Night Shift

The team I'm working with is involved in installing a new system in South Australia. A few people are on site in Adelaide, but most of us are still back here in Georgia, USA.

South Australia is thirteen-and-a-half hours ahead of US Eastern time. This has made it difficult to provide support from home, as they work while we sleep and vice versa.

We came up with a solution: the people in the States will be working from 3:00 PM to 11:00 PM, which is 4:30 AM to 12:30 AM in Adelaide. The people in Australia will show up at 7:00 AM their time (which is the earliest they are allowed into the building), giving us a few hours of overlapping duty.

So, this week I get to see my wife and stepson for just a few minutes each morning (as they prepare for school/work) and each evening (when I get home around midnight). That stinks, but I guess it's better than traveling to Australia myself.

(I know some people will chime in and say "Oh, you've got to go to Australia! It's wonderful!" You people obviously aren't IT workers. If I go to Australia for this project, all I will get to see is the airport, the hotel, and the basement where they keep the computers. Sightseeing is for people in Business Development.)

© 2003-2023 Kristopher Johnson