Meetup Event: Goth Mall Crawl!

Yesterday our meetup group had our first Goth Mall Crawl.  I've never been a mall goth, and I was dying to find out what it was like!  No, seriously, I just thought it would be fun, and possibly nostalgic for anyone who had ever been a mall goth, only without all the angst.  Also I haven't been shopping with anyone besides Martin in ages, so it was perfect.

Anyway, while only four of us actually made it, we had a blast!  I knew both the others already, and one brought her 16-year-old daughter, who I have seen occasionally but haven't spent time with in a few years. We met at Hot Topic, and ended up spending probably an hour there, looking through everything (and I mean EVERY thing!) and trying things on.  I ended up with a bottle of awesome pink/blue spatter nail polish and two great pairs of shorts that had "Buy one, get one for $1" tags on them!  I was really lucky to find both in my size, as there was only one pair of each left, AND they were the only ones I liked. 

The Misfits shorts (I'm thinking of removing the back pockets so you can see the letters, it says "Misfits"):



The purple/black tie-dyed distressed shorts by LOVEsick, and the nail polish (which has a LOT more blue flecks in it than this pic does):

Then we had lunch, followed by a stroll around the rest of the donut-shaped mall.  I lost count of how many stores we actually went into; it really didn't matter because we were doing so much talking, anyway.  When we finally got back to Hot Topic, we'd been there for almost five hours... no wonder my feet hurt! 

The one thing we didn't do was take any pictures.  :-(  I guess we were too busy talking to care! 

Have you ever done the mall goth thing?  

Death Guild and an Anniversary

Fourteen years ago yesterday, Martin and I got married at the Valhalla Renaissance Faire in South Lake Tahoe, CA. If you want more details (with pics), go to this post.

We started off on Monday night with a meetup at Death Guild, a weekly goth/industrial night in San Francisco at the DNA Lounge.  (Why they picked Monday nights for this is a puzzle that will trouble me to my grave!)  Almost all my favorite goth friends were there, including Wendy and Winter, and although I'd never heard most of the music before, there was some danceable stuff.

Here is a pic of me at the club:

 

Then yesterday, on the actual Day, it was sleeping until 9:30am (good heavens!!), then lazing around the house most of the day (except for going to the mall), followed by takeout from our favorite Chinese restaurant, Tin Fu.  We ended the day by watching "Grimm" episodes that we taped but hadn't seen yet.  What could be more enjoyable???

Next year, though, we are going to P.A.R.T.Y. (hopefully) with a Renaissance/Goth-themed renewal of our vows at Valhalla!!  We've already starting making tentative plans, so stay tuned! 

Bay Area Goth Meetup: Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

And another meetup group event, Dia de los Muertos at the San Jose Museum of Art!  Although we did have a good time, this would have been much more fun if 1) we'd actually been able to meet up with more of the members of our group, and 2) the museum was bigger.

Here are those of us who did actually meet up:





   

Cheryl's got skull-covered leggings, I've in my new sugar skull shirt and shredded pants, and Winter is wearing a skeleton dress and carrying a ribcage purse.  Very appropriate outfits, wouldn't you say?  ;-)

Here are a couple of lobby sculptures that were created (apparently) just for this event:

 

We heard from two other people who were coming later, but never met up with them.  It was MUCH too crowded to see anyone, and no one but us looked the least bit goth!  Winter and I had our black parasols, but it was too crowded to open them, and we were inside the museum, after all.

The museum is fairly small, it was extremely crowded, and a large chunk of the lobby was kept open for the dancing and band performances, so once those started it was difficult to move anywhere.  There was a table to decorate your own sugar skull, but the line was a mile long.  :-(  We did get to see the dancing up close, though, which was good (although they were VERY late getting started).  And we didn't have to be in the same room with the mariachi band to hear it!!

If you'd like to see more pics, check out Winter's blog post. 

Bruce Campbell and a Cemetery Picnic

No, I didn't meet Bruce Campbell at a cemetery picnic!!  Instead, there were two Goth Meetup events this weekend that I attended.  With this group, it's either feast or famine; this week it appears to be a feast.

The first was last night, a Home Movie Night showing of two Bruce Campbell films: Bubba Hotep, followed by Alien Apocalypse.  We had five goths, two guests, and Daisy the pit bull in attendance at this one.  We had a very strange (but fun!) assortment of munchies, including chips, sodas, Chinese takeout, and some s'mores cupcakes I made in the afternoon.  The first movie was VERY different from what I expected (I'd watched Army of Darkness a few weeks ago, so I was expecting something like that).  Somehow, the idea of two old guys in a convalescent home who think they are really Elvis Presley and President John F. Kennedy taking on a soul-stealing mummy just never occurred to me as a legitimate storyline, but it was actually pretty good, and very funny.  What made it fun was that the whole thing was SO out there that you had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next!  After a brief intermission, we watched Alien Apocalypse, which I have to say was a disappointing letdown after Bubba Hotep.  There wasn't even very much ichor when they FINALLY got around to killing the human-sized, wasp-like aliens, which they did by shooting them with arrows, when all they really needed was a giant can of Raid.  Daisy didn't like it much, either; she went to sleep and snored through most of it. 

