In September of ’03, our manager told us that we would have to start working the graveyard shift to monitor the systems and network connectivity in our NOC. This was supposed to be for 6 months… tops.

I worked the first 4 weeks, documenting the processes for the 2am – 10am shift… what to do if there was an issue, what to watch for, who to call if it all blew up in a green ball of fire, etc.. Then, we switched to every other member of my team taking on an assigned night of the week and I would rotate. The idea is I work Monday this week, Tuesday the next, to give them each the night off once every 5 weeks (it’s a bitch being the new guy… and I’ve been here 5 years!). The part of it that really sucks is: You work your normal shift durring the day (8 to 5), then go home and come back at 2am. It’s hard to get any real sleep before your shift starts again.

Now, a year and a half later, the shift will probably never go away.

Unfortunately, I’ve become the “give to” guy whenever someone can’t work their night shift. Did you make plans for the day you have to work the night shift full well knowing you were scheduled for it? Well, no problem! Just give it to Tone. He’ll be happy to work his shift AND your shift!

I had a glimmer of hope about 2 months ago. We finally got approval to hire someone who’s sole responsibility was the night shift. Unfortunately, our HR department didn’t mention in the job posting that the position is a temporary one (it’s a budgeting thing), has no benefits, and is graveyard. Pretty much everyone who applied said “um… fuck that” when HR called them back.

Of the remaining people who were still interested in the position… well… no one has bothered to call them for an interview yet (as far as I know), so I’ll believe it when I see it.

I guess I shouldn’t bitch too much. There’s a line of people who would kill to have my job in this town (great pay, killer benefits, and plenty of perks), but bejezus… I seriously hate this shift.