Monday, June 27, 2011

I (don't) like the day shift

I slept last night at around 10PM to prepare for my training class the next day in Makati. I woke up at 5AM the next day (which was earlier) to prepare for my training. I was on my way at around quarter past 6. There was already a traffic buildup a few meters away from the bus stop where I usually get a ride. The bus spent 30 minutes just crawling in traffic for a mere 5 kilometers. That was just crazy! I arrived in Timog (near GMA) at 7:30 AM. I already spent almost an hour traveling from Fairview to Timog, which usually takes only 20 minutes at night. When I got in the MRT station (Kamuning) not only were the lines in the bag inspection was long but there were layers of bodies on the platform before one can even get in the train. 5 trains past by before I was able to get a ride, and the 6th train luckily skipped one station and went ahead to get passengers in Kamuning station. I was able to sit right away.

When I arrived in Buendia Station, buses were full, cabs are hard to find, FX lines are fucking long and there are thick crowds of people everywhere like flocks of birds and hens scrambling to go somewhere. When I arrived in the building of one of our offices, me and my friend's training was cancelled for some reason. So I called up my boss to ask her if I can treat this day as a whole shift instead, she gladly said yes. So I went to another building of ours and went to work right away. The day went by, had a long lunch, and work work work. When it was time for me to go home. I walked all the way to the Ayala station of the MRT, I used to do that years back, I do that early morning and it was fine. Not during the rush hour of early evening.

At the train station, just getting inside the station itself was quite a hassle. Such long lines just for the baggage inspection. In the train, it was so packed I can barely feel the airconditioning, at all! I got off at Trinoma to ride an FX, again, long lines. Good thing that this particular alternative ride I chose has a route that was not particularly heavy on traffic, earlier.

When I got home I was very, very, very, exhausted. I feel more exhausted commuting than doing a day long photo-walk.

Actually, I did enjoy working in the dayshift, at work, I loved it. The commuting part, that's a different story. I don't like the traffic, the heat, the crowded streets, the packed trains, the people rushing on the streets, the humid air, the sunlight, the packed lunch places, the smog, the crowded streets, the fully packed buses. My daily commute to and from work during the night shift is only one and a half, during the dayshift I have to allot three hours just to commute and not be late.

What I love about the night shift? A lot: the cold and lonely buses, the lonely streets, the flickering lights from passing vehicles and stop lights, the tired crowd, the beautiful darkness and shadows brought to life by street lights and lamps, the spacious trains, and the wide open spaces of the city streets, feeling the warm city breeze on my skin, being able to walk slowly on sidewalks without being such a hassle to other pedestrians, crossing the highways with a stride, watching the sun set and watch it rise. Those are just some of the reasons why I am a day sleeper.

4 comments:

  1. kuya, choose what doesn't stresses you out. :)

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  2. the day shift gives you a chance to have a normal sleep-wake cycle, but then, you have to go with the flow of the other employees that have day shifts too. haha.

    i used to go to makati too, via MRT. i just have to ride in it like 5:30 am, just to avoid the long lines. :D

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  3. awww, haggard talaga mag commute.

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  4. So trew! Morning or Afternoon shift lang ang schedule ko sa work (kasi di ko pinipili yung graveyard shift) at hassle lang talaga yung pila sa MRT at traffic sa EDSA. Pero pagdating sa office, petiks na. Hehehe...

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