Yes, after a two-week hiatus I'm back to getting piercing. So, here's week seven:

After two weeks of healing, my body finally was getting back to normal. I wasn't waking up in the middle of the night after rolling over on a new piercing and I stopped picking up those pesky radio signals. But, for the good of humankind, I decided I must continue my mission to pierce my body.

My face is lacking in metal nowadays, so I figured the nose would be a good place for this week's piercing. But what to pierce -- the nostril or the septum?

Since I didn't want to look like a bull this week, I decided on the nostril.

If you're going to get your nostril pierced, you should first decide whether you want a hoop or a stud. There is no difference between the two other than the look, but I chose the hoop.

As usual, when you're getting a new piercing the first process is the cleaning, and as usual, it was an adventure itself. Having someone rub iodine inside your nose with a Q-tip is definitely a weird sensation. Actually, I think it might become an Olympic event.

Then comes the piercing. First a cork is shoved up the nostril that's going to be pierced. I've had people recommend the shoving of corks in parts of my body, but never in my nostril.

The cork is there to stop the needle before it goes too far in your nose. It doesn't feel that uncomfortable, but it does look odd.

This is where the nostril piercing breaks from the norm.

Instead of getting out the clamps, this piercing is done freehand. Since it is such a small piercing, and because there is a cork up your nose, there isn't space for the clamp.

Now for the big question -- how much does it hurt?

I'd give it a 5 on the Conroy scale. It was neither as painful as the nipple, nor as painless as the tongue. It was somewhere in the middle.

The cleaning process for the nostril is pretty much the same as for every other piercing, except you now have to clean the inside of your nose.

The nostril is a good piercing to start out with because it is fairly cheap. At Art of the Ages Inc., 103 S. Pugh St., the nostril starts at $35, while at Exotic Zombie body piercing, 225 W. Beaver Ave., it's $30. At Green Top, 318 E. College Ave., prices start at $41. I had my nostril pierced at Forbidden Fruit, 110 Hetzel St., where it costs $20.

The one thing I have noticed with all these piercings is the response from strangers. When I visited the mall the day of my nostril piercing, customers seemed to be giving me the evil eye. Also, on more than one occasion, store employees turned away when I approached them.

In certain stores, I approached employees for help. The faces of these shiny happy people turned to shock as they faced me.

"Can I … OH MY GOD WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOUR FACE!" they seemed to cry out.

But I guess that's one of the sacrifices I have to make in the name of good journalism … well, OK, journalism nonetheless.…