My ass has been dragging all day long today. Last night I wound up my latest bout with on-call, and this involved a customer “cut” (telecommunications jargon for bringing a new customer onto our phone network) at midnight last night. The cut took until just before 3:00 a.m., I was in bed at 3:15 a.m., having wedged myself between a surprisingly silently sleeping Earl and a cat with surly claws.
I was to be to work at 9 a.m. today, but I opted to take some comp time and go to work at 10:30 instead. I was relieved to awake at 8:30 a.m., having slept straight through since going to bed without being interrupted by additional on-call pages, but that still only amounted to a little over five hours of sleep.
So I yawned my way through work today. Our team leader suggested I take Friday off with comp time, as I had accumulated quite a bit of it, but no, I was going to tough it out and take the overtime instead. After all, Apple did come out with new products this week.
After work Earl and I met up with my mother and sister for dinner in Syracuse. While we were on our way, I started falling asleep in the passenger seat of the car (Earl had wisely chosen to drive), and it was then that I decided that I need to take tomorrow as a comp day after all.
Hello three day weekend!
So now we’re back from supper. It’s a little after 10:00 p.m. Fueled by five hours sleep, you think I’d be exhausted by now. But no, I’m wide awake. I’m ready to take on the world. I’m ready to make another movie.
All of this energy just reinforces what I’ve known forever; I was not meant to live as a “morning person” or even a person that works the traditional 9 to 5 shift. No, I’m meant to be a second shift kind of guy. But that’s not going to happen in the forseeable future. I dread the sounds of alarm clocks. Maybe I should get one of those natural light, nudge you awake type of alarm clocks that play a few bird noises, simulate a breathtaking sunrise and arouse with a pleasant aromatherapy type gas.
I blame part of this schedule unsynchronization on the time of year. This is when the air feels full of wonder and mystery. Darkness blankets the day earlier and lingers longer. The winds are crisp and cool, yet I find them comforting. I thrive in the magic of the wind this time of year.
I can’t wait for daylight saving time to end. I’ll feel more in sync then.
