the counter asked if he could help me with anything. The first thing I asked him was "how much to get my belly button pierced?" He said $35, and proceeded to lead me to the glass case where the belly button rings where showcased. He pointed out a row of rings and bar bells that come free with the $35 piercing. They were all silver. I had know for several months that if I got one it had to be gold in order for me to be happy with it.

So, I found a few that were gold on the tray and asked him how much for one of the two I liked best. Now the price was $120. My eyes widened, and he began to explain that the prices of gold and silver in general are typically quite different. Vince's eyes widened at the price as well, which was followed by a look of disappointment. So I raised my eyebrows & grinned with a twinkle in my eye as I reached for my purse and asked the guy if they'd accept plastic.

Vince said he was surprised I was still going through with it at that price. He thought for certain that I'd have said to forget it. This explains the look of disappointment he shot me when he heard the price. He had been all excited about the idea when I first mentioned it to him a week or so before this shore trip and told me he wanted to see it after I got it. In fact he was so excited that I offered to let him be there when I got it done. So when he thought I wouldn't do it because of the high price, he was very disappointed.

But I had decided I wanted it done and I wanted it done with the ring I liked and the hell with worrying about how much more it'd cost than I thought it would. I wanted it & and I wanted it my way. Not surprising though considering I had just placed a custom order for my college ring the month before, which I had custom made in a style and colour combo that the ring company normally would not have put together on the same ring. That college ring guy tried to talk me out of that one, but I knew what I wanted & didn't care if it cost me extra, I was still going to have it the way I wanted it. In this case though, of course the guy at the counter didn't try to talk me out of getting the more expensive ring.

Once the ring was picked out, the guy at the counter rang up the purchase, then as he finished he said he had forgotten to ask me if I wanted to buy a care kit too and that it's $10...I said, yea, and Vince kind of looked at me funny. The guy at the register rang up the care kit & I paid him cash for that, then he said someone would be with me in a few minutes & to wait there next to the register where I was already standing. There was a doorway over there that went into a small room, where the guy went for a moment then came back out & disappeared into the store itself. I then noticed that the ring I had picked out, which had been next to the register was no longer there. My first thoughts were of the "bait and switch" game some swindling merchants pull and I wondered where that ring went & whether I was going to end up with the real gold one or some cheap imitation. I didn't mention this concern to Vince right then while still in the store though. I figured I'd just take a good hard look at the one I ended up with before leaving the store.

So a few minutes later a different guy comes over and leads us into that same small room where the first one had gone for a few moments before disappearing. Once inside I took a good look around. There was a chair in the middle of the floor that reminded me of the kind in beauty salons. Everything in the room made it look like a sterile, surgical kind of atmosphere. There were bright white walls and several stainless steel counters. Even and the trash can reminded me of the kind in the doctor's or dentist's office, as it was a white metal one with a rounded top that opened by a foot pedal. The only thing out of the ordinary for a surgical-type environment was that the entire top half of one wall was a huge mirror.

So the guy tells me to take a seat, then introduces himself & shakes both Vince's hand and mine. I cannot for the life of me remember what he said his name was though, I suppose I was just so nervous at the time that I wasn't giving him 100% of my attention.

Now is where we get to the actual piercing.... The first thing that the piercer did was attach a clamp to my belly to squeeze the skin together so the hole he was going to make for the belly button ring would go in one side and come out the other. The clamp itself placed quite a bit of pressure on the skin, so much so that I thought that when he placed the clamp on he had already done the actual piercing, but he hadn't.

Next the piercer took what looked to me to be a large hypodermic needle out of a plastic wrapper, so at least I knew it wasn't one that had been used on other customers before. As the he pushed the needle through the skin of my belly being held by the clamp that was still attached to me, I "white-knuckled" the arms of the chair I was sitting in. I didn't look down to watch, however the mirror on the wall across from me still gave me a perfect view of what was being done. Whether I wanted to watch or not, I found my sights fixated on that mirror. Vince realised this and promptly moved to stand between myself and the mirror so I couldn't watch.

After the hole was made with the hypodermic needle, the ring was then placed through the hole. Typically the worst would have been over once the needle was removed. However, in my case the ring didn't want to come back out the second side of the hole once the piercer began to insert it. Thus the ring had to be wiggled & pushed more so than usual to get it all the way through. Once the ring was through the hole, a tiny ball was screwed onto the end to keep it from coming back out again, while I watched to see how the ring fit together so I'd know how to remove it when it had healed enough and I was able to do so.

Once the piercing was over, the piercer started explaining the after-care to me. He told me that he'd recommend I wash my hair first. He then began to tell me that I'd have to use an antibacterial soap such as Dial or Lever 2000.... towards the end of his sentence I was having a hard time concentrating...I had suddenly started to get hot flashes! I felt woozy, like I do when I'm gonna lose my cookies. I asked them where the trash can was, the piercer pointed it out, but asked "why?" at which point I told him I was going to be sick. He told me I would be fine and that I wasn't going to get sick. I explained the sensation I was feeling and told him that I knew I was going to be sick whenever I got that feeling before, without fail. He still insisted I would not get sick. He said he had seen these sorts of thing happen before and that I would not get sick. Still I insisted... The piercer then asked me if I would like some juice, I thankfully accepted. Then he handed me a cool, damp wash cloth to place on my forehead. Along with the juice itself, the coolness of the wash cloth resting on my forehead, as Vince held it in place for me so I could drink my juice, began to make the woozy feeling subside. I was ok again... And just as my piercer had promised, I did not get sick.

After this episode, the piercer continued to instruct me on how to care for my new, shiny, gold belly button ring! My piercer recommended that in order to prevent infecting the piercing, it is best to wash my hair first. This is particularly true in my case because I have kind of long hair. Thus washing it after cleaning the belly button ring would kind of defeat the purpose of even cleaning the piercing. Washing my hair afterward could rinse too many oils from my hair and perfumes and such from the shampoo and conditioner into it and carry bacteria along with them.

Next, my piercer recommended I wash my hands with an antibacterial soap before cleaning the piercing itself. The skin excretes oils, just as the hair does, and I do typically wear perfume too. So, for the same reasons that I wash my hair first, to prevent my leftover perfume and the oils on my skin from being rinsed directly into the piercing, I personally prefer to wash my entire body with it first, even though my piercer told me that I really only need to wash my hands.

Once I have rinsed the antibacterial soap and shampoo from the rest of me, I then begin working on cleaning the piercing itself in the same manner as my piercer instructed me. Lather it up good with the antibacterial soap, and move the ring back and forth through the openings a couple of times. Then rinse the antibacterial soap off with warm water, moving the ring several times in the same manner as done when the soap was still there. This prevents any leftover soap from remaining lodged inside of the piercing.

Next I use surgical soap which was provided at the time of my piercing in the same manner as I did the anti bacterial soap. Apply it, move the ring, rinse with warm water, move the ring. I also use moisturising lotion on most body parts just after my showers. I am particularly careful not to get the lotion too close to my piercing, so as to avoid the very same things I tried to prevent by cleaning it so well in the first place.... infection.

I know most of you are probably thinking I am really anal about now, or that I am really paranoid about infection. For those of you thinking that, all I have to say is...after all the pain it caused for me to get this done, I did not wish to have it get infected and have to start all over again...not to mention I paid $120 for my piercing due to the fact that I got a gold ring rather than one of the cheaper ones, and I did not wish to have to let this piercing close up as a result of infection and never be able to wear the thing! Well, now that I've said my peace...