Monday, August 04, 2008

I'm Still Awake & John 2

Well it is now the evening after the dreaded wakefulness test and I am still awake and going strong. It seems to be a pretty bogus test, designed to make you fail. First of all, who stops four times during the work day, goes into a dark, quiet room and lays in bed for forty minutes with the intention of staying awake? Secondly, even though there is a coffee pot in each of the operating areas at work and soda machines or refrigerators with caffeinated drinks that are consumed through out the day, for this day--no caffeine once you arrive at the testing site! (I didn't know that and brought a Coke Zero with me.) All of this makes for something that is very foreign to the typical work day and yet this is the test used to determine if I can stay awake enough to do my job. As a matter of fact, the FAA has determined that you can't even nap on your break. That's right. You can play video games on a computer, surf the net, read a book, play cards, watch soap operas on TV or any other meaningless thing...just don't close your eyes to rest for a few moments before going back to work!

Of course now that I've given them proper scientific documentation, I think that I should be able to go into a dark quiet room, close the door and recline uninterrupted for my break. Everybody knows that I can do this without falling asleep. I'm just taking a relaxing break!

Anyways, I passed the test today. Tomorrow the results will be at my doctor's office. I'll go by to make sure that they have a signed release and the right address to send the information and then we'll see how long it takes the medical staff at the regional office to allow me to go back to work. My bet is two weeks.

_____________________________________________________

For anyone following along in the Gospel of John...

John 2

Something important I've learned:

You can trust the character (the nature) of Jesus.

The verse I liked best:

Verses 3-5 When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine." "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come."

His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."

His mother does not tell Jesus what to do and yet knows that He will take care of the situation. She indicates this when she tells the servants to obey Him.

A question to consider:

Do I trust the character of Jesus enough to know that He is in control and enough to do whatever he tells me?


How about you?

John


4 comments:

Mike said...

I would take their test and blow their stats out of the water. Dark room schmark room. If it's not 2 or 3 in the morning it's not bed time.

How long did it take your eyes to adjust to the dark room?

Kevin Gilmore said...

A fellow Air Traffic Controller lost his medical a couple weeks ago because of this same condition. He's awaiting the same test and jumping through the same hoops you're jumping through. It doesn't seem to matter that he's been using the device for the past 5 years.

Only in the faa.

John A Hill said...

Mike, it didn't take too long but there was only a very little bit of light coming from under the door.
After the first session, my computer was plugged in so the added little green light that shows it's on AC power really made a difference.

Kevin, feel free to have your friend contact me. My number is in the right column.

Amanda said...

I must have missed something....Is this a routine test you have to do for your job? Good that you passed it. Let me go look through your archives for why you need this test.