When- or if- you have a whole day off from work/school, what do you do for fun? What’s your perfect day off? (Assume chores, errands, and getting caught up with stuff only take up part of the day.)
I recently had one of these (first time in years). I stayed in bed - ate breakfast and lunch there - and alternated napping with reading a magazine.
I like quiet time, and I like to read. I don’t want any other people near me except my hubby. I had all that, so it was very refreshing.
It just so happens that I had the day off today. I had several options in mind, including going up to Golden Gate Park to check out the new(ish) California Academy of Science and hitting Amoeba Records in the Haight.
Instead, I sort of puttered around in the morning–over a couple cups of coffee I scanned some old photos from rock concerts I attended in the 70s. Then I went for a 15-mile bike ride. After I showered up, I drove up to Rasputin Records and picked up a used copy of Eddie Izzard’s Dress to Kill. I had a most enjoyable time watching that, after which I decided what I wanted for dinner and went to Whole Foods to pick up the ingredients.
So now, I’m relaxing in front of my laptop, noshing on smoked trout quesadillas and black beans w/corn, onions and peppers. I have some ice-cold Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA to wash it all down with. This evening’s DVD, Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 7, is cued up and I’m getting ready to press “play”.
All in all, an almost perfect day off. And I still have Saturday and Sunday ahead of me!
I was afraid of this… Y’all are like me? You spend your day off in front of the computer?
Depends on the weather and how I’m feeling.
If it’s nice out and I’m not feeling tired/stressed/sick, I’ll find something to do outside - bike ride, ski, snowshoe. Then something yummy to eat with a cold beer or bottle of wine, and curl up on the couch with a good movie, or go out and meet friends for dinner/drinks.
If the weather doesn’t cooperate and but I’m feeling energetic, I’ll do an all-day cooking project. Something with a few courses that takes hours to put together.
If I’m tired/stressed/sick, it’s the computer. Especially if I have a good game to play.
Sleep, sit on the SDMB all day, play video games, eat a delicious meal cooked by my spouse…
… yes, I’m a woman. My brother recently described his perfect day just the same as I described mine, except the SDMB part. But I’m working on that.
What day off? I had to go ahead and come in to the office to finish my TPS reports.
Head north and go hiking. In winter, head north and go skiing.
If I have a day off, I like to sleep in a bit and then just potter around doing stuff that I like. That might mean going for a bike ride, or going for a wander round the shops, or just reading. I do have a day off this coming Friday and I fully plan to have no plans!
Hunting. Not necessarily shooting anything; the act alone is enough in the right situations.
My ideal day off would involve lots and lots of sleep and the knowledge that I didn’t have to do anything or be anywhere if I didn’t want to. It’d probably wind up looking a lot like NinetyWt’s, only with a trip to the pool or bookstore.
My “days off” are never days off. I get one day a week off, Tuesdays, and I keep our boys (8 and 4, the eight year old is out of school right now, otherwise it’d just be the 4 year old) home from daycare on my day off to save us money. Needless to say, they are up and at 'em before 8am, so I can’t even sleep in. I wake up at 5:30am on workdays, so it isn’t a big deal, but it’d be nice once and awhile.
I work every weekend too and even when I get home, there’s always yardwork, shit to fix and or do around the house, laundry, cleaning, etc.
I can’t wait until the boys are older and I can get them to help out Mom and Dad with some of the stuff around the house!
I just realized I didn’t say what I actually do on a day off. Days off are usually so I can go to a school event with my son (like the half day I took Friday to go to the carousel) or I schedule a bunch of doctors’ appointments on the same day to get them out of the way. Having time to myself is gravy, if I get it. Like FoieGrasIsEvil, being home = work. My kids are usually up around 6:30, sometimes earlier, so from the time they get up to whenever I manage to go to bed, it’s go, go, go. If fun is goal, we usually do something kid-oriented, like go to a park, a pool or something similar. Both kids are ridiculously energetic, even the baby, so it’s a challenge to wear them out.
My ideal day isn’t necessarily doing nothing, but at least having that option. Days to myself are all about possibilities. I could do X, Y or Z if I wanted to, but I don’t have to.
Ideally, I would love to spend my spare time writing, but my muse has evidently decided to take a vacation and didn’t invite me to come along. 
I miss writing.
I wake up and plop myself on the couch, and turn on some crappy tv (like reality shows…mmm reality shows!) Then I usually fall asleep again for a bit. If the weather is ok I will take my dog for a hike or to play at the dog park. Sometimes I go shopping for odds and ends I need around the house.
Then I take a shower and get all squeaky clean (the power shower hour I call it - long shower, shave, do my toenails, pluck hairs), put on some clean jammies and watch more TV until I fall asleep.
Aaaah…
Um, yeah, did you get that memo about cover sheets?
My perfect day off is when I feel more rested in the evening than the morning. It hasn’t happened yet.
These are GREAT days off!!
you mean an Xtra day off? Is this board really filled with people working 7 days per week as this thread implies?
Well, it’s kind of like FoieGras mentioned; if you’re a parent you don’t really get ‘days off’.