KatysBlog

August 4, 2011 · 5:12 pm

End of Intern Season

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…

Working in R&D for most of my life, my year sorts into professional seasons. Early Spring is when I submit presentation proposals to the Hopper Conference, then I attend GHC in the late Fall. Winter is the time to look for interns, late Spring is when they arrive for work, and now is the time for interns to go. This Summer, I was delighted to host a gaggle of interns here at Huawei in Santa Clara, one of whom actually reported to me. Three were shared TechWomen interns, and one was my son-in-law-to-be, who reported to someone else. All have now gone on to new adventures. We miss their ideas, questions, and energy: it is way too quiet around here…

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Filed under Home & Family, Hopper - Anita Borg Institute, Mentoring & Other Business, News & Reviews

Tagged as Huawei, Matthew, Mentoring, technical women, TechWomen

August 3, 2011 · 1:11 pm

All things are ready, if our minds be so

My daughter Jessica’s wedding is in three days. 125 people are joining us in a lovely State Park on Saturday to celebrate the happy union under the redwoods. I am sure there is much which we have forgotten or neglected or mislaid but I trust in King Henry V: “All things are ready, if our minds be so.”

The Holmes and Dickinson families got together on Sunday for a pre-wedding pizza dinner, check-in, and games night. We played Munchkin – a fun game based on Dungeons and Dragons with silly cards such as

Curse! Duck of Doom (“You should know better than to pick up a duck in a dungeon”)
Swiss Army Polearm
Chainsaw of Bloody Dismemberment
Nasty-Tasting Sports Drink
Pantyhose of Giant Strength
Squidzilla (a monster)

We first played Munchkin when we visited Jessica last year in Qatar. Several of her professors at CMU-Q were addicted to the game.

Paul and Matt went together to get their hair cuts earlier this week (supervised by Jessica). The soon-to-be-brothers-in-law look very handsome. Last night, Jessica and Matt and I went to Costco to buy two shopping carts-full of wine, beer, champagne, sodas, and bottled water for the wedding reception. Jessica has given us a written timeline (15 minute intervals) for The Day Before the Wedding and The Wedding Day. I do not expect everything will go as planned but all will be well at the end.

Wedding Shopping at Costco Jessica Matthew

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Filed under Home & Family, News & Reviews

Tagged as CMU, Jessica, marriage, Matthew, Middle East, Paul, Qatar

July 31, 2011 · 5:51 pm

Spiderweb Lunch in Los Gatos

The town of Los Gatos is full of cat pictures and puns. Many local businesses’ names refer to the mascot of the town (Los Gatos means “the cats” in Spanish). The original cats were the indigenous cougars. We live in San Jose but have been in Los Gatos frequently of late, visiting the talented Sumi’s Tailoring (for my daughter’s wedding dress), and eating lunch at the excellent California Cafe in the Old Town shopping area.

Waiting for lunch last week, I noticed a quiet neighbor: a spider had strung her web across the fence next to my chair. Spiderwebs are tricky to photograph. I was lucky to be there when the light was glinting from the delicate strands. Near the restaurant, we walked by a vintage car which had been parked under its cover long enough to have its rear tire become a trellis for a flowering weed.

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Filed under News & Reviews

Tagged as insects, Jessica, marriage, San Jose

July 31, 2011 · 1:35 pm

Ladies’ Wedding Tea

My daughter Jessica is getting married next week. We are mostly ready for the big event (125 guests). Yesterday, she and I went back to the tailor’s for another sash fitting, bought her two party dresses, and went to the florist. John and Paul went to the grocery store and the bakery. Sinead (the Maid of Honor) and Jessica baked cookies when we got back.

Last night, we held the Ladies’ Tea for the senior women in Jessica’s life to celebrate. The gentlemen of the family were invited to go elsewhere. The younger ladies are getting together for a bachelorette party next week. All of the guests brought their favorite treats. We had cakes and cucumber sandwiches and rosemary bread and cornbread (with honey) and tarts and biscotti and lavender ice tea and hot teas and wine. The table decorations were the wishes tree, wedding favors, and love poems with ribbons to be given out at next week’s big event. My favorite was the almond cake with marzipan frosting in the shape of a gift box with a big bow (from Flower Flour bakery and florist here in Willow Glen, San Jose CA).

Tonight, the families of the Bride and Groom meeting for dinner and board games at our house – to check in and make final plans. We usually play Settlers or Hearts.

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Filed under Home & Family, News & Reviews

Tagged as Jessica, John, marriage, Matthew, Paul, San Jose

July 16, 2011 · 6:57 pm

3 Beautiful Old Typewriters

In 2009, I wrote an entry about the old Remington Portable typewriter pictured at the top of my blog page. I recently acquired two more, an L.C. Smith & Corona Super Speed from a garage sale ($10), and an Oliver Standard Visible Writer (appropriately olive colored) which was a gift from my mother. All three are now part of my office in WP668 (our backyard caboose).

Typing this on my Apple MacBook Pro laptop, with its sleek compact design, makes me think again how far the mechanics of writing have come. The function of these three 80-year-old machines is the same but the designs are very different. I find them interesting and beautiful.

I learned to type on a portable typewriter. Now, many of them are being dismantled for their beautiful parts and sold a bit at a time on Etsy* and at craft fairs to those who like the steampunk look. As my husband says, before something gets to be antique and valuable, it has to survive being old and worn out.

* Etsy currently has 3,948 listings for handmade items such as rings, pendants, cuff links, and earrings which mention “typewriter keys”

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Filed under Caboose Project and Other Trains, Home & Family, News & Reviews

Tagged as WP668

July 16, 2011 · 6:03 pm

San Jose Bike Party

We had dinner at Pizza Antica at Santana Row before seeing the last Harry Potter movie yesterday. After the movie, we went to Pinkberry for dessert. Our quiet discussion of movie merits was interrupted by loud music and shouts of Bike Party! as the weekly San Jose Bike Party swept around the shopping area. Several thousand people of all ages on an impressive variety of bicycles and related people-powered vehicles, some with lights and others with sound systems, were clearly having a very good time in the warm summer evening.

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Filed under News & Reviews

Tagged as San Jose

July 16, 2011 · 5:44 pm

Last Harry Potter Movie

I went with family and friends to see the last Harry Potter movie last night. It was dark and sad but with a marvelous battle at the end. My kids love J.K. Rowling’s books and have read each of the seven Harry Potter stories many times. My son listens to recordings of the stories regularly. For the last fourteen years, our whole family has awaited each book and movie eagerly. We have several copies of each book, some in more than one language. In 2003, when we took a family trip by Amtrak train from Chicago home to the San Francisco Bay Area, we had to share just two newly-arrived books among the four of us. I think I achieved a personal best by reading Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (870 pages) in a day and a half. I am sorry to see the end of new stories about our favorite boy wizard.

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Filed under Home & Family, News & Reviews

Tagged as Jessica, John, Paul, San Francisco, San Jose

KatysBlog

End of Intern Season

All things are ready, if our minds be so

Spiderweb Lunch in Los Gatos

Ladies’ Wedding Tea

3 Beautiful Old Typewriters

San Jose Bike Party

Last Harry Potter Movie

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