Author Archives: Tom

iPad love

My iPad has replaced my laptop. I used to sneer and laugh at others when I heard them say it. But now I’m saying it. So it’s true what they say–this thing *is* that good.

The iPad experience couldn’t be better. Screens scroll and transition buttery smooth. There is no shortage of awesome apps. Watching video is perfect.

Why did I resist for so long?

more thoughts about graveyard shift

So I have this new job in Pittsburg. I live in Manteca. My commute is 100 miles per day round trip. I’m not unhappy about this, for several reasons:

    My car gets 36-ish miles per gallon and is fun to drive
    I get extra money for working graveyard and it’s more than enough to cover my gasoline expenses
    I’m traveling at times of day when there is no traffic, so my commute is about an hour each way
    My weekend begins on Tuesday morning at 7:30am and I don’t have to go back to work until Thursday night at 11:00pm, so the way I’m looking at it I get three days off
    Most of my commute is through the countryside, in the shadow of Mt Diablo, and is quite nice
    In the morning when I’m driving home I’m heading East, with the sun in my face, and it’s glorious

So I’m really liking my new shift. I’m a night owl by nature, so it didn’t take long for me to get used to staying up all night.

Feels good, man.

Graveyard shift

So I started my new job last Sunday. Same company, different department. And, a much different shift–graveyard.

Last time I worked graveyard was 20 years ago, when I was on temporary duty due to injury, in the Navy. So this shift isn’t completely new to me.

I start work at 11pm and end my shift at 7:30am. If you’ve never worked these hours then you won’t know how badly it can mess with your head.

Here are some examples:

    I go to work one day and go home the next
    When entering dates on the computer, the day changes in the middle of your shift
    When entering times on your computer, particularly if you’re used to working days, the PM to AM shift can get confusing
    Instead of going to sleep and waking up when it’s dark, you’re doing it during daylight
    Concepts like “tomorrow morning” and “last night” occur during your 8 hour shift
    I’ll go to sleep, and when I wake up it’s still the same day

So you can imagine I’m pretty messed up right now. It’s been about a week, so I’m still getting used to the hours. I got my first solid 8 hours of sleep yesterday afternoon.

I still don’t know what day it is.