Uganda Trip Itinerary

One of our family goals this year is to travel to Uganda, during which trip Angelene and Moses will be formally introduced to my family there. I have not been to the country since 1996 (almost two decades), so this trip will be as much a homecoming for me as it will be a reintroduction to my relatives there.

We've thought about making this trip since before we were married, but it went into high gear after Moses was born. Really, the longer we waited, the more expensive it would be to make such a trip. So we committed to August (when he is a year old and fully immunized, but can still travel free of charge), and started saving for the trip. We found the best airline tickets through KLM. For a while though, we had been considering Emirates Air, through which we would have used a day-long layover in the UAE to visit Dubai and Abu Dhabi. That trip would however have been a total 35 hours, which I didn't think would be a good idea with a toddler in tow.

The most important part of this trip is on Sunday, August 23, when a reception luncheon will be hosted in honor of Angelene and Moses. This is when we expect to meet the majority of relatives. It will be preceded by a church ceremony of Thanksgiving in the morning, officiated by one of my grandparents (who is a bishop in the Protestant/Anglican denomination). We plan to be tourists for a day on a safari in the nearby Queen Elizabeth National Park the day before, and visit my land (as in, property I own) and house (which I've been slowly building for almost 10 years), among other things. It will be busy. This is why I have instituted some days of rest in the trip, so that we can all catch our breath and enjoy vacation. It looks like we'll be visiting with various relatives every other day we are not actively resting. I hope it won't be overwhelming.

Family Agile Board In Practice

We've been practicing family agility in our home for a few weeks now, and have forged our own flavor of the practice, starting with the use of an agile board. The board is simply a means to visualize our week and the activities thereof. Below are some observations that have been helpful to us:

(1) The board has only 4 sections: "To Do" (for everything that needs to be done this week), "Today" (for what will be tackled today), "Blocked" (for what was started but for whatever reason cannot be completed yet, such as when we are waiting for a response from somebody), and "Done" (for what is complete).

(2) We do a "daily standup" in the evenings Monday through Saturday. During the standup, we briefly talk about tasks in "Today" and move what is complete to "Done" or stuck items to "Blocked". This lasts less than 10 minutes, but it also gives us a chance to catch up on each other's day.

(3) On Sunday nights, we do a "retrospective" in which we recap the week: we go through the "Done" items and high-five each other for the accomplishments, gather lessons learned, and move weekly repeat tasks back to "To Do". We also look at the week ahead and back-fill "To Do" with new tasks. Then we do a quick standup for Monday. Having a view of the week at all times helps us coordinate our activities better.

(4) We feel that practicing agility this way has also been a benefit to our marriage. It has helped us be on the same page more often than not, and because we must plan each day together, we also know how to pray for each other throughout the day. The general awareness of what we are faced with also provides better opportunities to serve each other and work well together as a team. It also provides opportunity to hold each other accountable, encouraging us to do what we said we would.

(5) When a non-repeating task stays in "Today" for more than a day, I mark a strike on it. Tasks with too many strikes indicate poor planning, or taking on too much for the day, or thinking something is ready for action when it really wasn't, or not understanding the scope of the task comprehensively. Sounds all technical, but this method has helped us pace ourselves.

(6) When we do a retrospective, we are always surprised at how much we got done that week. Lots of things would have gone unnoticed that deserve a pat on the back. As a matter of fact, we are getting a lot more done these days, without feeling overwhelmed.

(7) There was some concern about what exactly should be on the board. In the end, we decided that if it something we want recognized, or that will take an hour or more of effort, or that we want to reflect on at the retrospective, is not super private, and is not a mundane daily activity (like brushing your teeth or breathing), then it can be on the board. Though, if brushing your teeth or breathing are "things you are working on", a reminder on the board can help.

(8) We considered using an online Kanban board, but we liked the visual aesthetic the physical agile board provides. We can actually stand up next to the board, and moving items among the section provides a "we did it" high. Also, the size of the board limits how much we sign up for each week. When we have tasks overflowing on the wall, we pause and ask ourselves whether we've taken on too much. Obviously the board will need to expand when Moses starts using it with us.

(9) We no longer have priorities attached to things, which in a way removes pressure to get things done. If something must be done quickly, then it is assigned to someone "Today". More urgency that that, activities will not be on the board. The practice is to just do it when it cannot wait or does not need consensus.

So as far as "things families do" go, we are keeping this practice. Our ultimate repositories of tasks and activities is Google Calendar, but abstracting out the week this way has been a boon to our livelihood.

That Brand New Ride

We are proud new owners of brand new 2015 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited, acquired with only 32 miles on the odometer.

We had plans to replace our 2001 Nissan Maxima later this year, but it turned out we needed to replace the 2005 Subaru Outback L.L.Bean sooner because its frequency of mechanical problems was showing it to be the more unreliable transport. Our latest hint of a looming big repair had been a loudly ticking timing chain, which at 185k miles, meant an engine job that would have cost in the thousands of dollars. Still with original parts, many other small repairs would have been needed as well.

