Tiny bit tipsy

Watching Bones, the new season on Sky, and a couple of things strike me, aside from the fact I've had a very nice bottle of wine (thank you Tesco) and a bit of a Martini-type drink (I'm using more vermouth than is standard). The series has about 12 producers/executive/assistant producers, two of them are the main characters and one is Kathy Reichs, upon whose books and life the series is modelled, but even so, 12! That's a bit over the top!
The reason I've had a drink or two on a week night is that I've just finish a shift pattern from hell. From Sunday night until 8 o'clock this morning I've been on a nominal 12 on 12 off pattern, except the two shift where I had to do 14 or 15 hours when the next guy couldn't get in on time. Not his fault, illness and planned activities related. Now I'm relaxing and enjoying the new season. My next comment may be a bit controversial, but I prefer the series to the books, although I've only read the first book, maybe the later ones are better, I'll have to find out.
I'm rambling, but I'm happy.
BTW, weekend looks a bit grotty (just showers in the south) and Monday could see a return to wintry showers as far south as Birmingham, but don't tell anyone I told you so!

And I've just found out that Martini's aren't improved by using Rossi. Although American Dad is always good.

But more importantly I've just realised that I'm going to miss out on my niece's life. I'm her uncle and I'm not going to be there. I know her mum and dad will be there for anything she needs but I think an uncle near-by, or at least reachable, is important. When Ellen was born Matt seemed a bit hesitant about the fact I wouldn't be a god-parent, but as I said at the time, I'm faimily, and I believe that god-parents shouldn't be family; but we should be available for the child. So when she gets older, I'm going to have to have to make sure she's got my number, just in case something comes up that she's not happy talking to her mum and dad about.
Having said that, she's three now, so I've got a bit of time, I hope....

An odd sort of week

Well for one thing it's been a long week and it's not over yet! Actually a long two weeks.
One of our guys was sick last week and then when he came back another had a member of his family taken into hospital very ill. Had to organise for us to shut down overnight so told everyone except the helicopter guys- felt bad for forgetting them. As it was the man in charge of operations was told, as was air traffic control and sorted out next door to cover for us and produce the documents. I was on leave the next day so would have come in if needed but I'd been told not to do that. Then this week the situation had got worse so we had to cover the staff member's shifts. Wouldn't have been a problem as the boss was back up this week so able to cover but after my second night shift he called in sick at about 4 am. The other forecaster was asleep before his scheduled nightshift so it was a while before we could get contact with him.
In the end I've been on nights all week, including the extra four and a half hours on Tuesday morning (ended up being a 16.5 hour shift, although did get to come in a bit later on the next night shift) and I've got tonight on as well. There's a possibility of having to come in over the weekend as well but hopefully someone else will be able to cover that.
Just realised some of you may not know the shift pattern. We work 12 hour shifts from 8 - 8 with 15 minutes of handover each side of the shift, during night shifts I try to catch a bit of time between observations (every hour at ten to the hour) to get some sleep but doesn't always happen and if there's too much work on sleep goes out of the window. Factor in the travel time and I should have enough time between shifts to get some decent kip in, provided no one calls/knocks. I'm not sure how many hours I've worked this week but since 9 pm on Sunday it's been more work than not. Joy.
Thing is, I don't mind doing the extra work, God knows I didn't take this job to just work when I feel like it. We do a job that's quite important to the people we work for, and from the impression I've got from the guys out in Germany, we're doing rather well (working with the Americans, ohh the stories!). I keep getting told by down south that we should shut down and work differently, letting other stations take up the slack but honestly don't think that this would provide the level of cover they need, partly as our briefings have started at five in the morning. So when things go wrong I step up and work.
Wouldn't be so bad if didn't get a recorded delivery, my electricity meter read and two phone calls today while I was trying to sleep. Hence me blogging rather than sleeping at four in the afternoon. Was thinking about hitting the mess tomorrow but don't know about that now. I promised myself I'd have more of a social life this year and the mess is the best place for that at the moment. Meh, don't know what I'm complaining about really, in fact I'm not complaining as such, just grousing. I like my job, I love where I live and work, Be nice to see friends more but I could make more friends up here if I tried harder (or something like that - never been the most outgoing person).
Tash rang up to see if I fancied doing a walk for charity so not I'm in a group climbing An Teallach for the Trail/WaterAid challenge in June. I'll be looking for sponsorship soon, may well hit work for it (corporately, not just the guys in the office) as WaterAid is one of the official charities this year and there's an online system for hitting up you good folks.
I think that at some point in the future I need to get some of you up here and we can go up a few hills.
Right. Buffy, Star Trek, food, Simpsons, work. That's the short term plan, I'll think about a long term one when it becomes a short term one. Only long term one is to get fitter and loose more weight and watch the Terry Pratchett Colour of Magic this Easter (if anyone's up here they're invited over to watch it!). World changing ain't it?

5 am, and I've been up for a couple of hours already

One of the least fun bits of shifts is the way it messes up your sleep patterns.
Managed three and a bit hours last night, probably sleep on the plane south - something I didn't say, I'm down south forecasting for a week, the office is paying for the flights and the hire car down there.
This is part of the reason that if I'm off, even if I'm not on a night shift, I'll sleep in when I can. Ahh well, as my dad said while loading me with roofing felt to fit, "if you can't take a joke, you shouldn't have joined." And to be honest I like night shifts, hell, apart from the early starts on days and the disrupted sleep, I like shifts. Besides, it's like we used to say, "Sleep is for the weak, caffeine is for the strong!" or, as I put on a website, "Sleep patterns? Ha, I **** 'em!"
On the plus side, I got Sky a while back (Scotland and channel 5, and digital reception, just doesn't happen) and at the random times I'm watching TV, the knowledge package I got means that the Discovery channels and the like usually have something good on, or there's always the BBC news. Reminds me, Bill Bailey did this bit when I saw him in Cheltenham.

On a lighter few notes, joined Facebook, found a few more old friends blogs, and loads of old friends. Since I've moved up here I've found how important friends are, even if they're not sat infront of me, that they are there somewhere, be it down south, on the other side of the world or on the end of a phone line, makes the world so much a better place. Like Jo Burt said in a Mint Sauce strip (January 2003) -
"I look out into the dark and it just reflects the night inside,
and my friends ride through it with big bright lights."


And if any of my friends fancy a cheap holiday in one of the most beautiful parts of the country, I'm declaring an open house! If I'm in, everyone's welcome! I think I can fit about 7 people sleeping in the living room with inflatable beds for three, a sofa and a Thermarest.