But after many e-mails and numerous people stopping me on the street, I came to a decision:

I don't care what you think. I'm doing it anyway.

So, it's on to week four of "James' Adventures in Piercing."

I did get some positive feedback from last week's column. Actually, for the most part, it was all positive, but I keep hearing about this negativity that is rumbling underneath. I don't know if it's because you people aren't e-mail equipped or what, but I just don't hear from you. Are you even real? Are you the ones who growl at me when I walk by?

Whatever the case, I thank those people who do support me. And to everyone else:

Screw You!

Now back to the show.

I'll be honest -- I kept putting off this week's piercing. I guess I was a little stunned by what happened last week. But to be completely honest, I never really planned on stopping the column. It was just a cliffhanger. Every good soap opera needs a cliffhanger, and let's not kid ourselves -- this is a soap opera.

So, for the good of the people, I mustered up all my energy and got myself pierced again. This time I chose the tragus, one of the ones you wanted me to get.

The tragus, along with the cartilage at the top, has become one of the more popular ear piercings. For those who don't know what the tragus is, Webster's defines it as "the prominence in front of the external opening of the ear."

Better yet, take a look at the picture to your left.

Along with the tragus, there are other inner-ear piercings such as the rook and the daith. The problem is, it's hard to explain where they are without a picture. But if you're really curious, there are plenty of World Wide Web sites with pictures.

For this week's piercing I decided to try Forbidden Fruit, 110 Hetzel St. The piercing process seems to be the same thing every time. First the area to be pierced is cleaned and then those crazy clamps come out again.

One of the problems with the tragus is that it's almost inside your ear. This probably won't cause much of a problem for the person doing the piercing, but it's going to be a little uncomfortable for you.

After the clamp is in place, the needle is put through and the jewelry you choose is put on. I decided to go with an 18-gauge, seven-sixteenths-inch hoop, but you can pretty much get whatever you want.

When the needle is put through it feels really strange. It does not hurt so much as it feels weird. Think about it -- there's a piece of metal sticking through that little thing that protrudes from your ear. There's something inherently wrong with that.

For people who want to get pierced but don't know where to start, I suggest the ear. It's not that strange and it's fairly inexpensive. At Forbidden Fruit, the piercings start at $15. At Green Top, 318 E. College Ave., and Exotic Zombie body piercing, 225 W. Beaver Ave., it'll cost you $30, while at Art of the Ages Inc., 103 S. Pugh St., it'll run you $35.

I will say this piercing was probably the most painful yet. It wasn't unbearable but the pain lingered. I felt like I had an earache for the rest of the day.

I have only one tip of the week this week: Make sure you really want this piercing. For one thing, it's in an uncomfortable place. Sleeping can be difficult if you toss and turn a lot. The other problem is it's hard to clean. You can only see the one side of the piercing, so you really only know what's happening on that side.

I suggest, as I did last week, you eat before the piercing. Because, again, I almost passed out.

Maybe this piercing thing just isn't for me. But the people need to be told. And if I don't do it, who will?