My day starts at 11 a.m. when I roll out of bed. Some days I'll head to the gym, others I won't. I occasionally go to class. But the one constant in my life - aside from Leo's rolls - is the Alligator.
My iPhone is constantly blowing up with work-related e-mails. I spend a lot of time forwarding them along to editors.
When I do sleep, I dream of missing deadlines.
Of computer failures like the one I experienced on my first night of work.
Of the surely faulty electrical system starting a fire that destroys the building and arriving to a pile of scorched rubble.
The newsroom has become my home, and my co-workers have become my family. My mom knows not to call me during the week unless it's an emergency because I'm probably at work or doing something work-related.
And the same applies for the other people who work alongside me in the 5:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. grind of putting out a daily newspaper.
This doesn't leave a lot of time for normal college student pursuits I used to engage in like homework, class, Thursday night dancing at the Atlantic or any semblance of a romantic life.
And these troubles come with the territory when you dedicate yourself to the paper, which is necessary of anyone serious enough to work here.
I'm lucky to have an understanding significant other who is OK with speaking to me in short bursts throughout the day and in between stories as I edit each night.
It also helps that she lives a few hours south in Orlando. Distance can be a good thing sometimes, especially when hanging out during the week would be impossible. I've learned to appreciate the time we get to spend together that much more.
But for those staffers who are trying to kindle new flames in Gainesville during their tenure at the newspaper, dating gets pretty complicated.
After all, assuming you make it out of the newsroom for long enough to meet someone you'd be interested in dating, it's kind of hard to ask someone out on a date that begins at 1:30 in the morning.
And it's not exactly sexy to be answering work-related calls constantly while trying to remember what the heck your date was talking about over a dinner you probably can't afford on your three-dollar-an-hour salary.
But this doesn't seem to dissuade us from trying. And again, when we are able to get out of work, that time off is so much sweeter.
We live for Saturday, when we can decompress and have a few beers.
After this four-day week, which has felt like an eight-day week with inauguration coverage and larger papers than usual, I find myself especially craving a day out of my office. Being so dedicated to what we do here shows in our finished product. When we put the paper to bed every night, we get a sense of satisfaction that can be best described as similar to putting a child to bed after a straight-A report card and ice cream sundaes for all.
Seeing the paper through the window in the orange boxes in the morning validates us. The older man on the exercise bike next to me who read the Alligator as he worked out this morning brought a smile to my face. Heck, even if you just pick up the paper for the crossword and the comic, we still appreciate you. Maybe one day you'll read a story or two.
We're here because we love being here and our No. 1 priority is serving you, our audience. Let us know how we're doing. Send us a letter to the editor at letters@alligator.org.
Nicole Safker is a journalism and pre-law senior. She is the editor in chief of the Alligator.
