It is the week before Christmas and the final days of Advent are upon us. I attended my church’s three Advent services and was especially moved by the carols and lessons service during the second week of Advent. Carols were sung by soloists, young children, and the congregation. Between these …
Telling the Truth
My first trading position was as a domestic gasoline trader. I traded in New York Harbor (NYH), a large hub of gasoline supply for the northeast US. This region did not have enough refining capacity to supply the populous industrial demand, so my job was to purchase gasoline from imported cargoes, …
British Winters
Almost fourteen years ago, my wife and I moved from the Houston tropics to the London cold. I accepted an ex-pat assignment in London to manage my company’s northwest Europe trading and marketing business. In early January, we boarded a plane and landed in frigid London. It had recently snowed, and …
Love and Work
Most people do not understand what I did at work. When asked what I did for a living, I usually replied, “I work in energy trading.” The person who asked the questions would usually stare back at me with a blank expression on his or her face. I would then say that I worked for Shell Oil. Then the …