Indepedence Weekend

I dub this weekend the freedom to have spontaneous fun with no plans made in advance.

A few thoughts:
1) Transformers sequel. A lot of my co-workers hyped this one up for me. And it's not like the things I expected to enjoy weren't enjoyable - explosions, air strikes, spec ops taking on robots, special effects, special effects again, gratuitous Megan Fox shots. The problem was, as one reviewer said, the plot and dialogue could have easily been pieced together from fan-fiction submitted by 4th graders. At least they could have credited them at the end.

2) Give some credit to us youngsters. There's definitely times when I feel really young and times when I feel really old. All I can say is, if you're a suit salesman and you miss out on a large commission because some older shoppers come in and you rush over to help them figuring they'll spend more than the younger person you're helping, that's fine, you made your best guess. But don't rush over to hand me your card after you see what I'm buying versus what they're buying because a) you made your decision already and b) the reason I'm buying is so I can not have to make a similar trip any time soon. I continue to believe that in terms of intelligence, wisdom, and success, age is a highly overrated factor. And, for looks, it definitely matters, but there are some exceptions to the rule, as I discovered this weekend.

3) Biking. There's definitely an element of fun to weaving in and out of traffic on the busy streets of the west side or in-between tourists crossing the Brooklyn bridge (also, you should probably wear a helmet while doing this). The combined possibilities of being run down by an overeager motorist and running over someone on foot who's not paying attention at all are entertaining for at least one full day. For the record, I hate bikers when I'm on foot and the seats, despite designers' best intentions, are supremely uncomfortable.

4) Cooking at a soup kitchen >> serving people at a soup kitchen. That, and the fact that even hungry homeless people will turn down squash with the excuse that they're "watching their figure" (but never mashed potatoes or mac and cheese).