My mother used to refer to the "other half" a lot...her "other half" (my father) and "THE other half", meaning people with money. I'm speaking of neither of those "other half-s" in this post. I'm talking about the unusual breed of "DAY PEOPLE"...the other half.
As I mentioned earlier this week, I am being punished (I'm still searching for the culprit responsible LOL) by having to work a string of daytime shifts at my job. I refer to it as "punishment" because I am just not a daytime/morning person...never have been, doubt I ever will be.
My best hours of functioning on the 24 hour clock are generally anytime between 12PM and 12AM. I can't even claim to be fully alert and oriented until around 10:00AM! LOL And my entire work life, I have somehow managed to get (and keep) jobs that afforded me this afternoon scheduling. It's also a much more convenient work schedule for someone who suffers from chronic bouts of insomnia...it just works for me.
The past two mornings, I have had the extremely unpleasant and distasteful horror of waking to the loud, bleeping of an alarm clock...I hate alarm clocks. But I hate being late for work even more, so I have had to rely on this disgusting technology to insure my arrival at my place of employment "on time". Rarely do I ever have to set an alarm clock when I'm working with MY "other half"...the afternoon and evening people who carry on the same tasks as the morning folks, but just later in the day. And I will be blessed with these "day folks" presence for at least 3 more mornings in a row...I'm nearly SICK with "delight" over the prospect of an alarm for three more days. LOL
I've noticed several differences between "the other half" and my crew of derelict, evening worker bees. First of all, day people are grumpy...and I really can't blame them! Who in their right mind would be "cheerful" having to show up day after day, after being awakened by an alarm, throw down a quart of coffee just to act civilized, and THEN try to be pleasant? I certainly wouldn't be.
The "other half" also seem to become much more involved in the politics of the job...they spend several minutes to many hours a day discussing and cussing with administrative figures about this and that. We evening people have the wonderful pleasure of avoiding most contact with the "suits" (what we refer to as our administration group)...consequently, we seem to get more of the actual WORK done during our time at the office.
The "other half" contends with miserable morning traffic, but they also have 100 bus routes to choose when coming and leaving work. When I drive my three miles to work around 2:00PM in the afternoon, my biggest "jam" is generally found when a school bus decides to unload a group of kids on their way home at the end of the day (yes, school does let out quite early here in Seattle!). But I have very limited bus choices, especially when returning home at midnight...unless I want to stand on the corner downtown with a crowd of drunks and deviants.
The "other half" gets all of the good parking. I suppose they SHOULD since they get to work dayum near in the dark! But, then again, I ALWAYS leave in the dark, too, so...LOL
The "other half" almost always gets to leave work on time...and I've discovered that's because THIS "other half" (again, my evening peeps!) comes in dutifully to RELIEVE them...every day...day after day...like clock work. I find it somehow comforting to know someone ELSE will be coming in to clean up or finish whatever mess I have started or created. This must be a luxury to the "other half"...LOL
The "other half" always seems to have time and takes time for lunch...it's a union rule I guess. LOL When working anytime before 2:00PM, it is sanctioned that a sit down meal MUST occur. MY "other half" is lucky if we get to cram down a cold beverage and a bag of chips while running in between cases some evenings. Sitting down to eat has seemed odd to my digestive system these past two days. LOL
I guess if it weren't for the TIMING of working the day hours, I could grow to ENJOY the shift's many perks. If only I could somehow convince Congress to completely revamp our commerce system...but hey, there's always hope! They did sneak in that crappy Day Light Saving time change earlier this year by government vote...LOL...
2 comments:
And because i am also a night person, i was wide awake at my computer at almost 1am when your blog came online here. My mind is very clear right now and my night is just beginning. I plan to work on homework for a class i am taking or read a book. No evidence of MS cognitive problems or fatigue. Yes, we are very different from the day people!
I used to work 11pm-7am...and when a 7-3 person would fill in they were amazed that we didn't have scheduled break times. We often walked into a patients room while we were swallowing our alst bite, cleaned up the patient and then returned to our meal. Oten it would take up hours to get a meal eaten.
Becky
Post a Comment