my moral standing is lying down

So... you guys have first dibs! Whatever's left will get posted on gaugetrade, I guess.

All the CBRs, plugs, and tapers are FREE!
Please, just take them; I want to clear out the space in my jewelry box!

As for the rest, shipping is included in the asking price:

4.5mm wood talons $6
4g stainless steel talons $6
6g glass dichro rainbow spirals $20
(These rainbow spirals have never been worn, still have the box they came in, originally cost $35.)





( CLOSE-UPS BEHIND THE CUT )

I forgot to change into my wooden spiral earrings this morning so people keep complimenting me on my new stainless steel talon/spiral dangly earrings. Which, you know, I think are a little too big and eye-catching for work, but my coworkers have said they think it's fine. I dunno, I'm worried about getting trapped in the elevator with the president of the organization and... and what, I dunno.



Which, of course, had me looking at 4g earrings again, this time on Etsy... and now I WANT ALL THE THINGS from these two shops (minionized and tifthapeach). My favorites are:






And, damn, I'd really love to wear these mother of pearl angel wings dangles, but I'm kind of paranoid about my holes shrinking while wearing double flared plugs and then not being able to get them out. T_T



WHY CAN'T I AFFORD TO BUY ALL OF THEMMMMMMM?

...we all know how much I love stars, yes? I want these earrings so much. THEY ARE CHEETAH PRINT WOODEN STARS. But they don't have them in 5mm (4ga), dammit. WHYYYYY?! Realistically, they look like they'd fall out of my earlobe if someone breathed on them. Still, they are SO PRETTY.



Aaaaaand. This lady is absolutely crazy. $700/mo for an 90-square foot "apartment" in Manhattan's CPW. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, LADY? JUST COMMUTE. I promise, you're not really missing that much by living a 40-minute train ride away. FOR THE SAME PRICE. What you gain is the ability to relax and also masturbate without bumping your knees/head/whatever into the ceiling. (Okay, so if she's Ace -- or anti-masturbation, I guess -- then maybe that's not an issue, but still-- breathing space! No panic attacks!)

It was slightly spur-of-the-moment, but I'd thought about it for a while, so. And it feels nice to have a new addition to my collection.

Unless something really grabs me, my left ear is pretty much complete. So this went on to my right ear. I still need to add a CBR conch piercing above and parallel to my current one in order to fill in the space that's there, and Liz suggested getting another conch piercing (with a barbell, not a CBR) just below my industrial, which I think will look pretty cute, so I will definitely plan on that.

In the meantime, ( here's my new 16ga tragus piercing. )

I actually like it quite a bit, also especially the bead with the rhinestone in it. ^^; I may want to change the jewelry when it heals to a rhinestone stud, but only if I can get one on a barbell, or something else without one of those horrible traditional post backs. If it comes to that, I'd rather leave in the rhinestone-bead barbell instead.

No clamps were used; just a needle in hand and cork on the other side. It certainly was not as physically shocking as my conch or nose piercings (probably because the cartilage at the tragus is not as thick as the conch or the nose?), though the fact that it was closer to my face made some sort of difference. I'd say it was more intense than my more common helix and lobe piercings. I do admit to kind of enjoying the crunchy sound it makes, though. ^^;

In other news, it was lotsa fun hanging out with Liz, Judy, and most especially Juliet who is back this long holiday weekend from "CHI-fucking-CHI-CAGO". We basically sat around and talked for HOURS. And hours. And more hours. Beer commercials. I definitely have to go look up some old beer commercials on youtube. ^_~

Despite a slight setback when one of my 3.5mm talons fell out for a day and my right ear started to close up, I have reached my goal of stretching my ears to 6g, pain- and injury-free!!!

When (a week ago) the slightly smaller of the 3.5mm talons (in my right ear) fell out and broke in the shower, I switched the one from my left ear to my right. In my left ear I tried putting in one of my 6g tapers, and it went in!!! Then this morning I decided to try, and I put a 6g taper in my right ear! And it slipped right in without protest or resistance! <333!

