The title refers to the fact that I have had an ampallang piercing done twice in my life. I will discuss both experience and compare and contrast all the changes that have taken place over the years.
At A Glance Author les Contact les@bme.anon IAM loudles When It just happened Artist Lyons Studio acme tattoo Location charlottesville, va I have been into body piercing and tattooing since I first laid my eyes on the Research Modern Primitives book in 1990. I had attempted to pierce my nipples on my own with disasterous results (my friends refer to that as the "hamburger chest" incident). When I got to college, I ran into people who had the same interests and recommended going to the Gauntlet to get my first real piercing - my right nipple. Soon after my left nipple was pierced and both were stretched to 10g.
Between my junior and senior years of college, I became fixated with getting another piercing. Back then facial piercings were not as readily tolerated or accepted and I didn't think that any of them would look good on me. I was in a pretty serious relationship and I wanted to get something that would not only please me, but my girlfriend (at the time) as well.
The ampallang always struck me as a bold statement and I have never been a half-measure type of person, so I decided to get an ampallang. I called the Gauntlet's New York City store (6 hours away) and scheduled an appointment with the fellow who did my first nipple piercing (I wish I could remember his name). A week later, two of my buddies, my girlfriend, and I were standing out front of the Gauntlet.
The Gauntlet stores were well-lit, well-furnished, and professional, so I always knew I was in good hands as I climbed the long flight of stairs.
I filled out and signed the release forms as I waited and then talked with my piercer about the process - he'd done more than a few ampallangs so he put me at ease. He measured my penis and then asked me to figure out how to get an erection, so he could make sure that he put in the right size barbell. My girlfriend was happy to help out and he finished getting the measurements. We picked out the jewelry which turned out to be a 14g 1 and 1/4 inch barbell, and then he asked me when I had last had something to eat. I admitted that it had been a few hours and he sent me to grab a bite to eat while he got things ready.
Half an hour later, I was laying on the table and starting to do my deep breathing, all the while holding my girlfriend's hand. I managed to slip into a trance-like state when the piercer said he was going to start. He was doing the piercing freehand and told me to take a deep breath. I felt the needle go into my penis and wiggle through spongium to the other side in one exhale. I did not have a chance to get in another breath before he had pushed the needle through the other side. I can say that I knew I was in pain, but I was so relaxed that I had "taken a step back" from everything. The jewelry was put in and we were on our way.
The ampallang healed up pretty quickly and I stretched up to a 10g barbell with in a year. I had a great time with the piercing and got off on the empowerment that I felt from having undergone the piercing. Unfortunately the job market in the mid-nineties was really crummy and I decided to join the Army, so all my metal had to come out.
Nine years later, I left the service and wanted to get pierced again. My buddy is a tattoo artist at Acme Tattoo in Charlottesville and he said that they have some piercers on staff. I scheduled an appointment to get a piercing and waited for my appointment. When I arrived the piercer regretted to inform me that she did not feel good about doing such a risky piercing - she'd only done one when she was training. I was determined to get something done that day, so I asked how she felt about doing a Prince Albert. She agreed to do it and you can read about it in Me and My PA in the experiences. When we were done, I asked if there was another piercer in the area that could do an ampallang and the piercer said she would ask around.
A couple of weeks later, I got an e-mail from my piercer offering to do the ampallang piercing for me. She said that she felt she could do it after she had seen how well I tolerated the PA and had done some research. I was psyched and booked my appointment and ordered jewelry.
I arrived at Acme on time and we got down to business. She announced that she was going to use a clamp which was news to me as I was always told that the ampallang was a freehand piercing - oh, well. I dropped my pants and got up on the table. I pulled my penis out through the fly of my boxers and my piercer put one of those sterile paper towels with a hole in it around it. I still have the scars from the original piercing, but the piercer wanted to practice the marking anyway. That was fine with me as the more the can practice the better she will get.
The clamp went on and oddly enough, it did not hurt. I started breathing and bracing myself for the pain yet to come. A distant voice announced that it was going to line up the needle with the marks. I felt the pressure as the needle started going through.
Let me say this now . . . the piercer took her time, so I felt every millimeter of this piercing. To her credit, she was going through the old scar tissue. It took several cleansing breathes to get through and get the jewelry in. She remarked at this point that the 12g 1 and 1/4 inch barbell looked a little too big. I reassured her that this was the size my first one had been, that it has been really cold recently, and that a penis has its' own mind about these matters. She ran down the aftercare procedures for me and sent me out into the afternoon.
That was two hours ago. The bleeding has been minimal and has not hurt at all. I reckon that despite my piercer's stern warning against it, I will be chasing my wife around the house soon to try it out on her and remind her how much she liked it when we were dating. All in all, I am happy with the whole process the second time around and would recommend Acme to anyone for piercing.