Single on a Saturday: Dinosaurs and Rugby Players

Well it’s the summer and to celebrate I hit up the solstice party at the ROM. It was the theme for this week’s Friday Night Live.  (If you haven’t heard of it, look it up). To start, I decided to go dressed for a sundowner in this mighty find from HonestEd’s

…I have no problem with letting people know I paid $3.99 for a hot summer dress….

We pre-purchased tickets- which is highly recommended for this event- and only stayed in line for a short time. I know I’ve said it before, but this is a great time for $14!! Live bands, DJ’s and you can tour around the museum. Crazy  good times. I think the best part is I can regulate my drinking by buying a limited number of tickets and then leave around 10:30pm thus avoiding the drunken state of affairs that 2am in a bar brings (even though we did end up pub hoping on West Queen West afterwards).

My Hot Date ;)

I cannot promote it enough. Next Friday is the Pride themed party.

So that was Friday night…then came Saturday. Not much to say about Saturday. I had tickets for a Canadian Wolverines Rugby game at Lamport Stadium. I think everyone had free tickets to this thing and the stadium still was not full…of course there still seemed to be a nonsensically long line for everything. We waited 20mins in line for drink tickets (after waiting 15mins in line for washroom) and then left. It was not worth sticking around for unless we’d be able to BYOB.

I gotta say one main thing about this: as much as I support alcohol free events, I don’t attend them. I like to drink and the I pee and I need a venue that supports this. Unfortunately, this game had none of that. I was not even interested in getting settled and flirting with the otherwise decent ambiance. Shame on that!

…and they gave free tickets for the next game. Hmm… I probably won’t be attending that…

Single on a Saturday: The Fraser Moment

So this Saturday I realized I have a 'Cheers' again. It started with the RPM and then many years ago it was the Open End Pub in between classes..then it was Thursdays at Two Cats...I tried for Saturdays at Eat my Martini, but no dance floor. Now its Brooklynn Bar (no specific day or time since I really only have Saturday eves off--worky worky all other times). I don't know everyone's name yet, and I'm still the obnoxious drunk chick with the skirt that is too short for such a casual atmosphere. I don't care. I've partied in this  city for over 20 years and, recently, I've had a hard time finding a place with a good vibe and a dance floor.

I wondered why this was important. Well it's simple: I like being in a place that I know I am guaranteed a good time. I don't know if this is a single thing, an age thing or just a social thing. I guess it can be a single thing because I would know what to expect in terms of picking up and I know that I can make an ass out of myself one night, but have the ability to redeem myself  in future outings. I like the idea that I might have a place that people know where to find me. I think having a regular bar is the only committed relationship in my life.....but is it cheating if I wanna go someplace else?

Single on a Saturday: A sexologist and a dancer walk in to a bar...

Yup, like some kind of joke where the punch line ends in something, something poutine. I went out with my friend Camille (a professional dancer, fresh from creating choreography) for a chance to release some steam on a dance floor.

Here is a little background on what we look for in a party place:

1. Dance floor/space with danceable music: Honestly, the place could be a cardboard box on the side of the road. If there is the possibility that we can get nuts on a dance floor  then there is a possibility we will be there. Dancing is very important for many of the points to follow.

2. The crowd is mature, but not stuffy: I don't want to go into a place where I am uncomfortable laughing or dancing wildly (see how the dance floor is important). As I have mentioned in previous posts I am not into girl fights over guys, overtly obnoxious drunkenness, that weird smell in corner spots and other gross seeding things that go in line with frat bars. Great for slumming on a pub night, but not for a regular thing. Then there are those ones where the music is played nice and low and if you sneeze everyone looks over...which falls in line with #3.

3. Not pretentious: I cannot go back to King West anymore. I loved it many years ago, but now it seems like everyone is trying to out-do everyone in some way and its not fun for me (I think I was one of those people at some point in my life). Plus the lines are insane for no good reason. That takes us to 4.

4. No Lines/ No Cover: This is a no brainer. I'm spending money in your establishment and you should not try to gouge me or make me wait. This goes for the bar as well. I don't mind paying for coat check, but cover is ridiculous. I think it is a general respect to your patrons to not charge them for buying your drinks.I also like when I do not have to wait too long for a drink. So it's always good to find a place where bartenders/servers can do multiple orders at time.

5. Ability to socialize: I'm going to use a word that I have always thought about...but did not have a word for: Butt Funnel...Thank you Jon Taffer. You see I always believed that bars should have a method for ensuring people have to mix and mingle. Squeezing past while saying "wow this place is packed tonight" or dancing closely and sharing in the fun of "their tune" all increases the social level in the bar. Creates a great atmosphere and builds that "Cheers" -esk loyalty to the bar. The place where you can meet people, even if only temporarily.

6. Good People: So an extension of #2, #3 and #5- it is imperative to have a crowd that likes to socialize. You look at someone and can chat them up. Maybe a booty booking or maybe just someone to talk to while your friend is on the dance floor or in the washroom.

7. Customer Service with manners: Heck its why I will not suggest The Gladstone for a drink. Look back into the Nuit Blah edition. I'm not asking to be treated like a princess, but I am saying: I show up to you with manners, respect me and my money enough to do the same.

I'm going to end the list here...I'm sure there are more to add but I should get on with the story.

Picture it, a rainy slushy night...heehee... Seriously, it was a horrible night for precipitation, but it was still not very cold out. I was able to wear a short skirt and long jacket; perfect Saturday attire. There were puddles all over, but I had on my reliable FMB's with fleece liners (sexy, but dry and warm).


The weather basically told us it was going to be a one stop only type of night. For us, all roads bring us to Brooklynn Bar. It hits all targets (except for its cover--which is only $5). The crowd is mature and clearly older. It has the right number of Butt Funnels (when you go check out the one by the main bar opposite the main entrance) for bumping and socializing. Maybe too many hipsters for my flavour, but the crowd is still a good one.

I guess I should also add there are good looking, average type men hand over fist in this place...that's why I suggest it to single/almost single ladies. Maybe I should have made that club checklist point #1- Men who dress decently and are safe to be around.

We did get weirdly hit on by two guys...one who called my friend an angry lesbian-- we think this was his ice breaker (sad)-- and one who had the brain of a goldfish--that's a whole other episode. We still had a good time.

I think the best part was getting home easily. Due to the weather, the cabs were all pretty free at 3am..quite unusual for Queen West. I avoided the usual "after club food scene" and headed home...it was still slushing (yes, not rain or snow....slush was coming out of the sky).

Well it was a great night overall...but time to cool the partying for a bit to work on some academia...sort of...ha! lets see how long this lasts...this time.