It seems to have been a long time coming. . .
At A Glance Author Xander Goth Contact Xander Goth@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Jono Studio Planet Ink Location Ottawa Ontario But now with the benefit of hindsight, was well worth the wait and was one of the best events of my life until now. The situation was that I'd arranged the Ampallang with my studio of choice is Planet Ink.
Why Planet Ink?
One simple answer: Philosophy, there are other piercing studios out there, some of which are nearer to me than Planet Ink, but no other studio (that I know of) comes close to the commitment that you get from the guys there.
The Waiting!
I'll run through the event's running up to the actual day, I had booked in for an Ampallang at the end of September, as they like you to wait a couple of weeks for your Amp, I think the philosophy there is that if you really want one you will wait and at the same time it weeds out those who are perhaps not one hundred percent committed to the Ampallang.
Planet Ink never uses anesthetic for the Ampallang or any other piercings as they believe that the Amp is special, they also only perform a maximum of one a week last thing on a Wednesday afternoon, some of you reading this may feel these measures are draconian, I think these "rules" are a very good idea, I believe that all piercings are special but the Amp goes beyond piercing into the realms of the ritualistic, a rite of passage if you will, something that I feel is missing from today's so called "civilized society" where all that seems to mater is the pursuit of the almighty dollar and where individuality seems to be watered down every day!
One-of-a-kind!
I believe that the Ampallang is/should be something that money can't buy, yeah sure if you really wanted the end result (the barbell through your Glans) you could be "put-out" with a general anesthetic for the whole procedure (in hospital if you pay enough!), but you've only got one part of the Ampallang, the physical part, the greater part you've missed out on, and I feel that anything that comes between you and that "higher ground" of the whole process should be avoided.
No Joke
I'm sorry, but I make no apologies for the way I feel about piercing and the Ampallang in particular. Anyway back to the plot, in the weeks running up to the big day I felt resolute about the whole thing, no doubts of any kind, which is a first for me as when deciding on a C.D. player I have to go over the spec sheets about fifty times, the whole thing just seemed right, despite various people spouting off the usual ill informed crap about piercing, I could not be made to feel guilty and or frightened about the process, to be honest I have removed guilt and fear from my list of emotions that I "do" as I believe they have no benefits whatsoever and believe me I feel good about it.
For example certain people I know were saying things like "you may not be able to get an erection again" although they didn't put it as succinctly as that and these were so-called adults for Christ's sake, talk about immature, I mean some of these people can't say Penis, Vagina or Clitoris without smirking or going red!
The night before. . .
. . The piercing I slept well, managing to get to sleep by about twelve, I woke at about six thirty and was feeling really good, I had a light breakfast (toast) and some orange juice, no coffee for me on this day! I called the studio as soon as they opened to check that everything was still okay, it was so at about twelve thirty I set off to the strains of Placebo, my pockets were full of stuff, my Switchblade Symphony C.D, MD player (for sounds on the way there) together with a pocket full of MD's.The Entire Day I experienced a natural high that someone of limited vocabulary, (like me) just can't do justice to.
I took the bus downtown to Planet Ink , I was about five minutes early, I felt pretty laid back about the whole thing, there were a couple of other clients there but I didn't have wait long, Jono asked me how I felt, I replied "real good" as I did, while in the reception area Jono asked Matt (the other piercer at Planet Ink) to get him the special clamp. Shortly after I made my way towards the green room followed by Jono, once inside I explained that I wanted some other Jewelery changed while I was there, which was done before proceeding with the septum piercing.
Before I commence the story I think a quick word about the hygiene conditions at Planet Ink is necessary. . .
. . And the word is: EXEMPLARY, I feel it's the most important area, along with the piercer's experience, because despite what you or anybody else thinks, I'm no fool! After the septum piercing it was time for the main event, I removed my pants and boxers and laid down...
The main event!
So I'm laying there naked, from the waist down and feeling relaxed and focused, I think if you had told me that I would be doing so, a year ago I wouldn't have believed you! The first thing that Jono did was to mark-up the entry/exit points for the Amp, he took his time and got it just so, next he cleaned the Glans, then on to the clamp...
Now I've heard a lot about clamping in general, mostly how "painful" it is, well after having quite a few piercings that require clamping I thought this to be a bit of a "myth" so to speak, and was not at all concerned with having the clamp applied to my Penis, in fact I had tried squeezing my Glans as hard as possible (a couple of weeks prior) to see what sort of sensation to expect! The clamp was applied and gradually compressed, during the process I was talking about piercing and the Web site and asking related questions about the former stuff to be totally honest I could hardly believe it when Jono said "the clamp is in place", how did it feel?
Well the closest that I can get to defining the level of sensation level that I felt is that if you've ever been with a woman that has never had intercourse (or has an especially tight vagina) you will have a pretty good idea of what I felt. My Penis was left clamped for a couple of minutes before commencing, then Jono asked me if I was ready for the piercing itself I said "yes" and he begun, during the actual piercing I did not talk, really as a sign of my respect to the piercing (ritual) and what it means to me.
Now this may come as a surprise but I was so in touch with myself / on a higher plane that I did not feel any kind of negative sensation, just a "piece of mind" that you rarely get in a day to day environment, and I begun to think when the hell is he going to put the needle in? Sorry if I sound like some kind of doped-up hippie, but that's what I felt! The only time I felt it was when the needle popped out the other side of the Glans which I have to admit made me jump about two inches in the air! Next the barbell was inserted and Jono had said just before that it may be a little uncomfortable, but again it was not an issue.
After
I did feel that something very special had taken place (well it had) but I was still totally relaxed and was still discussing thing's as I had been before the piercing, I did say "well where the hell do I go from here?" basically what I meant was I had the ultimate piercing what's next, (and not where's the door:) I have ideas of what I want but I think that I should now take time to sit back and enjoy my Ampallang (and the other piercings) before I rush out and do any more challenging body mods, Jono had some suggestions and told me about new stuff they were looking at performing there. After shaking hand's I went to pay for the piercing, after saying that I would be back in a months time I left, while walking up the road I had a swig of my sweet drink (non alcoholic) as I made my way to the station, which is quite a walk when you have just had a Ampallang fitted, but it wasn't a problem, I was so pleased about the whole thing I didn't mind a little discomfort and the only time that it became really noticeable was when traversing gradients.
Upon my arrival at home I changed into my comfortable shorts and just sat down in front of the TV, I just couldn't stop grinning, when bed time came I slept fine as I lay on my back and did not move, which seemed to work as I had no real pain the next day and there was less blood from this piercing than from the P.A. which was a surprise. My conclusion? Basically a once in a lifetime experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything!