August 2005 Archives

Another night of imperfect sleep. I didn't get quite enough and it just wasn't
quite solid enough... shucks. Eriko and I were both dragging this morning, but
we made it to work on time. I was real productive in the morning (before anyone
else arrived) and did pretty good until lunch. Eriko joined me as I went out
for lunch with my old boss, Bill, and co-worker David. It was nice. Eriko
didn't participate that much in the conversation, but neither did David for
that matter. Bill and I talked tech for quite a bit. ;) I had a few meetings
and then went off for my first private Japanese lesson. Hideki met me at
Starbucks at 4 o'clock and the session lasted an hour. Next week it will be
two hours. Humorously, this is the same Starbucks where I met Yuki twice a
week. We reviewed the first eight chapters of the book. He said my grammar
was good, but I attribute that to the reviewing I did. It was a good session
and I look forward to it occuring regularly. I had hoped to just sneak into
work and check email, but I got caught up in a conversation that caused me to
be about 20 minutes late for dinner. I sent Eriko a note to let her know.
After dinner we relaxed, watched Seinfeld, and then went to Kinko's to check
out our proof. It wasn't to our liking, so we asked for some modifications and
will return tomorrow. Back at home, Eriko asked me to make some changes to
her website, which took a fair bit of time. Then, I wrote some diary entries,
showered, watched Seinfeld, and will soon be snoozzing.

I slept horribly. I was too hot and being tired, I became delirious. My brain
was solving some unsolvable problem and I kept waking up thinking I had a
solution. Eriko suggested I open the window (we had closed it because it was
cool earlier) but I thought I was OK. In retrospect, I'm going to try and
remember to always open the window before bed. She stays warm under the covers,
so I don't get much complaint. Anyway, after breakfast we headed off to work.
There were two massive piles of poop along our route. How traumatic! For the
first time in a lonnng time, I had no meetings during the day. That was nice.
I went home for lunch but otherwise got some good stuff done. Unfortunately,
I was still interrupted pretty often. I let a little early from work so Eriko
and I could eat before we caught a Buster Keaton double picture. It was my
first silent movie (and perhaps hers as well) and we both very impressed with
the organ accompanist. The first movie was quite funny. The second was a little
too long (for me) but ended well. The event was sponsored by Trader Joe's and
lucky us, we won a gift basket! We got lots of free food and a $25 gift
certificate. That paid for the tickets. ;) We were exhausted by bedtime.

Eriko and I slept in until about 8. She was hungry and couldn't sleep anymore.
I probably could have remained in bed for some time. ;) I offered to make
breakfast and cooked up some chocolate-chip pancakes, crispy bacon, and
grilled toast. It took me a while (I have no griddle) but she wanted patiently.
Finally, we ate, and it was yummy. =) I then proceeded to relax on the couch
with my eyes clothes for a little while. I also watched some of the little
league world series game between an island in the Carribean and Hawaii. Then we
went to Kinko's to see about our wedding announcements. We've taken a wedding
photo of us and are turning it into a postcard. After about 15-30 minutes of
discussion, we scheduled an appointment on Tuesday @ 8 to review the proof.
Next, we headed to Uwajimaya for some groceries. Eriko finished rather quickly,
and it may have taken longer to enter the parking lot (due to traffic throttled
by a single gate) then to leave the store. On the way back, we listened to
the Mariner's game on the radio a bit. Arriving at home, I continued to pay
attention and watched them on TV as well as the end of the LLWS. Hawaii made a
great comeback (3 runs) to put the game into extra innings (7). Then they won
it with a dong. It was exciting but heart-wrenching to wach the players
(they're 11 & 12 yr old boys) on the other team cry. They were very
sportsmanlike but wore their heart on their sleeves. Eriko and I lounged around
for a while; I worked on reviewing my Japanese in preparation for class on
Tuesday. Not being hungry, we decided that a walk to Safeway to buy ice cream
might be enough to stir our appetites. I was greatly dissappointed to find out
that there was no mint-chocolate chip ice cream! We bought a carton of
strawberry and a carton of sundae, but I couldn't hide my sadness. Eriko made
dinner went we returned and afterwards we dug into the ice cream. It was bad.
The cartons had both melted and been re-frozen, which eliminates the
creaminess. That's what I get for not buying what I wanted; in retrospect I
should have tried another store (although the cartons were buy 1/get 1 free,
which is why everything else had sold out). I continued to review my Japanese
in the evenings and we watched a bit of the Eagles Farewall I tour on TV before
heading off to bed.

