Well, I had my last final today. Everyone else at UC Davis hates me because today is actually the first day of finals week and I get a 2 week vacation instead of 1.
Sorry. 
Anyway. Shit. Now I don’t know what to do. I already fed all of my class notes and old tests from the quarter into my paper shredder. It was very cathartic.
So what should I do the rest of the day?
Go to work. That way when you are finished with school it’ll just seem natural to be stuck in a salt mine while all the kids are out playing!
Just kidding, I’d say get drunk, but you quit drinking. Play poker with us tonite!
And in a twist of fate, I’m taking 4 days off to do nothing but get drunk, just like the good ol’ days. Got 8 bottles of non-rotgut tequila, 4 bottles of Cointreau, and a gallon of fresh sqeezed lime juice, headed to Margaritaville.
Oh, come on, Cynical Gabe. Are you telling me that you can’t think of a way to spend that first, long, lovely, lazy vacation day after a hard school term?
Here are some of my favorite things to do on my first vacation day:
Sleep. Usually, I’ll be at least somewhat sleep deprived by the time I’m done with the quarter. So a day or so of just crashing out is in order.
Long phone calls with people you miss.
Ride your bike around town, stopping in at stores and restaurants that strike your fancy. When I do this, it usually includes at least a few hours–sometimes a whole afternoon and/or evening–of used book browsing.
Check out last minute deals on flights to interesting places. Since you’ve got 2 weeks of vacation, maybe you could be spending that time somewhere really interesting. How are the fares to Mexico looking from where you are? There’s lots of cool stuff to see there (and don’t discount the whole country if the only part you’ve been to is that weird border zone in the north). And if you land in Cancun, you could head to Guatemala, Belize, or places in Mexico that are enjoyable without having to stay in a resort. This is also a pretty good time of year, AFAIK, to get a discount ticket to lots of places in Europe. And, if what people have told me is right, you won’t need to buy the ticket in advance, really, to get a decent fare.
Savor an exquisite cup of coffee or tea while reading a good book or newspaper. Read at a leisurely pace, knowing that you don’t have to go anywhere at any particular appointed time. Feels good, doesn’t it?
Cleaning and/or organizing. It feels so good to have a nice, clean, organized apartment, with lots of meals pre-cooked and waiting in the freezer. I get this great feeling of calm and preparedness for the upcoming quarter. My place is usually a total wreck–dishes in the sink, random stuff strewn everywhere–by the time exam week rolls around. I usually combine all this cleaning and such with listening to either a new CD or the radio, especially listening to really cool NPR programs I usually end up missing.
And my favorite option–how could I forget?
If you’ve got a girlfriend or boyfriend who also has time off–spend the day in bed with him/her/it. Snuggle, talk, laugh, give each other massages. Sleep when you want, make love when you want, eat leftover pizza, Indian, or Chinese food in bed while giggling together and lazing around. Make jokes about needing servants to get you food from the kitchen because you’re both feeling as gloriously, contentedly lazy as milkfed kittens in the sun.
Man, what is the world coming to, when someone has to be told how to spend some hard-earned and much-needed vacation time?
Geez.