Making Contracts Interesting

Right now I am in the middle of a contracting class. At the conclusion of this class the State Department gives me a certificate that allows me to sign contracts up to $250,000.  I am enjoying the contracting class and I feel like I have a good handle of how to prepare good contracts and most importantly I feel like I am learning how to cut through the red tape of Federal bureaucracy.  It is helpful to have been working in the government for a while before coming into this class.

The basis for Federal contracting is called the Federal Acquisition Regulations. It is a 2000 page document that covers everything.  It is the ultimate legal document and reminds me why I wouldn’t want to be a lawyer or policy writer.

In an effort to change things up the instructor assigned different people different topics. I was assigned something called Differing Site Conditions. It is pretty common when doing construction to have something different under the ground that originally thought. The State Department sometimes encounters conditions you would not ever find in the US. In some countries the where there have been wars you find landmines or unexploded ordinance.

Anyway I really like Xtranormal and decided to use it to instead of power-point. It turns everything into deadpan comedy. Enjoy or not. Contracting is dry and there is no way around it.

Differing Site Conditions
by: cameronschow2

What Do I Do As a Foreign Service Facility Manager

Janet has always had a tough time describing what I do to people. Part of the challenge is that I haven’t always had an easily categorized job, but I think it has more to do with a lack of understanding of what a facility manager does.

 In some ways the title is self-explanatory. Facilities management involves oversight of facility operations, management of repair and construction projects, and most importantly assurance of customer satisfaction.

After all my schooling, experience, training and preparation to be a great facility manager this video shows what I really should expect when I walk into my job on my first day in Oslo. Did I mention that customer service is really important?

Key to the Video

Gray suit- my boss

Tan suit- me

Seabee - Navy construction battalion
CB Richard Ellis- A big real estate company

OBO- Overseas Building Operations (responsible for facilities/construction)

FSI- Foreign Service Institute (this is where we are getting our training)

ICASS Score- Customer satisfaction survey

Foreign Service Facility Manager
by: AF9801


Hope this enlightens you all to what my job really is all about.

Feeling Good, Looking Good, And Being Fast

Over the last few years I have put on some pounds. My caloric intake and expenditure have not been equal and I've gained a few pounds each year. Last year I finally got my calories equalized and have slowly started reversing the upward trend.

I have three big reasons I want to maintain a healthy weight.

1. I want to feel good. Having three children under the age of 5 takes a lot of energy and my children deserve a Dad who will be around for a long time and has the energy to keep up with them. Also my job, my church calling, and my other endeavors in life require that I feel good and have energy.
2. I want to look good. Something about having a pair of pants get tighter over time, having a gut, or bulging out of my bike clothes isn't cutting it for me. I'd like to get back to the point where I look like a lean athletic guy.
3. I want to be fast. Since I ride my bike a lot I am all too aware of anytime there is a hill. Northern Virginia is filled with nasty little climbs every mile or two.  I could never figure out why they seem to hurt more than riding a mountain pass in Utah a few years ago and then I came to the obvious conclusion. Weight is not the friend of a cyclist. On a bike, being lean means being fast and I love riding my bicycle as fast as I can.

So those are my three big motivators for wanting to be thinner.  It has been a big challenge to reach my goals. Over the last few weeks I've been trying to make faster progress. As I've done a lot of reading, experimenting and working this is what I've learned.

Knowing Your Calorie Needs

Most people have no idea how many calories they consume per day, how many calories they should consume per day and how many calories they would need to burn to lose weight.

I've used some different websites/apps in my quest. The best is www.myfitnesspal.com. You can download and app for you iPhone, iPad, Kindle, Blackberry or you can just go online.  It helps you set goals, keeps track of caloric intake, record progress and know how much you should be eating. 

