At A Glance
Author	casey
Contact	casey@bme.anon
When	A week ago
Artist	Padtrick
Studio	Bohemian Rhapsody
Location	Birmingham Alabama

Since I've lived at home with a conservative family for most of my life, my piercing enthusiasm has been limited to looking at pictures and getting a couple of holes in my ears. But now that I've moved away from home I'm free to do what I want, as long as I can hide it when I do have to see my family.

For my 18th birthday, my mother let me get my tragus pierced, something that I had been lusting over for over two years. I was elated with the results (and even more so now that I have jewelry that fits my ear) and after the initial weeks of staring at my ear at every moment with a huge grin on my face, the infatuation wore off. I still loved my tragus, but I didn't feel the rush that I used to feel while looking at it. So, I began to search for more interesting things.

While searching through BME last year, I came across a couple of pictures of nape piercings. At first I was intrigued but as I kept looking at them the idea began to grow on me. After a week of staring at the pictures, I thought that they were one of the sexiest piercings that I had ever seen. But at that point I was envisioning them on other peoples necks, not my own. But a friend of mine convinced me that I too could have one (if I could only move out of the house).

So, months passed, and I moved out of the house and into the city. I now live about 5 blocks from Bohemian Rhapsody, a tattoo and piercing parlor where I feel very comfortable and have gotten pierced before. After reading on BME about the high risk of rejection in surface piercings, I saw the article on the surface bar, and as luck would have it, Padtrick, a very competent piercer that just moved here, had experience with nape piercings and with the jewelry that I wanted. I felt elated until he told me the price.

Being a poor college student, I was going to have a hard time coming up with the cash for such a wonderful piercing. I discussed my problem with Padtrick and he agreed to hold one aside for me until I could get the money. With this goal in mind I decided that I should probably find a job, plus it might be nice to have some groceries. But fate smiled and before I had to give myself over to the working world, my financial situation changed and I found myself with an abundance of extra money. After buying food and hair dye I knew that I was going to have to go get my nape done.

It was at this point that I started to get nervous. The thought of having a needle rammed through the back of my neck didn't sound as inviting when it could actually happen. But since I had talked to my friends so much about it they wouldn't let me forget about it. So, after talking to the guy that went with me when I got my tragus pierced, I decided to just go down there the next day and do it. So, after class I went. But Padtrick wasn't working. Disappointedly my friend and I walked home. But two days later I got another friend to go with me again, in the hopes of resolving the issue. But this time it was closed. Starting to get annoyed, I knew that I had to get it soon.

Since I was leaving for the beach Friday night, I decided to make one last effort Friday afternoon. I rounded up two friends who had nothing better to do and made my way back to Bohemian. Finally things came together. Padtrick greeted me when I came in and went back to put the jewelry in the autoclave. Thirty minutes of nervous waiting followed while I tried not to think about what was going to happen. I searched through the tattoo flash and all the body jewelry and still had time before I was supposed to go in.

At last, Padtrick and his apprentice called me into the back. One of my friends chickened out on watching but the other came along to hold my purse. We all got into the small room with the Scottish chants playing and Padtrick got everything set up.

Sitting on a small doctors table, my neck was thoroughly cleaned and then marked. I decided that I wanted the piercing closer to my hairline so he showed me where he was going to put it before I was asked to lay down. I turned around and lay on my stomach with my head hanging off the table. I had to grab the end of the table because I was so nervous but Padtrick just asked me to breathe. After pinching my neck some more, he put the clamps on, which were annoying but not too painful. After a few more breaths, he asked me to take a deep breath in and hold it. The needle went through. I was fine, I didn't whimper or scream or anything. But that was the easy part. After that a piece of jewelry that is shaped like a staple had to be threaded through, and those angles aren't fun. Getting the last end out was the toughest part and it hurt the most. I had been proud that I never yelled out while being pierced, but it happened three times during this one. After the balls were screwe d on I sat up while he cleaned the blood off. I was feeling fine. I could hardly feel it as long as I didn't move or touch it.

I was given the aftercare material and sent on my way. By that night, I could turn my head without fear of pain, although I did have some trouble getting my shirt off without hitting it. Now, three days later, there is no pain, I can touch it, although for sanitations sake its best not to, and do everything like before.

Now I cant help but getting out two mirrors and staring at the back of my neck with a goofy grin.