I was finally able to put in the 6g snap-ball CBRs I bought like, a year ago! No more ring-opening pliers that hurt my hands! The beads snap in, snap out. It's soooo beautiful.



Other things of note: Do not leave tapers in for longer than a day or two because O-rings irritate my skin.

Yesterday was an awesome time with a bunch of people getting together for Will's birthday. We went to BBQs in the East Village. The large margarita went straight to my head since I hadn't eaten in 7 hours at the time. But luckily by the time we had to leave my legs weren't numb anymore, yay.

Raquel showed up to hang out with us, which was really nice since I haven't seen her in probably over a year. =D Later, we went to a bar called Cheapshots, which has (can you guess?) cheap shots. (Soco Lime is excellent, btw, but the Red-Headed Slut just tastes like sweet Robitussin.) But by that time my buzz had already gone away.

Angelica stole my scarf. Which she needs to give back right away 'cause it's the one that Maryann's mom made for me. <3

Went home with Maryann, so it was nice not having to navigate the screwed-up weekend-schedule of the trains by myself.

Tonight was also lots of fun, met up with Chris and Carrie and people. I was reading an interesting hard-cover comic in the pr0n section of Jim Hanley's -- printed by the company who publishes Heavy Metal; something about a corrupt Pope/Church? I don't remember what it was called, but I really want to go back to read more of it.

Also, I stretched my left lobe to 3.5mm with glass talons I bought recently. The right one, though, wouldn't go in all the way. I got it in far enough so that it won't fall out, but it's kind of freaking me out a little that I couldn't get it in farther. Since I don't have any lube or bacitracin in the house right now, I was only using a warm/hot compress to encourage the skin to loosen/expand. I guess I'll have to try again tomorrow in the shower. I like the 8g bone talons I had in for the past couple of weeks, but I'm getting kind of impatient to stretch. The unfortunate part about stretching is that you can't wear your old jewelry anymore. =(

This has got to be the best most well-behaved piercing I've ever had. It hasn't even been a week, and I can pretty much poke and prod it without much pain at all. It's still a bit sensitive right around the hole, but I barely feel it anymore. The other really fast-healing/no-problem piercing was my conch, surprisingly. Oooh, I would really like to get another one of those! I'm really surprised, however, that my nose is healing so rapidly. I hope I didn't jinx it now!

Yesterday, while cleaning the piercing before going to bed, I realized that the swelling had gone down on the inside and that I could swing out the bent end of the stud. So yay, I swung it out of my nose to clean it and such... it was quite amusing 'cause I had a stainless steel 18ga post sticking out of my nostril. LOL! I still won't turn it without cleaning it first, but I think it'll pretty much be fine. =D

I really have to get a pair of 6ga tapers so that I can stretch my ears to a 6ga. I don't know, I'm feeling kinda nervous about going to a 6ga, although I really don't think it's all that much bigger than an 8ga. In the meantime, while I gather courage and motivation, maybe I can find a pair of 8ga plugs with *stars* in them!

Mudvayne is playing in late November at the Nokia Theatre in Times Square. I really really really have to go! It's on a Wednesday, unfortunately. I have to find out who wants to go and then scrounge up some money for hopefully not-bad seats. I ♥ Mudvayne and seriously NEED to see them live again! They're also playing at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ, but that's on a Tuesday, and I just don't know if I'd be able to drive there, and back, and show up at work the next morning bright and early at 8am. Although if I could choose, I'd pick the Starland Ballroom 'cause its all general admission ( = the Floor = MOSH PIT!). Dammitdammit!

We woke up at 8am in order to meet the group for breakfast at 9am at our hotel's restaurant. We were in a large group of 15, and then ravynfyre joined us, so it was 16. Hanging out with them all was really cool, and I had a really nice conversation with hyanan toward the end of breakfast, which was cool. =D

Afterwards, everyone split up to go to several destinations in SF. Angelica and I went back to the hotel room 'cause we were expecting Nicky at around 11am. While waiting in the hotel room, we watched two more episodes of FMA, so now I've finished 8. I really do like the series very much! Sharon mentioned a fic that she'd read, a sort of crossover, where Duo is in the FMA universe, which I'd love to read, which I'll have to remind her about so she can find/send me the link.

