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Recently, my day looks something like this:

I'm awoken about 4 AM by Jerry. Eriko has fed him, but he's still restless so she asks me to hold him. I bounce him for a bit and then lay in bed holding him. I can't really fall asleep like this, but it is better than sitting on the couch. Eventually I start to doze, which causes me to shift my body position and Jerry wakes up. This repeats for an hour or more until Eriko feeds Jerry again. I sleep for maybe an hour before the alarm goes off - recently at 6:45 (although I'm aiming for 6).

I quickly put on my clothes. I have a virtual meeting at 7 AM, so I power on the computer as well. Jerry is awake (awakened by Eriko, although she prefers I do it) so I'm typically carrying him around. It is quite a struggle to use the computer and watch him at the same time. He wants to be on the computer and just watching me won't cut it. That can last between 15-30 minutes, until Eriko is out of bed and feeding him. Recently I've been hanging around the house until about 8:30, although my intention is to be at work by 8.

At work, I spend most of my day in meetings. Those meetings consist of phone calls with customers or sales engineers, product development discussions, 1-on-1 discussions with my direct reports, project related meetings (for projects I manage), resource discussions (with other managers), etc. Although I've re-arranged my calendar to give me both office hours and "personal time", it is occupied with meetings approximately 60% of the time.

Eriko and I haven't been meeting for lunch, so I'll either have a meeting through lunch, hang out with co-workers, or eat at my desk. It depends on whether I've had any time to myself so far. Although I intend to leave work about 4:30, I've typically been leaving closer to 5:30. Simply put, it is hard to get away.

As soon as I come home, Jerry is ready to see me. Typically Eriko has to hold him near me as I take off my jacket, wash my hands, etc. Once I'm ready, it is playtime. Quite often dinner is ready, but we don't necessarily eat dinner together. Either one of us plays with Jerry or we take turns, eating half of our meal and then alternating.

About 30 minutes after dinner, it is time for Jerry's bath. He and I go in the tub together to wash and play. After 10-15 minutes I call for Eriko to take Jerry and then I shower. Jerry is up for another hour or two (8 or 9, depending on his nap schedule). I might spend 30 minutes to an hour with Eriko, on the computer, or organizing the desk.

That's a wrap!

New photos of Jerry are up, at http://photos.kirsch.org/jerry09?page=39 and http://photos.kirsch.org/jerry10.

Boy, is he cute.

Finally - pictures of my trip to Moscow in January are available.

Today I officially was promoted to Director of Software Engineering at Isilon, along with one of my peers. I have to admit that I have not expected to rise to the position that I have. My natural talents have really fit into what Isilon has wanted, especially my boss - who started in 2005.

This is an exciting time, but also a nervous time. A lot about my role will change significantly in ways that I have yet to predict. At the same time, my life has been a constant whirlwind of change for the last 3 years or so, so what's a little more?

Thanks to Awesome Uncle Zack, Eriko and I were able to attend the Seattle Symphony last night. The first half was Beethoven's Piano Concerto #5 with Fuzjko. Fuzjko is a wonderful piano player and we were treated to two encore performances of Chopin and Frances List. Eriko thinks Fuzjko is a little rough, but I can't tell the difference.

The star of the show, though, was the second half - Sumi Jo. She is a Soprano singer with an amazing voice. Her songs were mainly French, so I couldn't understand the words but I was blown away by the quality. In one song, she was matching the notes and timing of flute players. She also wore two stunning dresses and looked very pretty. Eriko is a big fan of Sumi Jo.

Since Fuzjko is part-Japanese and Sumi is Korean, the audience was composed primarily of Japanese and Koreans.

Back at home, Zack did a wonderful job at his first baby-sitting gig. Jerry didn't cry at all and fell asleep in his arms.

Eriko and I couldn't have had a better night!

Well... I've had very little time for anything but work and home these days. My new position is stretching me at both ends, since I need to be up early to address the needs of Moscow and at work late to address the needs of Seattle.

Jerry is more active than ever, crawling on all fours, standing (with assistance) and starting to babble. He's a lot of fun to watch and interact with. Eriko's doing well, but needs me to take over Jerry-duty as soon as I return home.

I did take some time to go to the doctor and check on my hurting feet and knees. The feet and knees have been hurting me since I was a child; I used to tie a "sock tourniquet" around my ankle to fall asleep. Recently, I've also had some acute pain in my left knee. I went to a Dr. Berg, podiatrist, who promptly diagnosed me as slightly flat-footed and prescribed new shoes, arch support, and physical therapy. I purchased the new shoes (Rockport), arch support (Superfeet), and today I had my first dose of PT at Therapeutic Associates. My feet and left knee are hurting due to the change in posture/footware, but it seems like these are pains with a purpose.

I haven't found anytime for my Japanese study. My goal is to take the JLPT level 3, but if I don't start studying Kanji it will be a futile venture - I have approximately 200 to learn! My reading has also suffered as of late. One factor was that the Queen Anne Branch of the Seattle Public Library closed, so books are now very inconvenient to get. The other factor, of course, is lack of free time. I have subscribed to The Economist magazine, which has a pretty amazing amount of information from around the world - both economic and political - right up my ally. Due to factor #2, however, I'm two weeks behind in my reading (having finished only one magazine to date.)

I have yet to introduce any new exercise regiment, but I am walking up and down Queen Anne Hill almost every day. My physical therapist, Jen, asked me to do some regular stretching; that might help me get into a habit of exercising. Habits are such a powerful force.

5 years ago today, Eriko and I met each other in what can only be described later as fate. How amazing my life is.