In the interest of personal growth, I have decided to embark on a quest to make myself as uncomfortable as possible. I figure this way I can learn about myself, learn about other people and probably get the Collegian to pay for the whole thing. With that in mind, last Friday I put on as much black as I could find, let Caitlin Woods do my makeup and attended the first Goth Meetup of the year at the Circle Cinema screening of Aliens.
The first thing I learned about going to goth meetups is that timing is everything. If you show up too early you’re just some asshole in black nail polish trying to make small talk with the other movie goers (none of whom mentioned how good I look in eyeliner, the ingrates).
After a while, Vixx and Stephen showed up. The couple owns Tulsa Obscura, a cool little vintage store on 15th and Harvard that specializes in gothy art pieces and other accoutrements. Vixx and Stephen were hosting the event, and were dressed as an alien and an alien hunter.
Soon, others began showing up. A few were friends of the hosts, and there were a few apparently unfamiliar faces. There was even this older dude who dressed up as a Weyland-Yutani worker, complete with facehugger stashed in pocket.
While it was fun to meet everyone who showed up, there weren’t that many people. I feel like the whole thing would have been more fun if there had been more people there.
In terms of discomfort, there it actually wasn’t that bad. I did feel somewhat out of place in goth clothes, but my costume might not have been sufficiently gothic to get a big reaction. I did get a few weird looks at the grocery store on the way home, but that probably had more to do with my aforementioned eyeliner.
Note to self: go big or go home. Don’t be afraid to get weird with it.
