ATP, where art thou?

Hmmm...I open up a new blank page to write to you about the trivial adventures of my life, and I've decided that it doesn't matter what I've done recently. Currently, I want only to take a nice loooooong nap curled up in a blanket with the fans in our apartment turned off. That's right, it's actually kind of chilly outside today, so no beach for me. :(

I tackled those double night shifts what seems like a century ago. The happenings of those odd hours are all simply kind of a blur. With a bit of a push, the busy work of the job is completed at about 11 p.m., so the remaining 7 hours of the shift are spent doing minor cleaning things and quick bed checks, but mostly just sitting there, attempting to stay awake. I decided I would make use of the forced awake and quiet time by getting in some quality MCAT study time....yeah right! Are you kidding me? Do you think I was actually alert enough to read such dry information at 2:00 in the morning? Not so much. So what to do? Make use of my first ever five hour energy shot of course. I waited a couple of minutes like the bottle said was needed for the chemicals to take effect and felt as though nothing happened. I angrily shut my book thinking, what a waste, and traipsed off to check on some sleeping residents. Low and behold, I returned to my table a mere 15 minutes later and without hardly realizing it, was alert and focused for the next four hours. Six a.m. rolled around and though disoriented and in a frenzy to go home, I was feeling quite accomplished. I even stopped at walmart and did some early morning grocery shopping on the way. Once home, I crawled into bed, though it was already bright outside, and attempted to do the whole sleep during the day thing. I was largely unsuccessful. It was simply too bright and it was a restless/agitated sleep. I got up a mere five hours later to head to the beach with my roommates, but as luck would have it, I found that I felt sick to my stomach and was incredibly shaky....left over energy shot fragments? I ate some food and dragged myself out of the house anyway. Then, rather than taking a nap before round number two, I freshened up and headed to church right before...

Round two: I assisted a few residents with showers, went around with the juice and snack cart, did some cleaning, threw in some laundry....things were running smoothly. I decided another energy shot would not be the best thing for my body, so I tackled the night on my own dwindled supply of ATP. The hours of 4 and 5 a.m. were COMPLETELY MISERABLE! I actually got up and paced around the halls. I drank an excessive amount of water. I attempted to make a mental to-do list for that day, but my eyes mechanically fell shut and I nearly fell off my chair. I got back up for some more pacing. I went outside to sweep the porch. I sat down and fidgeted painfully because every thirty seconds my eyes would flutter uncontrollably shut. How I made it through, I have not the slightest idea. I just know that I nearly cried tears of elation when I was finally back in my apartment curled up in my bed - 6:30 a.m. My messed up time schedules were the death of me though. I got up at 12:30 and snapped on the phone to my poor innocent mother. I was crabby and restless and so proceeded to clean the entire apartment to divert my frustrations and exhaustion.

I spent yesterday and this morning at a "job skills readiness class" for my job at Avera. I think the night shifts and resultant sleep debt are catching up. It was a miserable day and a half. As if the class was not boring enough the way it was, I once again found myself fidgeting uncontrollably in a vain attempt to keep my eyes open. I mean seriously, we had to watch cheesy videos about proper grooming and stress management and communication. BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. Oh well, class mastered, I now finally meet with my supervisor at the hospital this afternoon to set up a work schedule. I don't know what I'll do with myself once I have an actual set schedule again...

Oh, and Pine Lake Estates? It's day shifts for me this weekend! Perhaps my brain and body will be a bit less angry with me for a 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. adventure.

Until next time, tackle those shifts, have fun, fun, fun, exercise, clean, and SLEEP in the spare moments!