Lessons Learned

40 Ways to Prepare for a Deployment:
#4. Renovate your bathroom. Hang a green plastic sheet down from the middle of your bathtub and move the showerhead down to chest level. Keep four inches of soapy cold water on the floor. Stop cleaning the toilet and pee everywhere but in the toilet itself. Leave two to three sheets of toilet paper. Or for best effect, remove it altogether. For a more realistic deployed bathroom experience, stop using your bathroom and use a neighbor's. Choose a neighbor who lives at least a quarter mile away.

I haven't been using the coed latrines by our sleeping areas since they rarely look like they've been cleaned. I know the Porta Johns are cleaned every day so last night I went to use one and I didn't bring my flashlight. Not a big deal but I had some difficultly getting the door shut. I didn't realize this was going to be an issue until I tried to get out. The door wouldn't open....I couldn't believe I was stuck in a Porta John of all places. So I'm trying like hell to push this door open and I decide to give it my shoulder. A screw, from the other side to anchor the hand sanitizer, dug into my shoulder....OUCH! Of course, I had more colorful vocabulary at the time.

Remember when I wrote about men in the Army not being able to read or tell time.... yesterday morning my roommate totally blew that theory. We had just gotten back from a run and we normally go to breakfast first but she decided she wanted to shower first. She left for the shower trailer prior to me and when I rounded the corner, I saw her standing by the trailer. I knew without even having to ask that she had walked in on the guys. Too funny! I had a great laugh at her expense.

However, I had my own lesson to learn this week. The water in the latrines is non-potable water. Meaning, it's good enough to shower with but don't drink! So, I'm brushing my teeth and rinsing my mouth and I drink a couple handfills....Oh No! I knew the minute I did it the grave mistake I had made. Sure enough, I had a bad gut for two days. Nothing to keep me in bed but it sure made for especially long days when I wasn't feeling well.

Good thing I started to feel better later in the week since the colonel from the TORCH party brought my roommate and I to a dinner at the Corps of Engineers. Their camp had it's own private entry way and as we were escorted back, I couldn't believe my eyes! They had built their area to look like someones back yard patio complete with plants. An oasis in this God-forsaken country! The dinner was phenominal and I was wondering how I could be allowed to eat every meal there. Or at least gaze upon the plants in the area. The Engineers had better post guards on their plants...I'm on a mission.

In fact, my roommate and I have decided to set up our own patio area. There's an abundance of scrape lumber and concrete laying around. Now all I need is a bag of peat moss and some seeds. Just wait, before long I'll have my garden and I can stare at the plants here!