The albatross that's been hanging around my neck for months has finally been lifted.

Due to other, more pressing concerns (such as learning to walk again), doing my expenses from Iraq wasn't number one on my list of priorities. Over time, the two inch thick folder of scrappy receipts for long-forgotten items has become my biggest fear. I was developing a phobia about it -- I just couldn't face it.

I was forced into action by the stream of increasingly stroppy e-mails from the finance department warning of dire consequences if I didn't submit a claim.

So I finally sat down and worked through the paperwork, which consisted of dozens and dozens of meaningless documents like this one. What it's for and how much it's worth is anyone's guess.

The figures I've come up with are nowhere near the $15,000 advance I took with me to Iraq. I've blamed the discrepancy on the fog of war.