I am honored to help mentor five TechWomen Emerging Leaders from Tunisia during their visit to the USA. The U.S. State Department – Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs – TechWomen program connects and supports the next generation of women leaders in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by providing them the access and opportunities to advance their careers and pursue their dreams.
So far, our team has spoken online, been to a kickoff event hosted by Twitter at their San Francisco headquarters (I got to wear the embroidered cape I bought in Tunisia in 2015), and enjoyed dinner together at my house in San Jose. We are learning about each other, and working on the project again online, Tuesday night! This term, I am happy to be a TechWomen Co-Mentor with Darpana Pendyala (Hardware Design Engineer, Marvell), and Priyanka Sahay (Director, Product Marketing, LinkedIn).
TechWomen Team Tunisia 2022-09-23TechWomen Team Tunisia at Twitter 2022-09-29TechWomen Team Tunisia at Twitter 2022-09-29TechWomen Team Tunisia with WP668, in San Jose, CA 2022-10-1TechWomen Team Tunisia in San Jose, CA 2022-10-1TechWomen Team Tunisia in San Jose, CA 2022-10-1TechWomen Team Tunisia in San Jose, CA 2022-10-1TechWomen Team Tunisia in San Jose, CA 2022-10-1TechWomen Team Tunisia in San Jose, CA 2022-10-1TechWomen Team Tunisia in San Jose, CA 2022-10-1
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The lyrics of “When I’m Sixty-Four” by Paul McCartney of The Beatles start, “When I get older losing my hair, Many years from now, Will you still be sending me a Valentine, Birthday greetings bottle of wine. If I’d been out till quarter to three, Would you lock the door? Will you still need me, will you still feed me When I’m sixty-four?” Tonight, I end my Beatles Year!
I start my new half-decade tomorrow. Such a delightful adventure!Katy Dickinson 1957Katy Dickinson 1961Katy Dickinson 1967Wade, Eleanor, Mark, Peter, Katy Dickinson, Bachelor of Arts Commencement, University of California at Berkeley, 1979Katy Dickinson 1980Wade, Eleanor, Katy Dickinson with baby Jessica 1989Jessica and Paul, Nut Tree Railroad, 1995Katy Dickinson, John Plocher, Wedding 2000Jessica and Matthew wedding 2011Jessica and Katy, Beirut, Lebanon, 2013Katy Dickinson, John Plocher, Lalibela, Ethiopia 2014Katy and Jessica, Sierra Leone 2019Katy and Jessica, Horseshoe Bend, Arizona 2019Paul D Goodman and Katy Dickinson, Cielo Lodge, Golfito, Costa Rica, August 2021Graduate Theological Union, Master of Theology Commencement, 7 May 2022John Plocher, Katy Dickinson, Loon Lake, Wisconsin June 2022
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John Plocher, Katy Dickinson, Loon Lake, Wisconsin June 2022
Our family went on two short trips this summer. John and visited the Plocher family at Loon Lake, Wisconsin, in June. At the end of August, John and I and our kids took a road trip through Northern-Northern California, including a ride on the Skunk Train from Willets. John and Paul and I were in one car and Jessica and Matthew were in another.
Loon Lake, Wisconsin
Plocher family, Loon Lake, Wisconsin June 2022Loon Lake, Wisconsin June 2022Loon family, Loon Lake, Wisconsin June 2022John Plocher, Katy Dickinson, Loon Lake, Wisconsin June 2022Plocher boating on Loon Lake, Wisconsin June 2022Dragon fly, Loon Lake, Wisconsin June 2022Osprey fish eagles, Loon Lake, Wisconsin June 2022John and Naomi Plocher, Loon Lake, Wisconsin June 2022John and Naomi Plocher, Loon Lake, Wisconsin June 2022
California Road Trip
Dickinson family, Willits, California, August 2022Wild Turkey, Red Bluff, California, August 2022deer, Northern California, August 2022Road Trip, Northern California, August 2022Road Trip, Northern California, August 2022John Plocher, Katy Dickinson, Paul D. Goodman, Road Trip, Northern California, August 2022Road Trip through redwoods, Northern California, August 2022Skunk Train tunnel, Willits, California, August 2022Skunk Train, Willits, California, August 2022John Plocher on Skunk Train, Willits, California, August 2022Skunk Train, Willits, California, August 2022John Plocher, Paul D. Goodman, Glass Beach, Fort Bragg, California, August 2022John Plocher, Paul D. Goodman, Katy Dickinson, Glass Beach, Fort Bragg, California, August 2022
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John Plocher and I are in the process of fixing up our 90-year-old Spanish Mission style home in Willow Glen (San Jose, California). One of the duties of homeownership is maintenance, particularly fixing what does not show. We just completed Phase One of a maintenance project, including adding new French drains to redirect water away from the house, repairing some rocky tiles on the side porch, replacing a front porch post, adding better support for the ground floor so that the front door opens all the way, and replacing a walkway-with-a-step with a ramp. This work will not meet the realtors’ goal of “increasing the value of your home” for resale, but since this is our family’s forever home, it is enough that the work increases its comfort and value to us. We got virtual tours of the ongoing work under the house using FaceTime.
