JUST ANOTHER DAY AT WORK
At A Glance Author Grahame Richards Contact [email protected] When It just happened Artist STR crew Studio STR body modifications Location level 1,102 pacific hwy, Wyong, NSW, Aust I am unsure if this is the right category for this, so I am sorry if I misplaced it, but I didn't know where else to put it.This was essentially a diary entry, I edited it to try to make it not to sound like one, but my sincerest apologies if it does.
Firstly a bit of pedigree: I'm an 18 yr old apprentice piercer at STR body modifications (www.strbodymodifications.com) on the Central Coast of NSW, Australia. I had to nag my boss, Shannon, for 4 years, since I was a mere 14, to apprentice for him, and, after he realised that I wouldn't go away, he gave me a chance.
I have been into body modification since I was about 12, and I can't remember a time in my life where I didn't want an earring, even when I was as young as 4. But because of my [extremely] closed minded parents, I was held back from ANY modification until I managed to coax an agreement for an earring out of them when I was 16, even thought I had been interested in more "real" piercings, rather than a normal old earlobe. In truth, I would have preferred to get anything else pierced, but I settled for the ear, it was at least a start. My dad didn't talk to me for a fortnight after I got my ear pierced. With this new attachment, I felt a bit more enlightened and expressive of myself, I didn't get a traditional earlobe, but up the top of the lobe, just before the cartilage starts. From then on I knew I was hooked. A year later I got a second earring, in the top of my helix. Ever since I gave my folks hell about getting a real piercing, I even remember my dad promising I could h ave my own body when I turned 16, and when I turned 16 he boosted the age up to 18, just to keep me on a leash for a couple more years and out of a bit of spite.
I began my apprenticeship before I was even legal age to get pierced, but I could pierce others, by the time I had turned 18 I had been in my apprenticeship for a couple of months, and friends were coming to see me about specific piercings. On my 18th birthday I got twin liprings, a huge symbol for me of claiming my body over the rights my parents had over it before then. I was free to decorate myself as I saw fit. And there wasn't a goddamn thing they could do about it. I wrote this not as any particular article or experience, its simply about the best couple of days that I have had in a long while
Day 1:
First thing of the day I met a client who had requested an ear cartilage piercing (she wasn't sure what it was called) and her nipple, I always have a certain amount of automatic respect for clients that come in for multiple piercings, but she had requested some emila numbing cream (which put a bit of a dampener on things), so I put that on and we settled down for the 2 hour wait for it to be completely numb. Usually I try to get people to skip emila cream if they want it, the two reasons for this is that it is very time consuming waiting for the stuff to work, and even if the piercing is going to hurt, the initial piercing discomfort only lasts for a second, adding to the rush of getting pierced, and then its all over, but this client was really hesitant about it the pain factors, so the numbing cream also acted as a bit of a relief booster for her. So having this 2 spare hours we decided to take the initiative and I went ahead and pierced her daith, yeah, she had to choos e the bit that's hard to get at, a difficult piercing for me but it went pretty damn ok. Shannon had to be present for this pierce because it was new for me, he said that he usually doesn't mark the inside of the ear if its too difficult to get to, but I did my best to mark it, a bit tough, and when I pushed the needle through I had to be extra careful about not hitting her helix when the needle exited toward the inside of her ear and, yay, I didn't hit it. The jewellery placement was a bit complicated, but I was so ecstatic that she had chosen a labret stud rather than a ring, a ring would have caused undeniable chaos. But the jewellery sat perfectly in place. Her nipple was a little more sensitive than she thought it would have been [read: she was aware of the needle passing through but it didn't hurt]. She had requested a barbell for her nipple, so yet again the cannula needles came in handy. Those things are a godsend, you slip the needle through, pull the needle out, a nd still have a handy little piece of hosing through the piercing. You screw the jewellery into the hosing and push/pull the jewellery through the new hole! Too easy! OK, I might be a bit too enthusiastic about that, but I like them, they help...a lot.
