My dad always told me when I was a kid that it was dangerous to post to your blog when you’re upset. That was in 1982, and though the internet and blogs hadn’t yet been invented and I can now see that my dad was either from the future or an idiot savant, he was right.
But that’s no reason to dash off the all-too-common, “r u ok?” message that you are dying to send after reading that last run-on sentence. I’ll tell you now that I’m alright, just coming to realize that even though I’m in a foreign country and I live with my coworkers and I’m a reasonably nice guy, that doesn’t mean there won’t be uncomfortable interactions with people I work with. Granted, I win these interactions (yes, there is always a winner and a loser,) but still, they aren’t much fun.
In the end though, what do I care if people act petty and don’t think much faster than the words that spill from their mouths? I am very much like them and say relatively stupid stuff on a relatively regular basis. So no hard feelings.
I will say that the world of contract accounting is complex, and the policies that have to be in place to set up a work environment for us here in Kabul are intricate. I like the fact that I get to help in the design and revision of those policies, making sure that they are comprehensive, but at the same time, easy to understand and navigate for that cop from Mississippi or that accountant from Idaho who is taking a huge step into the unknown for a year.
Oh, by the way, if you are an expert in navigating your way through US Customs, I need you to send me a note and we need to talk. Why am I terrified that if I buy something over here that I’m going to prison if I don’t pay enough duty when I get back? I mean, I think that a lot of the contractors end up buying stuff, so it can’t be that hard to understand, right? And it’s not like I’m buying something fragile – like a man-servant – and bringing him back to the US. (For the record, I’m expressly forbidden from buying a man-servant by DynCorp policy . . . and personal ethics I guess. Yeah. Ethics.)