Here's a shocker.....

[thesearch]

... in response to Hmmm, posted by MarkInTx on Aug 13, 2002

About MarkH and him being back?  I don't know - just a strong hunch.

Myself - it is not as easy to read yourself sometimes as it is situations for other people I think. As for myself - where would the smart money bet? Can't say. I would prefer that things evolve nicely with the lady that I am with but, there are all sorts of possible pit falls to that end yet to be possibly  encountered.

If this does not work out, it is a sure bet that I will be back on track with this approach. At that point, I will refuse to date AW and will be %100 on this. The chances are that I will make my first trip with Jack.

[MarkInTx]

... in response to Re: Hmmm, posted by thesearch on Aug 13, 2002


::: lifting a glass of Shiner Bock :::

"Here's to Greg and his Lady... may she show herself for what she truly is sooner rather than later..."

(That toast isn't as obvious as it seems...)

[Jack]

... in response to Hmmm, posted by MarkInTx on Aug 13, 2002

Mark,

 With Greg, in my opinion, it is even money, 50-50. If I were a betting man I would think he could just as easily get hooked up with an AW.

[MarkInTx]

... in response to Re: Hmmm, posted by Jack on Aug 13, 2002

Wow... I would need odds to take that bet.

Even money, eh?

Nope... I won't take that one!

[Mark H]

... in response to , posted by greg2 on Aug 12, 2002

Greag,
Hey guy, how's it hanging? I hear you about the busy life. !! As for a post or something said to make me change my mind...not sure. Just a compilation of posts I guess. In the end, I still do it my way (BarryM is right there!). My way is to find one girl and go see her, book your apartment through a third party or agency so this girl has no control over your situation at all. In the past, my mistake was that the girl arranged the apartment for me. That was okay when I was broke, now it's not okay. I paid on average $10 bucks a night for a nice apartment...Rooskie prices my girl got for me. Now, I would rather pay more and have the control of having the apartment on my own. If we don't click, I can pursue other venues. Use an agency for your flat and they are ready and available should the need arise. I think this provides you with the chivalry of seeing "one girl" with the latitude of having "back up plans" if the need arises.

There is a waitress in Kiev I'd love to see......perhaps drop by the pub.

Later,
Mark H.

[thesearch]

... in response to Re: , posted by Mark H on Aug 12, 2002

Sounds like a  plan. When do you anticipate going over anyway?

[Mark H]

... in response to Re: Re: , posted by thesearch on Aug 12, 2002

Hey Greg,
I just did quite a few priceline.com bids and got nothing. I can't believe it. It was like I was possessed. I went as high as $1200 bucks and still didn't get a flight! Weird. I called gotorussia.com today and spoke with them, it seems everything into Kiev is booked on 23 August and the return on 30, 31, 1, and 2 september is booked also. Must be alot of people going over this summer.

Almaty was 1600 bucks. Hmmm. Seems high to me, I'd rather go to Germany, Spain, and Ireland on 3 different trips for that cash. Not sure when I'll go. I did find a trip from Chicago to Kiev for under 900 bucks but I'd be cutting my trip by a few days. We'll see.

Mark H.

[BarryM]

... in response to Here's a shocker....., posted by Mark H on Aug 11, 2002

After reading the responses here, I see that most people here are simply not paying attention. Mark H's situation is a logistics problem requiring good project planning. Let's take a look at the data.

1. Mark H has plenty of funds and fairly large blocks of time in which to travel to the FSU unlike most of us "poor" folks.

2. Mark H has expressed his displeasure about buying addresses or personal ads and letter writing campaigns.

3. Mark H is pretty headstrong and he likes to do things his way.

4. Mark H has many years of experience in traveling to the FSU and has had many unsucessful attempts in the pursuit of a RW/UW bride.

5. Mark H has concentrated most of his trips in major cities such as Moscow, Kiev, and St. Petersburg rather than areas that haven't been overfished.

The above case study is different than for most of us and the conditions require a different approach.

Solution:

For #1.Mark H should plan at least a 6 week trip to a target area. He seems to have the flexibility to take that much time and a well planned trip would be in order.

For #2. For most of us, the screening process requires searching thousands of ads and several months of responding to ads and letter writing. Writing campaigns are very time consuming but are economical and seem to be the best way of screening for most of us. Mark H doesn't seem to want to use this approach. He will have to rely on multiple agencies to perform the screening process for him based on his preferences. Clear communication of intent with these agencies is essential. He should pre-screen at least 150 girls that the agencies hand pick for him and choose at least 20 of them in his selected target area.

For #3. Well, given his past experiences, there's not much that can be done. He is going do things his way and when he makes mistakes it will cost him time and money. Hopefully his experience will help him avoid that. The best thing to do is to stick with a plan and not change things midstream.

For #4. Mark H's travel experience is a positive thing. He knows what to expect, how much things cost in general, and how to avoid potential problems. Mark just needs a well though out game plan.

