It was just last Saturday (March 23, 2003). I was sitting in my living room thinking about what piercing I could get and listening to Evanescence, and my friends were spouting off piercings that I could get. Then my one friend told me to get my stomach pierced. She had had it done before and I thought it was so adorable and I had wanted it for a while. But I have a tattoo on my stomach so I didn't think that I could. Well, we called my boyfriend and asked him if he wanted to go to South Street with us, not telling him why we were going. So he came to my house and we all went down to South Street with to go do this thing. I wouldn't admit it to anyone, but I got really nervous in the car. I usually get a little nervous before piercings but I knew that this one was going to hurt like hell.
At A Glance Author Rebecca Contact Sickwithitxxx@aol.com When It just happened Artist Luis Garcia Studio NoKaOi Tiki Tattoo Location Philadelphia, PA When we got to South Street my boyfriend asked me why we were there and all I said was "Why do we ever just randomly go to South Street in the middle of the day?" So we got to NoKaOi Tiki Tattoo, walked up the steps and found out there was someone getting pierced. So when Luis came out I told him that I wanted my fat pierced aka my stomach, he pinched my stomach flesh to see if he could do it then he gave me the usual forms to fill out. I'm used to that routine already. It's like second nature to me. Initial here. Sign here. Put your address here. Print here. So I filled out my forms and gave him my I.D. (in which I look like a twelve year old) to copy. He showed me the jewelry and I asked him if I could get different coloured balls for it. He said yes and showed me these really adorable fuschia ones. (He said he had all different coloured balls and me and my friends said "Well, as long as they're not blue.") He told me I could get a darker colour but I loved the fuschia one s so I chose them and he put them with my bar. I was excited and nervous at the same time.
He took me into the little piercing room. He had the chair laid down with that horrible sterile doctors paper on it. I always hated that paper. Even when I was a kid. But I have to get used to it if I want to get more piercings. He told me to stay standing as he grabbed something to clean the area and a Sharpie to mark the spot. He cleaned the area and then he held the jewelry up to my stomach and drew a line as long as the bar and a small line in the middle. My friends were outside making jokes about midget porn and things of that nature which made me laugh. He told me to try to keep my stomach still so he could mark it. He changed his gloves. Then he told me to lay down on the chair. I always hate that part. The paper crackled and crunched underneath me. My boyfriend stood at my head, probably laughing at me for being so nervous (I'm sure he could realize how nervous I was just by the look in my eyes) and looking down at me as Luis told me to breathe in then out and shoved the 12g needle through my stomach. He told me that I was almost done and proceeded to push the needle through. He put the bar in, cleaned it, and I got up and looked at it. I fell in love with it as soon as I looked at it. Then he took a photo of it for his portfolio and for BME. I jokingly bitched at Luis for not telling me that it was a 12g needle and he called me a wuss. Heh, we make fun of each other all the time.
It's a little sore right now but it hasn't given me any problems. It's also a bit red but I expected that much. And the soap I'm using is making it a bit dry. I'll have to go back and buy something new. But I love it so much. It is definitely my favourite piercing. I'm proud that I went through with it. Although, it wasn't that bad. It was actually a really intense adrenaline rush. The only downside is that I can't sleep on my stomach.
I also paid for my friend to get hers redone. She was so happy. Luis took photos of both of our piercings. Hopefully they make it to the website sometime soon.