All moved in, no place to go FIND YOUR FUN

It's your first weekend in Bloomington. Instead of sitting in your dorm room staring at your new roommate, get off your butt and do something. Let IDS WEEKEND break it down for you. Here's the fat, the skinny and everything in between.\nRestaurants\nAll corners of the world converge in Bloomington when it comes to food. It doesn't matter if you're craving casual home-cooked meals or something a little more exotic.\nFourth Street from Indiana Avenue to Lincoln Avenue is known for its impressive array of ethnic cuisine. Diners can find food from Turkey, Italy, France, Thailand and Tibet, among other nations, as well as spicy Cajun food from Louisiana.\nThird Street is home to several campus favorites, including Mother Bear's Pizza, a next-to-campus pizzeria that's been around since 1973. The menu at Mother Bear's offers award-winning pizza, salad, pasta, sandwiches and wings.\n"The food is really good (at Mother Bear's) and it's a great place to go to hang out with your friends or if you need a late-night study break," said sophomore Johanna Chang.\nBig Mouth Subs, The Mac Grill, a new Mediterranean restaurant; Dragon Express, a Chinese restaurant; Bear's Place Ale House and Eatery and Domo, a popular Japanese restaurant and sushi bar, also share Third Street. \nOther student favorites include Crazy Horse, Scotty's Brewhouse, Grazie! Italian Eatery, Malibu Grill, Café Pizzeria, Jimmy John's and Dagwood's, which are all located downtown, as well as Lennie's, which is located directly behind Ashton Center on Tenth Street.\n"If you manage to somehow get a girlfriend, take her to the Malibu (Grill)," said senior Rob Weber. "It makes you look really classy even if you actually aren't."\nMalibu Grill and Grazie! are perfect places to kick off a night on the town. They both have a more formal atmosphere and serve more upscale entrées. \nAfter a brain-draining day of classes, nothing beats a cup of coffee and conversation with friends. Soma, Encore Café and Runcible Spoon, which are located downtown, are comfortable cafés that sometimes offer open mic nights and live entertainment. \nArts & Entertainment\nIn Bloomington, the entertainment opportunities are as diverse as the hair colors you might see strolling across campus. Fortunately for the underage crowd, students don't have to be over 21 to enjoy live music and other entertainment. There are plenty of local spots that offer music, dancing, theater, art and movies that are open to people of all ages. Live music can be found almost anywhere in Bloomington. A stroll down Kirkwood always introduces people to local musicians and their unique styles. Restaurants and cafés downtown like Max's Place, Encore Café, Runcible Spoon and Soma are known for providing a variety of live entertainment for free. \nMax's Place on Seventh Street has acoustic music on Thursday evenings and has shows on Friday and Saturday nights. Encore Café has a traditional Irish music session every Friday night from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. followed by a solo performance by Steve Sobiech, a local jazz musician. Sobiech also performs at Encore on Saturday nights. The café also offers dinner specials on performance nights.\nRuncible Spoon has Irish-themed music nights every Tuesday and Sunday. They are open to anyone who would like to come and play along. The Sunday night session is geared toward those who are "just picking up an instrument" while the Tuesday night session is for more advanced musicians, according to Regen Ton, co-owner of Runcible Spoon. The café, which is located on Sixth Street, also has poetry readings the last two Fridays of every month and welcome the public to participate.\nSoma, which is located on Kirkwood Avenue, has Matrix poetry readings the first Wednesday of every month and sometimes features live musical performances. For students who would rather be on the stage performing the music, Max's Place and Runcible Spoon both have open mic nights once a week. Max's Place has an open mic night every Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Runcible spoon has open mic night every Wednesday at 7 p.m.\n"It's just whoever shows up and they play," Ton said. "People just chill out and listen to music."\nAnother form of free musical entertainment is available right on campus -- student recitals at the music school. Every week the public can hear students from the music school perform at different performance halls around campus. \nThe IU Auditorium also hosts many musical and comedy events, including performers, orchestras and musicals. This season performances include "Chicago," The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and David Spade. \nFor those who prefer a club atmosphere, Rhino's All-Ages Music Club is the place to go. Rhino's is Bloomington's only underage club and is located downtown on South Walnut Street. The club hosts local bands every weekend that cover "every single genre you could think of," according to Bob Nugent, the assistant director of booking.\n"(Rhino's features) a who's who of awesome Bloomington bands," Nugent said. "We're the best place to see music in Bloomington."