The past two out of three jobs that I have had, have been my favorites. Last summer I worked at a donut shop and it was a lot of fun getting to make donuts each morning, and be off work by 10 a.m.!
Yes, that's right, I said 10 a.m. At that job, I had to be at work at 3 a.m. every day. There was no excuses simply because the donuts weren't going to make themselves!
Now I currently work at Hy-Vee as a bakery clerk, and my hours are almost the same, although now I go in at 4 a.m. My job duties include getting the donuts ready for the case by 6 a.m., and also filling certain orders for the day. Some bakeries and pastry shops have people come in at midnight in order to get their product made for the day. If you every wanna know why all of the donuts and bagels are fresh, it's because people like me get up before the rooster crows, and make everything early, just for you.
While I love my job and enjoy making donuts each day, I am also like others who work the night/early morning hours, and we are all tired of hearing a bunch of comments from everyone. There are five in particular that really grind our gears.
1. "You're always cranky!"
Why yes, I am definitely going to be cranky all the time because people want me to hang out or talk to them at night, and not go to bed when I need to, causing me to not sleep well, which in return makes for a very cranky person. I myself am not a morning person, and if you think I'm cranky in the morning while I'm getting ready for work, you should see me after an eight hour shift, WITHOUT my coffee. There's more to a nightshift/early morning worker's crankiness than just being sleep deprived. We don't sleep well, and if we do it feels as if we're nocturnal. And if we do get enough sleep, something just has to go wrong at work that day.
2. "Why are you tired all of the time?"
When I say tired, I don't mean yawning and relaxing, I mean not being able to keep my eyes open, nor function properly. Half of the time that I get home from work, I look like a zombie just from being exhausted. While I may only have a six or eight hour work day, it is still a ton of stress on your body when you are not used to getting up at 3 a.m. (or whenever you do). It is strenuous and almost agonizing because your body is not equipped for the type of work you do, at least not yet.
3. "Why don't you want to hang out?"
For a few people that ask me that, I just straight up don't want to hang out with you, however for most of you, refer back to the answers from one and two. When your morning is spent working and you are ready for bed at 6 or 7 p.m., all you have time for is relaxing and laundry, and maybe a meal or two. I typically work five days a week, and the two days that I have off are not always consecutive. So I spend those days doing the things that need to be done; laundry, shopping and whatever else I can squeeze in. It's not that I don't want to hang out, it's that if I were to hang out with someone, they would have to deal with me snoring and I'm sure that would not be fun.
4. "How come you never text me?"
Well for starters, I'll admit that I'm not good at texting, but most of the time, the texts that I get are after 8 p.m., which means if I'm sleeping, you shouldn't text me unless you're dying because I value my sleep over your gossip. I don't have the same schedule as you and I'm not in the mood for an all-night conversation. When I text you back after work at 10 a.m., you're still sleeping and then the conversation is pointless.
5. "You're crazy!"
Yeah, well I already knew that but thanks. I don't know how many people come into the store and ask me, "What time do you get here?" and when I tell them 4 a.m., the look shocked and say, "Oh my, you are crazy! I couldn't get up that early and do that!" Well fortunately for you, I can get up and do that, you're welcome. If you think that a person waking up early is too horrible and wrong, then don't expect your donuts to be fresh in the morning. There are people out there that actually get up and make things fresh, so that other people will be happy when their breakfast isn't stale.
Don't get me wrong, I love my job, I really do! The thing that I don't love is how some people think that everyone should have a Monday through Friday, 9-5 job. Places that stay open 24/7 don't have robots working for them. So if you know someone who works at a bakery, or some place that opens super early, or even someone who works a nightshift, consider all of the things you just read. Realize that we work when you sleep and vice versa. We are the ones who are crazy and strong enough to work all night and day, and we love our paychecks just as much as anyone else. Even though we don't work 9 to 5, our shifts are still "enough to drive you, crazy if you let it!" -Dolly Parton
