Midnight Ramblings

Call me weird, but I really like working the late night shifts at work.


A lot of people complain when they get late shifts and try to get sent home early, but I like staying late, and even if I have to work a little overtime, not just because I get a couple extra bucks, but because I like working in the theatre when it's almost completely empty.



I also like riding home on my bike at 2 or 3 am, when the normally insanely busy streets are almost completely devoid of life.  It's like a completely different city.  It's so quiet and peaceful, and in the winter, it's the perfect weather for riding.  It's just a little cool without being too cold, and it's not like Chicago, where the winter is frigidly cold and the summer nights are still hellishly warm.  It's a great time to just ride and look around and think.  Or I can just blast through the streets as fast as I can without having to worry about traffic for once.


It's also really cool to think that as I sit here in my boxers writing this and listening to Stars Radio on Last.fm,   my roommate and most of the civilized world are asleep, and just a couple hours after I finally decide to hit the hay, they'll all just be waking up and getting ready for the day.


I also like leaving for work, for some reason.  I dunno, I just like the fact that as my roomie is getting home from a day at the office, I'm just getting ready to head out the door for my shift. Something about this seems like every struggling artist should do this at some point before they make it big.  This just seems quintessentially "artsy".  


It also makes me think of this particular episode of This American Life I listened to a couple years ago, which was all about people who are awake in the middle of the night, whether it's for a job, or due to insomnia, or just because they like it.  But Ira Glass talked about this job he had in his 20's where he worked all night long in an office building in downtown Chicago, and as he was heading back to the train at 7am, he'd see all the regular commuters heading to their jobs, and see the sun coming up behind them.  And I always loved that image.  I'm not quite that far with my job (I guess I'd have to join the night crew if I really wanted the full experience), but for right now this is good.  Working in the middle of the night definitely gives you a different outlook on the world.  


Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have some dessert and watch Breaking Bad.  Cuz I earned it.