Today's event was our second Cemetery Picnic, held in a much larger cemetery than last time.  Rather unfortunately, the directions were not very clear, and we had trouble actually getting the group together as we got there on time but didn't realize there were two fountains, so we waited at the wrong one, and others got there late.  Again, seven adults showed up, but the pit bull was replaced by a small boy who was was much more enthusiastic and bouncy.  Fortunately, he was also fairly well-behaved, so what could have been a disaster (children are not really supposed to be brought to these events unless it's specifically mentioned that they are welcome) turned out to be a lovely, fairly peaceful get-together.  Sadly, I forgot to bring my camera, and no one took pics while we were there, so I won't have any pictures to share.

Now I'm going to eat dinner and go to bed, as I'm so tired I'm falling asleep at the computer.  Fortunately, I'm on vacation this week, so I don't have to get up early tomorrow.  G'night.

A Surprise of Gothic Proportions

On Sunday, an old college friend of Martin's dropped by to visit.  We hadn't seen him in several years, so it was interesting to catch up with him.  I must mention here that while Joe does know my real name, Martin usually refers to me as Rhi, which is short for my Renn faire character's name, Rhianna.  Since we met at faire and that's what everyone called me for years, he never got out of the habit.

After a couple of hours, I had to get ready to go visit a friend, so I excused myself to get ready, privately wondering what his reaction would be when I came back out "all gothed up".  As I started to leave the room, he commented, "You know, Sisters of Mercy is my favorite band, and "Lucretia My Reflection" is my favorite song of theirs.  How come you don't use your real name?"  I turned around with total shock on my face (Martin said my mouth was hanging open).  I said, "Don't tell me... you're goth, too???"  And realized I've never seen him wear anything but black and gray.  Turns out he was in the scene years ago (he's about 5-6 years younger than I am), and his wife is a raver!  I told him to be sure to look up our meetup group, because he doesn't know anyone any more, and he said he would.  Martin had NO idea, so I guess he kept that side of himself hidden from his non-goth friends.

Talk about a small world... that's full of such nice surprises!  :-)

South Bay Goth Meetup: Dublin Pioneer Cemetery Picnic

At long last, on Sunday I hosted my first cemetery picnic!  Fortunately, the weather was perfect, overcast in the morning, but clearing and beautiful by noon, so it was not too hot and not too cold.  The cemetery was perfect as well, with beautiful headstones old and new, lots of trees and flowering bushes, and the picnic tables were even in the shade! And there were butterflies, orange monarchs flitting about doing whatever it is butterflies do in cemeteries. 

What was disappointing was that there ended up being only four of us; me and one other member who also brought her husband and almost-two-year-old child.  We had one no-show, and everyone else canceled for one reason or another.  While the four of us did have a lovely time, one of the reasons for having meetups is to... MEET people!  So we were bummed that no one showed up whom we didn't already know.

Here is a really good pic of me that Donna took:

This is the front of the old part of the cemetery.  The oldest graves are toward the back and continue along the right.  I'm standing next to an infant's grave; I always feel sorriest for the mothers.  I almost lost my son to an accident when he was only 14 years old, but this lady lost her baby after only a few months.  She never got to know him at all.

My sisterhood group started a tradition two years ago called the "Celebration of the Eternal Maidens"; on  or around Imbolc (February 1st/2nd) we go to our local cemetery, which is within walking distance of my apartment, and put flowers on the graves of children (mostly girls) who died before they reached 18 years old and have no flowers or other signs that anyone visits them now.  Most of the ones we find are under five years old, and the graves are very old.  So sad... 

Here are a couple of pics that I took.  The first is of the center front, more modern part of the cemetery.   The second one is of the same stone I stood next to in the pic above, but with more of the older part in the background.

It's such a beautiful cemetery that we plan on having more picnics here.  I just hope more people attend!

South Bay Goth Meetup: Natasha's Attic Costume Shop

On Saturday our goth meetup group went on a shopping spree at Natasha's Attic Costume Shop in San Jose, CA.  Natasha is a new member of our group, and I thought it would be a fun opportunity to meet her AND get in some early shopping for Halloween!  :-)

Unfortunately, Natasha's family had an emergency and she was unable to be there after all, but her staff knew we were coming and made us feel SO welcome.  They were just awesome, and so is her shop!!  I can honestly say I've never been to a costume shop that I've enjoyed more.  And not only does it have lots of great Halloween costumes, but they carry a spectacular line of handmade masks AND a large selection of good quality steampunk clothing and accessories. And the prices are extremely reasonable.

My friend who rode with me and I were the first to arrive, about 15 minutes after the shop opened.  Everyone else arrived not long after, and we spent between an hour and 90 minutes in the store, taking pictures, trying things on, chatting, and having a great time in general.  Everyone bought something (and some of us bought quite a few somethings!), so Natasha still benefited from our event even though she couldn't join us.  Here are a few photos! 

