body modification and body art...

i've been itching to get something else "done" lately. it's like when i've been away from theater or choir for too long, i get a bug and have to get back to it again. there's something in my soul that needs these things periodically. other examples of things i periodically need are:

• mellow evenings with red wine
• time on the ocean
• alone time
• buttered popcorn
• challenging mental puzzles
• recreational reading
• action flicks
• my godsons
• FACE TIME with dear friends
• camping
• body art

i'm REALLY particular about tattoos. i know i'm not unique in this, but i point it out because there are also many people who aren't so inclined. many (especially in the 20 and 30-something age groups) see tattoos as a way to record their current events. i see tattoos as a way to immortalize those things which are eternal and DEEPLY personal. i have one tattoo. it's rich in symbology and says in about 4 different ways how crucial balance is to me. i see life, the universe, and everything as collections of opposing forces. i strive to understand what forces are involved and how to balance them in everything i do and everything i face. thus, my tattoo encapsulates my worldview in a single, elegant, beautiful display. if you would understand me, you must understand that display.

now, since i have the bug to do another tattoo or piercing, i'm thinking about symbology again. the problem with a tattoo right now is that i don't have anything i really WANT tattooed on me. i don't want to have permanent art affixed to my skin to satisfy a whim. :) so i'm leaning toward a piercing at this point, because i can take it out at any time.

a piercing presents its own complications, though, because i have to choose what (from the remaining available body parts) to pierce. facial piercings are not an option, as i have a RealJob (tm, pat pend) which demands that i deal with a clientele who are not amused by facial piercings. i have a very small, very unobtrusive nose stud, which marks me as a member of the freak fringe in my profession. i'm not going to be able to get away with an eyebrow, tongue, or lip piercing, EVER.

i could get a cartilage piercing on my upper ear, but that doesn't appeal to me for a few reasons. i have massively thick, outrageously curly hair which i wear long most of the time. i don't want my hair getting wrapped around, tangled in, or caught on an earring, and i don't want to accidentally yank on it every time i'm washing or styling or foofing with my hair. i've already given up on hoopy or dangly earrings for regular wear for this very reason. furthermore, i have two piercings in each of my earlobes already, and getting those didn't give me the same rush* that i get from other piercings or from my tattoo.

i can't get a navel ring because i've already had my navel pierced twice. it didn't heal up correctly either time, and now there's too much scar tissue in the piercing zone to be able to get a good piercing there. furthermore, after two unsuccessful piercings in that location, i don't really want to try it again. anyone who's ever had a piercing that developed a keloid or got infected or didn't heal cleanly knows what a phenomenal pain in the butt it is to care for one... i'm not keen to go through the labor of post-piercing care on it all over again, either.

my nipples are as pierced as they're ever going to get. in order to avoid sharing Too Much Information (tm, pat pend), i'll leave that statement hanging out there in glorious ambiguity. if you want to know what it means, you'll have to get to know me.

so, that pretty much leaves a hood piercing, which i'm not sold on, either. i've honestly never considered it a possibility until this round with "the bug". i don't know enough about the potential health effects or maintenance requirements or anything else to know if i want to get one.

so i'm doing cautious and skeptical research, and i'm taking suggestions for alternate locations that i haven't considered yet. any ideas? input? suggestions? i'm also looking for a good piercing artist in the d/fw metroplex. i have a lead on one down in the oak lawn neighborhood, but i haven't met her yet. i've also heard that deep ellum is a good place to go for that sort of thing, but again, i'm just starting my research, so i only have vague info at this point.

*rush - i think the main reason i get this bug for body mods is that i crave the rush i get during the process and after the art is done. it's a very intense high, comparable to the overall good feeling one gets from good sex or s'mores, but more concentrated. distilled is the word that comes to mind.