skinnymofo

Now i know i cant be the only graveyard worker who is surrounded by people who just dont understand.
I leave my cellphone on during the day incase of emergency and people love to abuse it. everything from im stopping by just to let you know beforehand, to can you give me a ride somewhere?
Anyone else have everyone around them just not understand that our time is exactly the same except am is pm?
i just reamed out half the people i know last week about this answering their question to (How can you sleep to 5pm, our AM, you should be up by now you lazy bastard?)
Anyway to promote discussion and have this not just be a rant, what is some of the stupidest things someone has asked you for during your sleeping hours?
this is open to everyone, but (im guessing) this happens much more often to people on 3rd and/or swing shift than people who work daytime hours.

amonkie

Been on graveyard for about a month, and I haven't really had this problem with my cell phone because I just do not answer my phone. With the house phone, however, I finally unplugged the phone I had in my room because it kept waking me up, and the calls are never for me. It's more for the other people to hear the phone is ringing and then pick up the nearest phone to where they are.


Sunday my brother called me in the afternoon asking where he could buy scantrons, and what cracks me up is they call... but then say "oh, did I wake you up? I'm sorry" when they already know that I'm working graveyard.

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Calling from deep in the heart, from where the eyes can't see and the ears can't hear, from where the mountain trails end and only love can go... ~~~ Three Rivers Hare Krishna

BigBen

Or how about your regular 8 to 4 co-workers looking down on you like you are less of a person?

Hey, we are doing the same job, the same money, the same responsibilities. Why act like I just shit in your mouth because I work midnight to 8?

It is a tough go when I worked shift work up here in Canada... The daylight hours during the winters can be from 9 to about 6, so it is possible (I have done it, unfortunately) to work from late November to mid March without seeing the sun at all. Talk about Seasonal Affective Disorder.

I hate the telemarketers that do not respect shift workers. In barracks, there was a large red sign posted on the shift workers door reading:

CAUTION
The person in this room works off-hours
Knock on this door only in an emergency situation
(Is it important enough to wake up your boss at 3 am?)
By order of the Base Commander

That usually kept things in perspective.

The other thing: Mess hall timings! How many times has a shift worker wanted toast and eggs at supper, or a nice juicy steak at breakfast? My stomach never got used to that. WTF: Beef Stroganoff for breakfast?

I am united with you, our pale skinned bretheren! (seriously, after a while, we can get pretty pale looking)

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3.141592654
Hey, if you are impressed with my memorizing pi to 10 digits, you should see the size of my penis.

maleficent

way way back, I opted to take over as manager of the overnight crew (basically a crew of convicts and half wits) as they unloaded trucks and stocked shelves in a pretty large retail store. It actually wasn't bad working 9pm - 7am 5 nights a week -- but one of my roomates thought me awfully strange when i'd get home from work, at 7:30 am and they are pouring coffee and drinking oj and I'd crack open a beer... (it was my dinner time...)

i actually loved that shift, because I no longer had to interface with both customers at christmas or with my idiot boss... and the convict laborers made really good coffee... and were incredibly protective of me.. which was sweet... in a strange sort of way... even after they saw me lose my temper more than once..

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bobillydylan

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a "bone-house" and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be "saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer."

Just thought you would like to know where the name came from...

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Yes and only if my own true love was waiting,
And i could hear her heart a softly pounding,
Yes and only if she was lying by me!
Then i would lie in my bed once again.

flat5

I thought that sounded really great but had to check it :-)
This site says, not so.

http://www.libraryspot.com/know/graveyard.htm

bad jane

i also work nights and it never ceases to amaze me how many people don't get it. and i am not the kind of person who can just go back to sleep. once i'm up, i'm up for at least a few hours if not the entire day.

my family will wake me up for damn near anything--asking if i want something to eat to seeing if i'll run some errands for them (since i'm "off" during business hours and they have to work).

but i think the most absurd for me comes from my co-workers. i get calls in the middle of the day asking if i'll pick up a shift--ummm, hello? i worked last night and am trying to sleep, now is not the time to ask me for a favor.

the absolute worst though, came from one of the managers at the hospital where i work. staff regularly has various training we are required to go through per hospital policy. the new manager on my old unit scheduled all of her night shift staff to attend a particular series of training that lasted a full week with 8 hour days on top of working their regular full-time hours. day and afternoon shift staff were rotated (they couldn't work the floor while in training). when night shift objected to having class from 8 am to 5 pm and then reporting to work for a 12 hour shift at 7 pm, the manager was really confused why they refused to do it. when they pointed out they would have less than 2 hours off, she replied "well, you'll be in class all day. i'm not asking you to actually work that many hours." when asked when they were supposed to sleep (and i'm not making this up) she said, "what do you mean? don't you sleep at night?"

Gabbyness

Bad Jane - that is just plain ridiculous.

I feel for you guys, a good friend of mine works 11pm-7am and I must admit, there are occasions where I'll call him at 3pm totally unaware of the fact that it's more like 5am for him.

