Tag: Sleep

The Daily EO: June 13th, 2013

I’m finally back.  And a difficult time it has been.  Year End, then inventory, and demand explosions at work and my grandma being admitted to the hospital in my personal life.  I haven’t been sleeping much, simply spending hours sitting in the hospital listening to detailed explanations of lunch or working late into the night trying to cram 10,000 units in a shift that only has the capacity to run 7,000 units.  Surely, if everyone just skipped lunch and worked a little faster.. . .

Grandma is out of the hospital – and all chipper and relaxed after a week of people taking care of her –  and I actually decided that the cramming could stop for tonight.

I drove home today and had little recollection of driving on the highway to get this far.  I thought this might be dangerous and vowed to myself that an early night was in order.  As I turned the corner off McGill onto Powell, there was a Kangaroo standing on the corner.   I considered how hungry I was, and thought perhaps that it was time for me to take in some food, get some sleep, and try to relax.   Perhaps then I will stop seeing foreign animals on the street.

This kangaroo was standing there with a man who was pushing a baby carriage.  And it didn’t seem particularly pouchy or jumpy.  But there she was – standing there in mid June – hanging out on the street corner wearing a thick kangaroo costume like it was a normal thing to do.  Whatever works.

June 13th, 2013 Extra-Ordinary:   Just because you see an Australia Marsupial doesn’t mean you need to better manage your stress.  But it could.

 

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The Daily EO: March 19, 2013

Yeah?  You want a fight?  Please, pick one with me, because I am beyond being civil, turning the other cheek.  (what does that mean?)

I am waiting for you to come into my office and just say the most benign thing and it only has to peek in the direction of annoying and I’ll be off.  And watch out – I can be pretty cutting when unhinged and untethered.

That is what happens to me when I don’t get enough sleep.  Less than 7, the creative, collaborative Susan is gone, and replaced with an enforcer.  Don’t mess with me OR my team.

GRRRRR!  **fangs**

March 19th, 2013 Extra-Ordinary:  But I can be tamed with caramel filled kisses.  (no, not from your mouth – keep that away from me!).

The Daily EO: January 21st, 2013

I have a tendency to draw squares with my mouse pointer when I am bored or thinking or unable to do what I need to do.

And that is what I was doing on Monday evening while trying to write the Daily EO.  I was exhausted, I was just wanting to not write it.

It was just then – 9:00 pm – that my husband came in the room, closed my laptop, said “Enough.  You need sleep.”  and turned off the light.   I laid there in the dark trying to get the gumption up to get my flashlight and laptop under the covers.  But before I could, I fell asleep.

January 21st, 2013 Extra-Ordinary:  I like someone who knows best taking care of me – and I am so glad I have Emile to do that.

 

The Daily EO: September 8th, 2012

(in Cranbrook, BC)

It’s strange to be here again so recently after our last trip.  It somehow feels like this all part of the same journey, that we had just stopped for 3 weeks in Huntsville.  This seems very unreal to me right now.  Emile starts his job on Monday, so perhaps he will get real for us then!

The morning dawned bright and cold and I was up at 6 am.  I am not sure why I have been waking every morning for the last 2 weeks at 7:30 am, but it is even worse now that I am in Mountain time zone.   But it odd for me to be in a dark and silent house after a full night sleep waiting for the sun to rise.  This is leading to delicious afternoon naps.

September 8th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  After 3 weeks of frenetic activity, a little down time.

 

 

The Daily EO: August 7th, 2012

Total Road Trip Kilometres Travelled:  10093
Huntsville – Wawa
Wawa – Winnipeg
Winnipeg – Cranbrook
Cranbrook – Vancouver
Vancouver – Sechelt
Sechelt – Vancouver
Vancouver – Butte
Butte – Gillette
Gillette – La Cross
La Cross – St. Catharines
St. Catharines – Huntsville

We arriving so late into St. Catharines with my judgement and decision-making ability impaired.  There was a gap in the vertical blinds and I knew I needed to sleep-in to try to catch up on sleep.  How to block the sun in the morning? I know!  I’ll hang a blanket up over the valance curtain rod to block it – perfect!  Now, find a blanket, stand on a rickety chair to drape it, and viola!   It wasn’t until the next morning I realized that the blinds weren’t broken, they were just open.  I just needed to pull the strings.

I wonder sometimes about the lack of sleep medical professionals deal with – I can’t even figure out blinds, let alone deal with an emergency.

August 7th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  After years of making effort to prepare foods to accommodate my brother-in-law’s and nephew’s allergies, I discovered that all they wanted was a bag of marshmallows.  Raw, not cooked.  Just marshmallows.  Straight from the bag.  Sigh.

