28 Jan - Sunday

As the Iraqi week gets underway it is clear the last two weeks of "two-a-day" meetings are beginning to pay-off. The staff sections are getting into a routine and each new department head has taken steps to organize and integrate their sections into the daily tasks. Each day is filled with new and challenging tasks; it never gets boring around here. As a matter of fact, today I was in the Iraqi Chow hall speaking with the "3rd in charge" if you can call him that - the manager and assistant were out of the office for the day - and in the middle of the conversation, I had my head down because I was frustrated with the conversation, a mouse ran right through the middle of the room. I looked up and the three gentlemen had not blinked an eye. Was I the only one who saw the rodent..was it real...are the late nights starting to get to me? Did these guys put something in my drink...am I hallucinating?? I point to the ground and do a back-and-forth motion with my finger and they laugh. "Oh, the mouse," my interpreter says, "that's the chow hall pet...he watches over the place." At that point, speechless on so many levels, I stood-up chuckling in disbelief and thanked them for their time. There are more important things I can do with my time instead of waisting my breath with the assistant to the assistant manager of a rodent run dining facility. Like I said never a dull moment. Until the next exciting event...have a good day.