Friend 1: “hey man, what do you want to do tonight?”

Friend 2: “uhhhhhh, let’s go to the bar, I guess.”

Both friends: Sigh.

   Are you tired of going to the same lame bar every night? Feeling bored by the lack of imagination in your night life? Could Friend 1 and Friend 2 be YOU?

   Fear not, my sighing brethren! The past few nights I have been tirelessly seeking out fun evenings to help you break the monotonous cycle. I proudly present Al’s Top 5 New Things To Do At Night! In no particular order:

Karaoke - This is a must-do for me every few months. Nothing breaks down awkwardness faster than getting up in public and singing, right? Whatever, even if performing isn’t your thing, just sitting back and watching the local wannabes should be entertainment enough. If you have a bunch of friends with you, consider booking a private room: everyone will get a turn and most of the songs are accompanied with hilarious (read: terrible) “music videos”.

Always a packed house for Al Hal… not.

Watching/Playing Sports - Go see the game! It’s always a good time when you grab a couple friends and watch sports live. You can make your own commercials in between play. If your city doesn’t have a big time professional team, no problem! Minor league stuff often has as much action as the pros (sometimes more) and it’s way cheaper! Minor league bonus: if there aren’t a lot of fans, you can hear the players swearing.

Maria and I @ a soccer game!

   If you’re a little less couch potato-y, get up and join a rec league! You can relive the glory days of sports you’re not good at anymore, and you’re parents will stop bothering you about exercising. In my humble opinion, joining a rec league or intramural team is THE BEST WAY to meet new people. Nothing says “hi, my name’s Al” like a good manly ass slap after a made basket.

Pub Trivia Nights - Are you smart? OK… well then, do you have smart friends? I thought so! Why not leech off them to win prizes and glory at the local watering hole? Pub trivia nights are cool because they happen on”off” nights and you can mix friends from different circles - nothing unites a group of strangers like meaningless competition!

   If you’re going to put together a championship calibre team, you will need:

- a sports buff

- a pop culture guru

- a creative person

- someone older

- someone weird/happily eccentric

   Presto! Get ready to reel in some free t-shirts!

Spectacles - I’m referring to big, impressive one-of-a-kind shows that entertain your eyes and leave you with lasting memories. Examples include the circus, dance competitions, fireworks and burlesque shows. Always the investigative journalist, I decided to check out the latter for you, and I give burlesque three appendages up! The full results of my…ahem… research will be posted in a few days, but until then I leave you with Mahogany Storm:

THAT is what I call a spectacle.

Random Events - These fall into the “experience new things” category. You know that thing a stranger invited you to online? Go to it. Take a strong friend, though.

   A fundraiser for a community group you’ve never heard of? Hit it. And always remember my golden rule of international festivals: the tents for countries you’ve never visited/can’t pronounce correctly always have the best food. Your taste buds will thank you later!

   So let’s review:

Friend 1: “Hey man, what do you want to do tonight?”

Friend 2: “I don’t know man, but I remember reading about some cool stuff on the AXE Summer Gig blog…”

Friend 1: “Cool, let’s check it out and have some good times!”

Friend 2: “Boom goes the dynamite.”