Got a call last night-

[Bogatyri]

I just got back a month ago bro. Going over there as a contractor you can get pretty much whatever you need once you get the lay of the land. And if its women you need most of the contracting companies stop in Dubai and they literally have a catalog of women with pics, you just pick out what you want like ordering a friggin pizz . Be warned though due to new laws under this administration you will be taxed if you come back within three hundred something days, and if you live in Cali you will be grabbing your ankles with the money they take. Look on the bright side you will get paid to get huge.

[Times Roman]

Yes I think younger would be harder. She is at the age now where she will be spending more and more time with friends and less with mom/dad. You have to trust mom to monitor things and you can still be very involved via chat, skype, etc.

My woman and I are in a very solid relationship. She is very protective of our children, doesn't really party (unless with me), rarely drinks, doesn't flirt with other guys, and we never had infidility issues. I trust her 110%. She is very "hands on" with our daughter. So I don't see any issues there.

[Times Roman]

I just got back a month ago bro. Going over there as a contractor you can get pretty much whatever you need once you get the lay of the land. And if its women you need most of the contracting companies stop in Dubai and they literally have a catalog of women with pics, you just pick out what you want like ordering a friggin pizz . Be warned though due to new laws under this administration you will be taxed if you come back within three hundred something days, and if you live in Cali you will be grabbing your ankles with the money they take. Look on the bright side you will get paid to get huge.

My buddy over there has "hinted" that there are certain accomodations for some of the single guys. The email is unsecure, it's MSN, and I believe his woman has access to it as well. So he had to be extremely vague.

He said the gym is more of an exercise room, but there is a complete gym I can go to off compound, a little expensive, but has 100% everything a mate could want. So yeah, you know I will be living in the gym when not working.

So getting gear wasn't a problem? My doc may write me a Rx for a low dose, 6 month supply of test, but I would have to carry that with me, and not comfortable taking that through airport security, even with a bona fide Doctor script.

BTW... my buddy just emailed me and said they are now starting the background check.

[Bogatyri]

Dude getting gear is NOT a problem at all. I traded a case of batteries (that i traded a bottle of jack for) to Haji at the pharmacy for an entire cycle of winny/deca /test prop. If you get there and do not have access to get to the pharmacy off compound you will meet the right people relatively fast who will have access. Plus like i said its easy to get, someone WILL have access to to gear. Look for the contractors make friends with them and ill be back there myself in Feb, you will find hookups for sure.

[Times Roman]

I'll pm you

[40plusnewbie]

I would do it without question. You and your family sacrifice now for the payoff in the future (including you having that much more time to spend with your daughter when you retire). Don't be one of those suckers who works themselves to death, working their whole life and then dropping dead a couple years after retiring. If I could afford (financially) to retire today at age 43 I would do so for sure. I have a condo by the beach in Brazil all paid for and waiting for me, the ONLY thing that is holding me back is da money. If I could sock away 1/2 a mil in 5 years I would do so and then my life would BEGIN. Work sucks. Having free time to spend the way you choose is what life is all about IMO.

[Times Roman]

Way I see my options now, without Kabul, is I've got a few 401(k)'s tucked away, totalling maybe $150k (used to be alot more). And we both know that aint enough to retire, not even close. Because of the type of work I do, I can work as long as my mind stays sharp. So I've been assuming I'd probably have to work until i'm 70 or until my body gives out, whichever comes first. So basically, my retirement plan, without Kabul, is no retirement. And I bet half you mates out there are thinking the same thing (the "not really retiring" plan)
And dont get me started on my house. It's worth less than what I owe, so no hidden assets there.
So as long as I'm willing to sacrafice, then I can get some options. Options are nice. My buddy just emailed me asking if I heard from DC yet (I haven't). Must still be checking my references....?

[40plusnewbie]

Have you ever considered retiring to a 2nd or 3rd world country? The dollar buys a lot more, hence you need less to retire with. I've got a couple of condo's in Brazil, the one I will live in is 2 1/2 br, 1 1/2 bath, 5 min. walk to a pristine, beautiful beach. Cost me 32K USD about 5 years ago. Comparable condo somewhere like Miami Beach would be at least 10x that much. Drawing 20K/yr from retirement savings me and my wife would be living quite comfortably where my job will be strolling on the beach, swimming in beautiful warm water, eating fresh fish and drinking fresh coconut juice under the shade of palm trees every afternoon.... The USA can kiss my ass, I'm outa here as soon as I can afford it. If I could earn enough money working over the internet I would be outa here tonight!

[Times Roman]

Never really got past the "thought about it" stage. Woman has been reading those "top 10" retirement places articles on the internet. Nicarauga is supposed to give you the biggest bang for your buck. but you have to sacrafice being away from your friends and family, and grandchildren, assuming I'll have them at that age. But I know where you are coming from. Another concern of mine is the ability to ride my harley. not sure what the roads are like down there, or if it is "rider friendly".

