It was a bright, chipper Wednesday morning when our story begins. A few dark clouds were looming over the Rocky Mountains as I walked across the school parking lot to get to my car. It was about a quarter to noon when my mom called me and asked if I wanted to go and get a tattoo with her. I said sure and told her I would meet her at Forty-three 25 (my regular haunt) (if you're in the springs area check them out, the kick ass and are very good) in about twenty. I was half way to the parlor when I remembered that my tat patterns were at home and I really didn't want to back track to get them. Instead I contently settled on just sitting with her and get mine on another day. Or maybe I should get another piercing?
At A Glance Author pip When A month ago Artist Billi Studio forty-three 25 Location colorado springs, colorado
As I sat in the lobby with my mother waiting for Garcia to finish getting ready to permanently alter my mom, I saw Billi, my piercer. We bullshitted for a bit and I informed him that I wasn't going to get any work that day (since I had got my nape done the month before, and my vertical tragus the month before) but that I was interested in maybe getting a corset eventually. I had seen a picture of some guy mid way thru the process on this very web site and I thought it looked pretty damn cool. Anyway, after a few more minutes Garcia is ready and I go back into his room with my mother.
Sitting there all I can think about is how strange it would feel to leave the parlor without getting anything done. It felt like sacrilege in my mind. Finally I just couldn't stand the thought anymore, and having a few bucks to burn, I found Billi. We began to talk a little more seriously and in depth about the piercing. I suggested surface bars and he suggested snap on slave rings. I was pumped and he seemed pretty happy to have me break up the tedium of nose rings and navels. He had to make the jewelry so; sadly, I couldn't get it done that day. I made an appointment for the next afternoon and went on my merry way.
I went back to the parlor at about two or three the nest afternoon. I was pretty anxious since I had never had to wait twenty-four hours to get work done before. My previous piercings had all been walk-ins. I wasn't feeling the greatest that day, I blamed it on nerves, and so I hadn't eaten. One quick side note: Anyone planning one getting six needles stabbed into their back in less than thirty minutes time had better have a fucking cheeseburger and a large coke in them first. I sat in the lobby chatting with a lady whom I assume is a receptionist though I had never seen her before and only twice since. Billi was finishing up a piercing; another damn navel, so I filled out the paper work and got into an interesting conversation with a few of the bored tattoo artists. Ten minutes later, Billi comes out and says he's ready to go when I am.
He showed me the jewelry that he had spent over three hours make the previous day. They look great, six little one inch long surface bars with detachable slave rings just waiting to be implanted in my back. We went back in his room and began the marking process. This is by far the most annoying part of any piercing. I was probably standing there, back straight, feet shoulder width apart, for about thirty minutes before I started to feel sick. Second note: Don't buckle you knees!! I asked Billi if it would be alright if I stepped outside for a few minutes when he finished with whatever marking he was on at the time. He is an adamant perfectionist and he sure can take is sweet ass time, but at least I know it will look good and straight. Anyway, the next thing I know my vision goes blurry and everything turns a gold-ish color. When I woke up, less than a minute later, with three guys standing around me offering me water, I instantly know what happened. I had never passed out before, so that just added to an already memorable experience. It also has a story of much hilarity to my group of friends, I can with stand having needles and barbells shoved through my skin, but apparently sharpie is just too damn rough. I went outside to cool of for a minute as Billi kicked the air conditioner on. We both had a smoke then went back in to finish. He had only two more marks to make and he kindly sped up the process. Finally, an hour later, we were ready to pierce some flesh.
I laid face down on the table and took a deep breath. The first one was started. It hurt like a mother and seemed to take an eternity to go through. I've heard something about the side you are dominate on hurts more when you get pierced-or something like that- and the top left one I thought would kill me. But I tightened my jaw, balled my toes, clenched my fists and got through it. Hey, only five more to go! The top right was next and to my deep relief was done in no time and hardly hurt at all. The two were pretty uneventful, but then we hit the bottom left. You would have thought I was responsible for killing Billi's mother and raping his sister for how bad this hurt. It put the first piercing to shame. But it was fast and I was able to breathe again. The last one went through ok, with the exception of the glob of fat that came out with the needle. DONE! They looked awesome. The slave rings were still attached but we would have to take them off before I left or else they would irritate the piercing too much. I took a few minutes to go outside and cool off before I walked around and showed off my fresh new corset, the very first on to be done in that shop and probably one of the only to be done it that town. We snapped off the rings before I left and I made and appointment to come back in a day or two to take some pictures and just see how everything is doing. Then, I had the wonderful joy that was the drive home. Leaning back proved to be a privilege I had taken for granted.
That night was interesting as I found out you have to be a god damn contortionist to clean your back with Q-Tips. With great effort I was able to go to sleep that night, having first to find the exact position on my stomach that didn't cause shooting pains up my back every time I inhaled. But the next night I could lay on my back just fine, with only a little careful adjustments.
A few days went by and the redness had drastically reduced. So I went back in for my check up and to get laced up for some pictures. We snapped the rings back on and laced it up. My god that's an interestingly ticklish feeling. If I thought it looked good with just the balls, it was nothing to what the finished project looked like. The bar bells are an inch long and an inch apart with three per side. The piercing is five inches long total and about three inches apart. At first I was a little afraid that they would be too far apart, but with the rings one, they are just right. We laced it up; I had two different colors of ribbon so we spent an hour doing different and interesting patterns, and took some pictures for Billi's portfolio. I showed off again to some of the guys who were the day before and wanted to see the finished design, then I went back into Billi's room to have a look over. The bottom left piercing had been giving me a lot of trouble and hurt a lot more than the others. Also the skin had swelled up so much that is actually swallowed the ball. He checked it out and we both agreed it needed to be replaced. So we did.
Mother of god was that painful. He took the jewelry out and put the needle back in. the problem was that he couldn't find the exit hole so he had to fish around for it, slicing the crap out of the inside of my back at the same time. He finally found it and ran the new barbell thru. This time it was too long and the 90 degree stuck out of my back. So, again, out came the jewelry, in went the needle, slice went the skin. The next bar fit much better and felt great, considering.
It has been about four weeks now since I had my corset done and the itching is driving me crazy. But that just means it is healing. Yeah! I had a lot of pain last week that seemed to come out of the blue and it really started to worry me, so I went back in. Billi checked them over and was amazed to see how well they were coming along. He confessed that he expected me in the week before having the look like ass and hurting none stop. He said they were fine and that I probably just had some crusties stuck in the opening and all I needed was to soak it in salt water.
Since then the pain has gone away. Every now and then I will bend the wrong way and piss them off, but it seems my cleaning regime is doing the trick. Quick note: don't go to the chiropractor when you have your back pierced! I have read about quite a few people who want to get this done but are too afraid to do it. While two of my six caused blinding pain, it IS bearable. I read about people starting to cry and wanting to quit in the middle, but I don't think it was that bad. Many my pain tolerance is just greater. I know they say the only way to truly say you surface piercing will last is to keep it for three years, but nobody expected me to last a month or heal them as far as I have. Time truly will tell with me, but right now they look great. I love the faces people make when they find out want I did and the faces they make when they see it are so much better. Of all my work, this is my favorite, but also my most painful. It is really a pain in the ass to not be able to bend over or slouch like I used to but they are getting a little more flexible. It is worth it. My suggestion is if you're contemplating, go for it. Even of they only last a month, they are so very worth the pain and slight inconvenience. If any of you guys have a question, feel free to ask. I just can't wait for summer when I can lace it up and show off at the beach!