I'm sitting here with a shiny fake-diamond Mickey Mouse earring inside my nose. It looks horrible and I'd never wear anything quite so bizarre and gaudy, ordinarily (funny how it went from cutesy in my ears to gaudy on my face, but there you have it).

But wait - I have an explanation!

See, the first time I ever had my nose pierced, I accidentally knocked it partway out one day. I decided to clean it and put it back in. Easy enough, right? Well, the kind of piercing I have, which is called a nostril screw, is curved and is kind of difficult to maneuver back into one's nose. It was difficult for me, anyway! I couldn't get it back in, probably because I was panicking about getting everything ready and perfect for the surprise party I was throwing for my close friend at the time. It wouldn't go back in. I rushed off to a jewelry store, hoping they could help me. I thought it was a piercing store, but I was wrong. And the guy tried to help me, but said I'd probably tried too many times already myself, as it was swollen shut. I didn't have time to go to the piercing store without ruining my friend's party, so I waited. The party went off without a hitch and was a lot of fun. The rest of that weekend was busy, so I waited until Monday. The piercer I saw told me my nose was already healed on the inside, and she was afraid that if she pushed her straight needle all the way through, she'd risk me getting an infection. She told me to wait a few months, then get it repierced. I ended up waiting two years, but I DID eventually do it. And now I've had my current jewelry in place for two years.

So it was with great trepidation that I decided to find out whether I could remove and replace my piercing successfully this past week. I got it out okay. My motions were excessively slow and deliberate as I stared in the mirror, making sure I knew exactly which direction I'd angled my jewelry for the best results. Then it was time for the real test. I set it back in, and pushed, sliding it back into place. It hurt a little, but not too bad. A few more turns, and it was in all the way! Total success! To see my face, smiling like a maniac, you'd think I'd just pierced myself or something. In fact, I think I did have that same expression right after I got pierced, one of, "I can't believe I did it - this is awesome!"

Feeling very confident in myself, I decided to take my piercing out to work with the animals today. After all, having a nose piercing is somewhat of a hazard around wild grabbing hands (I'm looking at you, lemur!). And I figured what's the harm in taking it out once a week? Maybe I'd remove it permanently if I were working with animals daily, but I'm not yet, so I'd like to keep it as long as possible.

I took it out as easily as I'd done a few days ago, then headed off to Little Zoo (and of course, I have many stories to tell from today - coming soon!).

I took a shower immediately upon getting home. I got in my snuggly soft pajamas and promptly fell asleep on the couch.

When I woke up a little bit ago, I attempted to return my nose piercing to its proper place. When it didn't slide in easily, I told myself not to get discouraged. Instead, I grabbed a Mickey Mouse earring and cleaned it off by jabbing it over and over into a bar of antibacterial soap, then rinsing it off. Of course, I have a dirty little mind and had to shake my head and smirk a little at how that looked. I think my earring had an exciting night out of the jewelry box tonight! Not to mention the soap. Anyway...

It wasn't difficult getting the Mickey earring in, but I did have to push it harder than I thought I would, and it did hurt. I decided to leave it in a few minutes and let my nostril relax and let the piercing site get used to being open again. And what better way to kill time than by writing my Holidailies entry? I can't believe I wrote an entire entry about this, actually. On the other hand, next to my wedding ring, it's my favorite piece of jewelry, so it makes sense that the feeling of potentially parting with it forever is a big deal.

I suppose it's time to find out if it'll go back in smoothly or not. Check it out, you're getting to follow along AS the action happens! How very weird of me. (Imagine several minutes passing. Put on elevator music to enhance the "getting put on hold" experience if you like.)

.....

... It was a success! But my god, the Mickey earring scared me by not coming out very easily. I had to really pull! Ouch. Well, anyway. My piercing is back in place now. I'm glad about that, but I'm also convinced that the whole "leaving it out all day" idea is a bad one, for me. Putting it back was far more difficult than expected, not to mention painful. My nose is currently a little swollen and red. So, I think I'll just take my chances with the animals and leave it in. I'm sure I'll re-examine my attachment to this piece of jewelry the next time an animal goes after it. Hey, you never know - that could be a while! A girl can hope, right?