We day-dwellers just can't comprehend what you guys go through!

I tend to agree with Mal as well. I don't think I would mind the night-shift, seems more relaxing and less hassle than dealing with people during the day. I for one always chose duty shifts that went from 8pm-8am over the am-pm one, since I would prefer peaceful serenity when I'm working

Question for you guys - Do you ever find that your circadian rhythm is screwed up beyond repair? My friend complains of constant feels of tiredness, that he attributes to his schedule. Would you agree?

bad jane

i don't feel tired all the time. i do have problems sleeping, but that goes back to childhood and has nothing to do with my work schedule. for whatever reasons, i sleep better during the day than i do the night. even when i worked day shift, i never got used to it. i would work a 12 hour day only to go home and be unable to sleep at night. i'd get tired around 5 or 6 in the morning, when i'd have to start getting ready to go back to work.

but a very good friend does feel more tired working nights. if she didn't have a child still in school, she'd likely work days. she said she just feels like she sleeps better when she sleeps at night. she wakes up more rested and has more energy through the day.

Suzz04

Wow... I thought I was the only one that saw this type of problem.

My boyfriend works the "graveyard" shift. What's so funny is that one of his friends works that as well. And that friend still calls at 4pm which in reverse time would be 4am for the boyfriend.

I have had people call to wake him up with me refusing to do so then being called a wuss and stupid for not doing it. I was even told once to tell my boyfriend to "kiss my ass" when he gets grouchy over being woken up. And that came from his best friend that works that same shift!

I've never worked that shift myself, but I have sleeping problems. Sometimes I go through spells where my nights run well into the days for a sleeping schedule. It's a nusiance and annoyance for those who don't understand the graveyard shift or sleep problems.

Even several of my family members, exception of my father who understands, think that my boyfriend is a lazy, no good piece of crap. All because he sleeps during the day. I can't complain. He helps take care of me by sharing some of the money he earns from his job even though he doesn't live with me whenever I might need it.

Ananas

I loved working the late shift or graveyard shift. It was a lot more peaceful so I was able to accomplish so much more. I like the night hours anyway, so I'm usually up all night, sleep during the day.

Most people have no clue what it means to night workers to be awakened during their sleep time. We're supposed to be available for running daytime errands, picking up their children from daycare, meeting them for drinks, etc. Many learned after getting chewed out a few times not to call me during the day (I also learned to disconnect the phones and the doorbell). But friends and coworkers aren't the worst problem: it's the garbage men, the street repair crews with their jackhammers, and the other dayworkers who were the bane of my existence.

The drawbacks: loss of social life, aversion to sunlight, and a habit of eating "breakfast" foods at midnight. Never bothered my circadian rhythm; I must have vampiric tendencies.

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it's gritty

killeena

I work 12am - 12pm, so most of my friends and family are starting to figure out that the best times to get a hold of me is either a little after noon, or a little before midnight. My girlfriend (who lives with me) however, decides to wake me up yesterday at 4 pm because the newest WoW patch is downloading slowly. Uh, too bad, is that really worth waking me up for? Grrrr.

I am really not a nice person to wake up, so I feel sorry for anyone who has to do it.

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Freedom would be not to choose between black and white but to abjure such prescribed choices. - Theodor Adorno

Daknjak

No question about it. I worked the night shift for about 8 years, and have been working days for 3 years, and I still have those night hours working on my schedule. For instance, right now it is 12:37 am, and I am still not tired even though I work at 8am. I won't really start to get tired till around 2am. The hours I worked really took a toll on my at that time new marriage. My wife worked 1st shift, so I would get home around 7am, stay up till 11 or 12, and then sleep till my wife got home at 5pm. Never got more than 6 hours of sleep, and 4 hours was more or less the norm. It was hell. Fridays were the worst. I usually ended staying up all day, and sleeping at night. It is not natural to change your sleep habits like that.

I did 3rd shift for the extra money when I started working, and I have to tell you, I never got used to it. I was tired all the time. When I was home, when I was working. I worked factory work in the Kohler plant in Kohler WI (bathroom fixtures, faucets, toilets, ets...) I worked the polishing wheels for the brass faucets, and they are nothing more than giant belt sanders on large wheels. I worked with 2 other guys in our "cell" as they were called, and we all at least once fell asleep and put a body part into the wheels. They can take your knee down to the meat (or worse) in less than a second through your pants and anything else.

Now I am rambling. Anyhoo. 3rd shift sucks, no one really understands why you need to sleep when you do, or so much, and if you do it long enough, it is hard to get over it.

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On a Mens room ceiling: "Why are you looking up here? The joke is in your hand."

"He who laughs last thinks slowest."

bobillydylan

What does Michael Quinion know lol i remember this story from school!! History lessons eh they teach us nothing

__________________
Yes and only if my own true love was waiting,
And i could hear her heart a softly pounding,
Yes and only if she was lying by me!
Then i would lie in my bed once again.

