Time Enough at Last

I recently transitioned to a new position at my job -- doing overnights. Which is a bit of an adjustment, to say the least, and may be challenging for the first few weeks. Hell, the first few days. I think I've gotten about 3 hours of sleep in the last 36 hours, and I still have to get through tonight and tomorrow's shifts and hope that I can find some sleep somewhere along the way. I'm cursed with being a ridiculously light sleeper, and napping during the day has never been my forté. 

But still, I asked for this. I chose this path, knowing it would be challenging. I had a host of reasons, but deep down one of my personal goals was to use the time to write more. Figured I might as well start with the occasional blog entry. Baby steps, and all.

Ironically enough, ever since I started at this job back in February, I've put exactly 0 time toward my jewelry-making hobby. Maybe I was burned out, or maybe it was just high time I switched out one creative pursuit for another. But in any case, I haven't had the energy or inclination to pick up my jewelry tools in the last 8 months. It's like the switch just got flipped off.

I do miss having some sort of creative outlet, though. Which is why I'm hoping to jumpstart the writing again. I dabbled in a project with a friend, revisiting one of our old shared-hallucination settings, but that fizzled out after a few months. As they so often do. I keep thinking that the key lies in finding a writing buddy, but even when I'm successful, the projects eventually peter out. I'm left wondering how to sustain it. How do I keep the writing going? Sheer force of will?

At least I've got the time. Buckets of (mostly) uninterrupted time to write and fill the wee hours. It's why I chose this gig. A gift to myself, or a kick in the pants, depending on how I want to look at it. Maybe both. If I can keep trucking away, a little at a time, then surely the sacrifice of sleep will be worth it?

That's what I'm telling myself anyway. I made myself time to do something I want to do. Now I just gotta do it.