I have had plans to go to Montreal with some friends over July 4th but
I decided against the idea since my summer course load at MIT is more
demanding than I had previously anticipated. Therefore, I will stay in
town for the entire July 4th weekend, something that I have done for
many years. As a consequence of this decision, Yoav and Ilana asked if
I would volunteer my deck to host the first SDM barbeque cookout. With
self-serving reasons not only to show off my deck but also my culinary
prowess, I agreed to host the cookout on July 4th. 
Even better,
Brian called me 2 nights ago to invite me to a Red Sox game on July 1st
for free. Score!!! See, staying in town on July 4th weekend isn’t that
bad after all.