Isn't it nice to be able to bring back a piercing from every place you've been to? I wouldn't know, for though my skin bears the mark of many a needle, they have, each and every one of them, been made within a mile's radius of my home. BUT NOT ANY MORE! And where else could have been better to start internationalising my collection than Amsterdam?
At A Glance Author Betadine Contact Betadine@bme.anon When Three months ago Artist A very efficient lady Studio Piercings Works Location Amsterdam Shortly after we met, my boyfriend went through the ordeal of having his nipple pierced – the pain on his face was no reassuring sight. I had never really envisaged ever doing it myself, and this merely helped confirm that this, at least, was not for me. Till a day later. Friends had told me how piercing it heightened the nipple's sensitivity, one pal even described the feeling as "orgasmic", but I had never given it much thought. But now, with an example to observe and test first hand, I was suddenly jealous! There was only one problem – there was absolutely no chance I would ever, EVER, saunter into the shop of either one of my piercers, look them in the eye, and ask them to pierce my nipple. These are men I have got to know well over time, and neither of them deserves that!!! I would save the idea for when I traveled somewhere, and wouldn't that be a good souvenir to bring back?
Many months and a couple of other body mods later, my boyfriend and I at last boarded a plane for a long awaited holiday to the rain and decadence of Amsterdam, and needless to say that in the back of my head was the hope that once there, I would find the courage to stride into an unknown place, look a total stranger in the eye, and lumber him with the awful task. Actually, I was rather looking forward to it. At last I would get a piercing that wasn't Swiss Made, and I would have found in myself a little more self-confidence.
Once there though, I started to chicken out. Even so, I had already ascertained that it would cost a lot less in Amsterdam than in Geneva, so I decided to leave it till the end of the week, when I would count my Euros, and decide.
That same evening, from across the table in a coffee shop, my boyfriend said "don't you want to do it tonight?" Now, I recognise a challenge when I hear one, and so, just like that, he plunged me into turmoil. Sure, I could just go and do it – but could I? And more importantly, what exactly did I want? A ring? A barbell? Then what? Horizontal? Vertical? Sideways? And only one? I kind of wanted to make two cross over each other, but in which position? And wasn't that a bit too chunky for a woman? And if I stopped at one would I want it in the same place as I would if I intended to add another later on? And what if there was something else, better, I had not even thought of? Argh!!!!! I was going over and over it in my head, and pestering my boyfriend with my indecision. Normally I like to have the time to think over all my options properly before I do something, but it was eight and shops closed at nine. And now, I HAD to do it that night – that was the only thing I knew. Finally, I narrowed it down to two possibilities: horizontal or diagonal. If horizontal I would leave it on its own, if diagonal I would cross it. All the way there, I mulled it over and over, changing my mind every twenty seconds, stopping every ten meters in the middle of the road to think, oblivious of the sights and sounds around me, fixated on the dilemma I had to somehow resolve, and the deadline was getting nearer and nearer. Impossible to choose. Did I want one or two on my nipple? Which would look better? Horizontal was prettier, diagonal was more original. One was more sober, the other more aggressive. For which one would I regret not having done the other? And furthermore, which nipple would I do it on?
The walk didn't last forever and we eventually got there. So I decided. Kind of like heads and tails, but with what my instinct said at that precise moment instead of a coin. I would ask for a horizontal bar on my left nipple. My boyfriend thought it was the right choice.
Then, I at last got to do what I had imagined – I strode in, looked the startled woman in the eye, and told her what I wanted. Never have I seen anyone so efficient. I was given ten seconds to choose a bar, then I was herded into a sterile, rather unfriendly and excessively white room, was plonked down onto the stretcher, ordered to sit straight and pull down one side of my bra. The woman grabbed a pen, draw two dots in two seconds, and before I had time to even think about it she had pushed me down flat, had frozen my nipple with a spray and had shoved a needle through it. I was stunned. It was so easy. I dressed, got up, paid, and left, still in shock over the mere speed of the whole thing. My boyfriend's eyes were also open rather wide. We are used to careful measurement, slow movement, lingering needles, and this was the absolute opposite! He couldn't get over how she had made the marks; just like that, and perfectly horizontal. I couldn't get over how precisely and rapidly she had done the piercing, and how little it had hurt. And most of all, I couldn't get over how easy it had been for me to go through with it. Maybe it helped that it was a woman, or maybe that she was so professional and efficient, and that it all happened so fast that I didn't actually have time to feel embarrassed. Anyway, we couldn't wait to get back to the hotel to have another look.
We walked back; it didn't hurt, so no need to hurry. We took our time, enjoyed the end of our first real day in 'Dam, crossed the Red Light District, had a drink, and went back to our place. Then, we ran. We rushed up to our room, I immediately proceeded in taking off my clothes, we looked in the mirror and......... it was diagonal.