I'll take a shot at this.

[Tim]

It's almost lunchtime here in Japan and I'm killing time before my colleague is ready to go, so here's my attempt at the retroactive introduction:

How did you find CUF?
I was a (reasonable) CougarBoard moderator/committee member and was growing tired of the board. When CG was born, I went there almost immediately. Around the same time, though, I moved to Raleigh and the time I had to spend on web forums went way down, so I was never super-big into CG, even though Waters had "fast-tracked" me into The Crypt (that one still baffles me). Right around the time CUF was born, though, I was officially at the point of hating CB, so I dove in to CUF and haven't looked back. I tried to resign from the CB moderator responsibility before I moved here to Japan, but El Jefe convinced me to stay a little longer and give it another shot. Two weeks ago, though, after noticing that I hadn't really been on CB for a couple of months, I officially resigned and don't even go there anymore. The friends I have from CB are either here or in other places, so I didn't feel much need for CB anymore.

How did you choose your moniker?
I never intended to be a Cougar web forum kind of person. Back in 2001, though, my mom had been dead a year and I needed a pick-me-up, and with Crowton's tenure starting, I decided to dive into BYU football. Y'zGuy was my neighbor at the time, and he was getting a roadtrip together to go down to the UNLV game (with TAI and a few others). They were making the plans on CougarBoard, which was obviously much smaller then, and told me to sign up there for details on the roadtrip. So I employed no creativity whatsoever and chose my name as my moniker, thinking it was just a temporary thing. The name stuck, though, as I got addicted and stayed around.

What do you do (other than read CUF)?
I work in the field of IT Business Analysis. I work for Red Hat in the IT department and I represent the various business units within the Asia Pacific region. I'm based in Tokyo.

Did you ever consider an alternative career path?
I was originally a programmer and did that for a number of years. I wanted to work with people, though, instead of just code, so IT was natural way for me to develop that. My background as a developer has given me insight that the more traditional business analysts (who generally have business backgrounds) don't have available to them.

I also wanted to be a filmmaker. Now that's just a hobby.

How many time zones have you lived in and what is your current time zone?
Born in South Carolina, raised in California, mission in Spain, college and work in Utah, work in North Carolina. Currently working in Tokyo. So.... five: Eastern, Pacific, Central European, Mountain, and Japan.

What are your sports loyalties?
Cougar football and basketball, Dodgers, Jazz, Carolina Hurricanes. I don't have an NFL team -- I will, however, watch any night game televised in HD. I prefer football at night.

What's your standing in the church?
Active and happy. I believe that I don't have to agree with everything in the church, and that it's my privilege to disagree, even publicly, with some things. Regardless, I never doubt my relationship with God and his love for me, and that drives my faith.

Are you looking forward to Wuap's welcome question and what do you think it will be?
Let me ask wuap a question instead: Given your intelligence and education, why do you suck at Axis & Allies?

Do you expect anyone to respond to this thread?
Yes.

[Babs]

you dropped a pronoun in your penultimate answer. (I hate for a wuapinmon insult to fall flat.)

welcome to the board!

[Tim]

you dropped a pronoun in your penultimate answer. (I hate for a wuapinmon insult to fall flat.)

welcome to the board!

Fixed. Thanks,

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Tim really motivated me once to get going on being in shape by keeping a weight loss blog. I have always liked him since then.

[I.J. Reilly]

Did you make the choice to go to Japan, or did work kinda just tell you that you were headed there? I don't remember if you ever said.

[wuapinmon]

Given your intelligence and education, why do you suck at Axis & Allies?

I hate you so much right now.

[Tim]

Did you make the choice to go to Japan, or did work kinda just tell you that you were headed there? I don't remember if you ever said.

I had been loosely assigned as analyst for our Asia Pacific unit, and subsequently a few of my projects had brought me here (to Tokyo, Singapore, and India) on a couple of occasions over the past few years. Each time I returned I reported on the need for permanent representation here. Last September there was a Japan-based project that was struggling a bit, and they finally went out and brought corporate IT into the picture. I was assigned that project, came here, spent two weeks planning the project, and was able to almost immediately help turn that project around and make it quite successful. After that, my leaders finally saw that what I had been proposing was true: There was a significant opportunity for us to make an immediate and long-term impact by posting someone IN the region, and since I had the contacts, knowledge, and reputation, I was the only choice, really. The proposal moved up the chain, all the way to the CEO and executive team, and it was approved in early January.

