I remember the nights...

That is the first line of a song by Lindisfarne. And I do remember the nights - right now I remember the nights when I could sleep in my own bed through the hours of darkness.

Yes I am working night shift. In some ways it is easier than I thought - in others it is harder. There are very few calls, and the other bits and pieces that have to be done are fairly easy. The main part of the shift is done by soon after 1, so then it is a battle with the nodding donkey and Mr Yawnie! We have the radio, and I take in something to read, but even so...

The biggest thing is to be alert if the emergency phone rings. That is the number called if there is an emergency, such as a heart attack. When that phone rings, everything is dropped. it is set to top volume, and when it goes off, your heart leaps into your mouth! You have to find out where the emergency is and what sort, so that the right medical staff can be sent to the right location, so it really is a case of someone's life in your hands.

Ok, time to go and face another shift. Guess what the song is that I am listening to now? Another appropriate one - Daysleeper by REM!!

Work continues

"How is the new job going?" I hear you cry. Well I don't unless you shout it very loudly, but you know what I mean.

I went there for a 3 month trial. I must be doing something right, because after 3 1/2 weeks I was offered a permanent position!! So I must be doing something right. Bear in mind that the offer was made before I had done any shifts except days, so they must have confidence in me. I felt that was a real boost to me.

So now I have (another) application form to complete. I thought my days of completing application forms were over for a while, but here is hoping that this one will be the last. It will be something to do on my night shift.

Oh yes, the night shift. Tonight (Sunday) is the first of 7 that I am doing. I start at midnight and work through until 8. The lady I am working with this week is the same one who introduced me to the evening shifts last week. The evening shifts are when the paperwork is done, so I was being introduced to that. At the same time, I was passing on some basic hints about Excel to her, so it was a 2-way process. She has also been giving me advice about the night shift, like try to get some sleep in the evening and bring a couple of slices of bread in to make toast in the morning. We will see how it goes....

Joke

A man and his girlfriend are walking down the street and pass a jewellers. She sees a ring in the window and says "I'd love to have that".

"Ok" he says, takes a brick out of his pocket, throws it through the window, gets the ring and gives it to her.

A bit further down they pass a shoeshop and she seems some shjoes "I'd love them" she says.

"Ok" he says, takes a brick out of his pocket, throws it through the window, gets the shoes and gives them to her.

A bit further she sees a handbag. "I'd love that" she says.

"Hang on," he says, "do you think I am made of bricks?"

Welcome to the Isle of Man - the road racing capital of the world!

So runs the slogan, and people think of the TT when they think of motorsport on the Isle of Man. However, as well as the 2 wheel variety (TT, Manx Grand Prix, Southern 100 and so on), the island also hosts rounds of the British rally championships, as the laws here allow roads to be closed which is not so easy in the UK.

And this is my interest. I have never been that entranced with the bikes, for a couple of reasons I think. I think part of it is the commitment to five up 2 weeks to marshall the main events, and also when a bike accident happens, it gets very messy. At least rally competitors have some protection.

It was a good day for incidents. The stage I was on was stopped a couple of times, and by the end of the day the field was so split up that almost noone knew where the next car would be (or when for that matter!) On the stage that i was on, a car went backwards off the road, leaving the driver with a broken shoulder and a broken hand. The stage after mine included a sharp right then a left hand hairpin, to get round a deep valley. The road went round it but one car didn't. This led to the cancelling of the stage. By the end of the day I don't think anyone really knew who was where.

The main thing is that everyone had a fun day and noone was badly hurt.

Work work work

Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel black hole that knows how to read (Terry Pratchett)

So I started my new job on Monday. I am working with some nice people, though they are used to not having any men in there (there are only 2 of us!) I was told that I would be listening to calls on the first few days, and then starting to pick them up. The aim was for me to be confident with calls and pagers withing 3 months, whioch seemed a reasonable timescale.

I started on calls on Tuesday, and yesterday was introduced to pagers. With a bit of practice I should have basic bleeps (pagers) mastered by the end of the week. Now is that good or bad? Will I get bored when there is no more to learn? I hope not, as there is the variety of the calls that we get, as well as learning where to find things. I was told there will be some reception duties as well so we shall see how that goes.

The main thing is that I am enjoying it!

Moving on

And so it goes on...

Dad is currently in hospital, after having an operation. We thought it would be a long wait, but a cancellation allowed them to bring him forward to today. At the moment he is still asleep, but the initial reports are that the operation was a success.

And my next step is being taken. My notice has been handed in, and now I am working out the time until I leave (6pm Saturday). The leaving do is on Friday, so I may have to go into work with a hangover on Saturday - one must keep up appearances, mustn't one? I have managed to get a a few things organized today, and with tomorrow being my last day off in the week for now, I am getting the boiler serviced and an electrician is coming round to give me a quote for some work I want to get done (outside lights in the back yard). I also want to make a marmalade cake and go and buy some bread. So I will have a busy morning, but I hope I can sew in the afternoon.

Settled

It sounds like the matter is settled. Dad is going to be in full time residential care from Wednesday, and it is almost certain that he will be in the place he is in now. This is really good news, as according to mum, he is settled there. He is quite happy to talk to his new friends in the lounge, though it does mean that he does not really welcome visitors, which is hard on mum particularly.

Other than that, though, it has made such a difference to mum. She is picking up her sewing again, and is able to go out to WI. And the fact that she is happier is making me much easier in my mind, and I am sure it is the same for the rest of the family.

Another thing is settled as well. I am going to move on from my current job. I have given them 18 months, and it has done what it needed to do. I am back on my feet, and have regained some of my confidence. It has also revealed some talents and skills I did not know I had, such as dealing with people. However, there are parts of it that I don't like - such as the way the staff are treated. So I will move on - I have a 3 month trial of a post at the hospital, and if that works out then I will be working there full time permanently. More of that anon...