First Shift as a Security Guard...

[KuariKaydrith]

...and I'm working 11pm to 11am. Nothing quite like getting thrown right in!

Of course trying to sleep today was difficult, and it's reminded me that I really need to get the black-out curtains completed for my bedroom. It doesn't help that this is pretty much the direct opposite of what I'm used to in terms of sleep schedules, but I know I will get used to it given enough time.

It's a secure building where I only have to worry about doing a round every couple of hours. It's not likely to have people on site, although there is one employee and two contractors here. Tomorrow is s shorter shift 11pm to 7am but when I get off work at 7am Monday morning I will likely have to walk home due to buses not starting until 8:40am on the route that gets me home. And then off for four days before starting a set of 7 shifts.

No stories yet, but I know they will come soon enough!

[Antisocial_Worker]

Blackout curtains, earplugs, and sleep aids. I prefer Unisom Sleep Melts personally.

As far as the curtains go, it helps to have a couple of pairs, plus to hang a towel or a blanket over the top of the curtain rods, because you'll be astounded as just how much light gets through no matter what you do.

[KuariKaydrith]

Thank you for the suggestions! The last time I worked nights I was renting a basement room that had one small window that was easy to block. Now I live in an apartment that is the top floor of a house, and my bedroom has two windows...I usually wake up as soon as the light hits my windows, which doesn't work when working night shift.

I know what I'll be doing on my days off this week

[bhskittykatt]

Also suggest a fan or something for white noise...that helps me a lot to cope with the thin walls in my apartment building.

[Kittish]

We have foam core sheets over the windows in our bedroom. Not terribly expensive, and the black at any rate does a pretty good job blocking light coming in, and it's sturdier and easier to manage than just posterboard would be. It stays DARK in the bedroom no matter how bright it is outside.

[raudf]

I'm going to get rigid foam insulation boards for my windows next summer. And one permanently for my bedroom. Cut to size and let them keep the heat and light out!

[notalwaysright]

I have a white noise app on my phone which I love. I like that it has deeper pitched sounds, not all high and scratchy. I have also put Command hooks on the window frame behind my bedroom curtains. Then I bought blackout fabric and cut small holes, so that I can hang the blackout liner behind the curtains. I really, really need natural light so I don't want full on blackout curtains. This way on the days I need dark, I can have it, but it's easy to take down.

Oh, in the winter I generally have to get up in the dark, and it's so terrible. I have the worst time with it, I'm groggy all day. So I have lamp which mimics the sunrise, or sunset. It seriously saves me. I know not everyone has a hard time with it like I do, (my internal clock is strong), but I cannot recommend it enough.

[KuariKaydrith]

Foam-core sounds like it's exactly what I need It's either that or I get creative and custom-make window quilts - pretty and functional. But I'm lazy so I'll do with what's easiest and quickest.

I may look at getting a natural light lamp as well. It's been recommended in the past because I deal with SAD in the winter, now I'll have more reason to invest in one.

White noise is always a good thing. I tend to run a fan to help keep me cooled off and it b wlocks lot of other external sounds. Thank goodness my new phone is great for being able to turn the alarm volume up really high because I don't hear my alarm clock go off if the fan is running.

I feel a bit sorry for my son right now with the changes to my schedule. He's still at the call center and our schedules are pretty much reversed now. We will still get to see each other on a regular basis - usually I'll be getting home as he's leaving for work, but there's a few hours most nights where I'll see him before I have to leave for work. When I was getting ready for bed this afternoon he said he'd try to be quiet so he wouldn't disturb me...I told him not to worry about it because I was tired enough that I'd likely sleep through almost anything today LOL

[Gilhelmi]

I use tape to keep my curtains down, and a cardboard box to block out more light (yes it is tacky, but it works).

Duct Tape will work, but can (and will) damage the walls and paint. So try and find a low residue type of tape.

