Two hundred new faces. You can't help but run into one. They are in the hallways and between buildings. In front and behind you at the juice machine. Scraping their plates at the food waste barrels. In the room across the way. At your workcenter. They outnumber us now.
Some of us panic and shy away. Others have excited reunions with friends. A few of us have all but disappeared, choosing to avoid the congestion. When choosing a table in the galley we all seem to gravitate toward other winter-overs in hope of avoiding the question, "How was your winter?"
FNG or seasoned vet, none of us really know what to do with each other. The new ones have been warned to be kind to us. As a result they will step aside and make apologies for being wherever they think you want to be.
Most are tan, even if only by our standards. Many wore shorts outside last week. They talk fast and don't forget where they put things. They still remember an agenda that included something other than waking up in time for work.
Having a new crew restores energy while helping to confirm the notion that there is somewhere else than here.