New Year Resolutions
 

Anyone made any? I'm not a big resolutions fan but I do have a few goals this year:

1- Finish the book, it's been 2/3 done for about 10 months
2- Grow the family
3- Survive the upcoming headcount cut at work
4- Start working on round 2 of my career and exiting the gulf over the next five years (assuming 3 works out)
5- Maintain my bodyweight and improve weightlifting form
6- Improving my posture

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Quit smoking.
Get promotion and pay rise.
Get engaged.

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PS. Good luck Millhouse :thumbup:

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2- is the only one that really matters mate

I think this year I would like to stop relying on the internet / mobile / TV for my daily feedback and focus more on whats around me
The hardest and the first step would be for me to start leaving my mobile in the office and not worry about emails / phone calls / whatsapp messages / work related online queries etc (and also that would mean no mobile porn yeesh!)

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you said that last year as well you boob!

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Love 1 & 3
You don't need to focus on 2 for it to happen

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Restrict the mobile porn to toilet breaks only as first step.

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stop smoking
less alcohol consumption
spend more time with the family
win a car

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1. Keep the job
2. Cut down on procrastinating
3. Win the millionaire draw (duty free)
4. Save 50%+ of my salary (if I manage No1).
5. Bench the 50kg DBs and DL 250.

Numbers 1,2, 3 and 4 were last year’s resolutions, I only managed number 1 & 4.

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to have the best 50th EVER!

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Not really into resolutions as I never keep them, but it would be nice to come back to Dubai and not cock it up this time.

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Get a boyfriend.

Continue to save 70% of my income as a minimum.

Get out of Qatar.

Wean myself off the mobile.

What are the odds Scamp will be on here in five years with a quitting smoking resolution?

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1. Spend less time at work

2. Complete the 70.3

3. Travel to South America

Obviously all hinged on No1 ;)

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Respect

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I have foolishly underestimated the bike leg and structure involved and the amount of time needed for multiple sessions.

Im kind of back to the drawing board and have got a coach involved so we'll see how i can progress .

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But Qatar is still VAT free for the time being? I'm sure you can't consider moving to the UAE or anywhere with VAT now?

I'll have quite by 5 years time. I've not smoked this year.

I'm currently weighing up two tactics:

1. See how long I can go for just cold turkey. Try and disrupt routine - tonight for example, we're going for a walk instead of sitting at home and thinking about the first smoke after work.

2. Smoke tonight and the weekend as normal. Set a 'stop date' and cut down even more than I've done already and prepare for it.

2 feels a bit of a cop out but might also be a good way to prepare and wean and whatnot. 1 might be the plaster rip that's easier.

Dunno. Just already bored of it even being a topic, or thinking about it or worrying about it or going through 'what if's' etc.

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Addition is tricky, but I'd be tempted to try to just stop. Do some NLP, and convince yourself it is disgusting.

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I haven't smoked for 1 year and 4 days now, well less than 5 cigs total! I do still vape tho although quite a lot less than I did when U first quit.

No resolutions for me but I'm aiming to:

1. Quit work / retire - might as well put this one in even if it doesn't happen this year.....
2. Travel more....... but not to weddings. Done waaaay to many of them over the past 3 years.
3. Drink less, or at least not as often and not as heavily, so yeah, less overall.
4. Get back into shape / lose a bit of weight, see No. 3.
5. Possibly move somewhere else...... i'm not sure but I may be starting to get over Dubai. Not sure where to yet but I think I need a new adventure.
6. Find myself a GF.

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Its why point 2 might be better as it's time to work out the plan.
Dunno, the good lady just made me lunch and we spoke about it and she just said we're stopping in the week, so this weekend we're going away, we'll smoke and drink and not worry. Then mid week, nope. None.

Will see how that goes.

I've stopped at work still from probably 10-11 on the commute and in the office to none until 6pm when I'm home, so it's hardly the end of the world missing 3-5 cigs a night in the week when I've done 11hrs without them all day.


2. Snap.
6. Change to BF and we could set you and DXBtoDOH up?

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Only if he's tall, rugged, slightly geeky, outdoorsy and looks like Rupert Everett. Well, Rupert Everett from 10 years ago.

However, if he cooks that's a complete deal breaker.

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So you'd take a Hairy Biker over a cant-cook-wont-cook Rupert?

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I want the cant-cook-wont-cook Rupert. Who says the hairy biker is an option?

