Last night (9-15-03) I was looking over BME and wondering "Why did I ever pierce my hand?" As I read over my previous experience "Like A Bad Mushroom Trip..." I looked back on that day. The only thing I remembered being bad was the aftershock. Since then, I have been well known in my school for proper, safe and reliable piercing service. Yet, I realized (as it has been pointed out to me before) that I don't have any for myself. With the last experience, I was forced to take it out for school related purposes after two days. I was never really happy with the result overall anyway, so it wasn't too much of a loss to me.
At A Glance Author obento Contact obento2942@hotmail.com IAM obento When It just happened Artist Self-Done Studio Home Location Glen Ellen, CA It has been four months since that experience and I still have not changed. Still I did not have any piercings, and still I wanted my webbing done. So... last night I decided to go for it. "Why not??" I asked myself. What's the worse that could happen... I'd just have to take it out again and things would be like normal. As I lay there staring at my tools I realized that, "I can do whatever I want." So I decide to do it. I brought out my 14ga. needle (autoclaved of course), slotted forester, and the 16ga. 5/8 inch barbell (All courtesy of my previous BME orders). I laid them out on the table and tried to look back on what I had done wrong the last time. Then it hit me, I had no food in my stomach (thus the unusual aftershock). So I ate... nothing too much but enough so I would not be sick afterward.
Then... there I was. Just me and the needle (or that's how I saw it). I put on some music in order to calm myself (TOOL was my preference at the time), reached for the jewelery and placed it inside of the needle for an easier insertion, and clamped my hand. As I placed the needle against my webbing, the sudden memory of my pain came back. BOOM... I stopped and un-clamped myself. "Damn, can't do it!" I said to myself, ashamed.
I waited a couple of minutes, let the song pass, and decide to try again. NOTHING... I still couldn't do it.
Three times I tried, before I decide to finally get it done. Trust me..... it hurt. Not as much as the first time by far. But still, a lot. Unfortunately this time I bled. Not too much, but enough to be concerned about. It mainly came out the bottom hole. Then the ball wouldn't go on the barbell. It's hard doing things by yourself (and one handed doesn't help the situation). But finally, after all the ordeals, it was done.
That night, I had a hard time sleeping. My hand hurt too much since it had only been about 15 minutes in between. This morning, taking a shower was the hardest thing I had ever done. I used a latex glove to make it easier on my hand. Afterward I cleaned it and went to school. Showed it off and here I am. Of course, people still gave me the same responses. "Why??" "Doesn't it hurt??" and "What the hell ever made you think you'd want to do that??" People never change.
It's not even been 48 hours since I did it, but I feel like it won't last a week. I just am not as excited about it as I was the first time. Who knows?? For those who are reading this and thinking about it..... go for it. Don't expect much, but it still makes me smile every time I see it. Just make sure that you have a HOLLOW needle and a smaller gauge barbell then the needle is. It helps the follow through. Clamps really help, that way you don't have to worry about EXTRA pain. But think about it. Next time you look at your hand, don't think of how much/whether it would hurt. Think, "WOW... I can DO THAT????"
My next piercing will be my eyebrow. Something "normal" for those who think I'm crazy. But this time... I'll have my friend do it for me instead of DIY. Hopefully I will be able to go to sleep tonight without too much pain in my hand. I just took some pain killers to dull the pain, but who knows. I'd love to hear any comments from those who are either thinking about doing this or have in the past. Some feedback from outside this small town would me much appreciated. Hopefully this time around I will be able to stretch it out to tunnel it like my previous plans. I've just ordered some plugs from Japan which I will be getting soon. Wish me luck!!!