Ready for my tranquilizer

This is my third week working for the Pacific Daily News, a newspaper established in 1944 as the Navy News and then acquired by Gannett in 1971.

For kicks, I will recap the first day for you since it got lost within the scramble to find an apartment and car, set up a bank account, and the general chaos that ensues the first few weeks of a new job.

The Sunday before my first day of work, groggy from jetlag, I fell asleep at 8 p.m. and asked a friend from the U.S. to call and wake me up in a few hours so I could prep for the following morning. I wanted to brain storm some story ideas so I would be ready for my first day, as I was supposed to report to the office at 9 a.m.

When I woke up, the clock glared 11 and I leaped out of bed so quickly that my head started throbbing. “How could I have woken up late??!” I thought, absolutely livid and embarrassed with myself.  I had set three alarms and called for reinforcements. I certainly did not imagine my ideal first day traipsing in over two hours late….

Until it dawned on me that I still hadn’t even slept past midnight. I had woken up only 3 hours after passing out, thinking it was 11 the next day.

I didn’t miss work, I made it on time, and the best part about this story is that the exact same thing happened to me again last night, as I worried about missing a deadline. I woke up at 12 midnight thinking it was noon.

So I can officially say I’ve gotten into the groove of the new job and there are more entries to come on life in Guam and at PDN.

Check out my Guam clips at guampdn.com, search for “Amritha Alladi,” or just surf the lifestyle pages.