I'm sad to report that Billy, my piercer of 4 years now, has decided to move on to new adventures and will no longer be piercing. However, I do wish him all the best and hope that he is able to pursue his dreams and find happiness wherever life leads him.
Due to Billy's departure, it became necessary for me to find a new piercer. I decided to stick with the same studio - I knew that everyone who works at Metamorphosis is clean and reputable. But what an odd sensation to walk into a studio you've been in so many times before and feel like a total newbie. I never conversed with the other people there before except to ask questions, so I really didn't know what to expect when I walked in to see Kristen Smith for the first time. I felt stupid, but I was really nervous!
Kristen was at the front desk and I told her why I was there and she was really friendly and put me at ease pretty quickly. She was very conversational and sweet, and took me back to the same room where Billy has always worked. That was a bittersweet moment. She continued to chit chat with me while she got the tapers and jewelry ready, and then had me lie back on the cushioned table. She was so easy to talk to, and I was nervous about the amount of pain I was going to experience with this stretch, that I think I spilled out my life story to her in about 20 minutes or less while she smiled and nodded and asked questions to keep me occupied as she pushed the 6 gauge tapers in.
There were a few painful moments, but just like Billy she would stop and give it a few seconds for the burning to ebb before continuing. It really wasn't as bad as I anticipated, and my "bad" ear turned out to not be any worse than my so-called "good" ear. Getting the jewelry in, however, was probably the worst part. The grooves in the plugs that hold the rubber o-rings in place were a harsh squeeze in comparison to the smooth and gradual stretch of the tapers. Fortunately, that part was over quickly and before I knew it, I finally had my 6 gauge plugs in! I also changed my beads to Swarovski crystals to match the Aquamarine gem plugs.
I will probably wait another 3-4 months before I stretch again, but so far it is healing very nicely. I haven't had any complications with this one at all, and I'm very pleased to know that I have another piercer that I can trust, although I will miss Billy.
