a. / June 30, 2006 9:13 AM

Stewing in bitterness, mainly, as I do not have a long weekend. I've been asked (read: told) to come in on Saturday, and the office is open on Monday. It's the only time I'll ever attack anything as un-American, mostly because doing so suits my own needs.

Dutch101 / June 30, 2006 9:13 AM

I plan to celebrate the spirit of this nation by drinking heavily and shooting off illegal fireworks that I procured in Missouri. That's about it.

emyduck / June 30, 2006 9:48 AM

lots of cleaning and cooking and shopping and then the throwing of our last big rooftop bash before moving. oh, and drinking lots of margaritas. and maybe getting a little bit of sun.

Bill V / June 30, 2006 9:49 AM

4 or 5 day weekends are great. It gives me a chance to spend Friday night in Chicago (I dj on most Fridays), and head out of town on Saturday. Still have time to get back early and enjoy Chicago a bit before work starts up again. Wouldn't mind catching a bit of My Morning Jacket down at the Taste.

Cinnamon / June 30, 2006 9:50 AM

Hm, Dutch101, we got ours in Indiana. I'll also be making some agua de melón (recipes available on Monday), scraping and re-painting part of our garage, weeding and replanting in our lil' garden, and hopefully enjoying said beverage in a tidier, prettier yard.

avantchicago / June 30, 2006 9:54 AM

I'm heading to lake country - not the the Midwest Long Island on Lake Michigan east shore - real lake country in North.Central.Indiana - its rather quiet and near Amish Country. Sounds lame? not if your on the water and snorting crack! Happy freedom all.

stackedbrass / June 30, 2006 9:57 AM

Taking a spin around the pond in one of those swan boats by the Lincoln Park Zoo if I'm very, very lucky.

mike / June 30, 2006 10:22 AM

Margaritas, grilling, visiting grandma, cleaning house, listening to all the illegal fireworks and resultant fire truck and ambulance sirens as garages burst into flames and kids blow off their fingers.

amanda / June 30, 2006 10:33 AM

cleaning. lots and lots of cleaning.

Andrew / June 30, 2006 10:35 AM

Might I suggest joining us tonight at Happy Village for a few beers?

bam / June 30, 2006 10:39 AM

Landscaping, smoking (meat), drinking, grilling, trying again to turtle a hobie 16 with my nephew (how else to teach the boy to right the boat), or if rain dictates it we'll paddle the murky waters of the chicago river (and try hard not to get in said murky waters)...basically, just slacking off and enjoying the sluggish feel that falls over the city on these types of long weekends when most folks battle for position on the interstate. Spent last week camping "up north", so i'll suffer no pangs of guilt about not getting out of town this weekend. Contrarian thinking again saves the day.

george / June 30, 2006 10:43 AM

I'm an American't so I tend to forget things like 'independence day' and 'thanksgiving' etc. Thankfully, all my mates are Ameri-cans, so they're hosting a kickass party on Monday night. But for the majority of this holiday weekend I'm going to be working. Bollocks.

Patrick / June 30, 2006 10:43 AM

Eh, several friends are out of town so my weekend is shaping up to be pretty lame. I might go shopping for used DVDs, that always cheers me up.

If anyone reads this and wants to have a funny, socially-adjusted dude at their 4th of July bbq, email me. :)

Greg / June 30, 2006 10:49 AM

Today we're going up to Milwaukee to see the comic-strip exhibit.

Saturday - going to a BBQ.

Monday - playtesting a boardgame a friend is designing.

Other than that: loafing.

Dutch101 / June 30, 2006 10:54 AM

Mike, I always used to think that stories about kids blowing off their fingers was just something that parents used to make you be careful with fireworks, but one of the door guys at a bar I used to go to had, in fact, blown off two of his fingers with fireworks as a kid. And as for fires, jeez, we used to always set grass fires with fireworks when I was a kid. Nothing says patriotism like losing digits and causing property damage!!

carrie / June 30, 2006 11:14 AM

Well my closet shelf partially fell out of the wall this morning, so it looks like I have to make time to be handy at some point. Also, make time to drink. And then unfortunately, come into work on Monday. Tuesday though, I plan on spending time on the couch and catching up on Maury.

mike / June 30, 2006 11:15 AM

If I tell everyone where I'm going, it will end up being overcrowded and miserable.

eep / June 30, 2006 11:16 AM

Going to see a movie with friends, going to another friend's potluck, watching a bunch of DVDs with friends, and cleaning. I'll probably visit the family for an afternoon, though I'd rather be drinking.