\nThe Bloomington Playwrights Project has shows almost every weekend during the year. Regular admission is $12 for students, but they also offer tickets for $5 for students who come only five minutes before the curtain time. Mainstage shows run Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. The BPP also offers a "Dark Alley Late Night" series which features plays that may contain adult content and sometimes start as late as 10:30 p.m. \nThe Waldron Arts Center, which is located downtown, hosts many dance, music and theater events, as well as art exhibits and classes in the arts. IU is a perfect place to find a variety of theatrical performances as well. The theater department has countless performances each year. Student groups such as Black Curtain also perform on a regular basis. Bloomington is also a movie lover's dream. In addition to its two Kerasotes theaters, Bloomington has several film series. The Buskirk-Chumley Theater is home the "Classics on Kirkwood" film series, which kicks off Monday at 7 p.m. The Ryder film series is popular series in Bloomington. With movies playing at Bear's Place, IU School of Fine Arts rooms and the Cinemat. \nOn campus, the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center hosts a bi-monthly black film series, which starts Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. The City Lights Film series, which is held every Friday night at 7 p.m. in the Radio-TV Center starting Sept. 9, features classic and contemporary movies from around the world. The Mathers Museum of World Cultures on IU's campus is sponsoring the Margaret Mead Film Festival Series starting Nov. 5. The Union Board also sponsors a film series featuring popular movies that have recently been in theaters. A fall schedule is posted on the Union Board Web site.\nMuseums\nBloomington's museums are a favorite with tourists and locals alike. Whether you're looking for local or world history, there are several interesting places to learn outside the classroom.\nWonderLab Museum of Science, Health and Technology is popular with both adults and children. It has numerous exhibits and daily demonstrations, and gives visitors a hands-on scientific experience. The museum is located on Fourth Street just west of the square. The Mathers Museum of World Cultures has a variety of interesting exhibits, including two that are here for the first semester only -- "The Allure of Clothing" and "Talking Shoes," which feature clothes from different time periods and shoes from around the world. The Mathers Museum also sponsors several cultural events throughout the year. A site that has captured the attention of the entire nation is the Kinsey Institute in Morrison Hall, but the Institute gives public tours only occasionally. Upcoming public tours are Aug. 26 at 2 p.m. and Sept. 16 at 2 p.m. The IU Art Museum is also a popular attraction on campus. \nFun & Games\nAfter a long day of classes or an evening of studying, students need to give their brains a break. Getting out and playing a game of pool or challenging friends to arcade games can be the perfect cure for humdrum of student life. There are plenty of places around town that will help everyone procrastinate. \nThe Back Alley at the Indiana Memorial Union has 12 bowling lanes, 10 pool tables and a large arcade. Students can bowl for $1.75 per game, plus $1.50 for shoe rental during regular hours. Billiards cost $5 per hour. The Back Alley will have fun leagues and bowling, billiards, Dance Dance Revolution and pinball tournaments throughout the semester. \nLazerlite is a popular place for arcade lovers. They have a laser tag area that can accommodate up to 21 players per game and 26 arcade games, including two DDR games. Lazerlite is located on East Third Street across from Sterling University apartments and is close to a Bloomington Transit bus stop.\nSports & Recreation\nExercise is one of the best way to relieve stress in college. While everyone gets the urge to tear up a test or punch a professor, it's best to get away from it all and work off some of that negative energy. Lake Griffy, which is just north of campus, gives students the opportunity to rent boats, canoes and kayaks for $5 an hour and to hike on numerous trails. \nThe Boathouse closes at the end of October, but the trails are always accessible. Laying out and swimming at the IU Outdoor Pool is a great way to spend the first few weeks of school. The pool is open until Sept. 5, and admission for students is $2. The pool will also be hosting Welcome Week events. The pool is sponsoring a "Float & Float" event Aug. 28 1:30 to 6 p.m. Students may bring floating devices and simply relax in the pool during this time. Root beer floats will be sold on deck as well.\nFor freshmen who bring bikes, biking can be a great way to get to know campus and town, according to Weber.\n"Bloomington has some of the best bike routes around," he said. "(There are) plenty of hills and flat areas so it's easy to do whatever you like."\nWhen it gets too cold to do outside activities, there are still plenty of indoor recreation options.\nHoosier Heights is an indoor wall climbing facility. It offers walls and guest passes that are appropriate for every level of climber, as well as a gear shop. Hoosier Heights is located on South Rogers Road.\nRecSports also gives students plenty of opportunities to exercise and participate in sports. They sponsor intramural and club sports, as well as plenty of classes. The SRSC and HPER buildings both have exercise facilities and indoor pools. \nThe rest of the shops in downtown Bloomington are great to explore, too; and College Mall also offers students a variety of popular stores. The C bus makes frequent trips to the mall at no charge to students since city buses are free to students if they can show their student ID.\nSo grab your new friends and hit the streets, because the time of your life starts now.\n-- Writer Carrie Ritchie has been on the VIP list at most fraternities since her freshman year. Get ahold of her at ccritchi@indiana.edu.