My Belly - minus an adornment

So I finally removed the belly-button ring. Not so much because I have a huge belly or anything (at least not yet) but just because it felt like it was time. Not having the little silver half-ring with the sparkly pink stone makes my tummy look really naked and boring. It's kind of lonely. I doubt I will ever wear it again (kind of like how the second holes in my ear lobes have now closed up completely from non-use, as well as the hole in the top of my ear cartilage...sigh). I doubt any new piercings will ever enter my life again ...maybe it's time to move on to tattoos? Just kidding mom, don't freak out ;-)

The story:
I got my belly-button ring in Germany when I studied abroad in 2001. My friend Natalie wanted to get her tongue re-pierced so I thought I'd be a good pal and get something done, too. So we went to Heidelberg to find a shop recommended as being sanitary and accurate. After that hour-long trip, we arrived to find the shop closed. A well-pierced individual nearby told us that there was a great shop back in Mannheim, where we'd just come from, and we needed to go back and find that place. So...back on the train.

Then, I remember getting back to Mannheim and finding the new shop we were told to visit. We walked in, resisted the immediate urge to run for the hills, and asked the clerk behind the counter of what could only be described as an S&M store, if they offered body-piercing services. Of course! he says and points us to a stairwell leading into the basement. Greeeeeeeat, I'm thinking - not only am I at an S&M store, I'm being sent into its basement.

But descending the stairwell (which was lined with many interesting varieties of crotchless leather pants) was like walking into a doctor's office. I think this basement may have been the most pristine establishment I visited during my entire trip in Europe. All fears immediately assuaged, it was on with the piercings and back to the party. (Getting mine wasn't too bad either - over quickly and relatively painlessly, which is more than I can say for Natalie's tongue re-piercing...yikes.)

I will probably not share this story with the biscuit until he or she is at least 21 years old...if then. It's funny to think about things I've done that I don't want my kid to know about. But at the same time, I'm glad to have at least a few stories that aren't appropriate for little ears...