How I get through nightshifts in a warehouse!

[JDi]

I have such a weird way of passing the time and make it more interesting. (You may think that I am a bit weird...). I am a student at a top 5 Uni in the term time - just doing this to pass the time. I get really bored though...

I just imagine that my night shift is the same as an 8 hour night flight from America. I am the pilot of this plane, and although auto pilot does most of the flying, I must remain awake throughout.

At 2200, the flight departs Newark International Airport in New Jersey.

At 2300, our flight finally leaves American international airspace, ready to cross the Atlantic.

At 0100 (my first break on the shift), we are in total blackness - mid way through the Atlantic. Nothing out ahead of us but a starry sky and the black ocean beneath us.

At 0300 (when my second break starts), we are just about to fly over Greenland. By 0330 (when it ends), we have nearly past it.

at 0420 (just as I start seeing the finish line in the shift), the dim night lights of Galway become visible from the cockpit as a faint beam amongst the blackness - our first glimpse of Europe.

At 0500, the flight flies over Ellis Head, finally entering Irish Airspace.

At 0540, the flight arrives in the queue above Heathrow. It will take approximately 18 minutes before we are cleared to land. (it will take 18 minutes at this point to tidy up etc.)

At 0600, our plane finally touches down at Heathrow. A car waits to take the pilot home to his bad after a long flight.

The plane leaves Heathrow again later on that morning at 1100, and arrives back in Newark International Airport at approximately 1900 in the evening (I am asleep/chilling in the business class lounge). By 2100 the next lot of London bound passengers are boarded, and are eager to behold their European adventure. Again, after I arrive at 2145. I register (signing my name on the clipboard), and take my seat in the cockpit. I am ready for another shift - another transatlantic flight awaits!

 

[AlterEgo]

When you are on transatlantic flights, do you imagine you're in a warehouse to pass the time?

 

[Cowley]

When you are on transatlantic flights, do you imagine you're in a warehouse to pass the time?

Brilliant.

 

[DaleCooper]

When I was on the night shift I passed the time by working.

 

[ASharpe]

When you are on transatlantic flights, do you imagine you're in a warehouse to pass the time?

A perfect example of why the forum needs a Like button.

 

[Lrd]

When I was on the night shift I passed the time by working.

Yep and staying hydrated helps a lot

 

[Cowley]

When I was on the night shift I passed the time by working.

I wish I'd done that when I worked in air traffic control.

 

[fowler9]

I have such a weird way of passing the time and make it more interesting. (You may think that I am a bit weird...). I am a student at a top 5 Uni in the term time - just doing this to pass the time. I get really bored though...

I just imagine that my night shift is the same as an 8 hour night flight from America. I am the pilot of this plane, and although auto pilot does most of the flying, I must remain awake throughout.

At 2200, the flight departs Newark International Airport in New Jersey.

At 2300, our flight finally leaves American international airspace, ready to cross the Atlantic.

At 0100 (my first break on the shift), we are in total blackness - mid way through the Atlantic. Nothing out ahead of us but a starry sky and the black ocean beneath us.

At 0300 (when my second break starts), we are just about to fly over Greenland. By 0330 (when it ends), we have nearly past it.

at 0420 (just as I start seeing the finish line in the shift), the dim night lights of Galway become visible from the cockpit as a faint beam amongst the blackness - our first glimpse of Europe.

At 0500, the flight flies over Ellis Head, finally entering Irish Airspace.

At 0540, the flight arrives in the queue above Heathrow. It will take approximately 18 minutes before we are cleared to land. (it will take 18 minutes at this point to tidy up etc.)

At 0600, our plane finally touches down at Heathrow. A car waits to take the pilot home to his bad after a long flight.

The plane leaves Heathrow again later on that morning at 1100, and arrives back in Newark International Airport at approximately 1900 in the evening (I am asleep/chilling in the business class lounge). By 2100 the next lot of London bound passengers are boarded, and are eager to behold their European adventure. Again, after I arrive at 2145. I register (signing my name on the clipboard), and take my seat in the cockpit. I am ready for another shift - another transatlantic flight awaits!

I don't think you are weird mate, to me there is nothing more weird than someone who thinks they are normal. If it helps keep you sane and get you through your degree it is fine.

 

[yorkie]

...just doing this to pass the time. I get really bored though...

Good on you for doing something, gaining experience and earning money. It will stand you in good stead. Hopefully things will improve for you soon, but for now, stick with whatever works for you!

Is listening to music an option, or is it barred in the warehouse? I find that really helps pass the time for me, if I am doing something that would otherwise be boring.

 

[Cowley]

Good on you for doing something, gaining experience and earning money. It will stand you in good stead. Hopefully things will improve for you soon, but for now, stick with whatever works for you!