Andrew / June 30, 2006 11:18 AM

Mike, Taste of Chicago is always overcrowded and miserable.

printdude / June 30, 2006 11:18 AM

This long weekend will involve:
Resting up tonight, for tomorrow bring fireplace smashing followed by the Ministry show at House of Stand. Sunday brings Cubs Sox game followed by BBQ party. Monday means grilling, followed by Tuesday's Grilling of meats and hundreds and hundreds of dollars of explosives. Oh, yeah, and lets not forget the booze that will be consumed this weekend.
Getting drunk and wreckin' shit - It's so American!

trigirl20 / June 30, 2006 11:19 AM

Well, I will enjoying the Long Island of the Midwest thank you very much. Beach, yoga, eating, beach. Oh, and lots of pino i'm sure.

Y A J / June 30, 2006 11:27 AM

Ministry & Rev Co tomorrow at HoB. The cross town classic on Sunday (at least the Cubs can't go into their customary post-series slide). Friend's BBQ Monday and the family party on Tuesday. I've got to find some time in there for running, pet sitting and housework too. Plus, the Tour de France starts this weekend and since we're cable-less heathens, we've got to monitor the race on-line all day, every day. I’ll be very distracted for the next few weeks by the Lanceless (and now without Ullrich and Basso too) Tour.

Josh / June 30, 2006 11:40 AM

Bicycling, weightlifting, playing guitar and watching movies. A few beers and a little pot. I'm gonna try and shampoo one of the cats. I'm sure that's gonna be fun, a scrambled mass of blurry black fur skirting across my bathtub.

steven / June 30, 2006 11:44 AM

Checking out the last Hot Lips Messiah and Paper Bullets shows at Cal's tonight (after seeing Superman on the IMax). Rest of the wkend is wiiiide open. Maybe grilling? Making sangria? It's all up in the air, which is how I like it.

sky / June 30, 2006 11:51 AM

Dinner with friends tonight followed by a stripper at my apartment for the friend's birthday. I'm scared.
Fixing up my car so I can sell it...head to the burbs so I can be overly fed by my family...booze it up with people i haven't seen in a bit.
Work monday...don't have definite plans for the 3rd or 4th yet.

jonesybot / June 30, 2006 12:13 PM

Knowing me, I will probobly spend most of the weekend worrying that I am not making the most of a four day weekend. Is this the most fun I could be having? (I will think to myself over and over again)

Other than that, I will play bocci ball, bbq, and watch my cats cower at the sounds of firecrackers in the alley.

Allan / June 30, 2006 12:20 PM

Drowning my penis size related relationship troubles in a bottle of Jack until I am physically numb and piss drunk and doing my best to stay numb and piss drunk until I have to come back to work on Wednesday where the only thing I look forward to is getting a glimpse of JP'S butt and a whiff of her perfume as she walks by. Did I mention I took an early lunch headed to 7-11 bought a Mountain Dew Slurpie and a bottle of JD and made myself a a little lunchtime cocktail... and guess what bitches I am drinking and drunk right now on the old mans dime. Ha, HA HA. Aaah shit. Now that's independence.

Spence / June 30, 2006 1:02 PM

Allan wins.

Allan / June 30, 2006 1:09 PM

Ahh shitt did I say "JP's butt" Aw I'm sorry JP that was a little inappropriate. What you have going on is a bona-fide ASS! THAT'S RIGHT JP I BEEN SNEEKING PEEKS. I HOP YOU TEMP HERE FOREVER. I WISH I HAD SOME SAY IN THEMATTER.

steven / June 30, 2006 1:28 PM

Allan rules.

p / June 30, 2006 1:48 PM

Well I just concluded an afternoon in Chinatown (which is the bomb lest ye forget) so I think I'll be taking my garbage bag of fortune cookies to the beach, wearing my beyond dope lime-green chinatown sunglasses (they say Sports across the top of the one-lense piece) and igniting hot fire-fiery passion in all the dillies with my Mutherfucking SWITCHBLADE COMB!! So I plan on taking my newfound Shanghai Danny Zooko look for a stroll this weekend. I'll backburner my usual Gangsta Harrison Ford persona. I also plan on listening to the sweet sound of ice hitting the back of a cooler.

Blagg the Axman / June 30, 2006 2:04 PM

Rest comes not for an axman this weekend. Having spent the previous five days picking my way up the crag-lined coast of Western Cyrdale, ahead of me lies the Great Bog, teeming with hobgoblins, quicksand, will o’ the wisps and alligators, and it is into the Bog’s maw which I plunge come daybreak. Certainly it is not the preferred place to spend a holiday weekend, but according to local lore an ancient hag makes her home there, a shack shrouded in the Bog’s mists; legend tells of a long-simmering rift between her and the Dark Lord Kayne, whose cold grip crushes this land’s spirits a bit more each day. If all goes as planned—and my ax never falters—I shall be holding palaver with M’yrrgh, Queen of the Bog, in two days’ time. From there I face another week's trudge to the other side of this cursed swamp.

paul / June 30, 2006 2:07 PM

I'd usually be on the lake drinking a beer, eating something grilled, and watching the Evanston fireworks, but I'll actually be on another lake in upstate NY, drinking a beer and eating something grilled without any fireworks, except for maybe a sparkler or two.

