Life At 3am!

The 24 hour convenience store. The only people in here is the bored night clerk, the occasional police officer looking for coffee, the random customer with business that can't wait.
The night shift worker's best friend. People keep telling me that the energy drinks are helpful however being a traditional guy I love my coffee. This set up looks impressive, offering a variety of caffeinated choice. However at 3am there are at the most 2 filled with coffee that was brewed who knows when. The cop and the frequent customer usually get the fresh pots.
This business center is packed in the day/evening time. All the spots are packed and at least a dozen people waiting for someone to vacate their spots. This place is a traffic nightmare. There was also a security guard sleeping in his car.

I ended the night at 59 Diner.

Some Know How to Relax

This comes from a camping spot on a Florida beach. This young woman is under a lot of pressure. I admire how she handles the strain. She sets up camp on this beach spot and reminds us there are good things to enjoy.

Night Shift Dining

59 Diner in Katy. The only ones there were me, the night waitress, the night manager, and a cook.

IHOP at 3 in the morning!

I was recently transferred to the graveyard shift at work. This isn't the first time I've worked the graveyard shift. I'm hoping to live the life of a night worker smarter this time than I did back then but that's another post for another time. The life of a night worker feels like living backwards. When you're up and working the majority of the population is asleep. You drive through neighborhoods past thousands of people who have no idea you are there. When you sleep the rest of society is functioning "as normal." Most services that people take for granted aren't readily available and require a sacrifice of sleep for you to use. Anyhow, dining on the night shift is very limited. Bigger city night workers have more options than small towns or even rural areas. Fortunately I live in a metroplex so there is always something open and ready to use. However the dining experience at 2, 3, 4 in the morning is quite different than when the sun is up. Often times the establishment is bare (excepting Saturday and Sunday mornings after the bars and clubs close), the workers are bored and tired, the cook staff aren't supervised as much and can make or break the quality of your meal depending on their mood, motivation, level of intoxication (sometimes), etc. On the plus side you usually have more attention from your server and depending on how easily you make friends can have a pleasant discussion and better than average service (plus they can help make sure your food is done right). Night workers share a bond of living and working apart from the rest of society so conversations come easily. It's our own little world.

"Vintage" 59 Diner

I shot this inside a 59 Diner in Katy, TX, using a "vintage" Iphone App. I was the only customer inside the store. Well aside from the only waitress and the night manager having a conversation over old music blaring over the radio. As I say, working graveyards can get lonesome at times.

Galveston Mardi Gras Videos

Shot when we got there.




People catching beads.




We were told the parade started at a certain time so we froze out butts off waiting. When it didn't start we went to get dinner and a couple of hours later we came back and caught the tail end of it.




The end of the parade.




Walking through a crowd assembled to catch beads.




Nightime revelers catching beads.




We stepped into a club briefly.

Another Respite

Another brief escape during this period of sudden readjustment. I spent a couple of late night hours at a local Slick Willie's pool hall.

A Brief Escape

While the economy goes downward and people are losing their jobs or getting their salaries cut there are still moments that give us hope better times are coming. Meanwhile I will be here for a moment.