Hide-and-seek.

Have had the navel piercing for almost 9 weeks now; though I hardly notice it, except when (1) dressing for work and making sure that the waistband of the skirt won't rub against the piercing, and (2) cleaning the site. Haven't swopped my tops for navel-baring ones -- actually, it's hard to find those that just skim the top of the navel, which I prefer to tiny tubes -- though a sexcited colleague had commented that the point was to bare it, and who incidentally, has not been "granted" a viewing yet. Heh.

But am beginning to think that it could be more interesting to keep it "under wraps". Think of it as letting someone discover another part of you (in more ways than one). And of course, lifting up part of your top is more fun than just baring your midriff the whole time. Heh. Anyway, don't know if the usual look of pleasant surprise is from discovering another side to my usually somber mien, or thinking I'm into S&M (eh...no...well...maybe a little...), or just being "flashed".

By the way, I must qualify that I don't go around OFFERING a show-and-tell -- except during the first couple of weeks when it was still a novelty, and this was only to people I know. However, a few nights ago, found myself becoming SF's conversation piece about "living vicariously", and when the guy who was chatting her up asked to see it, I obliged -- out of my own curiosity too. Heh.

While we're on the topic, I do find the idea of pain an intriguing way to awaken the senses; right after the piercing, I did feel "more alive", as my piercer put it. I did it too, because I wanted to "mark" my body; to make it more "me". And I find this extremely enlivening as well -- as if I've opened up another dimension to myself.

You know those sit-ups I do, and how I work at increasing the number? Sure, there's all that stuff about personal achievement and competition. But there's also that other stuff, that sometimes I don't stop, because after a while, it stops hurting, and I've to work harder to reach that sensory high. I remember how swimming was many years ago: I would increase either the laps or pace, and after I was done, I relished pulling off my tightly secured swim cap and dipping my head in the water, releasing all that heat in the thrilling coolness. In the case of yoga, I can assure you that pain and quivering muscles are not that hard to attain...yet!

If all this sounds like an addiction, you're not too far off. Heh.