At the Coke of midnight

Every couple of months, my work schedule changes. As the new shift bid, as we call it, approached, I was a little bummed out because I was set to be working late on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. But then my team needed coverage on some graveyard shifts, and I volunteered, getting rid of most of my unwanted evening hours in trade.

Before my first all-nighter, I was nervous. I worked graveyards at my last job before JetBlue, and was let go after my initial 90-day probation period because I was falling short on several performance benchmarks (the only time in my life I've been fired). The reason I fell short--I struggled to stay alert over the course of my shift.

Fortunately, I've had the opposite experience during my first seven overnight shifts. Several reasons for this: the work is simultaneously less strenuous and more interesting than at that other job; I'm only working six hours at a time instead of eight; I can listen to podcasts or SNL reruns to help keep me alert; and I have been able to sleep much better in the daytime than the last time around, thanks mainly to wearing a JetBlue emblazoned mask.

Oh, and one other thing: caffeine. Not a lot, but enough to perk me up when I feel my energy waning. I nursed a 2-liter bottle of off-brand diet cola over my first two weeks of this new shift. Obviously, it was pretty flat for most of that time, but that's okay because I'm not a fan of carbonation. I need to remember to get some more before my next graveyard Monday night.

I've never been much of a Coke fiend, mainly because of my aforementioned aversion to carbonation rather than the stigma it holds in certain circles of Mormonism. But I even feel all right drinking it in that regard, since the Spirit goes to bed at midnight and therefore has no idea what I've been up to.

This week in Sunday School, the chapters we're studying include the story of some Lamanite graveyard shift workers who drank something that did anything but help them to stay awake on the job, allowing the Nephites to escape from bondage. (The unsung hero of this tale? Why, wicked King Noah, who built the winepress.) Read all about it in Mosiah 22:5-13. And then read this to learn about things that are more important than staying awake at night.