𝔴𝔢𝔢𝔨𝔩𝔶 𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔡-𝔲𝔭: 𝔴𝔢𝔢𝔨 2

                                 hello & welcome to the weekly round-up, week 2

the weekly round-up is a weekly blog post about the past week. it can be anything from pictures to writing to videos to journal spreads. anything i feel that i should write from that week will be posted. anything goes, this is just to document more of my life. i will try to post every saturday/sunday. 

this weeky round-up is just a poem. that is all i had the energy for as i barely sleep these days. 

surprisingly i like my job 

no its not what i want to do 

but this past week was hard 

i had many tears 

fall down my face 

throughout the days 

-

got this letter 

from a dear old friend

we are not in the best ways 

i wish we were better 

but thats not on the bend 

pictures from old times 

when i was not the best 

version of myself 

not good enough they say 

when i 

work 

work 

work 

so hard

- 

bam 

its gone 

-

alone 

best moment of the week

2 birthday dinners 

worst moment of the week 

almost tous les jours 

what i learned 

i need new sleeping meds 

what i hope for next week 

a good work week with overtime and good sleep.

hope y'all have the best weekend/ upcoming week!

- Rain 

𝔫𝔞𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔩𝔨

 nature walk 

this past weekend me and my partner went on our first nature walk of the season. we used to do this quite often and fell out of it but now we are back! 

bridge near the water 

it was a really great time! we went down a path that had a few bridges and had a good time with my partner as they were being funny. 

spot my partner :)

my partner was being funny and acted like a troll. they make me laugh so much. they are my life.

we also saw some really cute chipmunks. they ran and there was two of them! i have not seen chipmunks in years.

they were babies i think 

the walk was so enjoyable. i cannot wait to go out for more and more nature walks. i love to see nature and all it can give. it was raining when we went well kinda. we sat on wet rocks but otherwise it was enjoyable. 

when we were leaving we saw two really cute dogs. they had raincoats and booties on! omg they were adorable. i did not get a pic (i should have) but ugh they were cute. 

but ya that was our nature walk of the weekend 


- rain 

𝔯𝔢𝔡𝔡𝔦𝔱

 

reddit - why i love reddit & some cool posts 

i freaking love reddit. i am a long time lurker, every once in awhile poster. i do not know, reddit is just a fun place to be in. 

Why? you may ask. we because i just joined a new piercing subreddit. this subreddit people post all about their piercings and ask for advice or to see if it is doing well or to show off their new ear set up. 

well.. yesterday i saw a post about a hidden rook. i have never seen or even heard of a hidden rook! looking at the picture it is kind of hard to see where the back of the piercing is. it is hard for me to figure out how its placed and where exactly it is placed. picture for reference below (click on image to enlarge) ↓ 

like where does the back come out from?? i am so damn confused by this piercing. it looks like it would come out from the shelf of the rook. but what does not make sense is i would think you would be able to see it still, but you can't! so i am still very confused. it looks great, i am not saying it does not look great, i am just very confused by the overall piercing.

oooo the next post i want to talk about is AHS (american horror story). AHS is coming out with their thirteenth season and they are bringing the "coven" season back to life. omg that was one of my fave seasons. no i have not watched every season. to be honest there is too many seasons to watch but i did watch the first four seasons. i am so excited and guess who is coming back?! 

Gabourey Sudibe who plays the character "Queenie" is coming back! i really hope the rest of the cast will come back as well. especially whats her face (the blonde) i do not remember her name at the moment but she plays in Scream Queens and other movies as well. ugh i am just so excited! 

the last post i would like to share would be this very relatable post i saw while scrolling this morning. older people (not my parents) know what is up to be honest. like they know whats up! as i have gotten older i have realized that staying up late like i did in college is not the thing to do anymore. i used to stay up til un godly hours and then slept all day and ignored work and school work. while that did not end up going well it is something i am out of commission for. now, once eight rolls around and i get instantly tired and sleepy. all plans go down the drain after eight every night. anyways i digress. i just hope to continue this as i do not have the feeling to stay up until who knows when anymore. i feel like my frontal cortex has developed and i feel older and wiser now hahaha. 

anyways... reddit is a very fun and weird place to be. although i post and people tend to be rude i enjoy lurking. comment below some fun reddit stories you have. (to comment, click no comment) 

- rain 

 hello & welcome to the weekly round-up, week 1

the weekly round-up is a weekly blog post about the past week. it can be anything from pictures to writing to videos to journal spreads. anything i feel that i should write from that week will be posted. anything goes, this is just to document more of my life. i will try to post every saturday/sunday going forward. 

