When I was getting dressed this afternoon, the only plans I had for the day were to go to lunch and to work, so tennis shoes and a Sugarland t-shirt seemed perfectly appropriate. Then, during the last half-hour at work, I received an Instant Message from my friend Kelly, who announced that she had to go to an s&m club that night as a study in deviant lifestyles for her Sociology class, that I was going with her, and that she'd be on her way to pick me up in twenty minutes. I know better than to argue with Kelly, so my white tennis shoes and lavendarish-bluish t-shirt were going to have to be my costume of choice for visiting the deviants.

Although Kelly was dressed in a sleeveless black top, black leggings, and silver cross necklace, she still looked every part the wholesome, All-American girl-next-door with her blonde hair and fresh sunburn, a result of not using enough sunblock while spending time by her koi pond. We arrived at Monte Cristo, an unmarked club in Koreatown, in Kelly's light blue VW Bug, complete with a miniature flip-flop shoe hanging from her rear-view mirror, just in time for the full Sunday night Goth experience.

Inside the Monte Cristo, we found a much tamer scene than we'd anticipated from the "S&M" club. No whips, no bondage, but a decoration not that much different from the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, and every scary costume found at Hot Topic you could imagine: dog collars, corsets, full rubber suits, fishnets, top hats, studded leather vests, capes, face paint...you get the picture. Club goers filled the dancefloor, moving their bodies to industrial music. Most people danced by themselves within their own space, with their own improvised choreography. Kelly's professor, a regular at the club, warmly welcomed us, and told Kelly that she'd get even more extra credit if she joined the dancers. Still in my tennis shoes, I was not about to go on the dancefloor, but the professor's friend Rebecca led Kelly out on the floor. In fact, here's a picture of Kelly dancing:

The reason why you can't see anything is a) because my camera phone takes crappy pictures, and b) it really was that dark in there, and you couldn't see anything anyway.

Rebecca gave some suggested "arm movements" for Kelly to use, including "Turn the Lightbulb," and "Brush Your Hair." Meanwhile, I was approached by Mark, a Goth comedian with long streaks of black eye liner running in vertical lines down his face. He bemoaned the lack of good Goth radio stations, even on satellite radio, but that there were some good Goth internet radio stations. He further told me that the Monte Cristo was a fairly liberal club, and that at some Goth clubs, you're charged extra at the door if you aren't wearing all black. He invited me to "The XXX-Treme Comedy Freak Show," happening at the California Institute of Abnormal Arts in North Hollywood next Saturday. Fabulous.

We stayed for about an hour and a half, before leaving shortly after midnight, having had quite a bit of fun, despite looking a little out of place, and with Kelly bonding with her professor about how cool the Goth club is.

She's gonna ace her class.