Winter Classic Eve

Finally...the eve of the Winter Classic. It came both quickly and slowly. We've been wicked busy at work so the month of December just flew by, but on the few occasions where I did have a little time to myself, at least enough to get bored, it seemed so far away still.



I still have to pack. I've got clothes in the dryer I need for the trip. I swear the dryer sucks. Kirby says my loads of laundry are too big and that his dry just fine on medium heat (I use high). This was not a large load. I think he's full of crap. It always takes more than an hour for my clothes to dry. They would have been done by now if I'd paid attention to when the washer got done, like, two hours before I remembered I had clothes in the wash.


I should just go to bed since Kirby decided to come home before we hit the road "to shower." Which is code for he was too tired/lazy to pack tonight. I'm sure that will end up delaying our departure by at least an hour. He can't "shower" in preparation for a trip in any reasonable amount of time. So, I will likely have plenty of time to pack tomorrow, and I could be getting rest now. I'm lying to myself saying I'll nap while he "showers." I'll be too excited. At least I volunteered to take the first leg of the driving! I'll also be sufficiently exhausted by the time we get to St. Clairsville, OH (and the hotel) that I hopefully won't have any trouble sleeping tomorrow night despite the ramped up excitement I expect to feel.


Ever since the last episode of 24/7 I've been uncontrollably excited. That commercial with the kid opening the Ovechkin jersey for Christmas? That's basically the scene inside my head all the time. I did manage to stay adequately focused at work on Thursday so that I accomplished much of what needed to be done. I still have a few remaining tasks to complete before being able to hit the road and actually enjoy the trip rather than fretting over all the stuff I didn't get done. My plan is to post this blog, check my e-mail and Facebook then get in to the shop and not touch the computer at all. Finish my work and then head home to get loaded up and on the road. I can screw around online while Kirby's "showering." Ha!


Right now I'm exceptionally tired so I'm not really feeling much of anything, but I have been uncharacteristically hyper the last two days despite getting only a few hours of sleep each night. The magnitude of the event itself and the undesirability of the drive have been occupying my mind so that I hadn't even stopped to think, "Man, I really hope the Caps pull this off!" Until a few hours ago. I started thinking that and now it's become an all-consuming thought loop in my mind...being played over the insanely excited Ovi jersey kid. It's making for a quite confusing mental state, honestly.


The issues over the weather have also kept me from being too overly concerned with the actual outcome of the game just yet. I think I may be subconsciously channeling all my nervousness and frustration into the weather situation which is deflecting the amount of worry I might otherwise feel about the game itself. The Caps' performance last week against the Pens has also been somewhat comforting, despite the loss.


I'm sure I have plenty of time to get worked up over the game. I really should get some rest, though, because this is going to be both physically and emotionally taxing. I know how tired I am after watching a regular season game live...or a Playoff game live...this should be at least as draining as a Playoff game, but probably more, if my initial guy reaction to the closing credits of this week's 24/7 is any indication.


Just as I finished typing this I heard dogs barking loudly and shrilly outside. Nothing unusual about that, really--you get one going then the whole neighborhood goes off. It just didn't stop. A few minutes of this terrible ruckus outside and I went out front to see what appeared to be a pack of dogs chasing and fighting each other at the end of the street. I ran back inside to put on my PJ pants, shoes and grabbed Kirby's wooden hockey stick (not one of the expensive composite ones!) but by the time I made it back out they were gone and it was silent. Needless to say I'm not particularly sleepy anymore and am on high alert for any more dog disturbance for a while. Very shocked that it didn't wake Rocky and Adrian, but they remained silent through the whole ordeal!