Ear Today, Gone Tomorrow

I first got my ear pierced almost exactly 20 years ago. I was 19 and it was the day before the interview which would result in my first job in IT. I was such a rebel. My employer was no fan of male ear furniture but they were far more distracted by my long curly hair so didn't mention it. Would you hire this man as a VMS Systems Programmer? Incidentally - this photo is not taken at the interview, it is at the legendary "Spiders" nightclub in Hull.

Over the following 20 years no one seems to have been particularly bothered. One of the comments I have had was a customer saying "You are the first IBMer I have ever seen with an ear ring" to which I pedantically replied "I'm sure you mean Male IBMer". On several other occasions IBM colleagues have commented that it was good because it made me look like a geek :-/ Mrs Ports thinks it makes me look more like a pirate being a silver hoop.

However, all good things have to come to an end and I have decided that the earring has to go. It has nothing to do with work - it is all to do with the baby. Every time I give Lucy a huggle she grabs it and she is getting very good at grabbing things and holding onto them. So I have given up. It is just a matter of time before she either rips my ear off or ends up swallowing it. I just don't understand how people with babies and lots of Jewelery, specifically jangly earrings, don't go bonkers.