[Times Roman]

My refs have all said they received a call from IRG checking me out. No call from DC yet. Not sure why I am surprised this takes so long. My buddy in Kabul, also a reference, said to just hang in there. Given that it takes 7 days to get a passport, the likelihood of being in country by the 14th seems less likely.

[Times Roman]

Well, I have a conference call in the morning at 6:30. Looks like this thing is starting...

[Shol'va]

I have a friend over there in Afghanistan working as a contractor. Not sure if he is with KBR or Halliburton. One is just a subsidiary of the other. But he started out with a one year deal and now has been there 4 years. If he stayed just one full year it was all US tax free. anything less than a year was taxed. But he is going for 5 years now at about a little over 100k a year. Has a family back here, is 40 years old and comes back a couple of times a year for a couple of weeks at a time. truth be told he probably wont quit till they pull the US military out, which is protecting them over there as he helps build the bases. So if you are just planning on a one year deal..never say never to going longer. Just sayin the tax free money is very luring.

[Times Roman]

I have a friend over there in Afghanistan working as a contractor. Not sure if he is with KBR or Halliburton. One is just a subsidiary of the other. But he started out with a one year deal and now has been there 4 years. If he stayed just one full year it was all US tax free. anything less than a year was taxed. But he is going for 5 years now at about a little over 100k a year. Has a family back here, is 40 years old and comes back a couple of times a year for a couple of weeks at a time. truth be told he probably wont quit till they pull the US military out, which is protecting them over there as he helps build the bases. So if you are just planning on a one year deal..never say never to going longer. Just sayin the tax free money is very luring.

the contract is 4 years. It'll be about $250k/year. 4 paid vacations / year at 2 weeks each. My buddy will be working with me, and is how I found this. This has been an ongi

[quarry206]

make sure you can do it. alot of people here are jumping at it thinking about the money alone. and let me tell you from a guy that has been away alot from my family to the middle east.

the money is great, but what is the cost of losing a family. . 1-2 years can be done easily.. but 5 years u will lose your family, just being honest.

[Times Roman]

same woman 25 years mate. solid relationship. no infidelity. always kept it in my pants and intend to keep it that way, no matter how tempting Dubai may be. no other major issues. But I hear what you are saying. if I get the ops manager position, then salary kicks to $300k. not sure which way it will go. I am of the age that if I go the 4 years, what I save, plus my 401(k), I can come back and I'm pretty much through. Woman will continue to work for another 10 years to satisfy her pension requirement.
I may hang out my shingle, and pick up some work that way when I get back, or maybe cherry pick a local controller or CFO spot, but I'm thinking it may not be necessary. It's nice to have options, or at least think of them (as I'm doing right now)

Now, let's talk perks. I'm thinking access to HGH (the real stuff, not the chinese crap), right? I should be able to isolate, workout, stay focused, and do some growing.

On an agree / disagree basis, would you agree that access to HGH is a realistic expectation?

[Twist]

I emailed you.

[Bojangles69]

Bro 4 paid vacations a year is a lot and I would likely take every one of those vacations back home to see my family.
Its not just about the money and your family, its about a million other things that are specific to your own life and current predicament.

Thats why I'm not recommending either way. In the 4 years you're "wasting" away from your family, you're going to waste 3-4 times that
amount of time working HOME for 1/3 the amount of money. Just because fathers are home doesn't always mean their home.
My dad worked so much when I was young I don't think I would have even noticed if he was outside the country. And then went
on for way longer than 4 years.

The only thing I'm hesistant about is if you wound up staying home, and a year down the road a 150k/year job became available to you.
Sure its 100k/year less, but you lose the chance of ever finding out if you can get a better paying job at home just by going. Its a
weird situation.
The guys on here saying "go" and even "don't go" don't even really know what they would do I think. Untill the opportunity actually presents
itself to them, its really impossible to know otherwise what the right choice is. Honestly, even after doing it you still might not know
if it was the right choice. Sometimes you just gotta make a decisions and go with it sometimes. At any rate, the 4 vacations a year
would appeal to me A LOT. If you think about it logically, thats 2 months out of every year you can potentially be with your family.

[Times Roman]

Bro 4 paid vacations a year is a lot and I would likely take every one of those vacations back home to see my family.
Its not just about the money and your family, its about a million other things that are specific to your own life and current predicament.

Thats why I'm not recommending either way. In the 4 years you're "wasting" away from your family, you're going to waste 3-4 times that
amount of time working HOME for 1/3 the amount of money. Just because fathers are home doesn't always mean their home.
My dad worked so much when I was young I don't think I would have even noticed if he was outside the country. And then went
on for way longer than 4 years.

