Lucubration Station

Well, I've done it again.
Participated in one of the most primal of traditions and done some body modifications. For a variety of reasons, some aesthetic, some personal milestones, and some spitefulness. However the biggest incentive was a 2 FOR 1 COUPON! WHOOooOO!

So my previous piercing were two sets in my ear lobes and one in my upper right ear cartilage.
To balance my head out I now have one in the cartilage on the left ear, in the tragus.
As well as a central lip ring.

Of the two, I was most worried about the tragus I'd heard that it was particularly painful and that noise was quite shocking. The placement of the lip ring was a hotly debated topic, that I ended up photoshopping example pictures to see what people preferred the look of. I ended with more favorable reviews of the lip ring on the side but at the last minute changed my mind. My biggest concern with and lip or labret was the possibility of tooth and gum damage and the piercer said that people with the side piercing came back with tooth damage more often than any other and that a ring, rather than a barbell would cause less damage. I also considered that I don't like the look of the ball stud on the side piercing, only the ring. Whereas in the middle I think both work. So the middle would be more versatile and probably cause less damage. WINNAR.

The time came and he did the lip first, which was an odd feeling but not particularly painful. Like an earlobe its just flesh. Then for the ear he recommended, unlike other piercings, to actually focus on the pain because its the sound that gets to people. Which is off putting to hear but I knew already this would be the tough one. However, it was over before I knew it and nowhere near as bad as I expected. Yes, there was a sound but it wasn't deafening or really sickeningly squelchy. Just a pop and some pressure and it was done. Maybe I'm one of the lucky ones?

here's what you really want...Pictures (click for larger)

This was taken when it was very new but it hasn't changed much since this point. There is a little more redness around the holes as it heals but there's been no real swelling or bleeding.

Once this has passed the basic healing stage which is about a month, I'll change to a smaller ring. I'll do the same with the lip, it will be smaller and a plain ring without the ball.

The lip is a more troublesome piercing. In the most active part of the face, I'm more prone to upsetting it. I'm still quite self conscious about eating and speaking while I adjust.

The biggest problem I face is laughing, you cant laugh without smiling, an act which stretches your lips across your teeth. OUCH. I laugh a lot, I'm a laughy kind of person. This is not a good recipe but will hopefully right itself in time.
You can also see that the lip is swollen in the second picture, which changes from day to day. Depending on on how much laughing I do the day before.

I had a particularly bad day when I had to give a presentation in class on day 3. I hadn't done much talking before this point, hadn't seen any people, minimal contact with housemates etc. So I warned them I was still re-learning how to talk and to bare with me while I stumble over words. Turns out the trickiest thing is words with F's or V's. In the presentation I had to say the word "female" about 50 times. Each time I'd fumble the word I'd hear myself and then laugh at myself. Which made me smile and would hurt, so I'd say "ow" Initially this drew quiet snickers from the crowd after about 10 repeats they were openly laughing, which of course made it even harder for me not to laugh. By the end of my section of the presentation it was a hysterical schmozzle, but I think I still managed to get a passing grade.

Let this be a lesson to you, on the perils of face jewelry!