Workin for a livin...sorta

I'm enjoying my new work schedule. It's better in just about every way from what I worked with the FAA. We work six days in a row (kinda) and then have 4 days off (kinda)...instead of the 6 on, 1 off I worked for most of my last 2 years with the FAA.

Our work cycle last 10 days. We start with two day shifts, 6am-1pm, 3rd and 4th day are evening shifts, 1pm-10pm. 5th and 6th days we go in at 10pm and work until 6am, so we actually getting off work at 6am on the 7th day. Then we are off on day 8, 9, and 10.

I like that we rotate shifts with long breaks between shifts, instead of 8-10 hrs turn arounds with the FAA.

I like that after the 2nd day shift you can go out for a night on the town and sleep in a little before your 1-10 the next day. or you can even go out after your 1-10 shifts and still get some sleep.

Another advantage is when you take 6 days off, you get a 13-14 day break. And we get 6 work cycles a year for vacation.

We also have our work day laid out for us...we know what position we will be working at what time. 2-3 people are on break at any given time, so if you are scheduled a break at the beginning or end of the shift you can come in late or leave early.

I guess the disadvantage of the work schedule is that you are essentially doing rotating days off--so it's hard to plan anything week to week (eg. softball games on Sat night..I will be missing some every now and then). It is also very hard to keep up with what day of the week it is. Compounding this is I'm still not used to the idea of Friday-Saturdays being weekends in Dubai; and I still have to keep in mind that Sat-Sun is the weekend back home--I feel like every week has a 3-day weekend. Try wrapping your mind around that.

All in all, it's nice to have time to get things done during the week and it just makes for a fairly relaxing life and Dubai is a nice place to relax.

Siesta time...nite all!