The only thing I'm hesistant about is if you wound up staying home, and a year down the road a 150k/year job became available to you.
Sure its 100k/year less, but you lose the chance of ever finding out if you can get a better paying job at home just by going. Its a
weird situation.
The guys on here saying "go" and even "don't go" don't even really know what they would do I think. Untill the opportunity actually presents
itself to them, its really impossible to know otherwise what the right choice is. Honestly, even after doing it you still might not know
if it was the right choice. Sometimes you just gotta make a decisions and go with it sometimes. At any rate, the 4 vacations a year
would appeal to me A LOT. If you think about it logically, thats 2 months out of every year you can potentially be with your family.

not only is the money great, the first $100k or so is tax free. I could get a $150k/year job, but would have to commute to San Jose or San Francisco, 90 to 120 minutes away. So I "settle" for around $100k here locally. The job I just took is only 17 miles from the house. But again, one big problem is my 401(k)'s took a major hit, and it is starting to look like I'll have to work until I physically drop, or mentally lose my edge, which ever comes first. But who wants to work until they are 70? (21 years away for me). If I can just put in 5 more years, come home, I can basically punch my final ticket and just retire. I'm not going to do like my buddy did and go out paying cash for a class A motor home ($150k), three new harleys, and a handful of other toys.

Anyways, I'm rambling. I just ordered my certified, unrestricted birth certificate, filled out my passport application, and now I wait for final approval.

If my woman was some young thing, emotionally unstable, and needed me to perform "guard duty" (you know what guard duty is.... next time you go to a club and see some slacker eyeing your woman, you will understand what guard duty means), then I'd be hesitant. But our relationship spans three decades, and I'm thinking if it hasn't fukked up by now, it probably won't.

[Times Roman]

I may get an offer as early as wednesday

[Times Roman]

I got my call today. I was told to expect my offer letter some time tonight!

Kabul bound mates! (Pending final USAID approval, which should be a formality)

[paulzane]

Good luck Times and safe return! Enjoy your down time

[Times Roman]

Good luck Times and safe return! Enjoy your down time

got my offer letter pending USAID final approval. Tried faxing my signature on the acceptence, but the friggin fax machine didn't answer on their side. Got a good fax number and will try again tomorrow. Starting to seriously look like I'll be outta here Sunday Jan 2, unless some hold up by USAID.....

[Scabtree]

Say you live to be 100 years old and you're on your death bed reflecting on your life. Do you think you would be regretting the money that you could have made? Or would you be regretting the time away from your daughter at an age where she needs you, and away from the rest of your family. Money comes and goes; but you can never buy back a day with your family.

[flatscat]

Good Luck TR! I can't wait to hear some crazy ass stories from your adventures over there! Be safe bro.

[MACHINE5150]

just curios TR.. what is it exactly that you do?

[gettingthere]

Thats great news times!!

Im a college student and in my degree year, and what with the way Ireland is right now (and when i say ireland is screwed, you wouldnt believe how screwed this country is). I would kill for an oppotunity like this, and plus its an adventure, well done and good luck with it

[gettingthere]

Thats great news times!!

Im a college student and in my degree year, and what with the way Ireland is right now (and when i say ireland is screwed, you wouldnt believe how screwed this country is). I would kill for an oppotunity like this, and plus its an adventure, well done and good luck with it

[Times Roman]

Say you live to be 100 years old and you're on your death bed reflecting on your life. Do you think you would be regretting the money that you could have made? Or would you be regretting the time away from your daughter at an age where she needs you, and away from the rest of your family. Money comes and goes; but you can never buy back a day with your family.

not really abouut the money mate. t's about what the money does. It provides me a retirement at a relatively early age. Otherwise, I'm working til I'm 70. You won't see me driving new fancy rides when i get back. still conservative lifestyle. plus family will get some kick asss vacations.

[Times Roman]

just curios TR.. what is it exactly that you do?

not what i do, more what problems I can solve. Fraud and corruption is rampant there. I will initially set up an internal control program after assessing certain risk factors. Fraud detection will be ongoing. Additionally, I'll have oversight over contracting and vendor selection. Finally, I'll handle financial reporting, payroll, cash disbursements, budget creation and implementation, and managing to the budget. next comes forecasting and communicating to USAID on a variety of levels. I'll be the henchman for the VP in Dubai and liase with DC as well. I am the corporate cop, monitoring and verifying process control, and ensuring policy compliance.

does that answer your question?

[Times Roman]

Thats great news times!!

