One to Mark off The List

I pierced my nose!

Woohoo! I pierced my nose!

Seriously, I cannot tell you how excited I am about this. I've been thinking and thinking and talking and talking about it, and finally did it as a birthday present to myself (yes, I know my birthday isn't until the end of the month, but we celebrate birthday-stretch-out-month around here).

Yeah, I know I promised pictures, but you would not believe how difficult it to photograph one's nose piercing. As it turns out, my nose is not very photogenic.

So you'll just have to trust me -- it is TOTALLY cool. I officially feel "too cool for school."

And because before I did this, I searched and searched for an intelligent account of a nose piercing, so I wouldn't be scared, and couldn't find such a thing, I'm going to give you an account of my own. So if you're squicked out by talk of needles and strange dudes sticking stuff up your nose, STOP READING NOW.

Anyway. The place I went was fantastic -- it was almost like going to the doctor; the guy wore a mask and I think he went through about five pairs of gloves during the whole procedure. Everything was totally sterilized. He cleaned my nose, both inside and out. Let me just say here, that having your nose cleaned on the inside is not that much fun. It doesn't hurt, but feels really weird.

He then made a little pen mark on the spot to be pierced, and talked to me about pain management and how your body reacts to pain. He told me that if you are calm, your body is like, "nothing's wrong here, everything's just normal, la, la, la" and stuff won't hurt as bad as if you're all revved up, and your body's going, "HOLY CRAP THAT DUDE IS COMING AT MY NOSE WITH A FREAKIN' NEEDLE, AAAAAAGH!"

So we did deep breathing for a few minutes, and while I was doing that, he held a little bundle of q-tips inside my nose (I guess so he didn't pierce right through the whole dang nose), told me he would go on my next exhale, and SQUOOSH, it was done. Seriously, I think it was less painful and traumatic than those scary guns they use on your ears.

And now, my nose, while not being very photogenic, is completely and totally the coolest thing on my body. I just love my nose right now.

I'm thinking when I turn 40, it's tattoo time!