New comics and work woes

At the hospital, for the last couple weeks we've been short handed. The universe has conspired against me to kick my ass apparently, sticking me with not only my 9 comic strips a week but a full time schedule.

I'm constantly told by those who don't get it that I shouldn't bitch because I'm getting paid well. Is the paycheck really worth feeling like a zombie all the time? I don't think it is. And goody that I'm going to be on the Graveyard shift just about every weekend for the next month. I never EVER get tired of those 10pm-6am shots.

The thing that probably pisses me off the most about working graveyard and having a full plate with my schedule and the comics, is that in the silence of the decontamination area I have to mop nightly, a ton of ideas flood into my head. A ton of ideas I don't have time to work on so they just sit in my head and fester. Ideas that keep me awake during those few, precious hours that I'm actually aloud to sleep.

Sometimes I just wish my brain had an "off" button...

-Skwerl

May 16, 2008 · Filed Under New Comics

Comments

5 Responses to “New comics and work woes”

SCC_Chan on May 17th, 2008 4:03 am

You’re not a janitor at OHSU are you? If you were… nevermind. If you really think about it, working full time is a pain in the butt, but as long as it pays well, hey, with a big paycheck, you can get stuff that you want/need. That’s my point of thought, I’m working 6 days a week, 8-10hrs a day, but thinking that a 5 day week is well better off since my work isn’t going to give me overtime or hours more than 48 a week. I’m better off working 40, than 48.
Can’t you request how many hours you want to work?
SCC_Skwerl on May 17th, 2008 7:24 am

Technically I can say that I’m not available on certain days, but I’m not a jerk like that.

And I’m just fighting through it all until the middle of June when everyone comes back from their leaves of absence and I go back to my 3-4 days a week schedule. Maybe then the balancing act between work and comics will be a little less difficult.
Christopher on May 17th, 2008 7:41 am

I’ve got my schedule mapped out to where I have certain days off, but its not a jerk situation. In addition to needing that time should I go back to school or need a second job (which I do, blegh), I also know that if I tell them I have open availability, they’ll stick me on daytime shifts where there’s no money to be had.

And there is no “as long as it pays well” if the work is piling up. A lot of people I know try to come at me with this mentality, but Jesus Christ, I hope they aren’t serious. I could show up and work every possible shift at my current job, but I also know that I’d not have time to do important things, like honing my writing, cleaning my apartment, etc. I also know that all the time spent around my co-workers would quite likely drive me insane. A hefty paycheck is nice, but certainly not worth the cost of your mind and the time you need to do important, personal things.
Jeb on May 18th, 2008 5:23 am

Regarding that off switch you wish you had.

That’s not something to wish for. (Lolcat speak: “DO NOT WANT”.)
The off switch in a human mind enables one to spread tar on a roof or rub up against razor-sharp aluminum fins on an AC unit and not care. It would also enable you to clean up whatever crap you’re paid to clean without caring or remembering. You might see that as a potential boon to your mental health, but it isn’t. That on-switch of yours really provides you with a bank of fodder for translation into humor. Hearing about people yelling at you during the witching-hour is funny. As funny as it was to hear about a Murse having to pull excrement from a patient after a week long stay at a hospital. Yes, i did say PULL. And not in clumps; like tug-of-war pull when you wrap the rope around your arm and give it your all. (true story, btw.)

Regarding the graveyard shift, ideas, and sleep.

Keep a little notepad and pencil with you all the time. When you come up with something, (great, OK, or even if you think it’s not good…) write it down. Moving the idea from your head to something else does two things. The first is it frees up your temporary memory (humans can hold six or seven items in short-term memory, really good waiters can hold twice as much). Which will increase the incidence of new (again, not necessarily good, but new nonetheless) ideas. The second is it will allow you to have a clear mind before going to bed. So your precious few hours you are allowed to sleep will be spent sleeping, rather than in a waking dream about the ideas you have to keep in memory before they are committed to paper/blog/wacom/whatever.
SCC_Skwerl on May 18th, 2008 11:47 am

Jesus…”how to not go fucking crazy” an essay by Jeb.