Is listening to music an option, or is it barred in the warehouse? I find that really helps pass the time for me, if I am doing something that would otherwise be boring.

I spend a lot of time working on my own and used to listen to music or radio stations with discussions on etc. I've recently got into listening to a lot of BBC iplayer radio on my headphones, I download lots of stuff in the evenings at home to listen to the next day, I especially like history and science programmes or comedy. It's made the days pass by much more quickly and I'm learning things too.
Some places are obviously not safe to work in while you have headphones on unfortunately though.

 

[RichmondCommu]

Here's an idea. Get off your phone and crack on.

 

[TheEdge]

I pass the by pretending I'm driving a train, then suddenly remember I'm driving a train!

 

[AlterEgo]

I pass the by pretending I'm driving a train, then suddenly remember I'm driving a train!

Time flies by when....

 

[LowLevel]

If I'm on a quiet train early in the morning or late at night I often find myself talking or singing away to myself. God knows what the passengers must think

 

[Busaholic]

If I'm on a quiet train early in the morning or late at night I often find myself talking or singing away to myself. God knows what the passengers must think

You only think the train's quiet - the other carriages are crammed with people trying to avoid your carriage.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

I don't think you are weird mate, to me there is nothing more weird than someone who thinks they are normal.

I was just thinking how normal I was.

Oh dear

 

[fowler9]

I was just thinking how normal I was.

Oh dear

Ha ha. Just don't worry about it. Be weird like the rest of the human race including me.

 

[JDi]

Update: I am come to really enjoy where I work now - it is giving me an entirely new perspective on things - especially my studies.

I am going in for my tenth consecutive night tonight, and will work each night until I return to University at the start of next month!

 

[RichmondCommu]

Update: I am come to really enjoy where I work now - it is giving me an entirely new perspective on things - especially my studies.

I am going in for my tenth consecutive night tonight, and will work each night until I return to University at the start of next month!

Do you go out much in the evening when you are at Uni? i.e. to pubs, sporting activities etc? Doing those things might help improve your general well being.

 

[JDi]

Do you go out much in the evening when you are at Uni? i.e. to pubs, sporting activities etc? Doing those things might help improve your general well being.

To be honest, i didn't really do that much in my first year, which perhaps does explain why I got so stressed at times.

I am determined to be more engaged socially this year though! I was so happy to get through my first year at uni last academic year, and am really looking forward to returning for second year soon. I ended up repeating my first year, as in my first attempt, I encountered substantial difficulties manifested in health issues that forced me to suspend my studies. Mostly these were brought by someone who claimed to be my friend being highly manipulative towards me. The Uni saw it from the outset, but having Aspergers and lacking a bit of insight into other people's true intentions, I didn't see his manipulation until after it had caused me so many issues that I was forced to suspend my studies. This person was my confidant, however, it took me way too long to realise that it was actually him who was causing the issues that brought me to confide in him - a bit like a cycle of dependancy which I found so hard to break.

One of the greatest detriments to my general wellbeing last year was an apparent obsession with Facebook. If used appropriately, it is a great asset, but the way I was using it - obsessing over checking it and feeling sad when I got very few messages on it, it became a great liability. I recognised that I had a problem with this, so sought help from counselling/CBT over the summer about it. The majority of people I have on Facebook are old school friends whom I don't see everyday as I used to. I started to feel sad and lonely when I felt that I was losing contact with them because we haven't exchanged Facebook messages for a few months. It sounds such a trivial issue - its just Facebook, however, it's actually quite a common problem amongst young people. Social media has the ability to warp perceptions. And while we know this, it is still hard to realise the implications this can have on our lives. Social media allows us to self indulge in our highest and best moments, if we so wish, and is then extremely unforgiving and scolding in our lowest moments.

I would just have two questions to many members on here, who may have a lot more life experience than me (and probably don't bother with social media):

Do you have to speak to 'friends' frequently for them to remain your friend, or, if they are genuine, can you be absent from contact for months (even years), and then when you do get back in touch, speak as if no time at all has passed.

Also, how do you spot a true friend from a fair-weather friend?

 

[Cowley]

Hi JDi. I've got friends that I've been close to for nearly 40 years and even when we don't see each other for a few months or even years we just pick up the friendship where we left off. Life when you get older can be incredibly busy at times and sometimes you can't always stay in touch every week. That doesn't matter though if the friendship is right.
People also come and go though and if you drift away from someone that's ok, no point forcing it...
In a couple of weeks I'm going up to see a friend who I haven't seen for four years but I know that because we know each other so well it'll feel like it always does - very comfortable and enjoyable.
I think a genuine friend will sometimes tell you things that you don't necessarily want to hear but they'll be doing it because they know you well and want the best for you.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Social media has the ability to warp perceptions. And while we know this, it is still hard to realise the implications this can have on our lives. Social media allows us to self indulge in our highest and best moments, if we so wish, and is then extremely unforgiving and scolding in our lowest moments.

