u/DeviceWonderful5152

So it’s 2am, I’m fully booked and the system has already rolled over to the next day, I look up and see two shadows at my door so activate the intercom.

A taxi driver talks into the intercom that he’s got a stranded 80 year old gentleman who needs a hotel room for the night and he’s driven him from the next town after finding no hotels there. I tell him that unfortunately we are fully booked and I don’t have a spare room. Sadly even if I did have some empty rooms I still couldn’t give him one as there’s no way of booking one till 3pm as the system had already rolled over to the best day.

The taxi driver pleaded with me to make an exception because the poor man was in his 80’s and all alone. The elderly gentleman just looked really sad at my door. I felt really awful. I said to the taxi driver that it wasn’t that I didn’t want to give him one, I’m just full. Every room has someone in it:( he asked if I could find it in my heart to help. By this point I was beginning to feel that I was being made out to be the bad guy and it made me feel bad inside. I directed them to a bigger hotel In the hopes they could help. The elderly man went with the taxi driver and just looked so sad.

I have so many questions, where is he from originally? How did he get to wherever he started from to get in the taxi? Where is his family ? Why is an elderly man wandering the streets at 80 years old with his luggage?! I tried to get some answers from the taxi driver as I felt the police may need to be told as I was worried for the man being out alone. He’s lucky he found a taxi driver who was going out of his way to help him, most would have dropped him off and gone. I’ll never get the answers to my questions as they drove off .

Caught someone smoking in their hotel room, it was obvious because I’ve been on the desk doing paperwork for the last 3 hours and no-one has come downstairs, so it’s not residual from clothes. I knocked on their door multiple times and then they pretended to he annoyed at me for waking them up when they were asleep. I was concerned I’d woken up the entire corridor banging him up at 3am. I was meant to say get your stuff and get out. But for some reason I muttered * this is your warning * I laid the law down in no uncertain terms and then left. I got caught by another customer on the way to the office to make a note on his booking. By the time I dealt with them it was almost 40minutes past the event and I feel I can’t now go back up there and wake the entire corridor including young children, up again by changing my mind and telling him to get out.

I’m so annoyed at myself. It’s because I just gave someone a noise warning I think the warning sentence was in my head and just spilled out. I’m going to go back up there in around every half hour and see if he does it again. Part of me is like .. I can’t prove it, because he’s denied it saying it’s residual on his jacket from earlier. I’ve laid the law down in no uncertain terms and given him a warning. Stop beating myself up, but I’m also super annoyed. Just wanted to rant

I’m sure there must be avid runners in this community! So… I have probably made questionable life choices and signed up for the London Marathon next year! I did it once before but I was a day walker then. Last time I did it I worked full time and didn’t used to get home till 8pm sometimes depending on work so fitting training in was a challenge, but I did it!
This time I’m a night walker my shifts are either 10-7 or 11-8, I work less days 3 or 4 days instead of 5 or 6 * subject to change due to staffing levels. If my shifts stay as they are (hopefully) I figured I have a bit more time to fit running in then I did when I worked full time. The difference is those hours may be after I finish work or I get up a bit earlier and days off. I wondered if there was anyone here that managed running whilst working nights and how you manage it ?