The Daily EO: August 2nd, 2012

After 3 weeks of vacation, you tend to get lazy and lacking of sleep.  You are never in your own bed, and you pack your days with visiting and activities.  I awoke early this morning for some reason – still tired.  Kinda hungry.  The previous evening we had visited my aunt’s new condo in Burnaby with my Grandma and Grandpa.  All five of us squeezed into the Fit with canes and walkers and headed out.

It was a later evening than usual, and this led to another night without a full night of sleep.  When I awoke –urgently needing to go to the washroom – I listened to my husband’s steady breathing.  Despite wanting to get Olympic highlights, I refrained from turning on the TV and waking him up.

I needed to leave the room so he could get some of the sleep he needed to.  I pondered my options.  Too early to see my grandpa, too early to eat.  But not too early for running.  That’s a bad idea.  I don’t want to run.  I’m tired.  My ass jingles a little bit more after this vacation.

But with a lack of any other choice, I quietly and reluctantly laced my shoes and headed out.  I walked for a bit to warm up.  Well, actually that is not true – I walked for a bit because I didn’t want to start.

But start I did finally and I ran 3.6 kms this morning.  Shorter than usual, but at least I got out there.  As I rounded the last corner, my mom was standing outside drinking a coffee and smoking a cigarette.   She gave me a wave.  Two different approaches to the start of the day.

August 2nd, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  No stopping for 3.6 km.  Yes, NO STOPPING for 3.6 kms!

The Daily EO: June 9th, 2012

I get nervous about lots of things.  I don’t like to make mistakes.  Which is funny because if you asked anyone – most think I am bold and brave.  I’m not really – it’s just bravado.

I couldn’t sleep last night worrying about our race the next day (Band On the Run – 5 km).  What if I don’t get enough sleep?  What if I can’t handle the hills?  This is a much harder race than the Chocolate Race. (we burned 300 calories just walking the race route)  What if I don’t hydrate enough?  What if I hydrate too much?  Should I run or walk up the hardest hill right at the beginning?  What if I can’t handle it?  What if it rains?  So I lay in bed, counting down how many hours of sleep I might get if I go to sleep right now.

But here I am the morning of, up, hydrated, eaten, and listening to my husband update his FaceBook about his “wife going to do great”.  Now he’s proclaimed it.  I’d better do it.

June 9th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  Being stupidly nervous about things that just get worse when you get nervous about them.  Don’t you think I know that?

The Daily EO: May 11th, 2012

At 1 am Friday morning, my husband – and therefore me – awoke to his phone ringing.  He is on call 24/7 for IT issues at his company (for the next month anyways) and according to Murphy when problems are going to happen, they happen at night.  I too have had to carry a pager, and I often was paged in the night.  More frequently than I could believe, the caller was surprised to find that I had been sleeping when they paged me.  I am not sure why this would be – I always understood that night shift workers probably wouldn’t relish a call from me at 2 pm.

Often I was paged with a problem I could not solve from my bed linens.  “Susan, we can’t find the blah-blah capacitor for the production that was scheduled to start 3 hours ago.”  Well, let me look in my pj’s. . .  no, not here.   “Susan, we can’t find the key for storage room.”  Yes, really.  “Susan, the line is down, so we can’t run SMT (surface mount technology) for your product you needed”.  Um, do I need to know that NOW?  Do you want me to get my wrench and come into work and try to fix the machine?

And such was the call Emile received at 1 am.  The caller was gobsmacked to hear that he had been sleeping.  Granted she was new to the position – although not the human race as far as I know.   I am sure she intellectually understands that most people sleep at night.  But somehow, she missed it on this occasion.  Yes, Emile could likely solve her problem quickly and  in this case, he said “Have you tried turning it off and on again?”  (yes, IT people really do have to say that sometimes).  And it worked – although he then had to explain to her what her log-in passwords are and that SQL was a programming language and in no way had anything to do with Squirrel the Resort Software.   Yes, all of this on-call thing is part of his job, I get it, but the day shift/night shift relationships are funny to me nonetheless.  (when I am not crabby from lack of sleep anyways)

Is this punishment for us day timers because we got the “good” shifts? Do you just call us to play with us?  And laugh away with all of your sallow complexioned night shift friends?

 May 11th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  The lack of empathy from night shift team members on sleep schedules of the day shift team members.

Maintenance May Day 11:
Gave $10 back to the teenaged girl at American Eagle Outfitters who dropped it at my feet.  I had put it in wallet as I thought I had dropped it, but when she started panicking with her friend and searching for her missing $10, I put things together.  (soul)  (part of me wanted to keep it when I saw the skimpy tank top she wanted to buy with it)
Ate Savory Lemon Verbana Scone, Basil Panini, Thai Lemongrass Spiced Pulled Pork Taco with Mango Salsa, Arugula Pesto Pasta, Pineapple Sage Marmalade, Lemon Thyme Citron Tart and Chinese Five Spice Pork Loin with Chive Salsa in Niagara perfectly paired with Niagara wines during the Wine & Herb Festival on-going in May.  (Body & Soul)