[WishfulSpirit]

I'm a Melatonin fan. My local Kroger brand 10mg puts me right out (I don't work nights but my other meds interfere with melatonin production). Get the quick-dissolve kind for the best effectiveness. It'll also help reset your sleep schedule. It also helps to establish a bedtime routine, something relaxing.

[Seanette]

I'd be careful about higher dosages, since nightmares are not an uncommon side effect of such. I can't take more than about 1.5mg without having problems.

Start with lower doses would be my advice.

[KuariKaydrith]

My sleeping patterns are still messed up, but I figure that will come in time. I put towels over my windows the last couple of days to help block light and it made a bit of a difference, thankfully.

I'm really glad that I work by myself, to be entirely honest, because the more I learn about the other security guards on my site the more I wonder if people ever grow up. Why? Well...

A new system of buddy calls has been put into place for overnights where the guard on duty has to call the other 24/7 site to check in every couple hours and basically let somebody know that everything is okay. It's a health and safety thing, especially when there is often only the one guard on site without any employees around. Two of the other guards had a bit of a shit fit about it, and the one who has been here the longest had a complete meltdown over the phone over the course of three phone calls to the area supervisor...the area supervisor who just happens to be a friend of mine and a large part of the reason I got the job. It was bad enough where the supervisor wrote the guard up for rank insubordination - it wouldn't have been so bad if the guard outright stated he's not following the new policy, cursed out the supervisor, and basically made it clear that he's pissed off with the changes the supervisor has made since taking over.

Calling or texting the other site to let them know we're still alive over here is not that big of a deal. We did the same thing for overnights when I managed a Subway - it's a safety thing that really should have been in place here sooner, but we didn't have another 24/7 operation in the area so it was a little difficult. But the guard acted like it was the end of the world, and how dare the new supervisor make these changes, blah blah blah.

I did a little bit of thinking and putting two and two together because the guard in question told me during my building orientation last week that he watches a lot of TV at night. That would mean he is nowhere near the main desk phone, and he has a tendency to let the security cell phone die. I let the supervisor know this and now he's going to be reviewing the videos from the guards shifts going back at least a month. Methinks the feces is going to hit the rotating blades.

Another of the guards (and the only other woman guard on site) absolutely detests the supervisor and has since he started. Apparently she had been promised M-F day shift by the previous supervisor, a shift that is normally held by the supervisor in the first place so nobody can figure out why she would have been promised that shift. Plus there was nothing in writing to back her up. So she apparently lost her shit when contacted about 1) not showing up for a shift, and then 2) quitting because she didn't get what she wanted. Yes, she is still working for us thanks to HR buttering her up and giving her what she wanted...only because we're short on guards right now. So, as the result of a bunch of stuff that is not the supervisor's fault, she hates him and is now trying to actively undermine him...but she doesn't know that he's a friend of mine and we talk. He called her today after he got the go-ahead from his boss to implement the buddy call system and let her know about the change, and for her to leave a note explaining it so that anybody coming in after her would know about it. What does she do? She calls up two of the guards (including the one I talked about previously) and made it sound like the supervisor was stirring up shit just to make our lives hard.

When I walked in today for my shift she had one of those grins on her face where you just know she's up to something. Her: 'Did you know about the change Jim made?' Me: 'The buddy call thing? Yeah, I knew about it. We spoke about it earlier in the week. It's to ensure our safety at night and it's a good idea. I did it when I managed a Subway.' That stopped her cold. It made it clear that I talk to our supervisor on a regular basis...I haven't mentioned that he and I are friends and he's why I got the job. That bit of information would likely end up with people assuming favouritism or some such thing. Ugh.

But yeah, if I had to actually work beside these two I might end up knocking their heads together.

And I knew I'd have a story of some sort within a short time!

[wolfie]

But yeah, if I had to actually work beside these two I might end up knocking their heads together.

Unfortunately their ass cheeks would cushion the impact.

[KuariKaydrith]

Unfortunately their ass cheeks would cushion the impact.

I just about spewed tea all over my computer! You're absolutely correct