Steps to Track Progress

Although I like the program I don't have an iPad or iPhone with 3G/4G internet. So I remain old school for tracking my calories on paper. Here is how to do it on paper

1. Knowing My Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Basically this is a calculation of the number of calories I use if all I do it wake up, eat, and watch TV. http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/
2. Determining My Calorie Expenditure. Then I calculate the number of calories I actually use by multiplying my BMR by the Harris Benedict Equation for my activity level. http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/
3. Adjusting Calorie Intake. I adjust my activity level down because I keep good track of the calories I burn while exercising. I can do this because I have a nice heart rate monitor that gets me in the ball park for calories consumed exercising.
4. Setting Daily Calorie Deficit. Next I established my weight loss goal based on the idea that burning 3500 calories equals a pound of lost weight. So if you want to lose a pound a week you need to burn an extra 500 calories per day over what you consume.
5. Keeping Tracking of Caloric Intake. I count calories religiously and keep a running total on a sheet of paper, any sheet of paper. Since I am in training right now, my notes books have lists of random numbers on the side of pages. Counting calories without a program can be tricky if you have never thought about it and have no idea how many calories you are consuming just keep a running list of what and how much you eat. Then go home and use MyFitnessPal to enter your calories.  When I first started I was horrified to find out how much I was really eating and that that second or third donut is really dangerous. 
6. Weighing in Daily. Weigh yourself every day. A quality digital scale that is accurate and reliable is essential. Tanita makes great scales, but there are others that are pretty accurate. Knowing who you are doing keeps you honest.

Tricks of the Trade

This is very much a learning process for me and I am getting better each day. It isn't about starving or killing yourself through exercise. It is about taking a measured approach.  Here are some things to remember.

1. A couple days of indulgence can cost you a week.
2. Try to eat healthy calories. 4 oranges give you the same calories and more energy than the yummy Krispy Kreme.
3. Indulge reasonably. Unfortunately this means two, maybe three Oreos at most.
4. Plan ahead. Plan prevents blowing the calorie budget.
5. Adjust based on how the day and week went. No more oh-well I guess I blew it so now I am done.
6. Look for opportunities to move. I love walking because the only thing you need to do is keep moving. The days I walk from the Metro to work are pleasant because all I say to my self is walk and some how a half hour later I end up at work and have had a great flood of ideas for the last half hour.

Feeling Good, Looking Good, and Being Fast

I have my goals, my motivation and the science of weight loss figured out. Over the next year I'll continue to work hard to reach racing weight. With 2300 miles of bike riding in my legs since July last year I  am feeling good and have lots more energy. Now to conquer looking good and being fast.

"Noodle" Cake: Lost and Found

This is the last cake post for a while, I promise! But this is BIG!

First, the story behind so-called Noodle Cake for those unfamiliar with Lundberg family traditions: For years, My mom made a fantastic, moist, fluffy chocolate cake. It was so awesome that we never even bothered to ice it, something I credit for my ambivalence about frosting in general. It was a one-bowl cake and was so easy to make, it was considered fool-proof.

One time, when we were having it for a Family Home Evening treat, my sister asked for a REALLY big slice. My mom humored her by making a long, thin slice down the length of the 9x13 pan. My sister said it looked like a noodle cake, and the name stuck.

We probably made Noodle Cake at least once a week and took it to countless potlucks. When I was fourteen or so, I had to take a treat to a Young Women's meeting at church so, of course, I took a noodle cake. Everyone loved it and Kathy Koch, an expert baker and the source of the only sugar cookie recipe I will ever use, begged for the recipe. A day or two later, we made a noodle cake and...it was a total flop. It rose in the oven and then collapsed the moment it came out of the oven into a pile of goo. In spite of our best efforts and many attempts, the recipe never worked again. I even gave it a try when I was in college, thinking that the different oven might make a difference. It didn't, and over time we lost the cookbook that held the recipe we used to have committed to memory.

