Nocturnal No More?

I have worked night shift for over 3.5 years. I had many opportunities to go to day shift, but the benefits of working nights always outweighed the negatives. I never was able to sleep well during the day, but I never really had a problem staying up all night. Plus, since I didn't sleep all day, I was still able to get out and enjoy at least part of the day before going back into work. I also loved the group of people I worked. They were supportive and helpful and made work fun.

I'm currently doing a travel assignment in which I work both days and nights. I think my body is enjoying a little taste of normalcy. I see a difference in how I feel after working a day shift vs. working night shift. This past weekend, I worked Friday and Saturday night. After waking up on Sunday, I just felt down, as in emotional, don't want to get off the couch, don't want to talk to anyone. This was a very strange feeling for me, but luckily, I have Collin. He discovered me in this state Sunday night and rather than delve into a long discussion about what what was going on (my body's mad at me - that's what!), he hinted that he may want to eat Mexican for dinner.

This may seem like a simple request, but if you know us, we eat Mexican food like it's going out of style. We've tried about every recommended Mexican place in DC and are still looking for our absolute favorite. It's just not quite as good here. That night, we decided on Cactus Cantina.


The temperature was about 75 degrees, so we had a lovely dinner out on the patio. We had some tasty food complete with a very awkward server and mediocre service, which just provided some extra laughs. As a bonus, Cactus Cantina is about 2 blocks from Washington National Cathedral, so after dinner, we strolled down.

By the end of the night, I was smiling again; the night shift blues beaten to a pulp.