Cup of Coffee

July 25, 2013: The Stupid Mid Shift

100 Comments

I've got one of those nine hour shifts that kills the day at both ends. If I'm going to do that, I'd rather just dispense with all pretenses of free time and work open to close.

100 thoughts on “July 25, 2013: The Stupid Mid Shift”

  1. When I worked retail, the shift I hated most was 12pm to 8:30pm, usually followed by an open the next morning.

    1. The most annoying shift I ever worked was the evening IT position at Unicel. 2pm-midnight, and then on every other Wednesday, I had to turn around and be back in to work by 8am the next day.

      1. Ewwww.

        I've been in the 9-5 office thing for like 10 years now, but when I worked at the arcade I always got stuck with the open-4:00pm shift on Saturdays. This was hell. From 10-11 nothing happened. Once the food court opened at 11 it would be completely bonkers until 4:00. I hated it so much.

        1. Mine was similarly inconsistently paced. Mostly minor tasks that the day crew didn't have time to get to, but there were two or three things that had (had had had) to be done in an exact way at an exact time every night.

          Also, since I've got mild insomnia, I'd drive a half an hour home, unwind for an hour, then lay in bed for a half an hour, and by the time all was said and done every night, I'd be getting a little over three hours of sleep. Most days, I'd sleep until noon, if not later.

    2. Friday-Saturday in a restaurant kitchen is pretty brutal, too: 3pm-1am, close down the bars, back at 9am to start prep for lunch, power through until 1am Sunday morning. It's a young man's game.

      1. yeah, i've worked those crazy, exhausting restaurant hours. not 100% the same, but one of the worst was weekends at the block E jimmy john's. finally getting off work at 5am after spending 2 hours cleaning up after the drunks that assaulted us until 3am.

        strangely, i reaaaalllly miss that stuff sometimes.

        1. That sounds a lot like the DQ in Somerset, WI during Edgfest/Ozzfest/Whathaveyoufest. I most remember one Ozzfest where I started at 4 pm and we didn't leave until 4 am because the owners of the DQ also owned the River's Edge, so they'd use the tubing bus stop to get people to and from the campgrounds/concert area. It was crushingly busy with drunk concert-goers until about 2:30-3:00 am. There were a couple people that had the 8 am opening shift the next day, too. To this day, I hate both the concerts there and the people who own the grounds the concerts are held at.

          Also, I totally get what you mean about missing all that, sometimes. I think it's nostalgia for a less-responsible time of our lives. I never had to worry about getting laid off, or any of the other trappings of adult life.

          1. I think it’s nostalgia for a less-responsible time of our lives.

            i'll admit that's certainly a part of it, but also, it was a lot more fun than what i'm doing now.

            1. I gotta tell you that I never long to work at Perkins, ever. Now, to be 22 years old again? Yeah, that would be cool.

      2. Except for my example, it was never that bad in fast food. Course, it took me way longer to learn how to cook for myself, so there was that disadvantage to cooking frozen stuff.

      3. I used to work at Perkins on weekend nights: 5PM, begin dinner rush. That slowed down; clean kitchen, do prep and light cooking until bar rush. Work like mad from midnight until 2:00 or so. Clean kitchen; leave about 3AM. The worst thing about that was that bar rush started about 7 hours into the shift. I was already very tired before it started, especially on Fridays, because I had to go to class in the morning and study in the afternoon. By 3AM, I'd probably been awake for 20 hours. So yeah, young man's game.

    3. 10:45 to 7:15 today, which is right there with it. I wouldn't be bugged if it was going to be a busy day, but it's just a weekday and I work in a department where big dollars are spent by few customers. I'll have at least three hour-long stretches of not ringing out a single person.

  2. Of all the Twins offseason acquisitions, "Big Pelf" was the one I was most interested in. I'm glad he finally feels 100% and I hope he can be an anchor in the rotation for a while.

  3. @CH - Here's my brother's answer to our question regarding "Airmen"

    It depends on the context. We are the only branch that uses a rank to also describe all members of that branch. So if someone uses it to describe us as Airmen (people who are members of the Air Force), it is all cool. If someone calls an officer by the wrong rank, then it is different. It is pretty easy to differentiate which one is being discussed, all one must do is pay attention. I know some people are annoyed by it because they do use a rank to describe the branch as a whole, but I am have not seen that to be a prevalent viewpoint.