My mom found a new chocolate cake recipe and we even called it Noodle Cake, but it wasn't the same.  It was fine, maybe even good. But it didn't have the wow factor that kept us from grabbing a cake mix instead. After my success with the yellow cake the other day, I decided to see if I could bring back the noodle cake magic. I looked at the Smitten Kitchen favorite, but it called for "3 oz fine quality chocolate." Not only did that seem a bit snooty to me, but we didn't have so much as a chocolate chip in the house. So I turned to my other go-to recipe sight, MelsKitchenCafe, where she has a section titled "best recipe" and contains what she considers the best version of basic recipes - the best whole wheat bread, the best chicken noodle soup and...the best chocolate cake. I looked at the recipe and noted the similarities to original noodle cake, both in the ingredient list and her description of the final cake. I gave it a whirl.

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/09/the-best-chocolate-cake.html

Make. This. Cake.  THIS is Noodle Cake and I can't tell you how happy I am to see it again. Word of warning: this makes a huge batch. I filled two 9-inch pans, one 8x8 pan, twelve cupcakes and still had a bit of batter left for tasting. I think next time I would make a 9x13 and a bunch of cupcakes. It has odd measurements, making me think that it was scaled down from a massive recipe used in a bakery or something. Anyway, none of that matters. What matters is that this is truly the best chocolate cake and it will ruin you for cake mixes for life. That's not a bad thing.

Homemade Yellow Cake aka Mission: Accomplished!

I finally found it!


When I was a teenager, I went on a bit of a baking bender. I even made a gluten-free orange chiffon cake that we all loved. But the one thing I never managed to make work was a basic yellow cake. This was unfortunate, since it's my dad's favorite cake. I resigned myself to using a cake mix and moved on. Fast forward a few years, and I saw a recipe for yellow cake on my favorite food sight - SmittenKitchen. What peaked my interest was her comment about how so many people fall back on Duncan Hines because they do a freakishly good job of creating a cake that is always plush and moist, something that homemade yellow cake recipes fail to do. They are dense, crumbly and - in my experience - have an odd after taste. 
What finally convinced me to give it a try was the batch of cupcakes I made for the 4th of July. They were from my usual box, and they tasted like...food science.  I make my own yogurt, for crying out loud, surely I could handle making this cake without the aid of twenty mystery ingredients.


So today, I finally gave it go. I made a half recipe and tried to keep my expectations low, but I needn't have. It was a huge success! And timely, because now I don't need to take a 2 year supply of cake mixes with us to Norway. Or, worse, by them in bulk(!) from Ramstein. Nobody needs that kind of trouble laying around the house.


Here's the link if you'd like to give it a try:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2012/07/flag-cake/


She's talking about a flag cake in this post, but all you really need is the cake recipe. One tip from me is to make sure you bake the cake until a toothpick/knife poked in the center comes out CLEAN. This cake will not bake or rise as fast as a box cake. The texture and flavor of the cake makes me dream about turning it into an Italian Cream Cake for Cameron's Birthday, but we are enjoying it with chocolate frosting, or even just a dusting of powdered sugar and fruit. I suspect that my Dad will actually still prefer the box version - sometimes you just want the Twinkie, you know - but for all other occasions, this is my new go-to basic cake. Give it a try!

The Bike Guy and His Family

I remember my mom telling me about my grandpa Bob. He was a Jeep man. She told me that a lot of her memories of him were referenced in time by the Jeep grandpa Bob drove. Even if I own a jeep I will never be considered a Jeep man. I am a bike guy. From a pre-teen, my family will probably remember me by the particular bikes I own.

Huffy

The Huffy

For a couple of years I rode my dad's old 10 speed. After a major crash caused by a broken brake lever that got caught in the spokes flipping me over, Santa gave me a Huffy mountain bike for Christmas.  It was a perfect bike. It opened up a new world of exploration which I fully exploited.


Gary Fisher

The Gary Fisher on its second frame.

By the time I was getting ready to start High School, the Huffy was on its last legs and needed to be replaced with a real bike from a bike shop.  So the summer before my freshman year my dad hired me to do some work replacing lights and ceiling tiles at work.  Over the course of the summer I was able to save nearly enough money to buy a Gary Fisher mountain bike.

