If you live anywhere near me, in Southwestern, Ohio, chances are you’ll be sitting indoors watching it rain, shaking your fist indignantly skyward in an impotent display of rage, and damning the sky-gods for ruining your holiday weekend.

So - when you’re done doing that (and assuming the sky gods haven’t roasted you with a well-placed thunderbolt for your mortal impertinence), here are a few things to do with your three-day weekend.

1.) Organize your manga and/or anime collection - You know that as you read this, a pile of unread manga and unwatched anime DVD’s looms over your shoulder, begging to be placed next to their more organized brethren. Since you’ve got this extra time on your hands, maybe you should plop your sedentary ass down on the sofa and pile through it all and put it on the shelf where it belongs?

2.) Watch that obscure Yasujiro Ozu film you’ve been meaning to get to - Have all your snobby art-film friends been prodding you to dig into that Criterion Collection Ozu box-set they got you for Christmas? This is the perfect time to do it. Yeah, I know - there are no saucer-eyed aliens sniffing schoolgirl’s panties, or hot guy-on-guy yaoi action, but your life will be all the better for it. Seriously.

3.) Four words (and a number) ‘Final Fantasy VII speed-run!’

4.) Get some friends together and record a crappy podcast - Everyone has one! Even your grandmother…you know all that obscure stuff you and your friends endlessly gab about that nobody else gives a shit for? Record it for posterity and upload it to the internet! Human culture will be all the richer for your efforts, I guarantee.

5.) Take up Tai Chi - Yes, I know its kinda like kung-fu for geriatrics. But with all the stress in your life, Tai Chi may be just the ticket. I mean, look at David Carradine. He seems like a happy chap. And word has it that Lou Reed is quite the Tai Chi fanatic himself. And he hung out with Andy Warhol, so you know he’s cool.

6.) Host an Evangelion marathon - With three days in the weekend, you could have some friends over (preferably ones who have never seen Evangelion) and plow through the entire series with a day left over for group discussion. Who knows what happens at the end? Hell if I know - pass the Cheez Whiz hors d’oeuvres.

7.) Give Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition a whirl - Want to see why all your role-playing friends have been crying themselves to sleep at night for the last month? Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition is finally out, and believe me - many sacred cows were harmed in the making of this game. It’s not nearly as bad as your friends have probably told you.

8.) Organize a ‘Haruhi’ dance at your local prison (note: for Filipino prisons only)

9.) Whip up a batch of soy-sauce - Did you know how hard it is to make soy sauce? Let me tell you - it’s a pain in the ass. Although this tutorial is subtitled ‘Not as hard as you think…’, I have to disagree - if it involves anything more than a trip to the grocery store, then it’s most assuredly every bit as hard as I think. And I’m sure any soy-sauce I brew at home is just as likely to taste like foot-fungus as soybeans.

10.) Go watch fireworks - Fine. If you must venture into the outside world, then be my guest.