Rings and bars.

The belly button bar I have loved and cherished for almost 4 years now is gone. The little ball thingie that kept it in place shattered and this morning I woke up to the feeling of breadcrumbs on my bed except that I don't eat in bed so when I went to look, I found all the pieces of pink glass neatly resting under me.

It may not seem like much but I really loved that bar...

I have had my belly button pierced three times. The first time I got it pierced, I was in England. It was the summer before I turned 16. I remember wanting that whole in my belly more than anything in the world! Along with my friend Jordana I went to the place, laid on my back, and with what could have easily been confused with a knitting needle it was so big, the sexy Brit pierced my belly button and put a silver ring in.

For weeks, the healing process of my belly ring was a group project; however, months later it still didn't heal. Out of frustration, 5 months later I took it out. I was left with a bad girl scar to remind me.

But I still wanted my belly ring. I love the way they look. A few years later I pierced it again. This time in good ole' NYC. This time I went with my friend Caroline, and once again I laid on my back and let the guy pretty much stab me with a needle. He wasn't as sexy as the Brit. This time I had a stainless steel ring put in.

I took such good care of that piercing! I used to carry antiseptic spray around in my bag and would never so much as look in the general direction of the piercing without washing my hands. It was all to no avail though because like 6 months later it still hadn't healed and it hurt so I took it out. I was left with yet another scar.

My third try came while I was a student in Germany. My friend Sonia had decided to go pierce her tongue so I thought that would be the perfect opportunity to try again. We got on a train and left for Stuttgart (the closest city to where we were). When we got to the place, she went first. That was fun to watch. I've always wanted to get my tongue pierced but there is always something! Anyway, when it was my turn I once again laid down on my back, pulled up my shirt some and let him do his thing. There was no ring this time though. It was a bar.

According to pierced tattooed German guy, rings cause more infections than bars because like 75% of the ring is outside of the body and comes in and out of it when it moves.

So I was happy with my bar which had a blue stone. Back then, that was my favorite color. After that, Sonia, Anastasia and I went to see The Virgin Diaries.

The piercing took a while to heal, but it eventually did. I replaced the blue bar for a silver one with a daisy in the bottom and then for this pink one. I liked this one because it was glass painted different shades of pink. I never saw anyone with one even remotely like it. I bought it about 4 years ago and it never ocurred to me that one day I would wake up in the middle of the night to the feeling of pancaked glass.

But it's fitting....starting today my plans for a new life are in full swing and that pink bar is too much a part of the me that will spin around in circles for an hour and then try to walk straight. Now I need one that's representative of the woman who will walk straight and then spin around in circles upon reaching her destination :)