Tales of Nine: Bid List

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Bid List

I'm sorry I've been so quiet this past week. DH got his bid list on Thursday, and we have been researching posts nearly every free second; that is, when I'm not chauffeuring children to church activities (which in our ward are not all on the same night, but fall on three different nights for my kids), going to spouse training, trying to figure out where to put all of the stuff I had sent to us via UAB, or helping DH fill out his voucher forms (that's how we get our per diem and lodging paid).

The bid list is wonderful! I guess DH's sponsoring class, the 172nd, is jealous. We are finding many, many posts that fit our criteria. Plus, the majority are in hot climates. Yay! (If you haven't heard, I am hoping for a hiatus from Minnesota-like weather this first tour). There is a lot of Africa, South America, and even some safe (ish) places in the middle east. We would like to get a hardship post our first tour, which will allow us to have more of a choice for our second tour post. Our top criteria is school availability, though. I would really like to not home school seven children, thank you very much. That would be insane to begin the one year that they are all in school. Of course, it is only six children if we don't leave until later...but that is still a lot to bite off. Plus, I don't really want to home school at all if there isn't internet, and it seems like the posts either have good schools and internet or no schools and no internet, with few exceptions. I'd also like to go somewhere where I can get an embassy/consulate job. Although I hear the pay isn't great, I think it would make a good entrance to the workforce for me.

I need to get back to researching posts, and then I need to get ready to go. I have spouse training again this afternoon. DH & I get to go to class together today and find out more about the bidding process from the CDOs (Career Development Officers).

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Abbreviation Help

A few readers have asked what DH stands for. They figured out that it had to do with my husband, but didn't quite get it. For anonymity's sake, when necessary, we use the following abbreviations:

DH = Dear Husband

DS = Dear Son

DD = Dear Daughter

I have put numbers after each of the DS's, since there are six of them. I numbered them DS1-DS6, from oldest to youngest.

You may see other abbreviations over time, like MIL (mother-in-law). I'll try to add their explanations here when that happens.

HHE - HouseHold Effects - items that you can't bring to temporary housing with you that are stored in a warehouse, such as Haggerstown, MD. When you leave temporary housing, you get to send HHE items to your new post from storage. You can add anything you don't want from your temporary housing to HHE storage, and anything that isn't going in your UAB or on the plane with you will go into HHE that is going to post. You get to visit Haggerstown once before you leave and take out boxes if you need to go through and remove some things. For example, our packers mixed ice skates with garden tools in one box. I will be removing that box, and will send the skates back to storage (other than any we have outgrown) and send the gardening tools onward. HHE allowance is 18,000 lbs and includes items in storage in Haggerstown or any other government storage facility. 18,000 lbs. can go to a post with no furnishings provided. 7,200 lbs. can go to a post with furnishings provided. The remaining 10,800 lbs. can stay in storage. Weights include packaging materials, and you don't get to pack your own stuff.

UAB - Unaccompanied Air Baggage - When you go anywhere, you get a small shipment sent more quickly than your HHE. This could mean you get it two weeks after arrival or 3 months after arrival, depending on the destination and customs hold-ups. Nothing in UAB can be over 3' long and 2' wide, as this is the approximate size of a UAB shipping box. UAB weight allowance changes with family size, and any amount you don't use can be added to your HHE allowance. Weights include packaging materials, and you don't get to pack your own stuff.

POV - Privately Owned Vehicle - You can also ship one vehicle at the department's expense. Every country has their own guidelines as to what vehicles they will allow to be imported, so don't take this as a blanket rule that you can ship whatever you want to drive. The maximum size the Department will ship on their tab is 800 cubic feet, and you have to pay overages if it is bigger.

CDO - Career Development Officer - The person (which will probably change once while you are a junior officer) who decides where to send you for your first two tours

TED - The date of departure from your current post (even though it is a specific date, for bidding purposes, you can use the whole month, and after that, we hear there is wiggle room up to a month prior to that date, if necessary)