            1. Yes, as are "Leatherneck" and "Devil Dog." Any of those terms can be used by Marines to belittle (when used by superiors) or mock (when used by equals or subordinates) one another.

              When used by members of other branches, they're either terms used in the spirit of fraternal rivalry, or provocative pejoratives, depending on mood, activity, and levels of alcohol consumption.

              In any case, they should never be used by civilians, because the usage freights meaning which civilians probably don't understand.

                1. Actually, I kinda like that. Several aunts and cousins still call me "Billy." My grandpa apparently still has childhood friends who call him "Billy," though he's definitely a "Bill," as was Pops Hayes.

                  I don't know if the Dread Pirate ever went by "Billy," but it seems like there's a period between, oh, fifth grade and your late-twenties where "Billy" just doesn't fit. After that, though, it's kind of fun to be a Billy again.

                  2. If people said Bill or Billy around me, I don't respond. I have no idea they're referring to me.

                    3. People occasionally say "Bob" to me, which gets no reaction at all.

                      The most bizzare instance of that happened once when I was looking for an internship in college. I got a call where the person asked for Bob. I told her there wasn't a Bob at this number. She asked if I was Robert (redacted). I said yes, and she said that Bob was an acceptable nickname for Robert, and was I available for a phone interview. I said "No", thanked her, and hung up.

                      The funniest thing about the story is that she was from Honeywell, who I was later hired by...

              1. Yeah, though more typically a low ranking "top-sider"* nowadays.

                *Not this...though close if you were a "Snipe" or "Bilge Rat" like I was.

                1. Related to "top-sider," my Corpsman buddy once explained to me how the abbreviation for Boatswain's Mate adequately described the appeal of the rating. I think one of my fellow Devil Dogs quickly reminded him that he was a "Penis Machinist."

                  The good thing about military pejoratives is that they're frequently hard to hear over tinnitus.

                  1. Ha - that's a pretty fair assessment of the BM rate today. The really salty ones were something to behold with a line splice or knot work.

                    I think I experienced and delivered more ribbing and insults in those 6 years than during the rest of my life combined. Your earlier point, "...they’re either terms used in the spirit of fraternal rivalry, or provocative pejoratives, depending on mood, activity, and levels of alcohol consumption." made me both laugh and shake my head when I reflected on the importance and effects of all three "depending on's".

  6. Paging bS...and other fans of the (apparently not defunct) frozen treat. We are a regular customer of this business and get the occasional "treat" from them. This was todays:
    .

        1. somewhat apropos, I was watching Los Gigantes last night and Mike Krukow came up with a fabulous bon mot in describing the Giants' offense (15 hits, only 3 runs, but at the time they were at 10 hits, 1 run in the fifth inning): "Marina District offense tonight: lots of singles, but little scoring"

          1. One of my friends gave Mauer the nickname Match.com because he's "nothing but singles." As obviously wrong as it is, I think it's pretty funny.

  7. If we weren't in a very funny court trial, I may try to wander over there in the Skyway and see if you could sneak me one.

    1. I'm here late today and there are quite a few "extra". Let me know if you're so inclined and I'll save you one. You can tell me about the fun.

      1. I'm rather looking forward to A-Rod's professional demise, although I always assumed it would be due to more natural causes like age and declining performance. The only thing Americans relish more than putting celebrities on pedestals is knocking the pedestals out from under celebrities.