So earlier in the year, we started considering options. Our bottomline was that whatever vehicle we obtained, it'd need to be better than the Subaru we owned -- a bonified "upgrade". We considered the Honda Pilot, Toyota Versa, Audi Q5 kind, and Volvo XC90 kind, among others, and clearly avoided minivans. We wanted a newer model (2009 or later), something we could use over the next 15 years and give to Moses in his high school years. But as we looked at prices, they seemed to stick closer to new vehicle prices until after the vehicle is 6 years or older, when they start tapering down. So for the features we wanted, prices were close to $20k that eventually, we decided a new vehicle in that price range would make sense. The decision for the Subaru was augmented by its gasoline efficiency: 26mpg city/33mpg highway (28mpg effective). SUVs of this class are terrible at gasoline usage, yet another reason our old Subaru needed to go (it averaged 17mpg). I now drive 70 miles round-trip each day for work, so mileage was a high priority.

We started saving for a vehicle replacement sometime in 2013. As such, we were able to pay cash for this new Subaru. But even without need for financing, the purchase process was not straightforward: Heuberger (dealership) still presented me with paperwork for financing the vehicle (which I rejected), they still wanted to run my credit (which I originally refused but they made a condition for the trade-in), and they had me sitting around for 4 hours even when the vehicle was physically on the lot. As usual, they tried to sell me $1000-warranties that I had to decide on right there. Without the opportunity to think through them overnight, I ended up not getting any of the additional warranties. We spent an hour haggling over the value of my trade-in, which they unashamedly had estimated at half the blue-book value. Because of this, I had decided I wasn't going to purchase the car that day, until perhaps after I sell our old Subaru for a more reasonable price. But as I walked out, they called me back in and made a better offer for the trade-in. After "internet savings" (since I originally ordered the vehicle online), fees and taxes, we got the new car for about $26k (MSRP $32k).

So far, we are missing the V6 power our old Subaru had (the new one is an anemic 180hp 4-cyclinder), its small-car feel, and its smoother ride. This new Subaru feels very much like an SUV, humongous and tall. Without additional options (remote start, EyeSight and navigation), it has an not-so-modern technology package, the highlight of which is Bluetooth integration. Maybe down the road we will upgrade to these options. But by most accounts, it's a great replacement for our old Subaru. We are a Subaru family after all (a Colorado thing, I suppose).

The Moz Weaning Plan

As sure as the sun rises in the east, the time has come for Moses to begin weaning. Really, the process started back when he was 6 months of age, with the introduction of solid foods. Weaning normally lasts about 2 years, when an infant's nutrition is entirely from the family menu (no breast milk or supplement formula). But at this point, the specific actions are to phase out breastfeeding and diversify his food profile.

The plan then is to supplement his nutrition with baby formula (we use Similac) and introduce more solid foods, sometimes letting him eat from our plates (not talking mastication here). He is no longer actively nursing anyway (more conversant with bottle feeding), and his mother has stopped pumping because of a naturally dwindling supply. There is, however, about 3 weeks worth of breast milk in refrigeration, and that will be it for him.

Enter the Baby Brezza Formula Pro, our main tool for this supplementation stage. In less than 10 seconds, you can have a bottle of warm consistent formula ready to use. We don't have to prepare his night-time bottle before we go to sleep anymore -- it can instead be done on demand whenever he needs it. Which is a good thing, because sometimes we don't need to: these days, he's been sleeping almost throughout the night (down at 7pm, up at 5am or so). The plan is to reduce the supplementation the more he eats regular food, perhaps in the next 7 months.

The original plan, discussed before he was born, was to breastfeed him about a year. Obviously nature has its own mind, and we must adapt. It's a poignant milestone, I think.

Unemployed No More

My fourth week at the county has my plate as full as if I were an old-timer here, with the usual software development projects filling my ticket queue. But I'm not complaining: the job is a perfect match for my skills, has plenty of room to grow professionally, is quite flexible, and pays well (surprisingly competitive for a county government job). I am a Software Engineer III (senior level), responsible for implementing and maintaining integrations for the school district. By "integrations", I mean that when a couple of systems need to interface (exchange data or use each other's services), it is an integration that enables that sort of thing by providing a "bridge" or "adapter" for them to communicate.

The job is in Castle Rock, CO, about 40 miles door-to-door north of Colorado Springs where we live. It takes me 30-40 minutes to drive there in traffic, a much easier commute than when I worked in Denver for 3 weeks preceding this job. The county serves more than 8000 students, a considerable number of vendors, and thousands of teachers. I work in the student data and IT support services center, where a torrent of public school data are processed - everything from payroll to student grades and bus routes. It is a fun environment.

I was unemployed for 5 weeks total. My original intent had been to take a break from work (be unemployed) for 2-3 months, and had even qualified for unemployment benefits of $532/week. But during the second week, we realized we owed a crap ton to the IRS for 2014 (never mind a new baby and first home purchase, which we expected would give us great windfall). So I decided I would return to work as soon as possible to help cover the taxes we owed. Besides, technical recruiters also mentioned that long periods of unemployment would not look good on my résumé.

The job search was swift and lasted only 3 weeks. Everyday, I had a torrent of recruiter calls setting up phone interviews and such. I attended 5 in-person and 3 Skype interviews. I am blessed that my technical skills are currently in demand, with potential to fetch $40/hour or more on W-2 basis. I essentially had my pick of jobs, although my top 2 choices eventually didn't work out. One of them is still interviewing candidates to this day, and the other would only have been a 9-month contract without extension. My fifth choice was the first to make an offer, which is how I ended up in Denver for a while. Castle Rock was my third choice.

Because I was set up for this job by technical recruiters, I started out as a contractor for 2 months. In about 4 weeks, my hope is that I will be converted to a school district county employee. Except perhaps for the commute, this is as close to a perfect job as I could have hoped for. The commute itself is not bad: I now listen to podcasts more consistently during the commute.