It took some time to get this post title since I couldn't really decide what role sleep plays in my life. I actually converse with my own "sleepiness" the same way I talk to my car which makes me think that I've separated myself mentally from sleep in an effort to better fight it off. But I digress.
Here's to an incredibly long day at work. It started on Sunday with some insomnia which I decided was reason enough to be late on Monday. Flexible scheduling is an understatement since I was able to make up almost all the time I missed on Tuesday. Tuesday was about 10 hours long and it marks the beginning of a week that I can describe as insane.
I have this mentor, well, I HAD this mentor. He's helped me since I showed up with stories and advice and random IM's saying "come to my desk, I have to show you this thing about this plane". He sent me a message last week that said something to the effect of "I will be taking a different position in a month and you will be responsible for this department's role with the most recognized airplane on the planet". So right off the bat I feel like a dog who's caught the car he was chasing.
But the recipe is right (maybe) for it all to work out. I say that with the cautious optimism of a young sailor set out on the big voyage with a green crew. So I guess more optimistic than cautions and I'll stop before I get into the little fish, big ocean thing as there are other blogs that take care of that.
The recipe is more feeling than measurement:
1 part Friends
Going out is vital. There is so much to learn from reading a book or the internet. You can engage your mind spatially, artistically, analytically etc. from your chair. You can have an equally rewarding experience from your living room as you can from the physical world. But you had damn well better get your ass off the couch and go hike, put new parts on your motorcycle, see dolphins, and generally be around people because nothing engages the spatial, artistic, and analytical parts of your mind like taking it in through all your senses. There's also happy hour and late night sort-of-work-related projects that bring us all right back to college. Sharing these experiences with friends is important because going to happy hour alone is kind of frowned upon.
2 parts Family
There is nothing quite like getting a birthday greeting from home because there is nothing quite like a birthday. Coinciding the radial position of the Earth in it's orbit around the Sun with the position it was at when you took your first breath, however approximate, is pretty, well, unique. I get it, we were born to die so every year is a "hey you did it! here's to another one!" but I don't think extra terrestrials will understand. Equally due to tradition, my sister is coming to visit to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. This will probably be a distraction during the day when she wants to use my car but will be good to spend time after work showing this place off. Trying to keep up with what my family is up to, even what country they're in puts me in a frame of mind that increases my perspective, the same effect as "taking a step back". It helps me not get buried in the little stuff around here.
5 parts Fuel
Yes, 5. Fuel comes in many forms. I'm a fan of making large amounts of food in
the form of a casserole or something that is easily brought to work for
lunch, very cost effective. It saves time as well as money which will help
tackle this task. [I should explain that I have to get up to speed on
the 747 fuel system in a few weeks because I will be a person on
someone's "list of people to contact who know the answers"]. Energy
drinks have kindof gone to the back seat for now since I live
in Seattle. Physically opposite Boston, but still my (coffee)Bean
Town. That just covers the physiological aspect, let's not forget that
this is my "life's work" and I am devoted to it and motivated by it. My
life's work as some might know, consisted of fixing spelling mistakes
at it's most boring and changing words at it highest point. But now with
having to fill the shoes of a man who's talent is as large as the plane
he worked on, the opportunity comes along to sink or swim because I'm
the focus of an incredibly long email thread about some sort of FAA
approval and I'm just waiting for the decision makers to say "go". That
alone, not to mention the rest of this stuff, is highly motivating.
There are other factors that I wont get into, like emails from a certain
someone and music that involves people screaming.
All the Luck
Seriously, use all the luck you can because it comes and goes at random so be grateful and use that star power.
I should also note that I have two vehicles totaling 6 wheels because the good fortune of having your own transportation should never be overlooked. I recall the semester when my Pontiac went quietly into that good night a few years ago. It was pretty rough and depressing. I was stuck in this place that I didn't like too too much and now my freedom to go wherever I wanted whenever I wanted was gone. It will make me hesitate when I have to take the keys from my parents when they're old.
I didn't include the title topic in this recipe. You can take that two ways: sleep is so important and natural that it dominates it's own time slot every day of your life and doesn't need to be mentioned or, it is a nuisance task that must be performed but no one is making you do it so you can sprinkle it in when and where you can if you feel like it. I tend to lean hard toward the latter, so I guess I'll sleep when I'm dead.