The Gary Fisher on its third frame.

Of all the bikes I have owned since, the Gary Fisher is still my favorite. Yes, I rode the bike hard and have replaced every single part on it including the frame twice, but it is still alive and well after more than 16 years.

Giant

My Giant full suspension trail bike.

I remember the bike ride when I decided my Gary Fisher was no longer adequate. I had my sisters drop me off at the base of a trail head in Provo canyon. When I reached the top of a miles long climb, I started traversing the side of the mountain on some single track. For whatever reason I decided to give my Mom a call to test out my bluetooth. Riding along, I offered a dramatic narrative of the several thousand foot steeply slopped mountain side and the various obstacles along the trail. As cell phone reception began to wane I told my Mom I would call her back when I got home. At that point the ride got challenging as I defended the mountain. I was essentially riding down a trail that was more a rock strewn stream than a trail. In fact many sections were either covered in snow or washed clean by spring runoff. Three hours and a frantic mother later I decided I needed a more robust bike to handle mountain biking in Utah.

 So when I went back to home for the summer I went to working saving for a bike, I mean college. I ended purchasing an really nice full suspension trail bike that was ready for whatever I threw at it. I sold it last year to clear up some space in the closet and to get some extra cash.

Cannondale

My dream bike broken into pieces.

Later while still in college I purchased a Cannondale road bike and just fell in love with road biking. Initially I bought a basic road bike and later upgraded to a nicer more expensive one once I realized how much I liked road riding. The more expensive one was destroyed shortly after I purchased it when a car thought it would be a good idea to turn right in front of me.  So I took the components off the nice bike and put them back on my other road frame. That is the bike I am still riding today.

My current ride.

So today I ride the Cannondale frame from my first road bike and the components off my dream bike.  Anyway it makes for a really nice bike if not what I had really dreamed up. I've had a ton of great adventures on this bike and most of all I love towing the kids along.

Biking with the Family

Although I love riding to be healthy, fast and to have adventures my favorite part of bicycling now is that it is a family affair. When Janet and I got engaged our first major purchase was a nice bike for Janet. I love being able to go out on rides with my girl. I love having been able to ride with her in the Rockies, Hawaii, Maine, Georgia, and Virginia.  I look forward to more rides in Norway and who knows what countries other in the coming years.

Arguably my favorite part of bicycles has been getting my kids bikes. Last summer I took Maddie over to REI and helped her pick out a really cool green bike that she just loves because it sparkles.  In the year since I got her the bike she has learned how to ride without training wheels.  That was a proud day for me.

This summer I felt bad watching James try to keep up with Maddie while trying to ride a small trike so I went out and got James a Specialized bike from a local bike shop.  When I brought the bike home Janet suggested I should wait until Christmas to give James the bike.  The obvious answer was no, so the next morning I think I woke James us before I went to work so that I could show him his new bike. He was pretty excited and is getting pretty good at riding.

So I'm the bike guy who is working hard to make my family a bike family. I've always loved biking and as I get to share my passion with my family, my love for both the sport and my family grow.

Father's Day - My Dad

So today I've had a nice Father's Day. Janet has made sure to give me plenty of time to relax. I used my free time today to work on my bike and tune it up.  More than that I got to spend time hanging out with the kids and just enjoying myself.  I also had time to reminisce on my own Dad who lives two thousand miles away in Arizona. I went through the pictures I have and computer and pulled up a few of my favorites of me and my Dad. Each pictures exemplifies something about my Dad.

Supporting Me in My Activities

All growing up I remember how my Dad would support me in the activities as I grew up. As a young kid it was things like soccer. As I grew older it was music, musicals, scouts, church, and a 100 other activities.  My memories are of him going above and beyond to support me.  He was by no means one of the crazy sports Dads that was more interested in the activities than I was, but what he did always do was work behind the scenes to make sure I was successful.  Using his construction skills he would build scenery for different plays me and my siblings were in.  