Some of maintenance challenges come from ours being an old (if well-built) house, and others from the land being part of the original Willow Glen swamp of the Guadalupe River. The ground shifts annually with seasonal moisture changes, causing stucco cracks and sometimes making doors stick. The most unhappy person with the construction has been Princess, our porch cat, who resented the disruption of her royal domain. Phase Two is being planned now!
Porch post with gap, July 2022Original side walkway, July 2022John Plocher raking weeds, July 2022Resetting porch tiles, July 2022Repaired side porch tiles, July 2022Cat judging front porch construction, July 2022Digging french drain trenches, July 2022French drain trench complete, July 2022French drain lining and rock, July 2022Completed french drains, July 2022Painting new porch post, July 2022Pouring new side ramp, July 2022Smoothing new ramp, July 2022New ramp walkway, July 2022FaceTime of work under house, July 2022End of walkway drying, July 2022Fixing front door, July 2022Princess the cat hiding, July 2022
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Katy Dickinson, 17 July 2022 (with earrings erased by John‘s iPhone Portrait setting)
As I wrote in April, I have been using the Noom program for weight loss and wellness. I am proud of myself that as of today, I met my 145 pound weight goal – hooray! Changing my eating patterns, losing over 60 pounds, and reducing my size from extra large (XL) to small (S) was not easy. There were many frustrating weeks when nothing seemed to happen. When I started in October 2021, Noom’s original estimate for my completion date was months ago. Nonetheless, today I am in the new phase of weight maintenance rather than loss. I had fun buying new clothes for my changed figure, since nothing but my shoes and scarves still fit. I have discovered by trial and error that I am now a Talbots size 8, Chico’s size 1, t-shirt size small, Gloria Vanderbilt size 10, Land’s End size 12 swimsuit but size 10 shirt, and Zuri medium size dress (but small shirt).
Read to the end of this post for a funny poem by my Grandma…
Katy Dickinson, 11 Oct 2021-17 July 2022 Noom Weight Graph
Weight management is a family problem, as illustrated by the following poem written by my Grandma, Evelyn Van Gilder Creekmore. I expect to work on maintenance for the rest of my life but am happy to have reached today’s milestone. Thank you to friends and family who have patiently supported my journey toward better health.
Visiting Grandchildren
Katy came first, a slender girl Afraid to gain one ounce of weight, Her diet worried me no end – Grapefruit was almost all she ate. But next came Pete, a teenage boy Who loved roast beef, and cake, and pie, Milk by the gallon, ham and steak – (We gained a few pounds – he and I) Then after Pete his brother came, I stocked the freezer well with meat, But Mark’s a vegetarian now – So I fixed salads and cracked wheat. Then after Mark came Rip whose diet Consists of steaks (by choice T-Bone) So we lived high on rare cooked steak, (I couldn’t let him eat alone.) My budget fluctuated much, As likewise did my weight, In matching menus day by day To choice of food each grandchild ate.
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Spring is graduation season and this year, I joyfully walked the stage in-person for my Graduate Theological Union – Master’s – Theology degree, as well as graduating three of my own student-mentees from the University of the South – School of Theology – Education for Ministry (EfM) extension program.
Co-Mentor Karen LeBlanc, with whom I have led EfM seminars together for over twelve years, celebrated with me the graduations of Joel Martinez (graduated 2020, diploma presented 2022) and Beth Hopf at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church (Saratoga, CA), and Mark LeBlanc (Karen’s husband) at St. Jude’s Episcopal Church (Cupertino, CA). Joel, Beth, and Mark faithfully completed four years of EfM study and theological reflection on the Bible, church history, theology, and ethics.
Katy Dickinson GTU – Master’s diploma 2021, tassel 2022GTU Commencement 7 May 2022GTU Commencement 7 May 2022GTU Commencement 7 May 2022GTU Commencement 7 May 2022GTU Commencement 7 May 2022Education for Ministry graduation, 12 June 2022Education for Ministry graduation, 12 June 2022Education for Ministry graduation, 26 June 2022Education for Ministry graduation, 26 June 2022
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Katy Dickinson in India, 2007Katy Dickinson, 10 April 2022
Weight loss was a decision that came out of my experience as a Chaplain Intern at Stanford Hospital (September 2021 – February 2022). I worked there during a COVID-19 pandemic surge and as part of my duties, provided family support and decedent care for a number of patients whose comorbidities (including obesity, diabetes, and asthma) seemed to contribute to their early death. I decided to act on my doctor’s long-standing advice and do what I could to reduce my own potential for a similar end.
The most I have ever weighed was 212 pounds, in 2007. Starting in October 2021, I followed my son Paul‘s good example and started using the Noom program for weight loss and wellness. Paul and John are also losing weight and we find that doing so as a family is easier. So far, I have lost over fifty pounds. I have about fifteen to go before I reach the weight that my doctor recommends. I feel better and am enjoying getting new clothes (and having more choices in the smaller sizes). Attending a deathbed may seem like an extreme reason to lose weight but it made a big impression on me.
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