Eriko and I slept in until about 8 o'clock. Eriko made breakfast and I goofed
off on the computer. Then we headed out for some errands. We drove up to
Northgate mall and went to Target. On the way I received a phone call from
Kevin (who had some questions about negotiating real estate). After the phone
call I was reproached by Eriko for talking while driving. I would later more
fully understand my behavior. We purchased a few things: shower cleaner,
file folders, cookware, and door hanger. Then we proceeded to the bank where
we changed Eriko's name and ordered a new ATM card. Proceeding northeast, we
hit Home Depot and purchased a rectangular flower "pot" and some foam
weather-stripping. On the way back, there was a very slow driver in the fast
lane. It turns out he was talking on a cellphone. Of course, I berated him
mercilessly until Eriko pointed out that I too, had been driving slow. Oops.
We stopped off at the Metropolitan Market and purchased some flowers (6) for
our pot. I was a bit taken aback by the price ($52) but I let the purchase
go through after the shoplady assured me the flowers would last for a long
time. I did suggest to Eriko that we consider buying some seeds and growing
our own. Back at the house, I put the weather-stripping on one of our
screens. The screen doesn't fit perfectly in the window and an occasional
bug has been seen within the fortress walls. This always results in an
emergency situation in which I must run to the bathroom (to retrieve paper),
run to the location of the bug (while being informed on its exact movements)
and mercifully exterminate it (later hosting an aquatic funeral). Eriko made
lunch and then we each took naps before heading over to Alex's house for a
BBQ. The BBQ was nice and I told the story of how we met and described our
wedding. The food was yummy and Eriko made a shrimp quiche which was well
received. The evening ended in Karoke and after singing a few songs, we left
on a high note. Sleep came soon after our return to the castle.

I woke up a little before the alarm went off and realized that I had forgot to
set it (again). The alarm I'm using right now has to be turned off in order to
quiet the buzzer and I don't remember to turn it back on. Luckily, I haven't
slept in yet. So Eriko and I get up but we're both tired. She didn't sleep so
well because she ate too much yesterday and I'm still getting used to sharing
the bed. Today was a cereal day. I like cereal, so I don't mind. ;) I played
around on the computer until it was time to go to work. The morning went pretty
well, although I can't really say it was productive. The Shiki train ran a
little early (Scott had a 1 o'clock meeting he didn't want to miss) so I
informed Eriko that we would be departing sooner than planned. She was waiting
at 11:35 when the gang exited Isilon. There was Aaron, Eric, Scott, Zack, Eriko
and I and we were met by Judy at the restaraunt. I liked my lunch but Eriko
didn't like hers. Afterwards, four of us went to Starbucks (Zack, Scott, Eriko,
and I). I only had a hour before my next meeting so I didn't accomplish that
much. The next meeting (status and free-form discussion) lasted for 2.5 hours.
Most of the participants left but 3 of us remained. It was interesting. I stuck
around for another half hour and then Scott and I walked home. Eriko had just
finished cooking dinner so we began to eat her first try at meatloaf. After
dinner I did the dishes and drank some Pepsi. I spent some time on the
computer adding a food section to her website (and watched Seinfeld). We picked
the name and the color for the new page. I spent a little time researching a
laptop and afterwards Eriko and I went jogging around QA. We ended up at the
grocery store and looked at plants a little, but it was too dark to see the
colors. Eriko wants to buy some for the window sills. Upon our return, we
finished off the carton of mint chocolate chip ice cream (breyer's, of course).
She read her book and I tinkered around with some stuff for work (while we both
listened to Mozart). At 10 we watched Seinfeld (great episode, Bizarro Jerry)
and now Eriko's showering. Soon it will be my turn and then, finally, sleep.

Woke up at 6:30. I was exhausted. I don't think I slept too well. Partly
because I was hot and partly because I had some wine near bedtime. I like
alcohol but I just don't know if I can really drink it as often as I'd like.
Even in small quantities it seems to have a big impact on my system. Of course,
the less I drink, the more of an impact it has the next time. Anyway, Eriko
bounced right out of bed and started making breakfast. I pulled myself out
after 5 minutes (snooze) and slugged down some milk/coffee. Breakfast went
down quickly and I did a little paperwork or something until it was time
for us to walk to work. Eriko packed me a lunch because my schedule was quite
full and I was unable to come home. In the morning (before the string of
meetings began) I was productive. The nice thing about having less time to
work is that there is less incentive to procrastinate. I had a lot of meetings
today. It wasn't too bad though. I was able to "play" bridge at lunch (for
about an hour). Before I knew it, it was 6 and time to go home. My boss caught
me before I left and told me some interesting news. Things are changing at
work... Eriko was finishing dinner when I arrived at home. We ate, watched
Seinfeld, and spent some time on the couch together. She was a little too
full and tired, so she decided to take a nap. I went into the bedroom and
worked on preparing the AOS (adjustment of status) materials. After about an
hour and a half, she woke up and I returned to the living room. Now Seinfeld,
then shower, then bed.

