Being a kid again

Junior Justin Miller has a lot to worry about.\nBalancing a double major in accounting and finance proves difficult to handle, especially when it comes to juggling classes, studying and exams. He also holds a leadership position in his fraternity and coordinates social events for the house.\n"In addition to classes, I've also got to worry about internships and finding a job when I graduate," Miller says. "Sometimes, I just get burned out and need an escape."\nMiller finds that escape in laser tag, a grown-up version of his favorite childhood game that allows him to distance himself from the stress of college life. \n"I definitely feel that as college students we need more chances to blow off steam," Miller says. "We are under constant pressure from school, and it is often overlooked that this is the time in our lives when we are still young and we should be enjoying it. Kid-type activities give us the chance to get out of the real world, and bring us back to the time when the most important thing in our day was nap time."\nMiller says he's also taken dates to the LazerLite Family Entertainment Center, 4505 E. Third St. The facility allows customers to take part in an interactive game of tag illuminated by black lights and laser beams.\nLazerLite general manager Susie Wolfgong says participants wear a lightweight high-tech computerized vest with an attached phaser. Hitting an opposing player with the laser scores one point, and the object is to score as many points as possible. Each game lasts for 20 minutes, which includes the game briefing, vesting and printing of scorecards. Twenty-one people may play at a time.\n"It's a game of strategy," Wolfgong warns. "A lot of adults are finding it's a lot more difficult than the game they remember playing as a kid."\nSportsPlex, at 1700 W. Bloomfield Road, offers 100,000 square feet of unique sport and exercise options and features five hardwood basketball and volleyball courts, a synthetic-grass soccer stadium, and a one-and-a-half mile suspended walking and jogging track.\nJunior Justin Miller visits SportsPlex regularly, saying the intramural teams offered there allow him to "relax, let down my guards and just have fun. I don't have to worry about work or classes or the general well-being of the universe."\nThe complex also features a newly-added 23-foot climbing tower. Open during designated free-climb times, "the ROCK" features handholds and footholds. Belaying classes are also offered, allowing participants to use the tower independently without supervision.\nMiller hasn't used the climbing facility yet, but said he plans to. \nHe says that when he was a child he "loved climbing anything I could."\nAn indoor golf simulator is also available by the hour for private golf lessons and for groups. \nFeaturing a 14-by-14 foot playing screen, infrared lighting and a camera monitoring club speed and ball spin, the simulator is available for $20 an hour for one player, $25 for a twosome, $30 for a threesome and $35 an hour for a foursome.\nFor the more independent-minded, rollerblading can provide a welcome energy release, which 22-year-old Shawne Richards has known for years. While visiting his brother in Bloomington last weekend, he spent the time cruising through downtown and checking out the Fourth Street Festival on a pair of battered rollerblades. \n"These things are pretty raggedy," Richards admits, pausing to take a bite of the burrito he picked up at the Laughing Planet. "But they get me around, and they're a lot more fun than riding in some gas-guzzling piece of scrap metal."\nRichards started roller skating at an early age -- "probably as soon as I could walk," he says. He bought his first skateboard at 7, and a pair of rollerblades followed shortly thereafter.\n"I started out going to birthday parties and stuff at our local skate club," the Hilton Head, S.C.-native says. "I loved the feeling of whizzing around the rink past all the other kids. I was good."\nLaughing, he adds, "I also loved checking out the girls in their cute little roller skates. And I still do."\nRichards deems Bloomington "an unbelievable place to skate" because of its many bike paths, hills and freshly-paved roads. \nAs chilly weather approaches, Western Skateland, located at 930 W. 17th Street, offers an alternative to outdoor skating. \nFor the less athletic, miniature golf always poses a great chance to brush up on putting ability while enjoying the familiar bright-orange signature decor of Bloomington's Putt-Putt, located at 277 S. Pete Ellis Drive.\nEmployee Dustin Finley says Putt-Putt is "flooded" with college students and couples in the evenings. "It's interesting; the groups of parents and their kids kind of move out and make room for the older kids," says Finley, a 21-year-old Bloomington resident. "And they have an even better time than the little ones."\nIn addition to mini golfing, sophomore Liz Coleur says go-karting excursions with her boyfriend often prove great ways to "let it all out."\nIndianapolis go-kart track Racers allows participants a "karting license" for a one-time fee of $20. Each 20-lap session costs an additional $20. \n"As college students, we're no longer allowed to express our 'inner child,'" Coleur says. "It's fun to go out and let all those frustrations out by crashing into someone else."\nBut many IU students claim they're on a budget -- seriously limiting their ability to pay for entertainment.\nThe frequent solution? Just sitting around on a Saturday morning and watching cartoons, sophomore Jermaine Miles says. \nSenior Josh Huff says he likes to curl up with a bowl of Fruity Pebbles and lounge in his pajamas on lazy weekend mornings. \nMiles agrees.\n"I just like to lay in bed and watch Loony Tunes," Miles admits. "It reminds me of when I was younger and had no stress, no worries."\nAnd when writing that dissertation on the inner psychological mechanism of butterflies proves just too tiresome, breaking out a coloring book and setting to work can often prove therapeutic.\nSophomore John Gilbert says he brought a few coloring books to school this year after reading they decreased stress in college students. \n"Anything has to be better than actually working on a paper or studying for a test," Gilbert says. "Nothing helps relieve stress like getting out your Batman, Guardian of Justice coloring book and box of crayons."\nAnd for those laid-back individuals preferring to enjoy the outdoors without breaking a sweat, blowing bubbles in the Arboretum or Dunn Meadow is a great way to spend a fall afternoon, especially if the bubbles are homemade concoctions.\nAnn Hallock, editor of Family Fun magazine, says an easy and inexpensive way to create your own bubble goo involves mixing 6 parts water, 2 parts Joy dishwashing liquid, and 3/4 part corn syrup. Store in a covered container and refrigerate, and create bubble wands from pipe cleaners, cookie cutters, or yogurt lids with the centers cut out.\nAnd when you need a true getaway, investigate TJV Balloons. Operating in Bloomington since 1988, TJV uses only FAA-certified pilots and crewmen. The enterprise is the largest and oldest hot-air balloon service in southern Indiana, according to TJV crewmen. \n"Ballooning offers a sense of adventure mixed with a feeling of relaxation," says Travis Vencel, pilot and owner of TJV. He claims ballooning is one of the safest ways to flying. \nTJV features "cross-country" flights, offering participants a panoramic glimpse of several states from 350 feet up. \nPrices are $165 for one person, $300 for two people, $425 for three and $550 for four. Payment is not required until the date of the flight, but a credit card is required to place a reservation.\nThe process usually takes about three hours. Actual flight time is generally an hour, according to TJV's Web site, but time must be allotted for inflation and deflation.\nAll flights begin at TJV's office, located at 1115 N. College, one block south of 17th Street. Pilot' notice in booking flights.