Fill Me In 1.1

Explain your job in terms anyone can understand.
Tough one. My official job title is Planning & Reporting Supervisor - Field Operations. As a general statement, I am responsible for the budgeting/forecasting/reporting of all costs (a few hundred million dollars worth) made in the exploration and development of several different oil fields in Yemen. I share a staff of 4 Yemeni positions with my rotational partner, Frank. Together, we are also responsible for Yemenizing our position in the next 1-2 years. This means raising the capabilities of our national staff to a level where they can competently take over the function that we currently are responsible for.

Who is your favourite writer?
Lately, it has been Bill Bryson.

Worst injury you've ever had?
Knock on wood, but I haven't had anything terrible happen to me to this point.

One thing that does stick out is coming close to snapping my leg in a skidooing adventure. When we were kids, Dad had this great old skidoo called "The Wild One" of 1969 vintage. This was a tough sled that looked a lot like a bulldog. By the time my brother and I were old enough, the skidoo didn't have a great deal of life left in it, but it was more than capable for horsing around. A favourite was dragging each other behind the skidoo on one of those snow saucers. Being the idiots we are, the idea was to crank the skidoo abruptly in one direction sending the sledder slingshotting at supersonic speeds into or over a snowdrift. We'd typically go through several saucers in a winter. It was really all fun and games until I ended up on losing end of a collision with a wooden post. I remember getting home and tenderly peeling off my winter clothes to find a gaping gash on my left shin. Good times.

What is your favourite gift received?
A few years ago for my birthday, Melissa gave me a customized coffee mug that she created at one of those pottery painting craft shops. This is my favourite gift.

Choose a unique item from your wallet and explain why you carry it around.
Tucked in the back of my wallet are two bills.

The first is a 1973 Canadian dollar bill. When my grandmother died, we were going through some things in the house and my dad came across my grandfather's wallet (he had passed on several years previously). In it was this dollar bill. I've carried it with me since.

The second is a Hong Kong twenty dollar bill. I carry this around for no other reason than I am drawn to the strength of the lion that decorates it. The image is based on one of the famous statues that guard the HSBC Bank headquarters in Hong Kong. The statues are cool, but something about this image impresses me.