My third (and fourth) piercing

This week I hit my first major weight goal, and I'm now the lightest I've been in ten years. It's a good feeling. I decided three months and 16 pounds ago that when I hit this weight, I'd get something else pierced. So I did.

Three months ago, I got my first two piercings and when thinking about the aftercare, had the epiphany that I just needed to take better care of myself, eat better, exercise more and generally be more healthy. It was that day, twelve weeks ago today, that I started to diet again, and I've lost 16 pounds in that time. I decided when I hit my first goal that I'd get something else pierced. More on that in a minute.

I have to admit that it hasn't been easy. For a lot of years I've been overweight without being fat, that funny place where it's not an obvious problem, but not a good thing either. I also ate like shit, which you'd think would be perfectly obvious to me being married to a vegetarian. So I started Weight Watchers Online again, and this time I actually got the meaning of it, in that you can eat all you want if you make the right choices and make it a balanced diet. No fads there, just common sense eating. I'm not eating a lot of vegetables, but I am eating them, which is an obvious improvement over none. I also stopped eating beef quite by accident, but I don't miss it and decided I should just stop eating it. It's an inefficient means of producing food anyway. I feel better than I have in about a decade.

So anyway, the shop I first got pierced at no longer employs the guy that did my first piercings, so I decided not to go back. Stephanie got her toe tattoo at a place called 252 Tattoo not far from me, so I figured I'd check them out since she felt really comfortable there. The place does a lot of volume, and it's the biggest shop I've ever seen. They even have two other locations. Very clean, not in the hood, what more could you ask for?

I decided this one was going to be an industrial in my left ear. Stephanie had hers done about two months ago (right ear) and once I saw the technique, I figured it was something interesting that wasn't just some cheesy hoop that everyone has. The guy at 252 was really relaxed, took his time, and made sure everything was right and the way I wanted. He changed gloves when he went into the drawer to get the barbell too. I wouldn't have thought to do that. He's obviously well-trained.

When the other guy did Steph's, he used two short needles, one for each of the holes. That made sense to me since thick cartilage would dull the needle. This guy used one for both holes. On one hand that makes more sense because you'll get the alignment for the second hole right on, but on the other hand it's certainly more dull for the second hole. I wouldn't say that either way is "right" though.

Holy shit did it hurt, much more than my other piercings. Add that to the "crunch" sound as it went through. The first one wasn't too bad, but the second one made me squint a bit. At the same time, it's kind of a good pain. I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a kind of rush from it. While it certainly makes you feel alive, it's not something I could do frequently.

So now I have a constant reminder that I achieved something special on my own in a relatively short period of time. I don't know what I'll do for my next weight goal, but I think I satisfied my body mod curiosity for now (I seem to recall that lasting a week last time). It's a neat feeling, and not so much about the way it looks. It's about taking ownership of the one thing no one can take from you. I feel accomplished, and motivated to press on to the next goal.