Emergence from the Graveyard

I peek from behind the door on a brand new day; an afternoon; no, an evening. I just woke up from my graveyard shift last night, and now, I prepare for yet another.

Working graveyard shifts is so strange in many ways. By nature, humans aren't nocturnal -- and despite my reputation for being a night owl, going days on end with this schedule is rough on a brotha's body. Every day I wake up, it's as though I'm only half-rejuvenated. It's like I'm sleepwalking... even the food I eat has no taste... the coffee I drink has no effect... I'm caught in some purgatory of existence -- half-alive and half-dead.

But, as I prepare my food for my upcoming shift tonight and hop in the shower to lather down, I am grateful that I have a job -- a career to challenge my knowledge and wits. There are so many people out there that are less fortunate, and that number grows along with the recession. I keep that in mind, although at times I gripe about work conditions, long hours, and hostile "Customers".

In the midst of dealing with unions, contracts, rules, and FAA regulations, my co-workers and I have meshed into real friendships and family. Since we all work under these elements, we oftentimes find ourselves critically analyzing and debating gray-areas that allow a vast flexibility of thought and interpretation. This is what makes my relationship with each of my co-workers a pseudo-marriage of sorts, except there's much less fighting. At the end of the day, no matter how tough, we all realize that we are on the same team... and we have the ability to affect many lives. It's not easy being a Crew Scheduler, especially a Senior Crew Scheduler -- but the rewards can be great... and that's what keeps me going through these insane graveyard shifts.

Last night, I received a phone call from a flight attendant that shook me to the core. From the moment he started explaining his issue, my heart went out to him. I empathized with him. No matter how hectic things can get, it's guys like this that remind me that we are all human beings... and we are in this together.

I try to remember that through all of the situations I deal with, and believe me, on a graveyard shift -- they are plentiful and ultra-weird at times. After all, we are outnumbered over 2,200 to 1. It's almost like a whole different world of issues to deal with, and it's extremely exhausting -- mentally. The flight attendants expect it to happen now, and to happen right -- and any errors on my part can be extremely costly. It's so hard not to stop a bad workday from bleeding over into my personal realm... and that's what makes it all the more exhausting.

Hence, no matter how much sleep I get, until I return to the world of the living, I will forever feel like I'm sleepwalking. When I do return, the taste of food will be wonderful... the coffee flowing through my veins will invigorate... the nights with friends chatting over drinks and 80s dance music... it will all be so sweet to my soul.