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Longest shift you've ever worked


Helobious

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What's the longest shift you've ever worked, and for what job? Or simply what's the most consecutive hours you've worked? 

I once worked an 18 hour shift for a catering company when I was still in college, 8am-2am. All day set up for a night event, the event itself, then the cleaning/packing up, and driving back to the warehouse to put the shit up.  It was a 3,000 person CCA event in San Antonio. And yes, I still managed to walk into the right apartment afterwards. 

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First time at trial I billed an 18 hour day followed by a 22 hour day followed by another 20 hour day.  Basically zero sleep for three nights.  And that was in a two week period where I never got more than 5 hours of sleep in a single night.  

For years after that trial, I cringed every time I heard the sound of an iPhone alarm.

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The longest shift I ever worked was 36 hours. I was powered by Jolt, Mountain Dew and coffee and 1 doughnut. I later did a 32 hour shift and a 30 hour shift and regulatly did 24 hour shifts. I can't even count how many 24 hour shifts I worked back then.

I was in my early twenties working in the tech industry and fell for the grind it out mentality because I young and dumb.

 

 

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Fifteen hours out in an oilfield setting up a service to a new well in 110 degree heat.  Most of it on caliche giving a nice reflection of the Sun back into my face.

Dug the holes for the poles.  Dropped the poles.  Ran the overhead line to the well.  Hung the transformer.  Hooked up the transformer.  Dug the ditch to the pump jack (Ditch Witch is winning).  Laid the line.  Installed the panel box.  Hooked up a new motor and belts.  For some reason it absolutely had to be done that day.  Then the motherfuckers didn't even start it up for another week. 

If I'd lived in an apartment I could have easily walked into the wrong one.  Once I got in the door I found the couch and passed right the fuck out until the alarm woke me up for the next day.

 

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Got off work at 6:30 AM after a 12 hour shift on a Friday. Spent all day packing and getting stuff together, picked my girlfriend up, and drove through the night powered by monster and cigarettes to get to the Chisos Basin ranger station at the time they were supposed to open so we could get the best backcountry permits, only to find that the winter storm we drove through had knocked out all power for 100 miles. By the time we went to bed I had been up for over 48 hours.

But that doesn't compare to trying 27 hours of labor followed by an emergency C section. And I wasn't the one trying to squeeze out a baby.

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1 hour ago, BrickHorn said:

First time at trial I billed an 18 hour day followed by a 22 hour day followed by another 20 hour day.  Basically zero sleep for three nights.  And that was in a two week period where I never got more than 5 hours of sleep in a single night.  

 For years after that trial, I cringed every time I heard the sound of an iPhone alarm.

God I hope that the world is a better place after that. 

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24 hours working a fuel island and doing preventative maintenance. I was 2nd shift. 3rd shift was only one man, who called in. Two of the 3 for 1st shift called in, so I agreed to stay under the condition that I get the next two days off. Showed up at 3 pm, left at 3 pm the following day.

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Multiple times worked three days with maybe 1-2 hours each night. I would get one decent night then go back at it.

Several times afterwards, I came home, to the correct house. I really liked fruit salad with poppy seed dressing. So no shit, more than once, I would make fruit salet, pour ranch all over it, and eat it. Thought it tasted weird. Kept eating. Finally dawns on me, that's not poppy seed dressing. Lots of other weird sleep deprivation stories if I took the time.

Driving like that was always and adventure.

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28 minutes ago, BrickTop said:


Lol I’m a Firefighter in a suburb of Houston.....wasn’t uncommon at all we usually work 48/96.


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you are on duty for that long.

 

You're not working that long.

 

There is a distinct difference between playing pingpong, cooking dinner( which all of us do,) and being on scene.

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While in college, I helped open a new restaurant (in Austin).  16-18 hour days for something like 15 of the 16 days I was there.  Best part?  I had broken two ribs the day before I flew down.  I was so hopped up on pain meds, I didn't really care that I was working.  I'd get back to the hotel and melt into the bed until the next alarm.

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you are on duty for that long.
 
You're not working that long.
 
There is a distinct difference between playing pingpong, cooking dinner( which all of us do,) and being on scene.

Negative I was on shift for that long, like the Op asked. And it’s entertaining running into people who think all we do is play ping pong, eat, wait for calls and drain tax payers money


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2 minutes ago, BrickTop said:


Negative I was on shift for that long, like the Op asked. And it’s entertaining running into people who think all we do is play ping pong, eat, wait for calls and drain tax payers money


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I don't think that way.  Multiple family members are firefighters.  

 

You were on duty that long.

 

You aren't working that long, especially on the regular, or y'all don't give a fuck about safety.

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I don't think that way.  Multiple family members are firefighters.  
 
You were on duty that long.
 
You aren't working that long, especially on the regular, or y'all don't give a fuck about safety.

Good to know, I’ve been in 18 years, we refer to our scheduled days as shifts or tours. At 0700 your shift begins and you are considered “on duty”, never heard it referred to as anything else. But yes you are right some shifts are easier than others and some nights you don’t get woken up at all. Other shifts you can go with 2-3 hours of sleep a night, it really just depends. But yea when it is flooding and such we tend to stay pretty busy .


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I did once go to class on the wrong floor of ESB. Exact same layout, just one floor off. The prof started passing out a test, and when I saw the title on the test, I realized I was in the wrong classroom. I took the test anyway, put a made up name on it, was the second to turn it in. 

In my defense, I was high as fuck, but unarmed.

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16 hours delivering beer in a truck with no A/C in San Antonio in July.  But I was 20 so I bounced back okay.  shit, I think I even went out that night and met some girls

I'm in the midst of 36 hours of no sleep at work right now.  It's "office" shit, but I'm already exhausted and honestly have forgotten what day it is multiple times already.

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