I also pierced Michaels madison w/ a staple, it was darned perfect, I was more than happy with it. we took our time lining it up and marking out and it proved to be worth it. He has a bit of trouble comprehending how the staples get threaded through the skin, because of the acuteness of the curves in the barbell, I guess he seems to forget that skin is some flexible stuff, if you can push your finger into your arm and it curves in, then you must be able to do the same under the skin. He said the piercing was one of the more painful he has had, but he's excellent, never moves, flinches or makes any sounds when he gets pierced. When that was completed he ended up as white as a sheet and looked like he needed to settle down for a long, long sleep. But there are plenty of people who have heaps worse aftershock than him, but I thought how many piercings he has now (about a dozen...he's my main pin cushion, we worked out the other day that he has over 30 piercings and implants ove r the last couple of years)
I finally got my PA today and I love it. I think it should be set by federal law that every man should have to get one, I managed to basically watch the whole procedure, and it was one big ol' stressout, there I was, pulling hair out, crapping myself, considering requesting a numb patch, but then realising that everything was open and there was no backing out. I even had kicking leg syndrome, and I almost went into a fit when he poked the marking ink on, I thought it hurt, wow, was I nervous, the receiving tube was "slid" (read: rammed. "the tube loves you, darling" *heave!*)then, after a massive stressout the 10ga needle got crammed into my peehole. It hurt [I yelled out "ah!...[insert word of pain here]!" as he pushed the last of it through Michael and Mark cracked up at that one, Mark especially, cause he had told me it barely hurt, to the words of "It will be the most painless piercing that you will EVER get, I promise" [He failed to mention that he got his done at 14ga an d mine was at 10ga] but its beautiful, and I have to say my favourite bit was seeing this big needle sticking out of my doodle. I felt a bit pained, and was walking like I'd been on a horse all day. That got done at the end of the day, last thing before we go home. Shannon explained that this bleeds a bit, so don't wear any good underwear, and keep it taped up for bedtime!
I came home and had a shower, the gauze around the PA was soakingly deep red from blood, and near the ring it was almost black, and I thought I had ruined my favourite pair of boxer shorts, but it was fresh blood and came out easily. The first piss is always a moment of truth, but I can honestly say that there is nothing to worry about, it does not sting (although Mark described it as gonorrheae...pissing razorblades I rinsed it off in the shower and slapped some new gauze on it, I'm airing it out a bit now, holy monkey its good.
day 2:
After waking up to a cock-chock full of blood and gauze and sticky tape, I decided that it would be in my best interests to have a shower before I headed back to work. The shower was cool, because it assisted getting the bloody crusties off my dick.
I left soon after that, and knowing Michael wouldn't be going, only because he's the resting type the day after a piercing, he can't stand the day after a piercing, he said he felt really good, but knackered from his brand new Madison cause he's so tired and all the usual, fair enough. But he said that it was going great, and not sore or anything, we think it's cause we used a short staple instead of a ring, barbell or PFTE bar on it. So that was wonderful news that it wasn't sore the next morning and it was comfortable and, yeah, he had slept like a baby.
But I was disappointed, too cause we were going to try a nape today, but meh, these things happen, and it's not a good idea to do 2 stressful piercings so close together, oohhbad. I got there and Dave the tattoo apprentice and Shannon were flat out cause Dave had a client coming in and needed needles sterilised and Shannon was putting some new strings on his guitar, he was busy as can be... Dave gave me the news that I had a client coming in for a lipring at about 1 o'clock. Great, I wasn't in here for just another day of "what can we try on you?" dares. I'm just the lowly apprentice, learning and loving it, but still using guinea pig friends to do piercings on, unless the special occasion calls for it, I guess this was a special occasion.
The piercee came and went, it was a close friend of Dave's. The client arrived on time ( don't you love when they do that!) she must have had the softest lip I have ever pushed a needle through she had normal looking lips, but as soft as damn marshmallow! (I still love cannulas.) The piercing went off wonderfully, nothing bad. She sat there and panicked at the last moment, wondering if she was doing the right thing, but (thankfully) she said it wasn't me making her nervous, but the pain she was worried about...but as soon as it was done she started playing with it, as Mark pointed out. Even though we kept repeating that it was a bad idea she persisted with her fiddling...its gonna be sore in the morning!
Shannon had little rundown session after that with me about the piercing, how I felt it went, and did I think I did the procedure go well and correctly and to plan and everything, and I told him that I thought it went great, no problems at all, and I had to mention how soft her lip was. Then I got the best news I've had for a long time. Shannon was putting me on as a proper employee-style working there guy! I can now charge people for piercings, including clients from off the street! I still have to tell them that I'm the apprentice, and I charge less than our going rate because of this, I was instructed. Shannon also made it clear to me that I was only to do the piercings I feel really competent with. Fine with me! That felt great, to be basically told I was on the way to becoming a professional piercer.
Its sites/ communities like yours that ensure that I have found out a great deal about what I know today, and that I have truly found my passion, I love piercing, it is what keeps me alive. I'm sorry, this is probably just a lot of dribble, but, yeah, I find a boatload of happiness when I pierce, and I hope that there are people out there who get as much out of body modification as I do, I love this stuff.
With great sincerity, thank you.
Grahame Richards
www.strbodymodifications.com