(This post is part of a series of 50+ short stories from my adventures over the years. It will be eventually assembled into a book under the same title.)

A few years later after my abortive Virgin flight to Heathrow where I passed out after taking Ambien in the restroom, I decided to take it again.

I was flying to Yerevan, Armenia, to speak at an HR conference and then to an Armenian financial services company (Ineco)the day after. The trip would eventually include talks in Georgia (the country), Azerbaijan, and Qatar before my return home. Regardless, I was landing at 10 pm the night before my first talk and I was not tired due to the time zone changes.

After checking in, I took my second Ambien of my life and propped up my JBL Bluetooth speaker on my lap to answer a few emails before heading to sleep. I liked to keep the speaker on my lap so as to be able to hear it without bothering others.

I answered a few emails and then fell asleep. My alarm woke me the next morning and I went down for coffee and to be briefed by my host, Arpi, at about 9 am.

As I arrived at the hotel lobby, Arpi approached me rather rapidly with concern on her face. “Are you OK???” She asked. I paused and then said, yes, fine. The flight was long but I slept well. She was a bit taken aback and then said, “so you don’t know?”

I asked what she was referring to. Just then the hotel manager came up in a huff, “sir, are you OK?” Now I was getting weirded out. I said calmly, “yes… why do you ask.”

Arpi interrupted “OK - so you don’t know at all?”

I responded, worried, “Did I miss my talk, was I late? What has happened.”

Chastened Arpi and the manager talked over each other, “no, no, last night there was a disturbance in room 206 (my room). At about 2 am there was very loud music coming from that room. The manager determined that it was your room and called me. I called you but you did not answer. This went on for more than an hour as we obtained permission to enter your room.

We entered and found you… well, seemingly dead but with loud music playing from your speaker. We turned off the music, checked your pulse - which was fine - and left you alone.

Apparently, the Ambien had kicked in and in the process of rolling over, I had cranked the volume of the music from my JBL speaker annoying everyone around me. When they entered the room I was in the height of my Ambien slumber.

The next morning I walked 17 miles in the city and also made a trip to see the spectacular Mt. Ararat - just over the Turkish border. The following morning I gave my keynote speech - unscathed - but I suspect that my host Arpi, and the hotel manager may never be the same LOL

Why Am I Still Alive? Pt. 4: The Second Time I Tried Ambien