Yep, that's exactly right. And, as it sounds like you've realised, many people use platforms like Facebook to show off the best things in their lives. Perfectly understandable as we all want to give a good impression to other people, but it can make it very easy to look at your friends' profiles and get the impression that they are all having a massively better life than you are, when the reality is it's because they don't post the mundane or bad bits. (Of course the reverse can also be true. Some people seem to use FB largely as a way to get sympathy for all their problems).

I think social media is great to use as long as you do it in a good way - which means treating it as an alternative way to keep in touch with some of your friends, and as a way to keep a public profile of those parts of your life which you wish to share.

I would just have two questions to many members on here, who may have a lot more life experience than me (and probably don't bother with social media):

Do you have to speak to 'friends' frequently for them to remain your friend, or, if they are genuine, can you be absent from contact for months (even years), and then when you do get back in touch, speak as if no time at all has passed.

I agree very much with Cowley's post. Realistically, every friendship is different. Some genuine friends last a long time, and can easily survive long absences. Others are perfectly genuine but turn out to be more temporary in nature, as people evolve in different directions. Looking back over my life, there must be many dozens of people whom I once counted as good friends maybe 10 or 20 years ago. Most of them I'm no longer in touch with, and a small number are still there. No ill feelings (other than regret on my part at having lost contact with many of them) - it's just how things work out.

I do think friendships tend to survive long absences better if there is a good reason for the absence (moved away), rather than if it's just one person couldn't be bothered (which may lead to the other person feeling hurt).

Also, how do you spot a true friend from a fair-weather friend?

I don't think that's really a binary thing. More like, there'll be a continuous spectrum, with most people caring about you to some extent and also caring about what you can do for them to some extent. And a few people at the extremes. I think you just get to know over time from people's actions to what extent friends care about you, vs to what extent they want things from you.

 

[Cowley]

Well said as usual Dynamic Spirit.
I'd just like to add something that I think helps in the formation of friendships which is this:
It helps to be interested in other people. I personally find other people fascinating and I enjoy getting to know them and learning about them, what makes them tick, what their history is, their family history, their interests etc etc.
People are fascinating and the more you ask the more you find as a general rule. Nobody is just as simple as the persona they portray and quite often they appreciate it if you've taken the time to dig a bit deeper and made a bit of effort to understand what really makes them who they are.

It's surprising sometimes how you can get on with someone who seems on the surface completely different to yourself as well...
Look at it as an enjoyable thing to do and don't worry about asking people questions. I worked for a long time in mental health and if it taught me one thing it was that you can find common ground with almost anyone if you look for it.

 

[fowler9]

Hey JDi. Hope you are well. I ended up having to repeat my first year at Uni due to my issues with Depression and Anxiety. I was really sorry to read that you ended up in that situation due to someone else manipulating you. You will have learned a lot from that without realising though. Over time you will learn to see it coming, on the plus side the vast majority of people you meet really do just want to be friends.

Life changes and I have many very close friends who I can go over a year without speaking to, life takes over sometimes, people move away, have kids etc. As an example after I finish typing this I am going to call a very close mate who now lives in Weybridge (I live in Liverpool where we are from). Him and his wife have just had twin boys, I haven't seen him for nearly a year. I know that when I speak to him it will be like I spoke to him yesterday.

Social media is a blessing and a curse, it depends on how you use it. I have a lot of friends living on different continents and find it a very useful and cheap way of staying in touch without having to make long and expensive international phone calls. I have relatives and friends in Chile, Germany, China, Korea, New Zealand and many other places. I love being able to say a quick hello to them and share photos.

 

[GusB]

I agree very much with Cowley's post. Realistically, every friendship is different. Some genuine friends last a long time, and can easily survive long absences. Others are perfectly genuine but turn out to be more temporary in nature, as people evolve in different directions. Looking back over my life, there must be many dozens of people whom I once counted as good friends maybe 10 or 20 years ago. Most of them I'm no longer in touch with, and a small number are still there. No ill feelings (other than regret on my part at having lost contact with many of them) - it's just how things work out.

Friendships do fizzle out as people move on to different things. Interests change and people do drift apart. Social media tends to exacerbate the situation because we're all still "friends" on Facebook, etc. but you're just another contact on the list and perhaps you're just not as relevant to their daily lives as once you were. It can be hard to come to terms with that.

Back in the Old Days when it was landlines and phoneboxes, you naturally lost touch with people if they moved house, unless you made a special effort to keep in touch. Over time you'd gradually forget, with perhaps the odd "oh yeah, I'd forgotten about him/her - wonder what they're doing now". Nowadays you still get to know what they're doing now, but it simply doesn't involve you. Do you "unfriend" them and risk losing all contact, or just keep them there in the background?