Monday, April 11, 2011

a pleasant transition

I get new hours at work next week when we get back from San Antonio.  I have been the opener at work now for two months.  I told myself I could learn to like the 4:45 a.m. start time.  I fooled myself into thinking that because I used to wake up at ungodly hours a few days a month when I was working for United that I would be fine.  A night owl like me can never get used to a schedule like that, I learned the hard way.  In honor of my last four days of wake up hell, I made a list of the things I am not going to miss about waking up well before the crack of dawn.

-3:30 a.m. alarm blaring.  It never got easier.

-Rainy/snowy/super cold mornings, not because of the weather but because of the increased homeless people on the train.  At 4:00 a.m., I like my personal space.

-The fact that my morning commute coincides with the closing time of the late night bars.  I won't miss being bothered by drunk people almost every morning.  I'll spare you the details of things I saw and heard.

-The homeless people that sleep on the doorsteps of the property.  Kicking out homeless people is scary and unfortunately it is my job.

-The rude man that comes every morning and still has no social skills to even acknowledge me even though I see him and check him in every morning.

-The several heart attacks I have every morning when I encounter something unexpected in my path (see above: homeless people, see also:  bunnies, rats, cats, people on my street).

-Falling asleep in yoga class.  For someone who wants to become a yoga instructor, this was the thing that probably stung me the most and was a huge part of my motivation to ask for an hours change.  It may be the most relaxing hour of my day but that doesn't mean I want to sleep through it.

-The groggy/dehydrated feeling I get every afternoon after laying down for a nap, no matter how long or short said nap is.  This was another area that I was hugely mistaken about.  Afternoon naps aren't so fun when they are mandatory to function.  And pretty much the entire time I spend between waking and going back to sleep for the "night" is groggy and cranky.  

-The longer commute I have because my preferred train line isn't even running when I need to go to work.  

-The second cup of coffee that has become necessary and the cost associated with that.



I could probably think of quite a few other things that suck about it.  I generally spend the entire time from leaving my front door until I'm safely locked inside the building at work freaking out that something bad will happen to me.  You know the saying that nothing good happens after midnight is so true!  There are lots of sketchy people I encounter along the way to work each morning.  Even the few people that I have come to "know" from riding the same train every morning are semi-shady characters themselves.  

I'm thankful to still have a job and to start living normal grown up hours again instead of my current todder bedtime of 8:30!

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