As I explained in my previous post I want to take the opportunity to describe the 2010 that I have had. It's been an interesting year...

The first half of the hear went fairly smoothly. I made it to the Super Bowl show and had a great time watching the game with everyone. I skied a whole bunch, guiding trips to Jasper and Lake Louise through the winter, skiing with Aidan a ton. We had a great time together.

I made it to the convention and again, had a great time. I got to catch up with some great friends. I grew my Canadian collection significantly this year, with many chips not previously showing up in the guides.

Aidan and I had a fantastic CFL Football trip in July. We started out at home, catching the Edmonton Eskimos on a Sunday. On Tuesday morning, we were up bright and early for a flight to Toronto. We went to the Hockey Hall of Fame, the CN Tower and went to the Toronto Argonauts game on Wednesday night. On Thursday we headed to Niagara Falls for the day and overnight, getting to see the falls and the Maid of the Mist and chill. Friday we were off to Hamilton to catch the Hamilton Tiger cats play. We had a bit of a late night getting back to Toronto and an early morning getting on a plane to head to Regina to see our Edmonton Eskimos take on the Saskatchewan Roughriders. It was a great day, but our team fell apart at the end. So in the span of a week, we caught CFL games in four cities had a ton of fun and built a great bond with the Boy.

My year changed significantly on July 26. Our company had a significant rupture of our pipeline. On July 29, I was sent to Marshall, Michigan as part of the response. I ended up spending the majority of my summer in Marshall, and in between doing my regular job. In the month of August, I spent four nights in my home. September wasn't much better and it carried on into October. On site, we worked 14-16 hours/day, planning and coordinating the response efforts, overseeing the work and making sure that it was done safely. Our crews did a great job of cleaning up the river, but there is a lot of work yet to do to get things back to where they were.

Back at home, I ended up with a roommate that I hardly saw and when he went back to his house, a friend of a friend moved in while performing in a play at our largest theatre. It was an amazing show, but in the three weeks he was here, I saw him four times.

I haven't yet sorted out my chips from the convention, and haven't added many more to the collection. I am starting to get through the box, and recently was able to get some new release additions from the casino in Grande Prairie, Alberta. I'll be posting some of them for sale shortly.

Looking forward into 2011 - it's going to be an interesting year, to say the least. I am about to sign up for a fund raising effort that will take me across the globe and to a place that I have dreamed about seeing since I was in my early teens. If I make the commitment, I will be raising funds to support Multiple Sclerosis research and going to go to Mount Everest in Nepal. I won't be climbing Everest as I had once dreamed, but I will be at base camp. I haven't set my final goal, but my minimum is $12,500 CAD, and I am contemplating a goal of $20,000. The added bonus of this endeavor is that I will be forced to get back into shape in preparation for daily 5-6 hour treks at high altitudes. Something good has to come of all this...

Not being one for nothing for something, if I make the commitment, I will be issuing a special personal chip, that I will be selling, commemorating the climb and the fund raising effort for MS Research. As part of that, I will be doing a limited run of the chips (with special identifying markings) that will be coming with me on the journey to Everest Base Camp. These will be priced higher, but they will have made that special journey with me. All of the proceeds from the chips will be going to the fund raising and I will be paying for the chips out of my pocket.

As well, I would like to take the Greg Susong chip with me to Everest. I think Greg would love seeing that mountain up close.

I'd be curious for input from my fellow collectors, what would be an acceptable amount for donations for a single chip? For an "been to Everest" chip? I have an amount in mind, but would like some feedback on whether or not this would be something that you could support, and what level of support is reasonable.

All in all, I'm looking forward to an amazing 2011, seeing my friends and making a couple of journeys along the way.

All the best from way up here...

TOM