“They better not be shaking my toilet.” His predecessor says with a smile as he chuckles in response. His predecessor spoke of a random sign seen during a previous deployment. In the women’s restroom, placed above the toilets, the sign read, “Please don’t shake the toilets.” After some questions about its origin (with no resolution), he suggests it can be used as a phrase for just about anything in particular. Some of his colleagues have picked up on the phrase and he smiles at the thought of his legacy being, among other things, a silly phrase.

Upon his arrival, he was told that he was a month early. He’s now beginning to see those that he began to get acquainted with depart and their replacements arrive. In just a few short weeks he will become the old timer. He sees it as an opportunity to spread the phrase.

A month has passed since his arrival. The pictures he sends home are met with how happy and healthy he appears to be. He appears as such because he is. He misses being a present father but is doing his best to stay busy and keep his mind occupied.

Changes to the menu have been in effect for some weeks now. Breakfast and dinner are hot meals while lunch is cold. Lunch consists of some sort of sandwich meat wrapped in a tortilla or a salad. One day, after joining his colleagues for cold lunch (he got the salad), one person asks another how their tuna wrap tastes. After giving it some thought he replies, “Skin… It tastes like skin.” They all laugh. He’s glad that humor is still intact here.

His predecessor left days ago. He’s enjoying interacting with those from other lands. He’s working on learning some of the foreign tongues. With the departure of his predecessor, he feels an added weight on his shoulders but nothing that he can’t handle or isn’t looking forward to. He’s finding his stride and is thankful for every step. “Let’s shake this toilet!”