For #5. Mark H needs to avoid the past MOB "hot spots" and focus on less popular areas. Western Ukraine, Moldova, the Baltic states, and Central Asia would be my targets. There is still plenty of good fishing in Siberia and other less popular areas in Russia. I would avoid the popular cities such as Tver, Moscow, and St. Petersburg. Keep and eye out for more economically stressed areas since there will be a larger pool of available women in those areas. Central Asia is becoming more popular now because of ethnic divisions.

Let's say Mark H chooses Kazakhstan as his target area. Kazakhstan is ethnically slightly less than 50% Russian and is controlled politically by Muslims. Ethnic Russians want to leave so there is a pretty good pool of girls to choose from. Before Mark makes is trip, he chooses his 20 girls and sets up dates with them through the various agencies. He also understands the conditions in which the agencies do business such as interpreters, fee's, taxi service, etc. prior to sending them any money. He also may want to choose a few alternates at each agency if one of the agencies screws up.

The first 10 days are to screen and choose the best 5 - 6 girls out of the 20. Basically, a slow paced 1 - 3 dates a day. The next 10 days are to get his choices down to no more than 3. Mark may want to take a look at a few more girls if he is not satisfied with the current crop during that time. The remainder of the trip is to get his choices down to no more than 2. I would not get engaged this early on. Save that for the next trip.

A few months later, after letting the romance develop long distance, plan a 7 day trip back to Kazakhstan. Have a backup plan in case things don't work out with a few girls who didn't make it on the first trip. This is the trip where Mark would make the decision to get engaged and go through the k-1 process.

If the first 42 day trip to the chosen target area does not produce satisfactory results, then plan another 42 day trip in a different area and follow the same formula. I'm convinced this process is a numbers game. Keep playing and you'll eventually hit paydirt. Don't do anything without a good plan and always have a good backup plan.

-blm

[James B]

... in response to 20 or more girls, 42 days, the best plan..., posted by BarryM on Aug 12, 2002

Mark,

From what I have gleened from agency owners and experienced people looking for their companion, I believe than most of the women understand that this process of screening the women for compatibility and spark is quite a normal thing for both parties.  The pressure or obligation you feel to protect a woman's feelings shows you are a good person who is sensitive.  It's a good trait, but looking for the right one for your life is so vitally important that I believe that your change in direction is the best choice.  Spend some time with a handful of women after writing some letters and see which one is perfect for you.  I believe that these women are doing the same thing if they are truly looking for a lifetime of love and compatibility and if they are not, it's a possibility that they are only looking for the first man to ask for marriage and too would be at risk for stopping short of their ideal mate.  Of course, if you write to a woman for a long period of six or eight months and feel an incredible mutual attraction through letters and telephone calls, then some flexibility in this course of action might be appropriate.  Good luck, Jim

[Alfred]

... in response to 20 or more girls, 42 days, the best plan..., posted by BarryM on Aug 12, 2002

This is a nice piece of analysis and a good plan.  However, one of your assumptions is wrong: according to Mark H, he can not get more than 9.5 days off in a row. (See his message below: http://www.planet-love.com/wwwboard/russian/messages/74191.html

[BarryM]

... in response to Re: 20 or more girls, 42 days, the best ..., posted by Alfred on Aug 12, 2002

The plan can be scaled but the costs would more than quadruple. You could have a series of 6 day trips(3 days for travel) but that's airfare for up to 6 trips. Now if Mark H would do the more traditional screening process of personal ads and writing campaigns over a 6 month period he could eliminate the amount of women to screen while on the trip and reduced the amount of time spent in the FSU. It's just a lot of work. My plan for Mark would take less than a year from start to finish. Most of us are on a 2 year plan since that seems to be typical in the search.

-blm

[Stan B]

... in response to 20 or more girls, 42 days, the best plan..., posted by BarryM on Aug 12, 2002

and are you going to go?

[BarryM]

... in response to so whats your plan, posted by Stan B on Aug 12, 2002

I've been affected adversely by the recession.

-blm

[Jeff]

... in response to 20 or more girls, 42 days, the best plan..., posted by BarryM on Aug 12, 2002

....just to get a date!

[Oscar]

... in response to Seems like a lot of work............., posted by Jeff on Aug 12, 2002

Yes, it is a lot of work just to get a date.. It is NOT so much work if you are actually looking for a wife!

I just can't imagine guys wanting to go all the way to the FSU with all the time and expense involved, if they are not really serious about finding a wife!  Geez, if all I wanted to do was "date", I would have stayed in the USA to do it..

I have seen some guys go who were major daters here in my city who are older now and just can't "draw" the women like they used to anymore, so they go to the FSU where they can feel at the top of their game again, but they aren't anymore serious about finding a wife now than they were then, they just don't know how..  Pretty sad really..