Terminal Verbosity / June 30, 2006 2:20 PM

Since it's still legal to do so, I'm going to burn a few flags in the yard. And grill, of course.

baldeesh / June 30, 2006 2:35 PM

Road trip to southern IL, to Mount Vernon for a wedding. My sister is threatening a trip to the Indiana Dunes on Sunday. I might get piss-drunk, but seeing that recently I had managed to polish off an entire bottle of vodka in 2 weeks (that's a new personal record), I may not. Other than that, not much is planned.

mike / June 30, 2006 2:50 PM

Dutch101,
My uncle is a Chicago fireman and he says the 4th is crazy with fires and injuries. Lots of garage fires, which makes sense. A few years ago a guy literally blew his head off. At Senn H.S. by me people were shooting off professional-grade stuff last year.

Oh, and I'm seeing Ray Davies on the 4th. I hope he sings Big Sky.

mike-ts / June 30, 2006 4:59 PM

Now how did the guy blow his head off with fireworks? Got a more in-depth story on that, or a link to a news story? I'm not calling b.s. on this, I'm just extremely curious. When you think someone came up with the stupidest idea, someone else comes along and trumps him. And lemme guess: "alcohol was involved in the incident."

Oh, to be on topic - watch a parade, the City Series (already off to a bad start), city firework display (hey, I helped pay for them), practice some guitar, do some site building. Do my first decent bicycle ride if the rain holds off. Maybe strip a floor and paint a room. Or just sit around and sham.

moodie / June 30, 2006 5:40 PM

Thinking of heading to Milwaukee's Art Museum for the comic exhibit Saturday but''ll change my mind at the 11th hour probably. Have a few dusty books in my apartment, some bbq from the neighborhood joint and my own company. Four whole days of solitude...let the self-pity fest begin!

Justin / June 30, 2006 7:58 PM

A grill, two ears of corn, and a six pack of Old Style. I leave the rest to chance.

JP / July 1, 2006 8:17 AM

Good grief Allan! Is that why you are always drinking Slurpies at lunch? Sooooooooo glad I took the day of yesterday.

mike / July 1, 2006 1:23 PM

floating down a river and clibming in bend oregon.
a chicagoian, of course, in the mountains for the 4th is like a love affair eh?
i'm just a cheatin bastard.

Pyrotecnick / July 2, 2006 12:39 AM

Re: the unfortunate decapitation, it involved professional grade pyro ala used for shows. I think it happened either in Franklin Park, or in the burbs. Cause...the usual, damn, the fuse must'a gone out, I'll check and relight the s.o..... Black Cat strikes again.

fluffy's cat / July 2, 2006 11:52 AM

thursday- she was out til 6am and up to no good, although she'll deny it. So, she slept all day Friday and didn't wake up til Saturday afternoon. She'll probably stare out the window for the rest of the day. She works Monday, but not Tuesday. This isn't her favorite holiday. She's thinking about all these choices we have of fun things to do- but U.S. soldiers are dying in Iraq for what they think is the right thing. She wonders how they're feeling today. Fluffy's depressed & overthinking.

armaghetto / July 2, 2006 11:43 PM

copius amounts of liqor, awkward situations, sparklers

Cagney / July 3, 2006 9:37 AM

Floating around in my infatuation with a boy 2100 miles away. (sigh)

adam / July 3, 2006 9:41 AM

Since the weekend is about half over, I can say what I'm actually doing this weekend.

-Painting and and reshelving two mall closets.
-going to friend's swing dance night (but not dancing) with another new music friend on Sunday night, and sitting in for a few songs on melodica
-playing wedding cocktail gig out in Rolling Meadows (misnamed suburb!) on Monday
-totally geeking out over all the great Brazilian music vids on YouTube. Search for "chico buarque", "tom jobim", "elis regina", and "toquinho" to see what I mean.
-getting lyrics and chords for said tunes and starting to learn them
-making definite decision to actually learn Portuguese for real
-probably not grilling due to rain and heat

adam / July 3, 2006 9:48 AM

of course, i meant two SMALL closets. so far Old Orchard hasn't hired me for any remodeling work...

mary / July 3, 2006 10:24 AM

hope this doesnt stray too far from the original post but, has anyone ever been to the Park Forest fireworks? ashes rain down on you if you sit in the "right" place.

that being said, if its not raining, im going to the fireworks tonight and winnetka tomorrow!

spence / July 3, 2006 11:42 AM

My plans:

Herniating a disc in my back and taking copious amounts of pain killers as a result.