+The guy who sleeps too late+

That's me. I'm the guy who sleeps too late.

It's been a long time since I've worked 2nd shift, and I'm finding that I don't much care for the hours. The job itself is not bad, though. I think I've got a pretty good handle on the work itself; frankly, it's not all that hard. I still feel like a temp, though, a sub, a stranger. Which, honestly, is what I am. I will only be working second shift through September 2, and then I'll be on first again. Where I will also be a sub, but I will be the second sub on that shift in 2 months, so my customers will presumably already know the answer to the question "Where's Bob?".

The answer, of course, is that Bob is in Cheraw.

I'm beginning to think that Cheraw is the mystical center of the universe. (For some reason, I want to spell center "centre" like the limeys do. I don't know why.)

So, I'm on second shift for now. I communicate with my wife via email. I find out about her days by reading her blog. I see her, through myopic, sleep-encrusted eyes, when she leaves in the morning. I see her again, asleep in bed, when I come home at night. It sucks, to be sure. But, again, only temporary.

When I come home, I'm tired, but still a little wired. So I watch TV, maybe eat something, have a drink. I don't get to bed before 1:00 AM. Which means that I wake up 8:30, 9:00. Some days, like today, I sleep longer. So, if I wake up at 9:30, and I have to leave here at 12:15, I have 2 hours of free time before I have to start getting ready. What can you really do in 2 hours. Well, you can watch TV. You can look at the computer. Some days, if I'm feeling motivated, I try to do some walking, at least make an attempt to get some exercise.

So, I guess what I'm saying is that second shift sucks. Also, incidentally, driving 2 1/2 hours for work every day kind of sucks, but at least I get to see my wife through the week, even if she is blurry when I see her.

Sorry, didn't mean for this post to be all whiny. In a lot of ways, I am very happy right now. My work isn't too difficult, I'm still getting paid money twice a month. My wife and I are both in Greenville, South Carolina, and she has a great new job with free soft drinks and close proximity to Thai food. Things are pretty good.

But I still hate second shift.