Lemondrop

Gone are the days when you got graded on your "What I did this summer" essay. But you still need to respond to that query come Labor Day with something better than becoming intimately familiar with the Real Housewives. Make the most of the eight weeks you've got left, especially on dreadful rainy days, with these ideas.

1. Relearn stuff you were having too much fun to actually study in college, or pick up something new. This cool site offers mini-courses in everything from film to physics by top U.S. professors ... for less than the cost of a textbook.

2. Get into digital photography. Find an inexpensive camera and get tons of tips online from amateurs and pros alike.

3. Pick up a new card game like euchre or perfect your poker skills.

4. Learn how to bake homemade bread or pizza dough.

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5. Design your own Web site. For $25 a month, you can take unlimited online courses that teach you the best design programs, like Dreamweaver, here.

6. Get your online bartending certificate. Or, better yet, learn home-brewing techniques so you can start your own Cheers at home.

7. Teach yourself self-hypnosis or meditation techniques.

8. Brush up on your high school Spanish or learn a new language. While there's always Rosetta Stone, you can find native speakers on Craigslist willing to converse for free to strengthen their own English skills.

9. Get crafty and learn screen printing or calligraphy.

10. Take a course in massage therapy or reflexology and become everyone's new best friend.

11. Get trained in CPR. The test only takes a few hours online, plus an in-person session be certified. Not too shabby when you consider the heroism that could await you as a life saver.

12. Learn how to grow your own food or compost if you have a nice outdoor space at home.

13. If all else fails, teach yourself how to communicate with dolphins. Flipper wanna-bes, check this out.