doing laundry

Someday I'm going to have a place of my very own and it's going to magically have its own washer and dryer so I can wash my clothes any time I want without having to drive or plunk massive amounts of quarters (still quarters, by the way? What about dollars? Credit Cards?!) into a rocking machine in a puddle of dirty water somewhere.  Current location: Seabright Laundry, on, well, Seabright, in Santa Cruz.

Last night I had a wild hair up my ass and decided to venture over to Alameda Island.  First of all, I didn't even know I had an Island an hour and twenty minutes from my house.  Like, an actually island so that the land doesn't touch without the bridges.  !!! Something about Islands really excites me.  So do temples, but that's another story for another time.

Like I was saying, we went to the island, and on that island was a place called "Forbidden Island".  Yes.  Forbidden Island.  This was a place I had read about online - hence the adventure.  The place touted its own syrups and juices and freshly squeezed this and that.  When you get there, they hand you four pages worth of menu to choose a drink from.

Four pages is a lot to take in when you're trying to choose booze.  Granted, I assure you that two drinks in, it gets a lot easier to choose.  Unfortunately, the ones with the most amount of XXX's on them were supposed to be the strongest ones - I ordered one of them and I didn't get so much as a buzz.  The second drink in I felt a whoosh of what might have simply been light-headedness from breathing in the scent of an incredible amount of elderly people.

Suddenly, while two of us are huddled across an entire couch, (looking like assholes hogging up more space than we should have) a young woman in a white dress flounces into the bar.  It's not just any white dress - it's a wedding gown, and she's got her pretty blonde hair all done up in curls.  Just behind her is a man in his Coast Guard uniform.  "Yes, we did!" I hear.  It's a little loud, but I'm picking up the gist of the conversation.

So you're some young kids with some military standings.  Sure, it sounds like a great idea to rush off and get married.  But do tell me - how are you landing yourself in a tiki bar surrounded by wicker, fire, booze, and little totem poles to drink from?

Our friends showed up a glorious two hours later, just in time for us to have stopped being the aforementioned assholes by moving to the bar.  Sadly, our waitress couldn't follow us there.  She was sweet and as prompt as she could be for the entire wedding party (!!!) that had just waltzed into the dark room.  Now we were stuck with a black bartender who was just starting to warm up to us, a frazzled woman who seemed to think she needed to move quicker and more jerkily than anyone else back there, and a woman wearing a "Forbidden Island" shirt who looked like she wished she could be anywhere else.

The last one was actually quickly becoming a borderline bitch.  I find it really difficult to go to a place that people and articles rave about only to be treated wretchedly by some girl with an accent because she's having a bad day.  Yeah, well I drove 100 miles to see you smile, so now fuck your bar and fuck your forbidden island.  This may be the last time I pay $10-$12.00 for drinks with canned coconut milk and syrup.

is my piercing....

*NONE OF WHAT I SAY HERE SHOULD BE CONSTRUED AS ADVICE FROM A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL.  IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE AN INFECTION......SEE A DOCTOR.*

Infection Vs. Irritation

The Question:  How do I know if my piercing is infected??

The Answer:

What many people think is an infection may actually be an irritation to the piercing from outside sources.  If you have a new piercing that is going through the healing process, you may see things such as swelling, discharge and dried, crusted matter- don't panic!  

Infections can be caused by poor hygiene, contact with bacteria (stop touching it!), or overall bad quality of jewelry (you get what you pay for in life). 

Some warning signs of infection: 

*Warm to the touch at piercing site

*Running a fever

*Colored discharge

Irritations can be a result of bumping the piercing, body wash, soap, or shampoo (make sure you properly rinse these away if they come in contact).  Again, poor polish and overall bad quality jewelry are other contributors to this.   

Some signs of irritation:

*Crust

*Discharge

*Swelling and/or redness

Remember: It is important to communicate with your piercer before, during and after you have your piercing done so that you will be properly informed as to what you may expect during your healing period.  Also, know your body - if you think you may have an infection, your best bet is to visit a Medical Professional.  

From the Anatometal Newsletter by Heather.  

more on jewelry

So you've just plopped down $100+ on your new pair of gemmed eyelets or dangling gem navel curve and you couldn't be happier.  You've left the shop with instructions from your piercer, except you forgot to ask something: How do I clean this metal jewelry?

It's easy!

1) Soak the jewelry in a warm solution of mild liquid detergent and water.  

2)Use a soft brush if necessary to remove dirt and other build up. SOFT is the key here; don't use anything stiff enough to scratch the setting.

 3)Swish the jewelry around in the solution and then rinse with warm water. Close the drain first so as not to loose it!

 4)Dry with a lint free cloth

But before removing jewelry, do make sure you're all healed up first!  (:

sometimes i get distracted

Half of me forgot I had a blog.  Half of me wanted to forget because it's been a long few weeks and I don't want to have to have time for something else.  You don't care.

Let's reboot this thing with more about me, because no one is reading and I'm particularly fond of talking about myself.

I sell body jewelry for a living.  When I started, I made it, and now I sell it, seven years later.  It's the best body jewelry manufacturing company in the world, and it's not just me being bias.  This company believes so much in standing behind their jewelry it's sometimes to a fault.  People don't really understand what is put into making that navel curve or that tongue barbell.  It's just something to buy, not something to think through - what did someone do to make that?

Someone bought materials, ran the parts through a machine to create them, drilled them by hand, deburred the ends, hand polished them to a beautiful finish, hammered in each individual stone, all just to present you with something you see as a shiny new thing for your hole!

It's fast-paced and always-on-your-toes and sometimes chocked full of anxiety!  But it's a wonderful place to be, and I have family there, and I don't really know where else I would be in life.

So that's what I do for a living.