My advice to readers in Guam is to regularly have a hearty lunch and plan a liquid diet for the evening. You should then be good to go for the foreseeable future, which is how long the power outages could be with us.
My advice to those of you reading this elsewhere is — head to Saipan, or Palau, or anywhere in the islands where the lights are on. I am sure the hotels in Guam have generators, but it’s still kind of dark and miserable in our tourist district of Tumon when the power goes out.
In the meantime, I am sitting here writing this in the dark, with just enough light from the screen and a battery-powered lamp to reach for a glass of very good Scotch whisky.
I forwarded the GPA media release with the blackout schedule to my WhatsApp chat groups, and all I can say is — don’t blame the messenger.
My advice to the 37th Guam Legislature would be not to schedule any hearings in the evenings either until GPA resumes normal service.
Day 2 of column writing:
Yesterday I deleted the really grouchy paragraphs, and called it a night halfway through.
Today was a very good day.
The University of Guam’s Dean Lawrence Camacho — who is responsible for Enrollment Management and Student Success visited with Reporter Althea Engman and me. Ron VanDon, who is a Career Advising Specialist at UOG, is equally enthusiastic about the potential of UOG to meet student needs through relationships and internships. And Althea is also a proud UOG student.
We look forward to resuming internships at Glimpses Media.
I headed to the Hilton for the early evening Environmental Impact Study Scoping Meeting for the Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense System in Guam, ready to be educated. The Hilton’s Micronesian Room was full of folks (probably subject matter experts) who had flown in from Washington, D.C., Hawaii and I forget where else to answer any questions attendees might have.
There was also a power line up at the press briefing, all of whom had flown in for the EIS meetings, except our new admiral, Rear Adm. Gregory Huffman.
(The admiral says he’s very happy to be in Guam. Must be a coincidence he’s already visited Saipan, Tinian and Pohnpei. Nothing to do with the blackouts, I’m sure.)
You can read the resulting story on the EIS Scoping Meeting on www.mbjguam.com. Sign up for our free news updates while you’re there.
For those of you who remember them — the EIS scoping meeting was just like the several we had in Guam and Saipan in years past for the Guam Military Build Up.
The press briefing had a panel of experts. I drove home with a head full of thoughts, remembering to gas my car on the way.
And then — say, what? My condo development in Yigo was darker than dark.
I parked, and brave and motivated soul that I am I headed for the house — clutching my briefcase, the EIS media packets, the eggs I bought at the gas station, the sandwich I forgot to eat at lunchtime and my (empty) coffee to-go mug.
But as I put my key in the door, the power came on like magic. Or else I have a guardian angel.
About 7 in 10 U.S. adults say they believe in angels, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
I might be one of them, at least until the next blackout, but tonight I finished this column.
If statistics on angels doesn’t interest you, head for Data Bank at the back of the paper. We have lots of statistical information there. mbj
— Maureen N. Maratita is the publisher at Glimpses Media. Publications at Glimpses Media include the Marianas Business Journal, MBJ Life, The Real Estate Journal, Guam Business Magazine, Beach Road Magazine, Buenas and Drive Guam.