Thursday, December 31, 2009

The Graveyard Shift

I've been working the "Graveyard Shift" for quite a number of years. The origin of the phrase "Graveyard Shift" comes from the 19th century problem of accidentally burying people who were still alive. To prevent this from happening, the story goes, caskets were equipped with a bell-ringing device enabling a waking "corpse" to notify the world that they were no longer dead. The graveyard attendants who remained vigilant throughout the day and night worked the graveyard shift.

Working the night shift is a very silent and sometimes creepy experience, much like a graveyard would be. Of course it doesn't help when you work in a converted church! I think the main reason I like it is that it's quiet. It's a good time to relax. I am not rushed; I have 8 hours to do 1 hour worth of work! I have time to have a good conversation with a guest, read a book, or even do a bit of writing.

I remember a guest who we had here at Daffodil Place a while back, that was just fascinated with the fact that I enjoyed the night shift. He thought I was crazy. He, himself worked the overnight many times throughout his life and truly hated it. He said that when he finally went home he was going to tell all his friends about me because they would not believe him. I told him to tell them to give me a call and I'll set them straight.

Honestly I really don't find it much different than working during the day. Sure I do have times when get really sleepy at night. But for the most part, if you can keep your mind occupied with something interesting, you can usually stay alert.

I basically have switched my day and night. People are always asking me how I sleep. My shift is from 12 am to 8 am, Monday to Friday. During the week I get off work at 8 and I am usually home by 8:30; if I don't stick around to have a chat with the day shift. With no traffic, it usually takes me 20 minutes to drive to and from work. Most mornings I go home and get my daughter, Madison out of bed (unless she is in school that morning), get her dressed and breakfast. I usually try to watch a little news and try to get to bed between 9:30 and 10. My room is very cold (no heat on in winter, fan in summer) and I wear ear plugs, which allows me to get pretty good sleep. I wake up between 5 and 6; that is unless my wife wakes me up for something stupid. Like the day she woke me at 12 noon to tell me I have to get up early at 3pm!

On the weekend I get off at 8 am on Friday and I will usually stay up all day and then have a great sleep (like a normal person) that night. I will stay up late on Saturday night and get up early on Sunday. Then I will go to bed around 3-4 pm on Sunday and get up again around 9pm to be at work for 12.

This is basically the routine I have used, even when I was working in Jasper and Banff, Alberta. I really don't understand why everyone don't want this position, due to the many benefits; off during the day so if you need any errands run you can do them. You never see the bosses, so you are basically your own boss. You can usually get out of those boring staff meetings, just for the fact that you are sleeping! But the number one reason is that you usually get paid 10 - 15% more than your counter parts on the day shift!

I will admit though that I love the fact that when I am driving home, there are hundreds of cars driving the opposite way, who I am sure wish they were in my position; they are just starting work for the day and I am going home to climb into bed! You gotta love it!

Monday, November 2, 2009

The Effects of H1N1

I received my H1N1 shot on Thursday evening. I was not one of those "healthy"  people who seemed to jump ahead of everyone, almost in a panic to get the shot. I work in an area where there are very sick people, so I was considered a "health care worker" and was able to get my shot early. My wife has not got her shot and my daughter, who just turned 5 years old, will wait to get the shot in school. I believe there are many other people out there that should be allowed to get the shot if they wish due to them having illnesses that could be detrimental to their overall health.

It is now Monday morning so I have had the shot over 3 days ago, and the effects are still with me. Immediately after getting the shot, my arm felt like someone took a hammer to it. I was surprised by the amount of pressure the needle had as it was going in. About 15 minutes after, I had trouble lifting my arm. Later that evening I had to go to work.

As the night proceeded on, I could move my arm, although it seemed to hurt even more. About 3 am (roughly 9 hours after the shot) all the energy totally drained from my body. I started aching all over and just felt really bad. It was a real struggle to drive home that morning and really I probably shouldn't have been on the road. But since this is St. John's who would have noticed! But that's a whole other topic!

I managed to get a nap when I got home Friday morning and was up again by noon. All day I felt like crap. My arm was still hurting and then it started to spread to my other arm and then my legs. Soon all my limbs were aching just as much as the original arm in which I received the shot. I struggled on with no improvement. I went to bed Friday night about 9:30 pm, then the sleeplessness and hallucinations began.

I would sleep for about 15 minute intervals and every time I would have the same recurring dream; a nurse would put a needle into my car tires and let all the air out of them. When I would wake up I would get hallucinations. One was a little boy standing at the bedside saying, "You'll be alright". Another was that my dresser was a large truck and I was lying in it's path.