Nicky showed up a little later than we expected -- some time after 12, I believe. We hung out in the lobby for a while (free internet connection for wireless laptops!) and then Nicky showed up. We took her stuff upstairs and then went out to go eat. We came back to get our badges and such (expedited by the wonderful head of registration, Ravynfyre), and then went out to SF to go get my nose pierced!

There's a place on Haight and Masonic that is highly recommended by Nicky and her piercer at Sub Q in Sacramento, called Mom's. We had a hell of a time getting parking, but finally found a 30-minute-limit meter and ran over to get me pierced, and made it back just in time for the 30-minute mark! Vaughn was the guy who pierced my nose and he was really cool in going over aftercare stuff with me (although I know most of what he tole me already). Surprisingly, it didn't hurt all that much! I think it hurt less than my conch piercing, certainly less than my industrial. My left eye did water, but that was mostly it. For the first half hour, I felt the end of the L-shaped stud up in the back of my nostril, and it felt pretty darn odd. After that, the sensation went away (or I just didn't notice it anymore), bute every time I tried to yawn, it would feel a bit sore and the feeling of soreness would interrupt my yawn, so that I couldn't complete it. Only when I get tired enough to be unable to resist completing the yawn, am I able to do it.

Now, every so often, in certain positions, I feel the end of the stud in the back of my nose, and it feels like I've got something up there that I really want to get out. And then I remember that it's the stud. So yeah.

Gotta go get on line for the bishounen auction now, but will return with more Friday reporting (and maybe some pics!) later.

Okay! I've finally taken pics of my 8g ears!

( Look behind cut for your viewing pleasure... )

New stuff:
Left:
14g curved barbell ("skull & crossbones")
8g! CBR

Right:
12g conch CBR
14g curved barbell ("pussy")
8g! CBR

Oooh, my 8gs are so pretty. They look nice and big. LOL. Yes, this sounds very weird and hentai. But I do so love my piercings very much. I am really looking forward to getting a nose stud sometime soon. Possibly when Nicky comes to visit in March!

On Wednesday, I wanted to go to the PacSun (Pacific Sunwear) in the village to buy some pants, but guess what? They went out of business there. ::sigh:: Now the only one in the area is at Roosevelt Field. (And how often do I go to Roosevelt Field on Long Island? Practically never.) Well, the location of that PacSun in the village is actually across the street and down the block from my favorite tattoo/piercing parlor (called Crazy Fantasy). So, we ended up going to get Angelica's ear pierced.

Oddly enough, on the train ride there I had been thinking aloud about where I planned on getting my next piercing, and I finally decided that I'd have to get it above the lone cartilage piercing on my left ear. Just FYI, on my left ear I had (up until a few hours ago) 3 earrings in the lobe, one in my cartilage and one where the cartilege and lobe meet, right at the middle of the outside curve of the ear. On my right ear I have 3 earrings in the lobe.

In any case, the reason I decided to get my next one above the cartilage piercing is because the one in the middle of my ear isn't completely done healing yet, so I don't want to get another piercing right near it and tempt fate, ne? And the reason I don't want to get any more piercings in my right ear (for the moment) is because I DO want to eventually get a barbell put in my right ear. I'm working up the courage. So until then, I have to leave the cartilage unpierced so as to have the space to place the barbell exactly how I want it. I do have room for one more piercing in the lobes of my ears, but I like to get those done in pairs, so I can't get a 4th hole in my lobes because the one in the left ear would be too close for (my) comfort to the middle (as-yet-not-completely-healed) earring.

So that's my long explanation of why I'd want to get my latest piercing above the cartilage piercing I already had in my left ear.

Well, that's exactly where Angelica decided to get hers on Wednesday. Go figure. Hn.

But it looks really kawaii, of course. She chose the pink stud, and -- I'm SO proud of her -- she actually got it done with the needle! It was my Christmas gift to her, actually. I told her when she was ready for her next piercing that I'd pay for it. It cost $25.00 (which is pretty inexpensive compared to the lengths we've gone to for each other in the past), but of course $15.00 of that was simply because she was getting her ear pierced with a needle.