Johnny Pyro

Seven years and still going. I feel like a vampire. Oh shit, it's 8:00am, I gotta eat supper and go to bed. *SIGH*

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"From delusion lead me to truth, from darkness lead me to light, from death lead me to eternal life. - Sheriff John Wydell

pan6467

I've been a night owl for most of my adult life.

So used to it that I can go a day or 2 consecutively without sleep. Especially now when I work 8 hours then go to school from 7:45 to 1:15 (and then stop back into work for awhile to give a group or help a client)..... looooooong days, but well worth it because I help people and do what I love.

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I just love people who use the excuse "I use/do this because I LOVE the feeling/joy/happiness it brings me" and expect you to be ok with that as you watch them destroy their life blindly following. My response is, "I like to put forks in an eletrical socket, just LOVE that feeling, can't ever get enough of it, so will you let me put this copper fork in that electric socket?"

absorbentishe

I haven't worked 3rds in about 8 years, and I miss it greatly. That shift suits my body the best, and can't wait to find a job that pays me, and wants me work it! I have trouble getting up at 6:30, 7, 7:30 am, when I should just be getting to bed.

I never ran into people that looked down on me for working 3rd's, they just thought it was weird, and how can you do it.

dougiefresh

I get the chance to wakeup law enforcement officers in the middle of night to go and check on why somebody in BFE dialed 911 and then hung up. Good times.

Johnny Pyro

Does anybody on their days off get back into a normal sleep schedule? You know, go to bed at a reasonable time and then wake up kinda early. I don't. My three days off, I'm still a vampire. I can never seem to get off the graveyard mentality.

__________________
"From delusion lead me to truth, from darkness lead me to light, from death lead me to eternal life. - Sheriff John Wydell

TM875

I loved working nights. No dealing with stupid customers, no managers bitching at you, and you can basically do whatever you want - as long as your work gets done.

I worked as an overnight doughnut fryer for about 5 years, and life was never better. "Work" was just 8 hours of hanging out with my buddies (the rest of the night crew was awesome), smoking, and eating pizza. Life, and work, couldn't have been better.

The sleep issue was never a problem. For me, it gave me a chance to a) never see the woman and b)take care of the dog during the day. I know plenty of guys that have kids that say it's the best - they get to send their kids off to school in the morning, and then sleep all day without being bothered. Basically, night work is just reverse life.

I never noticed a "rhythm" change - on my days off, I'd sleep 'normal' hours (bed at 2am, sleep until 10). That was partly because of the way I slept. I'd come home at 6:30am, sleep until 10:30, do errands and such, sleep from 3 to 7:30, wake up and have dinner, and go to work at 10pm. I never got 8 hours of sleep in a row, but I was never tired or felt like I missed out on anything. Plus, I always got to have my drunken friends come visit me at 2:30am after the bars closed.

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"I've made only one mistake in my life. But I made it over and over and over. That was saying 'yes' when I meant 'no'. Forgive me."

skinnymofo

i did for a while, but now ill just stay up to 9 or 10am and then sleep, wake up for lunch and or dinner and be just ready to start the night life. it occasionally gets hard on mondays (sunday nights) when ive worked my ass off all week and then put my body through even harder partying.
aside from losing my daily social life and it being harder to get things done on weekends. Graveyard is the best shift ive ever worked

Johnny Pyro

Oh yeah, I agree. I get 10% differental and paid thirty minute lunches, plus three more fifteen minute breaks. Twelve hour shift, 6pm-6am, Mon-Thurs.
Fourty-eight hour week, because I work night shift, we get a two hour bonus, so we get paid for fifty. Plus 10 hours ovetime, at time in a half.

I not a morning person, so night shift is definitley my thing. It does have alot of perks. Alot of people don't understand it, but it does work for me in the long run. If or when I get a different job, I'm going for nights!

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"From delusion lead me to truth, from darkness lead me to light, from death lead me to eternal life. - Sheriff John Wydell

G5_Todd

i dont answer my house phone at all when i sleep i cant even hear it from my bedroom....

but my cellphone i have to leave on for work to contact me and....they usually call me just as i fall asleep

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"....and when you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy."

-General Franks

Demeter

I worked graves for three years. It took a year for me to learn to sleep in the day. And of course, like many of you, the incessant estering form people. Being I'm a single Mom, I'd have to leave the phone on in case there were any emergencies at school or anything. Weekends, with them home made it harder to catch Zs.
Of course meetings, appointments held at daytime hours were a drag. I'd either have to stay up late or get u early. My Mom would never get it. Why I was so dog-tired. "Imagine going to the dentist at 3 in the morning", I'd tell her.
I really enjoyed it, but circumstances led me to retur to day shifts. I miss the nights. I miss the "night people", those ones tha, like me, were some sort of daytime rejects that thrived after-hours.

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I am not bound to please thee with my answers.
William Shakespeare