this weekly round-up is about.... the stomach flu! 

this past week, specifically since last saturday the 4th i have been sick with the stomach flu. My partner left work early a week from last thursday and was out sick friday. well they were constantly getting sick and was not having the best time. well last saturday comes around and i start getting sick and we both have spent the last week with the stomach flu. i bit the bullet and ended up going to the doctor on wednesday. they said they could not do much besides give me anti nausea and fluids. i got an iv to get the nausea meds and fluids but i had plans that day (not work) like take my brother's dog to doggy daycare so i refused fluids. i waited for thirty minutes just to see the doctor and i really did not want to spend another hour there getting fluids, besides i felt better after the nausea meds were pushed through my iv. 

me at da doctor 

also i forgot to mention i went to the doctor on my birthday and i was pissed lmao. but i did not feel good. and to this day i still have yet to pick up my meds

like the anti nausea ones but i feel better so i digress. anyways a lot still did happen this week. me and my partner went on a drive and saw a lost sheep! poor baby was outside the fence and just wanted to be back with its friends. It was cute though and i really wanted to stop but someone else already did. 

that was the top of my day that day. 

                                                                    baaa lil sheep.

hmm what else happened this week. i missed four days of work which was unfortunate BUT i did a whole ton of trainings online that apparently i did not need to do but since i did i still get paid for it. sooo i got like fifteen hours of overtime last week which is amazing cause now i can afford bills. 

spent the start of last weekend watching the Lord of the Rings with my partner and we have ended this week watching Law and Order SVU. we aslo are currently watching Bones but we are almost done and i am pisseddd that it is almost over so i refuse to watch. ALSO tomorrow! EUPHORIA SEASON THREE(?) COMES OUT!! i am so f*cking excited tehe. i just love that show so much. i just wish fez the dr*g dealer was still on it cause he was one my favorites. 

best moment of the week

the best moment of last week was probably the times when i felt like i was not about to be sick cause i was constantly nauseous. also the sheep we saw that was the best! 

worst moment of the week 

getting sick almost every day 

what i learned 

that you have to wait out the stomach flu and the doctor cannot due much besides give anti nausea meds. 

what i hope for next week 

a good work week with overtime and good days. 

hope y'all have the best weekend/ upcoming week!

- Rain 

𝔤𝔢𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯 𝔞𝔣𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔭𝔦𝔢𝔯𝔠𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰

⚧︎ Gender affirming piercings⚧︎

**health care i include in piercings**

 ⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘ 

happy birthday to me :) twenty-three once again tehe. anyways keep reading for my bday post....

making this lovely blog post after Lynne Loheide's article on Gender Affirming Genital Piercings - Realistic Reviews.  (click the words for article). I was inspired to do my own post because gender affirming care hits close to home. i go by he/they pronouns and identify as non-binary. i go back and forth whether i am gender fluid but i digress as that brings me down a rabbit hole lol. this post will just be my thoughts on piercings and gender affirming care. read til the end for an interview with my partner. 

Gender affirming piercings or healthcare can trans individuals as well as anyone. I feel like most people think of gender affirming care as getting top surgery or bottom surgery. yes that is gender affirming care, but it can also mean getting your hair cut shorter or getting extensions. It can mean getting a boob/nose job or any plastic surgery.  People often time forget that even people who do not consider them selves trans or queer can get gender affirming care. if it is affirming your gender, then it is gender affirming care. 

In the piercing world gender affirming care can mean a lot to all the different kinds of people who walk in those doors. I fully believe that piercings count as gender affirming care. in my opinion piercings allowed me to feel closer to the gender of choice and how i would like to be perceived. I want to be perceived as different and maybe like you would have to guess my gender. piercings help bring that out in me without having to change the rest of my appearance. yes i would love to change the way i look more and start T but those were not readily available options for me, piercings were.

