DRESSING UP THE EAR

Piercings-more pain, more gain

By Pissu Perera

My seventh ear piercing received a pretty wide range of reactions, from “Oh wow! Funky s*it!” from best friend (and fellow piercing-pissa) to, “Aiyo geniye!! Why do you do this to yourself??!” to just a look at my ears and a massive roll of eyes from most others.

Going for it

I got number seven when exam stress reached its highest point and I felt like I abso-positiv-olutely had to get it done. All seven are on the ears, this Perera not having the nerve, the finances or the moral support to get it elsewhere (elsewhere being nose and stomach). The best friend vehemently opposes the nose, and the stomach requires more money than I can currently spare and more work on my stomach than I’m willing to do. So they will have to wait for later.
Why do I do this to myself? Because I like it. I think piercings are “funky s*it!!” (though I’m not a fan of the eyebrow, tongue or chin piercing, or the more “adventurous” places). It’s something I do like, I would buy clothes or shoes.
Only, this is more permanent and comes with a bit of pain. I wanted to get a second piercing since I was about 7-8 when I saw a family friend wear two pairs of earrings. Two piercings became four, then six and now it’s seven. I think that’s enough for the ears, don’t you? The “Of course I can’t bear such pain” line is one I get from almost everyone. Well, I’m no lover of pain either.

The pain

I have a pretty low threshold of pain actually. I can’t stand injections, and blood tests are a nightmare because not only do I get a pointy metal thing jabbed into me, I also get sickeningly red liquid sucked out of me. Shudder. But the sensation of getting a piercing (I’m talking about ears here. I’m not qualified to talk about other places... Yet. ) is different. It hurts at the moment it’s done. Of course it hurts. For crying out loud, you’re getting a hole punched into your ears. To say that it doesn’t would be lying. But after a while, it stops hurting. With proper after care, it’ll be fine in a few days (or weeks). Nothing to fuss about. Really.Best friend pierced her own ears once. I tried but only got as far as marking the spots on the ear lobes.
As much as I like piercings, I can’t get myself to push a needle through my own ears. Or anyone else’s. That is taking it too far for me. I trust the guy down Havelock Road to do the needful. 350 Rupees is all it takes for both ears. He takes about ten minutes and uses the gun, so it’s over before you know it. And so far, I haven’t had a problem with infections after piercings.
Pundits and people in general who know more about psychology and needy behaviour have said that piercing and tattoos and all sorts of body art are a cry for attention. (Actually, I think I first heard that on CSI when Grissom said something to that effect.) As far as I’m aware, I’m not crying for attention. But hey, what do I know, I’m just a lowly piercingpissa who likes getting holes punched into myself.)