Im a college student and in my degree year, and what with the way Ireland is right now (and when i say ireland is screwed, you wouldnt believe how screwed this country is). I would kill for an oppotunity like this, and plus its an adventure, well done and good luck with it

these jobs are very difficult to get. I've been trying for over a year. Your competition is the entire world! You must be extremely qualified, and really at the top of your game. I just received my offer letter, and not what I was expecting if coming in at an ops manager position. since just a lowly finance manager, looking at something like $250k / year x three years. Remember, the first (around) $100k / year is tax free.

this company has a variety of projects all over the world. I think after my three years are up, i'll be looking for something a little more family friendly.

[SlimmerMe]

First of all, what a great opportunity and congratulations since this has to be extremely competitive.
I have mixed feelings about all of this and could argue both sides which is why you started this thread. You will do what you feel is the best thing.

IF and I mean IF you go....then I seriously suggest a rendezvous in Dubai. ALL of us could meet in Dubai. I am serious. It would be great comic relief for you and a great place for everyone to get together!

[Times Roman]

First of all, what a great opportunity and congratulations since this has to be extremely competitive.
I have mixed feelings about all of this and could argue both sides which is why you started this thread. You will do what you feel is the best thing.

IF and I mean IF you go....then I seriously suggest a rendezvous in Dubai. ALL of us could meet in Dubai. I am serious. It would be great comic relief for you and a great place for everyone to get together!

I'm there!!!!! Dubai is an area I cover and get paid trips there for a little R&R!!! I could easily make a weekend trip without banging any vacation time. That would be such a hoot! Or we could go longer. And here's the real kicker.... I don't ordinarily walk around with a roman helmet on. (In fact, my name aint really roman, so don't tell no one!). The funny part would be this huge discrepency between how we visualize each other from our time here on the board, and real life. For example, I'm really only 5'4" and 85 lbs!!! Actually ride a Vespa instead of a harley, and the only tattoo I got is when i fell and conked my head in the showers.


BTW... I got my official APO address, so any of you babes out there want to send me some nekked pics of yerself, or mates that want to send me nudey pics of your old lady, you can PM me and I'll send you my address and or email. Have no doubt that I will respect said pics and hold them in the highest regard. And if you email them to me, I promise that only some of them will make it back onto the internet.

[SlimmerMe]

I'm there!!!!! Dubai is an area I cover and get paid trips there for a little R&R!!! I could easily make a weekend trip without banging any vacation time. That would be such a hoot! Or we could go longer. And here's the real kicker.... I don't ordinarily walk around with a roman helmet on. (In fact, my name aint really roman, so don't tell no one!). The funny part would be this huge discrepency between how we visualize each other from our time here on the board, and real life. For example, I'm really only 5'4" and 85 lbs!!! Actually ride a Vespa instead of a harley, and the only tattoo I got is when i fell and conked my head in the showers.


BTW... I got my official APO address, so any of you babes out there want to send me some nekked pics of yerself, or mates that want to send me nudey pics of your old lady, you can PM me and I'll send you my address and or email. Have no doubt that I will respect said pics and hold them in the highest regard. And if you email them to me, I promise that only some of them will make it back onto the internet.

you can recognize me easliy since I look just like all the girls on the bikini thread......

[Times Roman]

you can recognize me easliy since I look just like all the girls on the bikini thread......

yeah, and I look like all the guys on the contest thread with ribbons.... 'cept those guys are pukes and wannabe's.

hey wait!?
the bikini thread? I thought that was a restricted area to men only? someone leave the door unlocked or something? and btw... you know I'd never entertain the thought of indulging myself by going into such an area. You know that right? After all, we do run a respectable establishment here!

[SlimmerMe]

yeah, and I look like all the guys on the contest thread with ribbons.... 'cept those guys are pukes and wannabe's.

hey wait!?
the bikini thread? I thought that was a restricted area to men only? someone leave the door unlocked or something? and btw... you know I'd never entertain the thought of indulging myself by going into such an area. You know that right? After all, we do run a respectable establishment here!

TR, a gladiator would never ever want to let his fellow soldiers down by entertaining anything like the bikini thread. That kind of indulgence is why wars are lost.

[Times Roman]

TR, a gladiator would never ever want to let his fellow soldiers down by entertaining anything like the bikini thread. That kind of indulgence is why wars are lost.

damm straight! And it's bible reading sessions for me most friday nights. BTW... you know Mrs. Times Roman and I had to be married and have our first child before we could know each other in a secks~shual way. If we became aroused before that, we would engage in a course of vigorous hugging.

[SlimmerMe]

damm straight! And it's bible reading sessions for me most friday nights. BTW... you know Mrs. Times Roman and I had to be married and have our first child before we could know each other in a secks~shual way. If we became aroused before that, we would engage in a course of vigorous hugging.

NOW this is what I call a KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR!

[Times Roman]

[SlimmerMe]

Fearless Warrior!

[Knockout_Power]

What?!?!?! no puppy in the avi!!!