From: s7356911@deimos.ucc.umass.edu (DP)
Subject: pierce report  (kinda long)
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Keywords:  pierce, poke, new holes in my body, etc.
Organization: University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 07:09:00 GMT

	I did it.  I just got back from Boston a few hours ago, where
I got my first two pierces -- a nostril and a nipple.  I'm still tender
but they look nice.  I can hardly wait to show them off tomorrow.
	I was intending to get them done friday last, because it was my
birthday.  My friends Jodi, Asa and I went down to find ``Innovations in
Leather'' on Tremont Street, but due to what passes for roads in 
Boston (gack!), the traffic, and, oh yeah, the fact that I had the wrong
address on Tremont Street,  it didn't go down.  So instead,  we all went
to M-80 and got `faced listening to techno.  I tried the next morning to
contact the piercer, Victoria, at the other shop she works out of, ``Good
and Bad'', but she wasn't in.  Strike two.  I decided to try and do it
the next free day I had, this tuesday.
	I finally made it to ``Innovations''  when Victoria was there,
even though it meant driving two hours through the first snowstorm of the
season.  I'm so glad I did it.  I can't recommend her enough.  She immediately
impressed me with her manner, calm & understated but still assertive;  I also
couldn't help noticing her piercing eyes (yeah, it's a pun; so sue me :-> ).
She really put me at ease.  
	First, she showed me their selection of body jewelry, in gold, niobium,
and surgical steel.  I picked out a simple 16 ga. steel hoop for my nostril,
and something similar with a captive bead for my nipple.   That done, we got
right to business.   She led me back to the piercing area, where she had
a dentist's chair.  I asked her how long she'd been piercing; she said 4 years
in Boston.  Before she poked any holes, she made sure I knew about
cleaning, risk of infection, how long to wait before changing jewelry, etc.
I also signed a short release form.  Then we got to the fun part.
	She suggested working from the head down (good suggestion), so she
did the nostril first.  I had the option of choosing the placement, so I 
did; I put it just behind where the crease of my nostril meets my nose.
The actual poking part was over quickly --- slightly longer than  an ear
pierce with a gun, since she uses her hand and a piercing needle into a
cork backing.  The pain was minimal, just enough to make me flinch and tear
up.  While the needle was still in, she slipped in the betadine-soaked hoop.
Once she made a few adjustments with the pliers, it was done.
	The nipple pierce was much more intense.  She readied my nipple by
swabbing it with betadine & clamping it with forceps; then she pushed the
needle through it into a cork backing.  This time I felt an intense burning
feeling snake down from my shoulder to my groin (which is not to say I didn't
like it :-> ).  I'm not sure,  but I think I gasped, and my back arched.  
  She slipped in the hoop and used the pliers to trap the captive bead on 
the ends.  Once I had a good look at it, she covered it with a gauze bandage 
to keep any blood from my shirt.
	I was really touched when she mentioned that she likes to get in
touch with everyone she pierces about a month or so after she does them,
just to check in with `em.  Wicked.
	(I know this is getting long.  I'll finish up soon, promise.)
	I got a real kick out of watching people's reactions while I
was riding the T (subway) back to Alewife Station.  Most wouldn't look
at me directly (normal for the T); some few looked for a few seconds 
with shock on their faces.  However, a look from one person made up
for these folks:  one beautiful brunette gazed at me intently for quite
a few seconds and then smiled sweetly at me.  Wow, what a rush.
 	Anyway, the pertinent info for this pierce is:
		Piercer:  Victoria 
		Place:   Innovations in Leather
			 581 Tremont Street, 2nd floor
			 South End, Boston
			 (617) 536-1546
			 pierce times: 12-6 Tues. through Fri.
		Sample prices:  
			 $35 for nostril and nipple pierces
			 $13 for nostril hoop (16 ga. steel)
			 $32 for nipple hoop (16 ga. steel with captive bead)
	If anyone is interested in the literature she gave me about cleaning
and care routines, I can post it or e-mail it.

	Thanks for indulging me.  I know that previous pierce reports
on this newsgroup helped convince me that it was something I needed to do --
(this means you, ms. udry :-> );   I hope this does the same for someone else.
					dp
---------------------
	my wife asks: ``Why are all your pierces on the left?  Why not the
				right side?''
	me:	      ``My right side is the control group.''
---------------------
	``Storm the Reality Studio,
		and retake the universe.'' --Wm. S. Burroughs
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