Ranking The Worst "Day After" Days Of The Year
I have felt lost today.
Four consecutive days of hoops starting at noon and extending until you go to bed, especially after 700+ days of not having it, has made this Tuesday hangover hit deep into the soul. The day following those first four magical days of college basketball marathons is annually one of the most empty, odd-feeling days of the calendar year.
Which got me thinking, what else falls into the category of worst "day after" days we experience every 365.
8. Day After Three Day Weekend
This takes the place of coming back after a week long vacation or spring break. In that situation you totally get the "vacation" out of you and by the time you're traveling back you're mostly ready to get back into the swing of your routine.
Not here.
3-day weekend is the best and worst kind of tease for having time off. You wake up Saturday morning and feel like there's an eternity between you and having to return to work then before you know it BAM it's Monday morning and you're depressed.
7. 2nd Day of School
Hear me out - the first day of school brings a lot of energy. Once you accept the fact that school is starting back up, the first day of school brings fresh, new, a chance to bust out the new school kicks, everyone is tan and hell even a few girls you haven't seen in a couple months look even better. The first day was syllabus and bullshit anyways.
It's the second day back (day after summer break) that is the real rude awakening. You get into first period, the teacher is snapping their fingers telling you to open your books up, and you realize another long journey of a school year has begun. Before you know it in third period you're getting assigned your first paper.
6. After Bachelor Party
Whether you're just on it, or it's your own, the day returning from the bachelor party is a wakeup call no one is prepared for. 2-5 days beforehand of nothing but destroying your body and brain only to be back at your desk in what seems like a snap of a finger with your lower back hurting in an exceptionally concerning way.
5. After Super Bowl
Football Christmas is over. Until next year. The full day after isn't so bad, but the fourth quarter on into your cup of coffee the next morning is a rough go. Time to fire up the mock drafts, but still, the sadness of not having real football for 8 months is a tough pill to swallow.
4. Beer Before Liquor
Maybe it's just me, and I know the commenters will probably confirm that for themselves, but fuck if the next day after starting the day prior with steadily drinking brews before the one friend meets up with you and is ready to order shots isn't about as rough of a go physically that I have then I don't know what is.
Have to turn immediately to the power of the pickles and down a few of those with a little bit of the juice to get me back on the road to recovery. Liquor coat to start the day is always key.
3. After 1st and 2nd Round of March Madness
The whole reason for this segment and blog. It's just a day of nothingness. We'd been spoiled by the riches of constant basketball and gambling madness only to turn the channel over to CBS at 12:10 to see Days of Our Lives and realize you have to wait four more days until we get to do it again.
2. After A Wedding (If You're In It Or It's Yours)
Going to a wedding as just a guess can make for the next day to almost be even better. You had a great time the night before, you wake up and get some hungover breakfast, remember the wild unexpected shit that happened at the reception, then get on with your life.
But if you're in the wedding party / it's your wedding then the buildup and excitement looking ahead to that weekend makes for an absolute killer of a letdown the day after. If it's your wedding then you have the entire last year of planning, talking about it, excitement come to a swift close and back to "real life" all the while you're hungover and all your favorite people aren't going to be in the same place together again for god knows how long. Post wedding blues are real.
1. After Christmas
The worst day of the year. Guess it's still the kid in me. I don't know. But December 26 is absolutely useless. It's a fake day of all fake days. No one knows what to do, and everything there is to do is depressing. Taking the decorations and tree down? Hassle and depressing. Going back to Kohl's to return shit? Hassle and depressing. Having to go back to work the morning after the most jolly fucking day of the year? Kill me.