Before getting up on Saturday morning I remember thinking,"My God, have they injected me with LSD or some other hallucinogenic drug?" It was quite the trip I was on. I started taking some Tylenol as all Saturday I had a very bad headache; probably from lack of sleep.

Thankfully I was able to get a good sleep on Saturday night and my arm and body stopped aching. All Sunday I still had a headache, although not quite as bad as on Saturday.

Tonight while sitting here at work I still don't feel 100% and still have a touch of a headache, but I think by the end of Monday I should be back to normal, I hope.

Now I can say officially that if I did not work in an area where there are very ill people, I would not have gotten the shot. In my case the effects were brutal. I still believe the media has blown it all out of proportion; for example in 2008, 2500 people in Canada died from effects of regular flu. To me that is way more scarier than the effects from H1N1; so far.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

To Be Stuck Or Not To Be Stuck...That Is The Question

Everyone is asking these days: "Will I get the H1N1 flu vaccine?" I'm still debating that myself although I probably will get it considering where I work; Daffodil Place, where everyone is seriously ill and someone around them with an airborne illness could be fatal. I also have a 5 year old, who is very susceptible to getting the flu and possibly H1N1. But I have a problem with the way this H1N1 flu is being projected.

I believe the press has blown the situation way out of proportion. For instance, the United Nations Health Agency has reported to date just over 4735 deaths worldwide directly related to the H1N1 flu. On the other hand, since the beginning of this year, 2009, the World Health Organization has reported almost 500,000 deaths, worldwide, directly related to just seasonal flu. So why the panic in the press? Even the Centers for Disease Control has reported that on average, 36,000 people die every year in the United States from just seasonal flu.

At first when I heard about a vaccine being available, I thought that it was going to be distributed by family doctors. The doctors could then charge their exorbitant price to the provincial health program and make a lot of money. I was surprised when they announced it would be distributed by public health nurses and it would be free of charge. 

So it would seem that the governments will be absorbing the cost of this vaccine. But I still have to ask why all the panic? Do the government and health agencies know something that they are not telling us? It does seem that by all accounts the H1N1 flu is going to get worse before it gets better but will we really be looking at the same counts of deaths that the seasonal flu has brought on throughout the last year. If so then maybe I'll start to panic. Until then I guess I'll have to get stuck and see what happens in the coming months.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

RNC (Really Not Coming)

On July 1st I went to see the Canada Day Fireworks in St. John's. I went up to Confederation Hill and had a very good view of the show; except for the fog that is. As soon as the show started, drivers started using the Prince Phillip Parkway as a parking lot! Cars were just stopping in the lanes and for a short time sat there with their emergency flashers on. After a couple of minutes, some just shut their lights off altogether and got out of their cars!

Very soon the sound of screeching tires were evident as cars were approaching and realizing at the last second that the road they were driving (speed limit of 70 KPH) had parked cars. In my area there were approximately 100 people sitting on the grass and some of them began to call the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary to report the dangerous situation. We waited but the RNC never showed up! I called also and the operator sounded like she was pissed because so many people were calling. She sighed and told me "we already have someone coming to the area". We waited, and waited, and then the fireworks ended and everyone went home. Thankfully there was no accident. The RNC never showed up.

This is not my first experience with them not responding to a complaint; and I'm only one person; how many more are having the same problem?

One day I called in a complaint about a driver who was all over the road and stopping at green lights and just being a danger on the road. This driver was talking on a cell phone the whole time. The police did get a statement from me and they said they would be in touch. A month went by and a received a call from the Officer that took my staement and I was informed that the driver of the car (I had included the make and licence plate number) had used a false address for his insurance, registation and licence! I was informed that there was nothing the police could do to find this person! I have heard nothing since and that was over a year ago.

I have also called in a complaint about a dangerous driver who came from a local high school and started speeding, weaving in and out of cars and even playing chicken with a dump truck on the highway. I called the RNC, gave the licence number, gave my name and told them I would be willing to go to court. The police never came and never contacted me.

On my way to work I saw a possible drunk driver leaving a local bar parking lot. I eventually ended up behind him and he was all over the road and a few times almost ended up in the ditch. I called the RNC, gave the licence number, gave my name and told them I would be willing to go to court. The police never came and never contacted me.

I find it strange on why the Publicity Officer would come on the news and talk about how important the public's help is when it comes to reporting crime. Why would anyone waste their time calling the RNC when they are not going to show up?

I have spent many years in Alberta and have worked as a security officer and the RCMP were always there whenever they were called. Maybe if I was a security officer the RNC would respond and take it more seriously. Maybe the RNC just don't respond to ordinary people. One thing for sure is that there are not enough police on the road in the St. John's area. If I do call them in the future, in the back of my mind I will feel like they are really not coming.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

You Are Valuable

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air.

"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value....."