All-nighters

[cjsmith]

In an all-nighter, now is about the time when I start to get cold. Pretty much no matter what, from here on out, I'll feel chilly until I get sleep.

About an hour ago I stopped being willing to pretend I was in a good mood. I'm not too bad yet, but I'm no longer faking being cheerful.

I'm so hungry. Why didn't I think, when I came in to work "this" morning, to bring twice the normal amount of food? When I haven't eaten in ten hours, granola bars just don't cut it. Sooooooooooo hungry.

Comments

[sunnydale47.livejournal.com]

Maybe the reason you were getting so cold isn't only that you were tired and hungry (although that's certainly enough to do it!) but also that the temperature in the building was dropping. Most office buildings turn down the heat at night when (theoretically) no one is there. It probably really was colder, and without food and sleep your body was having real trouble coping with it.

I hope you're home sleeping in your warm, cozy bed as I write this at 7:00 am (10 am EST) and that you'll be back to normal after some decent sleep and a good meal.

Productivity without adequate sleep is a whole 'nother problem. Look at all the extra mistakes you said you were making, and be glad you're not a doctor in internship or residency. They get even less sleep, and their mistakes are not so easily found or corrected!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

It's true that the temperature in the building drops at night, but this is a feeling I know well. My body is shutting down. It's long past its normal shutdown time and it's desperate.

It's not all that smart or macho to know such a feeling intimately. "Bragging rights" on this one are really kind of stupid. Would that I had the fortitude to say that enough is enough.

I'll get sleep tonight, I think.

Yes, the lack of sleep for doctors is what put me off that profession in the first place. I now realize I probably could have done it as well as Joe Random Med Student, but when I was in high school following doctors aruond on rounds I didn't know that. I decided forget it.

[sunnydale47.livejournal.com]

I didn't realize you had considered being a doctor at one time. I understand why you changed your mind, and it was probably the right decision for you -- but you would have been an awesome doctor! You have both intelligence and empathy, and that combination is all too rare in the medical profession.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you! Looking back, I don't know if it truly was the right decision. I'm fascinated by medical stuff in a way I never truly have been by computer things. Oh well -- what I did choose didn't turn out too badly.