  9. For basically as long as I can remember, I've been a restless sleeper, tossing and turning a lot, waking up several times a night with terrible dry mouth (I always keep a big glass of water by the bed -- Boy Scout motto, you know). I typically wake up in the morning feeling really tired no matter how long I sleep, and it takes me an hour or so to get over the groggy feeling. It's been a 20-some year trial for my wife. I've also always had a hard time breathing through my nose when exercising, I just can't get enough air so I'm a mouth breather, which drys out the mouth and throat, etc, etc. So...a few weeks ago Mrs. Twayn brought home a sample pack of Breath Right strips. They sat on my dresser for a week until one night I decided to give them a shot, and I've been using them ever since. The difference has been pretty significant. I fall asleep much faster and sleep through the night without waking up, and I feel a lot less tired when I do wake up. The wife says I no longer toss and turn all night and she hasn't heard me snore since I started using them. I'm going to try them on my next bike ride, too, hopefully this weekend (gotta get my front derailleur put back together). So if any other citizens have similar sleep issues, consider this an endorsement. They're worth a try, and the cost is only a few bucks a week. Definitely worth it for me.

    1. I may try that as I wake up with a ridiculously dry mouth, too. (could be from beer, though.) Only problem is that, I can't say if my mouth-breathing at night is due to something with my nose, or a learned behavior from when I was younger and my jaw didn't line up right, leaving my front teeth separated.

    2. I tried them for a while to reduce my snoring, but my nose must be oddly shaped because none of the sizes seemed to fit all that well. They'd also always come off before morning

    3. Papa Young's former firm worked with the BreathRight inventor and we had a big supply back in the day.

    4. I am a very restless sleeper too. It's one of the many reasons I'd like to have my tonsils out. Even just sitting here now, I can hear and feel my breath squeezing down the back of my throat.

    5. I forgot to mention that after my heart attack the cardiologist suggested doing a clinical study to see if I have sleep apnea. Apparently that can be a contributing factor in myocardial infarction since it further starves the heart muscle of oxygen. One of the reasons so many heart attacks happen early in the morning and during the last stages of sleep.

        1. I was thinking more, "Oh great, something else to worry about." (I have sleep apnea, hypertension, and a family history of cardiovascular events.)

          2. You too!

            I was diagnosed with sleep apnea a few years ago and have been sleeping with a CPAP machine since that time. It's horrible at first and makes you feel like you can't get your breath, but after a while you get used to it and it becomes your friend.

            Now my biggest problem is getting to bed at a reasonable hour

  12. Forbidden zoney:

    Spoiler SelectShow
    1. Spoiler SelectShow
    2. Spoiler SelectShow
        1. Spoiler SelectShow

  13. This is Sano's homer, which he apparently got benched for showing off. Seth Stohs tweeted that it was very obvious. Me, not so much.

    httpv://youtu.be/7QAc9SRdKz8

    1. Seems to me he watched the whole thing from home plate. Which is only fine if you're Carlton Fisk

    2. I'm hearing that they are going to bench him for several games. If so, one of two things. (A) The Twins are totally overreacting. (B) He's somewhat of a problem.

      1. Yeah, if they benched him for several games just for that, it would be really stupid. I'm going to assume the Twins aren't really stupid, and there's something more going on.

          1. the first base coach didn't make a move to congratulate him. Couldn't quite make out what the 3b coach (and manager?) did.

            1. Looked like 3B coach at least gave him a high-five (is it still a high-five if it's just out to the side?).

              The way Sano turned and flipped his bat to the dugout (once the camera finally got back to him), plus the long time admiring the hit, I'm not surprised that he got benched. It seemed slightly excessive to me, but several games on the bench also seems like an excessive punishment.

              I guess it could be a valid concern that he's going to get himself or a teammate plunked or start a brawl if he keeps doing stuff like this.

          1. I'll admit that my first thought was that there was some old school "teach the kid his place" BS going on. However, since there's possibly an awful lot of stuff going on here that we don't know (and shouldn't know), I'm going to give the Twins the benefit of the doubt at this point.

      3. After watching Pelotero and seeing a bit of Sano's attitude and immaturity (at the time), I'm not convinced a few games is too much. Typically, that'd be an overreaction, but it might be called for here. "We love your game, but you gotta make sure everyone else loves it too" is an important lesson for budding superstars.

        1. Eh, how important is it, really, for a 20 year old kid to learn that lesson through a multiple games benching? What about a stern talking to while letting him play so he can continue to improve, which is what he's there for. I think we all forget what we were like at that age.

            2. Exactly. I think what I was getting at is that, the best you can do is a stern lecture and hope he grows out of it because his job is playing baseball and his showboating doesn't seem to be affecting that or the team from what I can tell. Benching isn't going to change anything and that does affect the team.