It's a two-year assignment. I've been here 3.5 months and continue to be amazed at how much "low hanging fruit" there is here. I'm talking about an organization that was starving for this kind of attention from IT -- they're eating it up.

[byu71]

Tim is one of my mostest favorite bleeding heart liberals. We go way, way back. So far back I can't remember the first time we met in person. Was it the Stanford road game or even before that.

[Indy Coug]

Living overseas can be very rewarding. You can learn about and associate with other people and cultures you would never experience in the US and it's easier to venture out to visit even more other countries. IMO, it also builds a deeper appreciation for the things that makes America great. The drawbacks are that it's hard to keep in contact with family (although communication now is infinitely better than it was 20 years ago when I lived overseas) and sometimes you tire of the loss of freedoms and creature comforts.

Good luck with continued success and happiness in Japan.

[Tim]

Living overseas can be very rewarding. You can learn about and associate with other people and cultures you would never experience in the US and it's easier to venture out to visit even more other countries. IMO, it also builds a deeper appreciation for the things that makes America great. The drawbacks are that it's hard to keep in contact with family (although communication now is infinitely better than it was 20 years ago when I lived overseas) and sometimes you tire of the loss of freedoms and creature comforts.

Good luck with continued success and happiness in Japan.

Perhaps our experiences are different (you in Saudi Arabia, me in Japan), but I genuinely feel more free here than I did in the US. I'm not afraid of the cops, not increasingly afraid of being shot by concealed carriers, not afraid I'll be pick-pocketed every time someone bumps into me in a crowd, etc.

If anything, my time here so far has made me more and more grateful to NOT be in the U.S. I'm going through a phase, I guess, where I don't want anything to do with my countrymen. I definitely miss the creature comforts, though, that's the truth!

[Tim]

Tim is one of my mostest favorite bleeding heart liberals. We go way, way back. So far back I can't remember the first time we met in person. Was it the Stanford road game or even before that.

I think it was before that. It was at a tailgate, maybe? Or was it...... that one time in the men's room (oh, hell, that sounds terrible... but the conversation did indeed take place inside -- or just outside of -- a men's room at LES).

[byu71]

I think it was before that. It was at a tailgate, maybe? Or was it...... that one time in the men's room (oh, hell, that sounds terrible... but the conversation did indeed take place inside -- or just outside of -- a men's room at LES).

You're right. It might have even been at the Spring or Fall scrimmage or whatever they used to call it.

Also there was the Cougarboard golf events. I think the rest room encounter took place first, but the golf events were classics, especially your outfits. Man, do you have any pictures you could post.

[pellegrino]

Perhaps our experiences are different (you in Saudi Arabia, me in Japan), but I genuinely feel more free here than I did in the US. I'm not afraid of the cops, not increasingly afraid of being shot by concealed carriers, not afraid I'll be pick-pocketed every time someone bumps into me in a crowd, etc.

If anything, my time here so far has made me more and more grateful to NOT be in the U.S. I'm going through a phase, I guess, where I don't want anything to do with my countrymen. I definitely miss the creature comforts, though, that's the truth!

You mean you don't miss Raleigh? The pines, Tim! Remember the pines!

[Tim]

You mean you don't miss Raleigh? The pines, Tim! Remember the pines!

I miss Raleigh deeply. The pines, the oaks, the Lily's Pizza. I miss my life there. I also love it here, though. It's an interesting feeling to love two places at once.

But at the same time, I don't miss middle American rednecks, gun-toting yokels, Palin lovers, and all of the other things that suck about America.

[Tim]

You're right. It might have even been at the Spring or Fall scrimmage or whatever they used to call it.

Also there was the Cougarboard golf events. I think the rest room encounter took place first, but the golf events were classics, especially your outfits. Man, do you have any pictures you could post.

Not on this computer. LOL, thinking of the things I wore to the CB golf tourneys... good times!