It was cute; when she realized they were going to use a needle instead of the gun, she kind of panicked and asked why she couldn't have them use the gun. The guy (who looks like the lead singer of The Foo Fighters, a band I'm kind of ambiguous about) said that the gun was "out of date." ::rolls eyes:: Imagine that; the gun is antiquated, but the needle is "in the now". Well, she finally sucked in her gut and got it done. Oh, I felt so proud, ::wipes a tear:: so proud!

::snicker::

So today, after work, Liz and Angelica and I were trying to figure out what to do. Angelica suggested we go to Chinatown and then on the way back home, go get MY ear pierced. Hmmm... I wasn't too sure, although I had been considering it earlier. We ended up going to Chinatown to eat, we browsed the anime video store and Tony finally gave me some of my anime tapes back. Of course, we got some new stuff from him, too. (I really do love our business relationship; we provide him with new stuff to copy & distribute, he provides us with new stuff, free of charge. It's so satisfyingly... satisfying?)

Then we went to the Barnes & Noble on 53rd & Lexington, so I could show Angelica a certain picture I was dying over by one of my two favorite fantasy artists, Brom (the other being Jody Lee -- or something like that -- she does the covers for Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books, Kate Elliot's books, and some other authors too). I was STILL trying to decide whether I wanted to get my ear pierced. When we finally left B&N at 9:00, we went down into the subway to take the E back downtown, this time to the village. I was still undecided until we got to the turnstile. Then I figured, what the heck, I'll just do it.

So I did.

I knew I'd get it done by needle 'cause the needle didn't bother me that much the first time I got it, so if they prefer to use the needle, I'm not going to stop them. Of course, I bet they prefer to use the needle so they can charge more, but I guess I don't mind too much... I'm a little masochistic that way. In any case, I was just deciding whether to get a stud earring or a hoop. Remember last time I got the hoop put in as the starter earring? The guy said I couldn't play with it. So this time I asked the guy, if I get the hoop, can I play with it? He said yes, so I said okay to the hoop.

It looks SO kirei! Especially with the other five silver hoops in my ear. I really like silver hoops. Obviously. But no big ones. Yech. Anyway, I think it's a slightly darker shade of silver (of course, it could be the bad lighting in my bathroom) than the other ones, with a silver ball, of course. But that's okay; silver wa silver da yo.

Having the needle pierce my ear hurt only a tiny bit more than it did last time (and in comparison with the gun), but I think it's better overall because when I got my first cartilege piercing, my ear was throbbing for quite a while soon after the piercing took place. But today my ear didn't even throb at all! I didn't even realize how little it bothered me until I started comparing it with the first time I got it pierced!

Oh, I've also been itching to get a tattoo. I've known for quite some time that I want to get one that says, in (5) kanji, Shinigami no Koibito, which translates to Love of the God of Death. I printed out the kanji from a wonderful website called Kanji Tattoos and asked the piercing guy approximately how much it would be to have the 5 kanji -- in about half the size shown on the print out -- done on my leg. He said around $70. Which isn't bad at all! Then again, Angelica's mom knows someone who apparently makes house calls and would probably charge less for her, so I think Angelica's going to ask her mom to find out how much he'd charge for it. But even if that doesn't work out, $70 isn't bad. I'm so relieved.

In case you're interested, the five kanji would be made up of Death, then God, then the hiragana symbol for "no" (translation: "of"), then Lover, which is made up of Love and Person. You can look up all of these kanji at www.kanjitattoos.com.

When I got home I started cleaning my ears again... it seems that this hoop is slightly less thick than the one in the middle of my ear -- I know it's gauge 16 and I thought the one in the middle of my ear is gauge 16, too, but it seems to be much easier to turn in my ear than the one in the middle. Do you think it might have to do with the fact that one is in the soft skin of the ear and one is in the cartilege?

I hope the easy time I've had of it so far is a good omen. ::crosses fingers::

You know what's funny? I'm another piercing closer to authenticity in my Kozi cosplay! LOL!