Night shift
3 Aug 2011
In late August I will begin working the night dispatching shift. I will come in at 11 pm and leave at 6:30 or 7 in the morning. This will afford me maximal flexibility during the day, when I will need to cram in as many classes as I can, some of which have afternoon labs that go until three or four. I will have to sleep from 2 pm to 10pm when I can, and go with fewer than my cherished eight hours of sleep on some days. But I will only be doing that shift for three nights a week, so it should be manageable. I will have to pick up shifts here and there when my class schedule permits.
I am looking forward to the change in lifestyle, since I have continually failed to make the most of my current schedule of evening shifts. In my case it mostly lends itself to sleeping in too late and drinking too much. I think this shift will be healthier for me and allow to get studying done during what are, in my case, my most productive hours: night and early morning. In addition I will have certain times of the day and night to myself.
Take today for instance. I set out on bike at 6:30 pm and visited Theodore Wirth Park, where I hiked about with a pair of binoculars and lots of bug spray. I had the place to myself. I saw a hummingbird and some brightly colored beetles and stopped awhile to contemplate the suddenly clear skies. Then I biked further along the beautiful Greenway to Starbucks and had a depth charge while reading the Star Tribune (more bad news). Then I biked to the hospital and perfected my class schedule for the upcoming semester. And then it was time to begin my shift. When I get out of here in five hours I will head to the lake for a nap and a swim before coming back here for a 1 pm shift. This kind of thing is only possible in the summer. But if I can keep up the biking, and bring myself to study during the moments of downtime here and there, the night shift may benefit my health and productivity over the next school year.
pseudoisaac 