Sometimes I think the only people awake during my hours are night shift workers and sex workers. Two tribes living in this weird parallel universe while everyone else sleeps or commutes or does whatever normal people do.
I work security at a distribution center just outside Birmingham. 11pm to 7am shift. My body clock is completely destroyed which means my social life is basically nonexistent. Except. Well. The companionship I find during daytime hours.
Its funny how when youre awake while the world is working, you start to develop these connections that feel almost secret. Like yesterday I met Sarah near Broad Street. Shes been doing this work for years and understands exactly what its like to live outside standard time. We talked more than anything else. About shift work. About loneliness. About how sometimes human connection matters more than the physical stuff.
Not that the physical stuff isnt nice. But thats not really the point. Its about feeling seen. Understood. Like someone gets how strange my life is right now.
Another coffee. Another day bleeding into night. Another moment of connection in this weird hours club we inhabit.