This is everyone who made it to the meetup (except for the weird looking guy third from the right, he's a mannequin):

 

Please note that I made the skirt I'm wearing!  It's black with white skulls all over it, although you can't tell that from the picture:

And I bought these awesome leggings (someone else is wearing them in this pic)...

 

If you'd like to see more photos of the shop and our trip, check out Eternal Wynter's blog.

If you're ever in San Jose, CA and want to spend a fun hour or more, I highly recommend a visit to Natasha's Attic!  Her website can be found here.  The shop is open every day except Sunday.

If You Need Me, I'll be on my Pedestal

Remember I mentioned that I belonged to a goth meetup group?  Well, we've been having a problem keeping our organizer (basically, the person who pays the monthly fee for keeping the group open).  The group's founder turned the group over to someone else, who in turn turned it over to someone else, who stepped down last week without any notice to the group.  Every time this happens, a huge banner on the main page announces that there are "only X days left until the group is gone forever."  It's like a self-destruct message flashing at the top of the screen.  Very depressing, and it makes me feel like something important in my life is being threatened, especially since we've started to get more active members and are actually scheduling and DOING things.  We've got several fun events being offered over the next few months.

Well, this time I'd had enough.  This group is the ONLY contact I have with goths that are close enough to actually get together with, and I'm not going to lose it!  I contacted four people in the group that I've met and like about a takeover.  I can't afford to pay the whole thing  (I haven't had a salary raise since 2007 but my rent just got raised by $50).  However, if we split the $19/month fee between the five of us, it comes to only $3.80 per person per month.  I offered to use my card as the means of payment (they take automatic payments only), and the others can pay their shares to my PayPal account.  They will become co-organizers, so they get extra privileges on the site, which they should get since they're contributing.  So far, two of them have agreed!  So today I became the official Organizer of the South Bay Goth Meetup group. 

I really don't like running things; I'd rather be one of those that just comes and goes as they please.  So why do I always seem to end up in these situations???  I guess it's because I'd rather take control than have things go out of control.  But I hate the view from the pedestal...  Wish me luck.

Talk Like an Egyptian: Update to the Rosicrucian Museum Tour

So, this is me in the replica tomb at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum during the early part of the tour. We're talking about the weighing of the heart of the deceased when he arrives in the Hall of Judgment. Of course, this picture didn't get added onto the Photos page of the meetup website until AFTER I had posted about it...  

This is the most recent picture of me in existence, so please don't forget to be appropriately impressed! And NO, those are NOT bunny ears sticking up behind my head, it's the headress of an Egyptian god with lots of teeth... 

South Bay Goth Meetup: Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum Tour

My idea of a good time is frequently a little different from other peoples'.  For example, I love museums, but not art or science museums; I usually find those boring.  My favorite museums are those that feature ancient Egyptian artifacts, especially mummies... in other words, dead people.  REALLY OLD dead people.

When I was getting my Master's degree, I did an internship with the interim curator at the  Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum (REM) in San Jose, CA.  For 300 hours over a four-month period I worked at the museum doing various things such as painting props for the artifacts, dismantling and assembling temporary exhibits, cleaning nose prints and fingerprints off the display cases, researching the best type of vacuum cleaner to clean said cases, testing the acquired vacuum cleaner on said cases, directing visitors, answering questions, moving pillars from one gallery to another, and moving individual artifact files from the old computer system to the new one.  And I got to spend a fair amount of time with the mummies.  It was the best job I've ever had in my life, which is why I've been trying to get a job in a museum since I graduated.  But I digress...

Today was my second time hosting a tour of the REM for the South Bay Goth Meetup group.  Last year, we had about eight people sign up, but only three actually showed up, including me.  So it was a rather small, intimate tour, to say the least.

This year, eleven people RSVPed that they were coming, and with the guests that they said they were bringing it came to a total of 20 people on the list.  If everyone showed up, I knew I would feel sorry for the other museum guests, as we would be taking up quite a bit of room in the smaller galleries.  Well, I reasoned, at least I knew we'd be quieter than the classes of school children that are usually there!

Well, turns out everyone did NOT show up. On Saturday night, two cancelled.  By the time I left for the museum on Sunday morning, we were down to 13 people.  When Wendy showed up with her cell phone, we found cancellations from five more, and two ended up being no-shows, so the final head count turned out to be only six.  Whew...

I'm happy to report that we had an absolute blast!  Apparently I'm a reasonably good tour guide, because they kept asking me to continue, even when I was finished with what I'd planned to say in each gallery.  When we finally got to the end, we'd been there for about 3.5 hours!!!  We'd missed lunch long before, and  my feet were absolutely dying, but other than that, it was awesome.  :-)  And we spent quite a bit of time afterwards discussing ideas for more events, including a tour of the fantastic Winchester Mystery House!  But that will be another post.

For those of you who would like to 'visit' the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum and see some of their artifacts via the web, here is their website:  http://www.egyptianmuseum.org/