Tonight, I thought we’d look back on what was the Winter Vacation. I left work at 6:40 Tuesday, December 20th. From the moment my foot hit the pavement on the exterior of the revolving door, a flood of emotion hit me. Different ones. Some good, some bad. The primary and overwhelming one was dread. The dread of coming back into the office on January 3rd and seeing the electronic tidal wave of emails only an Indonesian would understand. So each day I wrote what I did and here are the portions that pertain to you Kentucky Fans, here is what I did over my winter vacation.
Tuesday December 20 – I left the office late only to find that I had plenty of time to catch Kentucky trounce UT Chattanooga, 87-62. Without Terrence Jones, due to his pinky injury, Doron Lamb posted a game high 24 and Anthony Davis threw down a double-double harder than an alcoholic with a 7 n 7. I was exhausted and fell asleep before 11:30.
Wednesday December 21 – I woke up and basked in the glory of being off for the first time since Thanksgiving. Sure, it was only just 4 weeks prior, but it seemed like an eternity. Days off are what white sugar is to children, the crack of the working class. One just never seems like enough, when its gone you wish you had more, and you typically sleep immediately after consuming the whole thing. I probably slept a mere 8 hours less than the Mayfly’s lifespan (24 hours) that day and I had 13 more to go.
Thursday December 22 – Three Days, Two Games. Unlike the NCAA tournament, the closely scheduled games in December didn’t provide near as much excitement. Kyle Wiltjer proved that on the court he can be as offensive as an IU fan on Twitter. He took advantage of Terrence Jones’ injury and the Loyola (Md) defense, scoring a career high 24 in route to a 87-63 win.
Thursday December 22 3:00PM – Monday December 26 5:30PM – The team was off for Christmas. Celebrations ran from New York (Vargas, Lamb) to Portland (Wiltjer, Jones) and I ventured to Charlotte, North Carolina. On that Monday, hearing news that the city, already overwhelmed with annoying Blue Devils and Tar Heels, would be inundated with Cardinals venturing south for the Belk Bowl – I ventured home. The
Monday December 26 5:30PM – While the players came home, I did the same and found myself in Corbin, Kentucky fumbling around with a 4G, signal trying to drive and watch the Kentucky Basketball Christmas with the Cats (an online stream of practice). Hearing Cal yell words that start with S and it with HIT over a cell phone’s speaker is just as entertaining as it sounds.
Wednesday December 28 – Omar Epps might be in 8 Mile, but Lamar Uninversity was in Lexington. They found their loss at the hands of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and went back across the tracks.
Saturday December 31 – Only behind waking up in the morning to realize it is the day I have to go to work, the UK vs UL game is the most dreaded day of a winter vacation. Being a fan from Louisville, I’ve talked enough smack to fill a women’s abuse hotline. A win would mean the world to me, so I can avoid the slanderous words in return. A loss would mean that my email, twitter account, and ears are full of vicious hateful Cardinal chants the rest of the season and beyond. As Kentucky pulled away behind a glorious game by MKG, the cover came from over my head and the smile came from behind those worry lines.
Sunday January 1 – Tuesday January 3 – From the UK vs UL game on, it was rather slow. I avoided the Louisville vs Kentucky Freedom Hall game for the first time in 5 years. As my vacation drew to a close, I thought – wow, what a Winter Vacation. Winter is much easier to deal with when your team kicks ass like Kentucky’s.
Overall, restful, relaxing, and winning would describe the vacation of this Kentucky fan. Starting into SEC play this weekend, you couldn’t ask for much more… I mean litterally, just one more win is all you could have asked.