I Bedazzled My Head (i.e. Piercing!)

Sometimes I get ideas and then I just do them.

That is my most eloquent statement of the century. Carve it in stone somewhere, mmmk? I had a conversation with a friend last week in which we discussed our decision-making styles. I quickly stated, "I'm impulsive and decisive." ....which makes it funny that I said it so quickly and confidently. Ha. Truthfully, I do think things through pretty thoroughly -- I just do it quickly. And, I rarely look back and wish I hadn't done this or that. It just is what it is. I guess I know what I want when I see it, and it's like an "OH YES THERE YOU ARE MMMHMM" moment followed by total commitment to making it happen, getting that thing, achieving that goal, etc etc etc. (e.g. moving to California, for one example)

This is about what happened with the new little jewel in my ear....aka the bedazzlement l-o-v-e of my life. In actuality, what I've wanted for a looooong time is a tattoo. But I'm always deterred by the permanence of it, and the lifetime commitment to one design/placement/etc. So I always daydream about it, and then I never do it.

But about a week ago....

...I thought to myself, "Wait, why not a piercing?" Problem: I don't like most piercings for myself. Lip? No. Tongue? No way. Nose? Nope. Belly button? No thank you sir. Second lobe holes? Too predictable. These all work just fine for other people but just didn't fit right for me. So I poked around online and discovered....the forward helix. Unique, subtle, simple.....PERFECT. One of those aforementioned "oh yes there you are I'll have that please right now" moments. I proceeded to become mentally obsessed with it. The great advantage of a piercing, over a tattoo, is that I have the freedom to change my mind about it down the road. If I'm over it in a few years, I can just remove it and go on my way. No harm, no foul. It just made immediate sense to me....and also made me so excited that I was too tickled to go to sleep at a decent hour for a couple nights because I was too busy looking at pictures and reading up on the procedure, cost, after-care, pain, etc. Basically stuffing my head full of information to make sure I knew what I was getting into, as is my way.

The bad news is that almost everything I read (including things from people who have had multiple piercings) said this particular placement hurt like the dickens and swells a ton. Of course, I get my heart set on the most painful one. But the seed had been planted, and like I said......I can be pretty decisive when I set my mind to something :)

And so 6 days later....

On the table in a piercing shop I very carefully selected on Yelp....

(which is hilarious, considering that I got my lobes pierced at age 10 by who-knows-who at a Claire's in the mall, and that turned out totally fine)

Navigating the placement discussion with my serious-face on....

Go time....

Done deal!

Suffice it to say, I am in about 23 levels of true-fairytale-magic-love with it. It's perfect, and just what I wanted. And you want to know the best part?? It didn't hurt at all! And a day later, still not one bit of swelling! (Even the woman who pierced it warned me that it might swell a ton. Nope.) The actual piercing felt like a small pinch (after the needle went through I actually said, "Is that all? It doesn't hurt.") and I kept waiting for the pain to kick in later, thinking the adrenaline would wear off (because yes, my hands were totally shaking when I sat down on that piercing table), but....nada! Just a little sore when I clean it or accidentally bump it. 

So, I guess this is also the story of the time I found out I have magical plastic robot ears with no feeling in them. Shrug?? No complaints over here. Just a happy face with a new little sparkle to the side.