My Dad probably spent 10 plus years as a scout master.  That has to be one of the toughest calling in the church.  He did it not some much because he loved scouting, but because when he was asked he always accepted the responsibility and he did it well. 

One story I love is when I was 17 and 9 months.  I had completed my Eagle project when I was 14 and had yet to earn my eagle. I believe the only thing I had left was to write up my project report and submit my paper work to earn my Eagle. My Dad sat me down and told me in no uncertain terms that he "had worked too hard on my Eagle for me not to earn it." So with some more help from my Dad I got my paper work in and I earn my Eagle. How grateful I am for that he pushed me to complete something I am so proud of. Below is a picture of my Eagle project when I was 14.

Hard Work

From a very early age my Dad taught me the value of hard work. I'm not sure how old I am in the picture below, but I wash't much older than five or six.  My Dad always took me to work and taught me to work hard. When we lived in Colorado my parents managed an apartment complex and were responsible for all the maintenance including snow removal.  By the time I was 9 my parents had me clearing the sidewalks using the snow blower that must have weighed two or three times my size.  

When we lived in Pennsylvania my Dad worked for a real estate company he always made sure I had opportunities to work.  One of my favorite jobs was contracting with him to do interior demolition projects for office spaces.  I learned that the harder I worked the higher my hourly rate was and the more money I was able to learn.

I've chosen the same career as my Dad. I am trying to be like my Dad in two aspects of my career.  

Technical Competency: My Dad knows buildings better than just about anyone I know. It comes from his years of working with his Dad who did construction and also his years as a builder himself. So as I position my career and take jobs I have made sure to take jobs, tasks, positions that would help me to develop that same technical competency.  Following that example has help my career so much.

Treat People Kindly: It is easy to be rude and bulldoze your way through work.  My Dad doesn't work that way. He treats people with respect and honestly and it has paid huge dividends.  When I've had a chance to work with or meet people who work my Dad everyone only has to most positive things to say. Most people would do anything for my Dad.  I am far from meeting that level of working well with people, but I am striving to treat people like my Dad Treats people.

Road Trips

My Dad is a road tripper and has supported me in when I've needed to do a couple a major road trips. One road trip was when I was looking to take a job in New Mexico.  I flew out to Phoenix and we hopped in a car and drove 14 hours straight only stopping for food and gas so that I could check out Hobbs New Mexico and the job site.  Below is a picture of the job site.  Then we after a few hours in Hobbs we turned around and went home. 

Another road trip was only a few months later when I was moving to Washington DC.  He drove one car and I drove our other car from Arizona to Virginia in three days.  I am grateful that he was willing to do things like that to help out.

A Righteous Father

The most important thing about my Dad is that he is a righteous man. I have always been impressed by how good and genuine a person he is. He is always serving others and does it freely.  A couple of weeks ago my older sister got married.  She asked him to give her a Father's blessing.  It was so nice to hear him bless my sister.  I was one of those moments when I was really able to feel the Holy Spirit and know that my Dad was a righteous man that I want am trying to be like. The picture was taken right before he gave my sister a blessing.  It is hard not to look at the picture and get a lump in my throat.

Dad, thank you for supporting my throughout my life and living in a way that make me want to be more like you.

FSI is Exactly Like the MTC

When I was 19, I was a missionary for my church in Italy for two years. During that time I learned Italian, taught people about my beliefs in Christ and helped people become better. On Friday when I was walking through the halls of the Foreign Service Institute the thought hit me, the Foreign Service Institute is exactly like the Missionary Training Center.  Below I explain the similarities between the Missionary Training Center and the Foreign Service Institute.

The Orange Dot: At the MTC an orange dot on the missionary name tag marked you as a newbie. At FSI it was a pink name tag.

The Campus: Both sites are in a campus setting with some really nice open spaces. Both places are kind of secluded and really foster learning and preparing for future assignments.

Language Training: The MTC is filled with rooms that can seat about a dozen people for language training. The same is true of FSI. When you walk down the halls of both places you see signs on the doors telling you what languages are being taught.  Also going down the halls you hear many conversations in languages you don't recognize.