My short eight months as a piercing clerk and three months as a piercer changed me a lot. at first i had no clue why people would get gen*tal piercings (my last shop called them exotics). I thought well you would have to be wild to get one there and would it not hurt like a b*tch?! i have learned a lot in my short few months. I had seen two gen*tal piercings and they changed me. i have also learned from my co workers while there and from Lynne on how it could be beneficial and affirming. at first i was skeptical but then i saw the two gen*tal piercings be done and now i understand. I mainly did not understand why people would get them because you know.. they are hidden and no one can see them. 

well turns out i felt the same about a piercing i recently got. one of my most favorite piercings i did while i was an apprentice. I pierced my partners n*pples and i got very jealous after cause duh i wanted a piercing too! but most of my piercings are on my face and i can only put so much more there AND i hate having piercings on my ears so what else would i get? hmm take some time to think. it is not a gen*tal piercing, face or ear sooo guess what i got?! a navel (belly button) piercing! after getting my navel done, something had clicked in me. for some context: i wear high waisted pants all the time and my boss (the lead piercer at my shop) said to not get a bully button piercing if you wear high waisted pants but i said f*****ck that and got it anyways. it was the best decision ever. How could that be?

well i could finally understand why people get gen*tal piercings! yes a navel piercing you can see way more than a gen*tal one but i got mine done in the middle of winter so its not like anyone can see it. It is a hidden piercing and i carried so much pride for it for so long cause no one knows i have it until i show them. i feel that could be similar to a gen*tal piercing. i carried so much joy that i had a piercing no one else could see until i choose to make it seen. feels like i have control in a good way over my body. I honestly can see myself getting a gen*tal piercing in the way future because of how my navel made me feel. it gave me more connection to my body as i thought to get a navel piercing you had to be think and not look like me. most of the people who came in at my last shop to get navel piercings never looked like me and in my mind most of time they were thin and i am not. but now i know any body is made for a navel piercing as long as you have the anatomy. i did know that before but i did not believe it for myself but now i do. 

i count my navel piercing as a gender affirming piercing. I want to be clear: any piercing can be a gender affirming piercing and not just genital piercings. my newest navel piercing below ↓

n*pple piercings - they can be gender affirming. during my piercing apprenticeship i ended up piercing four n*pples total. They were pretty easy and i enjoyed being able to pierce them. Can they help or cause gender euphoria? can they make you feel worse or better? In Lynne's article Gender Affirming Genital Piercings - Realistic Reviews.  Lynne did post how gender affirming piercings do not always tend to turn towards affirming - and that is okay too. gender affirming whether you get piercings or not i believe it is important to feel like your true self. 

here is a little Q & A with my partner and their n*pple piercings. 

why did you choose to get n*pple piercings? 

    - i got them because i needed a pain sensation i can control (personal situation) 

how did do they make you feel now? 

    - i struggle with them sometimes because they give me pleasure i cannot  control. i love them, i love piercings. i feel like a dragon who likes shiny things especially on my body. sometimes i feel a little too feminine in them  and have not been able to change them. i feel you cannot have the full satisfaction until you can change the jewelry to what you like and not just         the plain bars.

do you think changing the jewelry can help with gender identity? 

    - yes because my gender is me and it will help me become who i am and just continue to help me be me. 

well that is all i have for my birthday post! hopefully by the time you read this i am enjoying some yummy cake a delicious food. leave a comment and tell me what you all think below! (click no comments to make a comment) 

- rain 

𝔅𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔦𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔥 𝔞𝔰 "𝔈𝔰𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔊𝔯𝔢𝔢𝔫𝔴𝔬𝔬𝔡" 𝔦𝔫 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔅𝔢𝔩𝔩 𝔍𝔞𝔯

Billie Eilish as "Esther Greenwood" in The Bell Jar - TRIGGER WARNING: TALK ABOUT DEPRESSION & SU*C*DE 

I asked google about Billie Eilish in the new upcoming movie "The Bell Jar" and this is what AI told me: (first thing that pops up and answers questions)

" Billie Eilish is in advanced talks to make her feature film acting debut in a new adaptation of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, directed by Oscar-winner Sarah Polley. Eilish is slated to play the lead character, Esther Greenwood, in this eagerly awaited film produced by Focus Features."

 i was quite surprised that billie eilish was going to playing in The Bell Jar. I honestly thought that The Bell Jar was Sylvia Plath's journal and Billie was playing Sylvia Plath BUT that is not the case here. I was looking it up cause i was curious and my partner then explained that The Bell Jar was written by Sylvia Plath but it is not her diary or journal. google showed me what reddit explained The Bell Jar as: 

"The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is a semi-autobiographical novel detailing the mental breakdown of Esther Greenwood, a talented college student interning in 1950s New York. It explores her descent into severe depression—symbolized by the isolating "bell jar"—fueled by societal pressures, restrictive gender roles, and a crisis of identity, leading to attempts and eventual psychiatric treatment."