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Sorry, I misread it. Thought cooking was a winner...

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Nah. I like a bare kitchen. People who clutter it up with food are irritating.

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Fair enough.
I like cooking but also like being cooked for and eating out or eating takeaways.

I like food and I don't care where it comes from basically.

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For NY resolutions (only to be changed after Jan 15th!):


a. Get my BE posts past the 1000 posts mark
b. After my medical in Dec the quacks have the same mantra - less drinking (fools didn't listen when I said I had the total of 1 beer on a flight for the whole of 2017!), stop smoking (I will give them that - am currently back to 2 packs a day :( ) and lose weight (idiots still use the BMI index to determine if I am overweight !
c. Start implementing retirement (again this year!)
d. Reduce stress (and hug a tree or something!)

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1. Quit the fags once and for all
2. Pay the absolute minimum VAT possible (yes, I sadly already have a spreadsheet going for that). Why should I pay money for absolutely nothing in return.
3. Get back on the bike for some serious distances after my six months off due to injury.
4. Lose some weight (3. will take care of that)

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Are you able to reclaim? How will you actually do that other than just cutting costs?

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Nope, I cant reclaim, i'm just avoiding buying anything VATable that is not critically essential like food or beer.

Everything else will be purchased overseas and hand carried on my many trips.

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ah, fair enough. I also try and avoid spending anything here.

About a 1/3 of my office have been granted a exception from VAT via a company-wide deal with the MOF. Literally no idea how it works as I wasn't included in the deal - probably just for cars.

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UN or some other NGA scheme?

I tried to buy something on Amazon today for 60quid and if I deliver direct to Dubai they are quoting 80 quid for delivery and “customs deposit”, previously same item was 15-18quid delivery. Seems Amazon are also scared of just how much people are going to get ripped.

My UK family and colleagues are going to start carrying some very large suitcases if they expect hospitality when here LOL

On a plus note, I brought a Subway sarnie today and the price was the same as pre-Xmas, they are absorbing the VAT it seems. (For now). Just having a beer so will be interested to see how much that bill is.

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No VAT in Qatar. Happy hour pint at the Marriott sports bar is 30 QAR.

But it’s still Qatar.

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I’d rather pay the vat

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Oh my god! I just had this awesome brilliant conspiracy theory!!
Remeber these guys werent too happy about Amazon coming in and buying Souq etc etc
My conspiracy theory IS that they brought in VAT just to make sure that Amazon is no longer competitive :rofl::rofl:
Not that I am complaining, as far as I am concerned they can just Foxtrot Oscar the lot of them

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And the beer was......same price as before, yay!

25 chips a pint and no VAT. Happy days.

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I heard on the radio that VAT will be charged on anything you import into the country. Usually there is a threshold value above which VAT would be applied, but that has yet to be declared, if at all.

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I usually commit to learning a new skill each year. Last year I learned how to pick a lock (you never know...), and photograph the Milky Way.

This year, after taking several deep breaths, I've committed to a) being able to have a proper conversation in Korean, and b) getting down to fighting-fit shape and condition to ride my retirement present to myself (regardless of whether or not retirement happens this year) (photo attached). Both are SMART. The latter may involve no booze till Easter...:blink:

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how are we all getting on with our resolutions?

I'm still smoking, but still working on it.

less alcohol consumption got proper ****ed with an extended trip for work and friends being in town, but about to try a dry week and see if my body can cope.

spent loads of time with the family minus that trip away. surprised to have learned a couple new things a about my wife and loads of stuff I probably missed from the kids. now feel guilty for not trying harder to spend more time with them before.

no luck with winning a car, but have won 400dibs in national bonds this year.

hope you have all had more success than me!

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1. Not quite yet but its getting closer....
2. Have been away already to Amsterdam. Off to Budapest in March, possibility of a UK trip in April, UK again in May and then a Cambodia trip late on in the year.
3. Smashing this. Managed to drop my consumption down significantly so far.
4. Not doing bad with this. Ran >80km in Jan and have lost 4Kg so far.
5. Same as No. 1.
6. Ahhhhh.... not yet. :rofl:

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1. Check (so far)
2. Failing
3. Failing
4. Check
5. Rotator Cuff injuries and IT Band injuries are holding me back. In fact, does anyone know of a decent physio? I'm losing faith in the American Hospital.