How To Bide Your Time Until 'OITNB' Is Back

Confirming a very important date for our summertime plans, Netflix finally announced the official release date of Orange Is the New Black season 3 as June 12 on Monday. It was a relief — we finally knew when to mark our calendars for a day of delightful binging. But, there was a frustrating element to it, too: I want Orange Is the New Black season 3 here, right now, with me, not over 3 months away. It feels like a whole lifetime can happen in 3 months! I'll have turned another year older by then! I'll have seen Avengers: Age Of Ultron by then! Whole seasons will have occurred! June 12 feels horribly far from today. So what to do in the meantime?

There's no doubt that Orange Is the New Black will pick up where its buzz left off when season 3 drops on Netflix this June. Everyone will be talking about it, mulling over its progression past its freshman and sophomore seasons, and think-piecing up a storm around its place in the TV landscape as a whole. We'll ask ourselves, as an audience, what this show means for the future of television.

But that's for the future. What about the now? Because the now is in a pretty annoying place: There are no new episodes of Orange Is the New Black to watch. And so we have to fend for ourselves in this barren, OITNB-less landscape. It's a tough life, but we can do it, I believe in us. Here are some activities to fill up the time between

Read The Memoir The Show Is Based On

There are some huge changes — no "Alex" in jail with Piper, for instance — but this is the book that gripped Jenji Kohan enough to jump-start this series. And you'll get a look at an alternate universe in which Larry isn't at all annoying (I know!) and is in fact a very supportive partner to Piper.

Rewatch Seasons 1 & 2

Remember why you love it.

Watch This Delightful Video Over & Over Again

Suuure, it's not Christmas so it's hardly the season for Christmas carols. But watch this and tell me you're not completely in love with Daniel Brooks' dimples. I dare you. And who can ever get enough of Uzo Aduba?

Contemplate The Lack Of Diversity That The Rest Of Hollywood Suffers From

Why hasn't every studio glommed onto what a huge success Orange Is the New Black is and the fact that diversity literally makes more money? Why hasn't Hollywood made everything as full of people of color, as LGBT-inclusive, as inclusive of such genuinely diverse stories, and as beautiful as this show? I HAVE NO IDEA, but I am so done with it. Learn from OITNB, world! LEARN FROM IT.

Whine About The Wait Time On Social Media

Catharsis. It's necessary.

Push The Show On Your Friends

Watching someone else fall in love with a show you like is always a good time.

Watch Some Of the Cast & Crew's Past Projects

Example: Nicki (Natasha Lyonne) was in the queer cult classic But I'm A Cheerleader . And if you don't want to watch Taylor Schilling have shower sex with Zac Efron for Nicholas Sparks' The Lucky One, there's always Kohan's first big show: Weeds was a big step for female antiheroes, and its mixture of humor, drama, and people who are a little off their rocker could be a familiar salve. Besides, Nancy Botwin (above) 1000% should have gone to jail very early on — if only because she'd have been a great addition to Litchfield.

Just Sit There & Pine

Sometimes you just have to confront your feelings. Just let them in, and let them rule you. Sometimes that means missing a show real hard. And sometimes that means sadly refreshing the Netflix homepage until June 12.

Images: Netflix; Getty Images; tawdrysquid/Tumblr