This was news to me to be honest. i really did not know what this book was about but i did know it was about depression and leading to an attempt. i did think it would be like that since i thought it was her journals but i do not know how to put my words together here. i am truly surprised that they would even have the thought (they would be the directors) of even making this movie. like since when did they start caring about mental health? like i know billie is an advocate but like ugh i am just so wowed. I honestly do not know what else to say? 

i am a huge mental health advocate as i have suffered due to my mental health since i was around thirteen years old. (i am now twenty-three (turning twenty-four tomorrow!) and still struggle. i hope to actually read The Bell Jar before the movie comes out but my mental state has to be just a little bit better and then i can. e, i am truly excited to read the book and see how the movie goes. let me know your thoughts in the comments! (to comment: click on no comments and then you can post one) 

- rain

𝔭𝔦𝔢𝔯𝔠𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔭 #2

 piercing shop #2 

hello & welcome to another post.

(WILL BE A LONG ONE FYI) (RANT) 

today i want to talk about the second piercing shop i spent time at for free. 

The first tattoo/piercing shop i went to after i was fired from piercing job #1 offered me a job. well,,, kinda. 

this shop that i was interested in seemed to enjoy the idea of having a piercer again when i came in and for days following. i went to a lot of other shops, almost every reputable piercing shop in my town. The first place I gave my resume and portfolio was the only one interested and i needed to start piercing asap so i took it. 

my headshots for new business cards

The dude running it said he has not had a piercer in shop since a little after COVID-19 had started. He did not get into much detail just that the last piercer had lost trust in him and he was let go. That was all and he told me that right away. The whole time i was there, i was there to build his trust. I sanitized instruments for him and cleaned them all. i sorted all the jewelry into the right places as everything was thrown all together. i did so much for that piercing room until... 

until... he said he did not even want to really be there when i was in the shop. even though i had made it clear i was looking for an apprenticeship and needed a mentor to help me with the piercings i did not know how to do. So i was confused that he said that. i was gonna have a talk with him but i ended up missing a shift and did not text him until the following monday, and he was upset which is valid. I did go to the shop but it was later and he was not there so i did try. anyways he texted me saying he needed to think about things and i said thats good cause i need to think if i need to commit, this was after all the free work i did for him. he then texted me that he was going out of state for a week and would get back in touch and guess what? he never got back in touch. it is currently a week (maybe two) since he was supposed to text. i was going to text him but i really thought about it and he gave signs of not really wanting to pay me and he had a hard time trusting me but i could not work with him not there and he left early every day so i could not work that long. (at the time i was doing instacart to afford bills and he was not paying me so i left early to do that most days since that made me money). 

me sorting jewelry 

i really miss piercing. i did do two piercings while i was there. it was on my partner and they went really smoothly. i accomplished a lot while i was there, it just was not worth it. 

what do y'all think of this? i have found a job i enjoy but it is not in the piercing field. I do hope some day to go back and be fully involved again. that is my dream but until then i will have random jobs that i enjoy. 

sorry for the rant. have not talked to many people about it lol. 

- rain 

sunday april 5th - BiRthDaY WeEk

 hello! long time no write...

firstly happy easter to those who celebrate!

currently it is april 5th. i am sick BUT it is my BIRTHHHHDAAAYYY WEEK!!! EEEK how exciting! but i just know i will cry because i refuse to turn older than 23. okay? okay. 

it will also be my brothers dog's birthday as well. he is turning two!! fun fact: we share a birthday omg how exciting. i will insert my birthday pics with him from last year below ↓

anyways...

i just wanted to come on here and say hi and see how everyone else is doing. i am doing well even tho i have been sick all weekend. which is very unfortunate. will i go into work tomorrow? who knows. my tummy feels very oozy-woozy. my partner is also sick. why are we sick you ask? well cause we work with KIDS. like you would not believe how easy it is to get sick while working with kids. 

also another update on me: i am no longer a piercing apprentice :( i got fired for "regressing" and creating a hostile work environment. like it got twisted and i got fired for basically telling my boss about my mental health and then they blamed me for it and then told me i was creating a hostile work place when it was my other co worker who was. they said i was regressing because i was not going as fast as they wanted me too when i was stressed af and they did not care so they fired me. it was just a bunch of bull. but i did find another studio for about a month and a half but nothing came out of it so now i am looking at other jobs. 

my dream is to be a piercer so i am not giving up! just waiting for the right opportunity to get me feet wet again. i will probably have to start all over again but it will be worth it since it is something i love to do. 

my plan is to be more active on here more in the incoming future as i am not really on social media anymore. what would y'all like to see me post? comment below :) (p.s. to comment just click no comments and it will let you write one) 

- rain