Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Night on the Town

Being 22, I am finally old enough to actually enjoy nights out on the town. When I was in high school, "fun" included hanging out at the local Mobil station (real exciting) and the occasional house party, which were either busted up by the cops at 9 p.m., or were hosted by a teen who was in a perpetual state of paranoia. My first few years of College I had a fake i.d. and when I say fake I mean FAKE. This thing was literally my picture, an outline of Florida, and a fake address taped, yes taped (it was too ghetto for glue) onto the back of a Starbucks coffee card. Yes this fake i.d. worked because did anyone in Athens, Georgia really use a legitimate i.d? No. However, I turned into a teen in a perpetual state of paranoia, terrified of being caught and thrown into jail. Thankfully, I have managed to stay out of the drunk tank (knock on wood) and can now legally and less nervously enjoy going out. 


Here are some of my tips for comfortably enjoying a night out: 
1) Make sure you always have your i.d. Sure this seems like a no-brainer, but it aint. I've had many friends forget their licenses. No license, no entry. 
2) Carry gum/ floss/ wisps. I always have all 3 in my bag just in case. I'm not saying just in case there's a really hot stranger at the bar, I'm saying just in case that Irish Car Bomb doesn't mix as well as you'd thought with your Kamikaze, you have a go-to source of fresh breath. I personally love carrying Colgate Wisps in my bag. They are basically hand held toothbrushes with a tiny bit of toothpaste in the middle. They freshen your breath and remove that moth ball feeling that can occur during the night...gross! 
3) Band-aids. I am a shoe lover; heels, flats, moccasins, booties, you name it- I love it. What I don't love however is the blisters and aching pain that these gorgeous shoes can cause. Therefore, I always carry band-aids with me. I also always try to have some really comfortable flats or sandals in my bag too, just in case. 
4) Oil Blotters. After standing or dancing around for a while at a club or bar, your skin can become very shiny. Rather than carrying around make-up with you and caking it on, I choose to carry around Oil Absorbing Sheets. Clean and Clear makes these and can be found at any drug store. They're really great at taking away any kind of shine and refreshing your skin. 
5) Hand Sanitizer. With all the germs in the air and scary sicknesses  like Swine Flu, why not protect yourself a little further by carrying around hand sanitizer. You can buy mini travel size bottles or Purrell also makes Gojo mini hand sanitizing wipes. I actually love these wipes because if you're getting kind of sweaty/ smelly during the night, wiping one of these over your decalage gives you an instant clean and fresh feeling.
6) My last tip is to drink responsibly. We have all been to the point of no return where you realize that last drink was definitely unnecessary. So what I want to say is, you don't have to give in to peer pressure or try to keep up with everyone else. A lot of my friends can drink much more than me and that's great for them. I don't like to drink to the point where I can't remember my night. I like to drink to the point where I get up and dance a little more easily than I would have before. Bottom line, you don't want to be sick all night, and you absolutely don't want to make a full of yourself by doing something you will regret in the morning. And of course, ALWAYS have a designated driver. 


I wish I knew what drink this guy was making. Even if not to drink, I would love to learn how. http://bit.ly/a6rAXH