I have always had a fascination for that infamous denizen of the night, the vampire, immersing myself in vampire folklore as well as vampire LARP games. Similarly, I've also had a fascination for the simple beauty and elegance of the navel piercing. However, having seen far too many MTV-influenced girls with the standard, cardboard cut-out navel, my desire for a navel piercing was on the back burner, and somewhat diminished. I wanted something that was more unique, and less something that had become a simple bubblegum pop icon.
At A Glance Author Jay Lee Contact Jay Lee@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Erin Studio Adrenaline Piercing and Tattoo Location Vancouver, B.C. However, I didn't connect these two fascinations until, at 16, I was mindlessly surfing the internet (while I should have been doing homework), and quite accidentally came across a picture of a double angle navel piercing. The image instantly reminded me of a face with two eyes and the navel as the mouth, which I thought was extremely intriguing. A light bulb appeared in my mind and I decided if I were to get any navel piercing, it would be a navel vampire.
Talked into it by a coworker who was herself into piercings, I went out with her and another coworker in late December to a place in Vancouver's downtown, called Adrenaline Piercing and Tattoos. My coworker had recommended it as "the cleanest place" she'd ever been to, and said that it wouldn't hurt a bit. By the time I got there, however, I was a nervous wreck despite her insistence it would be good. In fact, when we went into the place, we had to walk straight back out and walk around downtown for three hours while I calmed myself down (I attribute this nervousness to my high-strung Chinese blood).
I thought I wouldn't go through with it, but we finally marched back in to Adrenaline and I met my piercer, Erin. I drew a sketch of how I wanted the final piercings to look and showed her, and I was surprised how good everyone was about the whole thing – the friendly atmosphere really calmed my nerves and Erin allowed my coworkers, Karen and Birin, to come in with me to watch the piercing.
The room was extremely clean, like a doctor's office, and Erin was very clear about everything that was to happen. We decided that we'd only do one piercing today as to reduce the risk of infection (apparently I have a very small belly button). She marked down the angle of the piercing and allowed me to take a look and adjust it to make sure it was the way I wanted it, asking if I wanted 16ga or 14ga (I chose 14ga). She then got me to lie down on the padded table/chair and opened up the barbell and needle in front of me with freshly-gloved hands. She cleaned it and told me to take a deep breath. Birin and Karen holding my hands, she pierced.
The piercing, after all the apprehension and nervousness, really wasn't that bad. Of course, I hadn't known what to expect, so it pinched more than I thought it would – almost like someone was giving me a vaccination in my navel. It didn't last more than a second and when Erin put in the barbell I didn't even feel it. I even asked, "Is that it?" (though later on Birin told me I had gasped aloud and Karen said that I had said something in shock along the lines of "Oh me oh my"). It was the best Christmas present to myself ever.
When it was all over Adrenaline sent me home with thorough aftercare instructions, and within four months of religiously adhering to them, I returned just yesterday for the second piercing. Erin told me the first one had healed extremely well and fairly quickly, though once again I was a nervous wreck about the second piercing. She took the barbell out of the first piercing (after the healing it was a bit too long now) and put in a new, shorter one for free! All the preparations for the second piercing were done with the same care as the first, though the marking took longer because she was trying to match them up.
This time, with three coworkers now in the ranks holding my hands, I was pierced once more. It hurt a little more because it had to be done slowly to ensure it matched, though this time I didn't gasp or make any random statements. In the end I found that it was perfectly matched, though a little more painful to put the barbell in than I remembered, and a little more irritated due to the slower process.
I'm looking forward to May, for school trip to a resort awaits, with hot tubs in which I can show off my new piercings. It'll be a little bit of a shock for people, since I go to a Catholic school and this sort of thing is generally frowned upon. All that is left to do is for the second piercing to heal up and to replace the bottom balls with spikes to make the "vampire teeth".
I recommend Adrenaline to anyone – the level of care that they showed made it an awesome first piercing experience. I'm definitely going back to them and I have many more piercings planned!