It's 4 A.M.

This is about the time I start to get nervous. The halls are dark and much too quiet.
I've been working the night shift at Best Western for only 2 weeks and already I've detected a pattern:
The first part of the shift is invigorating. I know no one will be around so I'm free to catch up on reading or surfing the web.
After a few hours it sinks in that I haven't spoken to anyone all night. It gets me a little spooked. I realize how big this hotel really is.
The final few hours are marked with a steep decline in energy. I am starting to suspect this has something to do with how much I eat during my shift. If I don't feed myself during that 8 hours I'm at work, my body gives up trying to function and wants to go into sleep mode.

Overall it's a great job. I work Fridays and Saturdays from 11pm to 7am. You'd be right to assume that I don't get a whole lot of business during those hours. My boss allows me to do just about anything I want; watch movies, use the computer, read or do homework. The golden rule is, "Don't fall asleep." Sounds like a no-brainer but you'd be surprised how many people BW has had to let go because of it. And the people who do stay awake can't keep the job for more than a few months. Turnover is very high here, my boss told me.

The job's downside is it takes up my weekends almost completely. It wouldn't be a problem, since my social life has shrank considerably since all my closest friends moved away last year, but the weekends used to be my time to spend with Jill. But, now I spend them here. Jill and I are trying to work out a new schedule (Mondays, it looks like) and I hope it goes well.

Another bonus is I get a lot of time to think. And learn. Tonight I studied up on Rahm Emanuel, the soon to be Chief of Staff for Obama. He sounds like an interesting, if not over the top, kind of person.
From one online source:
"The most infamous Rahmbo story of them all is the one that begins with the dinner the night after Bill Clinton was elected in 1992. Among those present at the dinner table was ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, who watched while an overwrought and clearly exhausted Emanuel began ranting at a long list of Clinton "enemies." As he shouted each name, he stabbed the table with his steak knife: "Nat Landow! Dead! Cliff Jackson! Dead!" Apparently, others joined in."

Maybe it was one of those 'you had to be there' moments.