Jet lag three times a week. Exciting life.

The trouble with my night shift is that I get jet-lagged, even without leaving the country. But to make things even trickier, day 1 (of 7), I still have to get up at 3h00 to anchor the morning news, then start the night shift, which goes until 1h00. The next day, I start work at 13h30. Then day 7 after I get off at 1h00, I have to be back on regular schedule right the next day to anchor the morning news again. This week, they were nice to me and let me start at 11h00 (but I still have to be in by 8h30/9h00 to prepare). When they're not so nice, I start at my regular time, 6h00, so I have to go in at 3h00, which means I go home at 1h00, take off make-up, shower, sleep one wink and go back to work.

So yesterday, my last anchoring session ended at 15h00, then I went to Primo for a really late lunch (when they actually have tables for walk-ins). While waiting for Michael & Lydia, I chatted with Hed, one of the partners there. She saw I had The World is Flat on the table and said, "you zip around town in a 16-inch folding Strida, do your own glittery, metallic bluish green nail polish, are a news anchor and read books like this. You are full of conflicts! The only things these have in common is...you." Hm, I will take that as a compliment. :) Hed's quite interesting. She's Taiwanese, majored in French in college, went to grad school in Boston, worked in Japan and eats cheese with sake. She says it's all the fad among connoisseurs in Japan. Hm. What can I say? She's in the cheese business. In any case, she's someone I'd like to get to know more. She seems intelligent, happy-go-lucky and is evidently quite observant.

After our 16h00 lunch, I came home and was out cold for five hours.

Then I did some doing some looking around for a new mobile phone on the Internet (I'm really inclined to get the Sony Ericsson W995. My last four phones in Taiwan/Japan have been SE's, and so far nothing easily available in TW really beats them. No iPhone - too awkward to hold), I cleaned up and crawled back into bed. Then couldn't sleep. For hours. So I read another 30 pages of the flat world book (if you think of it as an interesting textbook, it's not so bad). I think I finally fell asleep around 3h00 (obviously not yet over night shift jet lag). Good thing I have a once-in-a-blue-moon Sunday off.

Then the phone rings, it's from the office. 5h45. The 6h00 anchor didn't show, wasn't picking up his phone and they need me to come in, NOW. Aigh. So I called for taxi, splashed water on my face, got dressed in the dark and out I went. On the way to the TV station, the phone rings again, "Oh, he arrived. We're still in deep doo doo though - can't start the show on time. You don't have to come in anymore. We'll reimburse you for taxi. Thanks anyway." Ugh...

Since I was up anyway, and the sun wasn't really, so I decided to go for a jog. I could barely keep my legs going, and I realized it was because it'd been too long since I last ate - yesterday afternoon (and probably too long since I last slept well). So I cut the run short, fast-walked the rest of it like an old lady, but still trying to get exercise, so I tried to swing my arms really hard (oh, I bet I looked really funny) and came home after just 30 minutes. Finding only an apple in the fridge, I ended up eating half of it with a big bowl of instant oatmeal.

Just fed the flowers (water + fertilizer) because I have no dog to feed (Brian doesn't eat), now I am GOING BACK TO BED.

I love my exciting life.