              1. I think the lesson that a code of conduct exists and there are direct consequences on him for violating that is a perfectly legitimate lesson, and is taught correctly by such a benching. Multiple games? Probably too much, but maybe not if his attitude needs that kind of wake up call.

                What's the career setback if he doesn't play in a few games? Not much. What's the career setback if keeps the showboating approach? A fastball to the head someday? Articles bad mouthing him to the public for his attitude? Arrest for X because he can get away with whatever he wants, whenever he wants?

                The effect on his baseball skills is negligible, the possible preventative effects of attitude correction are large.

                1. Two of those three consequences are reasonable projections for showboating, the third one shouldn't even be discussed. I highly doubt showboating in a baseball game has any effect on one's adherence to the law.

                  I'm willing to concede on the code of conduct thing. If the Twins have something that specifies "showboating" and it results in a benching, then fine, the organization has to be consistent with its own, established rules. That said, from the video above and the weird report about Arcia "dogging it", it seems the Twins are reaching for reasons to "teach these damn kids a lesson".

                  1. Do you really think the organization would knowingly sabotage the career of their Golden Boy? If it seems that they're reacting to it badly, it's probably because they're there, and we're here.

                    1. They wouldn't do it on purpose, of course. There is, however, among old-school types, resistance to someone getting too good too soon, before they've "paid their dues". Again, though, since we don't know all the facts, I'm willing to give the Twins the benefit of the doubt for now.

                    2. Right, what Jeff said, although I seem to be unwilling to give the benefit of the doubt. A few losing seasons in a row will do that to a guy.

                      I'm dealing with a similar thing with curling right now from one of my teammates, no less. I want to move up a position with more responsibility this upcoming year, playing third instead of second, which I've done the last two years. But, amongst the older members of the club, that's considered "too soon" to make that jump, regardless of the aptitude one's shown, becuase I haven't "paid my dues" yet, and don't have some arbitrary amount of experience. Of course, my behavior on the ice isn't being questioned, so its not exactly the same. Its still frustrating, though.

                    3. Do you really think the organization would knowingly sabotage the career of their Golden Boy?

                      Bi-lateral leg weakness. That is all.

                    4. Bilateral leg weakness is why I'm not giving benefit of doubt, either. I'm not saying the Twins are at fault because I don't know that there isn't something else here, but I'm also not willing to believe that they wouldn't bench him for multiple games for this one incident.

                    5. Do you think bilateral leg weakness was an intent to sabotage Mauer or incompetence?

                      If intent, then does not the difference in parties involved in the punishment here make some difference? How long are you going to not trust the organization on these kinds of things? Or is bilateral leg weakness going to be your go-to for disapproving of the organization 10 years down the line?

                      If incompetence, does not the specific nature of the act here indicate it's not incompetence? You might disagree with the decision, but that doesn't mean it's the same type of thing as the bilateral leg weakness announcement.

                      Bottom line: Sano probably has an attitude problem. The Twins are trying to correct it. Neither his career nor his public perception are seriously jeopardized in any way by sitting a few minor league games.

                  2. My argument wasn't that showboating has an effect on adherence to the law. It's that athletes (and other publicly-known, highly-paid individuals) tend to be able to get away with things. Sano was basically a national celebrity at 15, a millionaire at 16. My fear is that he'll develop an attitude that he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. A little discipline within baseball might help develop the same off the field.

      1. The tip from the goofy trial I referenced above and told CoC about over malt cups was: have a written contract.

  15. Every evening right about this exact time our satellite stops getting FSN (but still gets all the other channels). Has anyone else ever had this problem?

    1. What provider? We have DirecTV, albeit via an apartment dish, and haven't had problems. A few times (~three), I have seen FSN go black indefinitely and when we switched channels and go back, then it works.

      1. DirecTV. We've had it for over four years and no problems until the last two weeks. It's bizarre.

  17. meant to mention that yesterday was Ex-Twins Pitcher Day. Garza, F-bomb and Lohse each with winning, excellent starts. that would be any awfully nice front three for a rotation.

Comments are closed.