Everybody hates stains, but we love the people, places and moments that lead to them. Find Charlotte's best spots for those 'stain-making moments' because Ultra Tide is there to make sure families can have fun worry--and stain--free.

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From a wild ride on the rapids to a casual chat over a pint of ale, find Charlotte's best places to go on a first date, whether it's dinner out, just drinks, or a fun, new activity to take the pressure off.

In classic Alarcon fashion, I've waited until the last minute to write this entry. I almost literally have Paul, my senior editor, over my back asking for my copy so he can edit it. (Yes, friends, I write the only blog in the world that's professionally edited.)

Anyway, the reason why I'm writing this so late in the day is because I've finally taken the plunge. I didn't want to do it, and I avoided joining at every cost, but I drank the Kool-Aid and created a MySpace account this morning at 9:30am. It's now 5:35pm and I'm still tinkering around on it, searching (stalking?) for ex-girlfriends, former schoolmates, old cellmates--kidding. Anyway, add me: Boy About Town, I only have two friends right now (my cousin--yes ladies, he's a bachelor--and a co-worker), it's embarrassing.

Seriously though, the real reason why I wanted to post was because a Boy About Town operative just sent me an email about the Carolina Rollergirls bout with Las Vegas' Sin City All-Stars at the Dorton Arena Saturday, Sept. 16. I'm calling this one my pick of the weekend. It's going to be an incredible night filled with sexy girls in hot pants, kneepads and old-school roller skates. The Rollergirls' season is just about over, and every bout counts towards our girls going to the nationals, so go out and support them.

It's totally going to be worth the hour and a half drive, trust me.

And don't forget: Add me. I'm not even asking for top 8, I just don't want to be the one in my office with the least amount of friends.

Before I get into this post, I'm giving a shout-out to my new favorite ladies, the Carolina Rollergirls. Not only did they answer my plea by adding half of their team to my MySpace page, they also destroyed the Sin City girls in last weekend's bout (127-65) in front of 2,000 mental fans at the Dorton. I'm thinking the national title isn't unrealistic.

Seriously though, I don't have any big life-lessons to pass on this week--the reason behind this post is simply because I want to give you the heads-up on a couple under-the-radar events happening this weekend that are going criminally unrecognized by the local media.

My biggest beef is that the Queen of the Triangle drag queen pageant and festival at Raleigh's Lincoln Theatre is going down this Sunday and no one I've talked to has heard about it. This is a no-brainer great time: Drag queens, sequined gowns, bikinis, live music, plus it's an 18+ event, so you know there's probably going to be some nudity. Take pics and send 'em my way--if they're great, I'll post them. Okay, maybe I can't post 'em, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't send 'em anyway.

The other biggie event that no one's talking about is the Carrboro Music Festival, also on Sunday. Twenty-one venues, over 150 bands, loads of participating restaurants, and if you're a hipster parent, there's a children's section. Band to watch: Grasshopper, at the Cat's Cradle. They're a cross between the Kinks and Dinosaur Jr., and Beth Turner is officially the hottest female bass player since Superchunk's Laura Balance. Don't deny it Beth, own it.

So I was having breakfast at my favorite restaurant this Sunday and the weirdest thing happened: I was sitting at my favorite booth by the window and the waitress who's taken my order for the last two months came to my table, set down a cup of coffee, a glass of grapefruit juice (my usual Sunday morning hangover elixirs) and asked me--by name, mind you--if I wanted my usual.

At first I was stunned. Then I was creeped out. Then I looked around for the nearest possible exit.

Was she a stalker? An ex-girlfriend? It took me a few minutes to realize that I had officially become a regular--a regular customer at one of my favorite restaurants in town, and it felt pretty good.

Seriously, try it for yourself. Go exploring this week--try a bunch of new restaurants somewhat close to where you live, decide on one you like and try dining there once a week or so.

Make no mistake, while we all agree that Charlotte has a great restaurant scene, there's also something to be said about finding an older, consistently great restaurant and making it "your place."

I'm not saying you have to pass on cocktails and tapas at that trendy hotspot in town. I'm just saying that there's something to be said about developing a friendly relationship with a reliable restaurant and its staff. You'd be surprised how much better the food and service becomes when you get to know the names of the people handling the food you're throwing down your gullet.

Welp, if you're reading this, you survived Ernesto. Not that bad, right? A few flooded streets, a few light car accidents. At least your power isn't out like it is for 375,000 households in Nash County. Anyhoo, I'm assuming a little rain and the two hour drive didn't keep you from the 5th annual birthday party for the Orange County Social Club. If you don't know anything about this, please get out a little more--it's pretty big news. It's so big, Merge Records is even getting in on the action by offering up their stable of stars: Superchunk kicked off the five-week-long birthday party this past Friday with a scorching set at the Cat's Cradle. Chunk playing anywhere is a major event in itself considering the band hasn't performed since the summer of '04 so indie hipsters can only scratch their goateed chins and ponder: Does this mean a full-blown reunion for Chapel Hill's favorite sons (and daughter)? My guess: maybe. I'll press the people at Merge for answers.

So I didn't go to the show, but I want to know the details from anyone who did. Did they play "Hyper Enough?" How did Laura look? IM me on my MSN Messenger at michaelalaron@sbcglobal.net--I need to know. I had a major thing for her in college--some would call it stalker-like, but I just liked her a lot. Female bass player? That's a no-brainer, right?

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