Anxious to Go: Everyone is eager to get to country and get to work.  When you put someone in training for two months or six months they have a tendency to go stir crazy.  I remember that halfway through my time at the MTC I was dying to go to Italy and get started. So far I have completed 5 weeks of my 25 weeks of training and I am ready to go.

In my first few weeks I've run into a lot more mormons than I would have expected compared to the population. I've also had a couple of people tell me that you can't turn around without hitting a lawyer or a mormon in the State Department. I would guess the reason might be that a mission does prepares a person for the life and career of a diplomat. I know for myself and Janet it was our missions that made us comfortable with the challenges and opportunities of this new job and lifestyle. As I get further into my training I realize and am thankful for how much my mission prepared me.

Flag Day

I'd heard about flag day and thought it would be a cheesy, but it was actually really cool. So the way it works is that there are a couple of speakers and then they announce countries and names. When the country and name are announced the person goes up front, gathers their flag, takes a picture with a senior diplomat and then gets a folder with information about what to do next.  In my class the process repeated 85 times.

The first half I was really distracted because Janet and the kids were coming but not there yet.  Halfway through announcing assignments Janet and the kids made their way in the room. Somewhere along the  way Janet made a wrong turn and in Arlington a wrong turn takes half and hour to correct.

Since I knew I was going to one of seven locations I was able to check off where I wasn't going as the other facility managers received their assignments. As Germany, The Netherlands, Ivory Coast, Burundi and South Africa got taken I was getting really anxious to find out if I was going to my first choice, Malawi or my third choice, Norway.

As the flags got fewer and fewer up front I wondered if they had forgotten to put me on the list.  With three flags left a fellow FM received an assignment to Malawi.  Then the powerpoint picture of the Norwegian popped up on the screen and my name was announced.  Janet and I were both really excited and we knew our families would be happy that we weren't going to some crazy post in Africa.

Over the next couple of years we expect a number of visitors, plan to learn to ski, visit the fiords, and plan to figure out how to live in Norway without breaking the bank. In conclusion, what a cool place to start a career in the State Department.

What Have We Gotten Ourselves Into

On Monday I started my new job. One thing I am very excited about is the idea that they spend time to train you before throwing you to the wolves; I get 6 months of training before heading in field.   The first three weeks are the same for all the the foreign service specialist.  Our class includes over 80 people in a variety of specialties including a number of Doctors.

During these three weeks the most exciting and anxious part is researching and receiving our first assignments.  There are 7 facilities managers and 7 places we might end up.  Those places are Malawi, Burundi, Cote D'Ivoire, South Africa, Germany, Norway and the Netherlands.  We have been asked to do research on each post and then rank in order of preference with a brief explanation of why we ranked each post the way we did.

In my opinion we have an amazing list, and I wonder how many people have more than 50% of their first post options in really great countries. I would guess not too many.  It would seem obvious that my ranking would be a no brainer, but it is proving to be a not so simple choice.  As we learn about schools, housing, pay, job, rest and relaxation trips and much more we are seeing some places trickle up and down the list. Our list changes by the day, the hour and the minute.

An interesting this about bidding on posts is that everyone in our group has very different preferences. Some people hate the cold, others want/need better schools or want to work with another FM while they gain experience, so no one will rank the list exactly the same. Ultimately when we submit our list for consideration our preferences are only a factor in where we eventually go, so it really will be a surprise.

The surprise comes on flag day in another week.  It is a fun and festive event where Janet, the kids and a couple of friends will come over along with everyone else's families and friend.  The hope is that no one walks away with tears in their eyes.  Even if we say we are worldwide available, that doesn't me there aren't places we don't want to go.

We are really excited about this job and everything that goes with it.  As we get going there are moments we think, what have we gotten ourselves into, but overall we are thrilled for the opportunities ahead.  The people we've met so far are amazing and so excited for our family to have some more great experiences.