Woke up at the usual time (6:30). Eriko made breakfast while I continued to
read 'Gone with the Wind'. Only tens of pages left. We walked to work, leaving
the house about 7:40. Work was busy. I went out to coffee with my boss' boss,
and we talked about the future. Barely believable possibilities. Went home
for lunch. Went home for dinner, arriving before 6. Eriko had dinner ready.
I had some wine with dinner and read my book instead of the usual 7 o'clock
Seinfeld. 1024 pages later, Rhett finally said "My dear, I don't give a damn."
Eriko received a surprise phone call from her friend in Japan, so I busied
myself at our desk. We went jogging around 8, for about 30 minutes. Then we
ate some mint-chocolate chip ice cream. She made my lunch for tomorrow (today)
while I paid bills/forecasted finances on the computer. Seinfeld at 10. Eriko
showered, then I showered, then it was time for bed.

Finally.

Suprisingly, Eriko did not let me cook breakfast for her or take her out to
lunch. She did let me schedule a 1.5 hr massage (a surprise to her), take
her out to dinner, and to watch Annie. Annie was great; it was amazing to
see girls aged 11 with so much talent.

"We were not sent into this world to do anything into which we cannot put our hearts."

"If you want more pomp and circumstance, I can do it, otherwise I can just
ask you the questions."

"Just the questions."

"Eriko, do you take Nick to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"What?"

"Do you want him to be your husband?"

"hai. Yes."

"Nick, do you take Eriko to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

(pause as groom looks over the bride)

"Yes, I do."

"By the power vested in me by the State of Washington, I now pronounce you
husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

(smooch)

i can barely believe it. after 27 years of being alone, i am no longer an
individual. i am now half of a whole, part of a pair, a bit of two... i like
having Eriko around. it is a little surreal to watch her make the house her own,
little by little. the kitchen, the bedroom, the bathroom, the living room...
they all bear her mark. today we obtained her social security number, added
her to the bank accounts, and filed for a marriage license. if all goes well,
my co-worker (a "minister") will officiate over a very brief ceremony on
Monday and we'll be legally bonded. then, lots more legal work to be done such
as changing her name, filing for a change in her immigration status (towards
the green card), etc. soon i'll be at work full-time and then japanese class
twice a week ... and then uw in addition. i'm a little nervous but also
excited to see our lives develop... together. ;)

• Artist
• Lover
• Doctor
• Teacher
• Student
• Husband
• Father
• Inventor
• Salary Man
• Child
• Perfectionist

• the more you sweat the more you get
• activity means productivity
• efficiency means effectiveness
• burn the midnight oil
• the best way to get the job done is to do it yourself
• the easy way is the best way
• hard work is virtuous
• work is not fun
• there is only one best way
• more discipline means less freedom
• justice for all
• we work best under pressure

For a more detailed report, see Eriko's blog.
On Saturday, we rode the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train, but at lunch time.
The food was good, the company was a bit different (an older lesbian couple),
and the few wasn't bad (we were on the east side of the train when the view
of the lake was on the west side). Columbia Winery was neat and I enjoyed one
of the three wines that I tasted. Eriko became a little sick due to the
motion of the train (which rocked at slow speeds) and that we were facing
backwards on the return trip. All things considered, it was a nice train ride.


This morning we slept in, but woke up just in time to catch a bus destined for
a park near Lake Washington. There we were able to attend the final day of
Seafair. We arrived as the Blue Angels were performing and although we didn't
get to see much of their performance, we saw enough to dazzle. The boat races
were a little confusing and boring -- I couldn't tell who was in the lead,
where the track was, or even what lap they were on (or how many in total). The
highlight, for me, was the biplane propeller acrobatics. A single plane, a
troupe of four planes, and a custom-built single plane were all quite amazing
to watch. Especially the last two, in which Eriko and I had great seats by
the lake. Afterwards, we each took a nap before meeting my co-worker Todd and
his girlfriend/ex-wife/future-fiancee Miki. Miki is native Japanese and spent
about half her life in Japan, so she and Eriko were able to converse naturally.
They looked at our wedding photos and nice conversation was had by all.
Either because of the naps or the large amount of sugar content (desert was
spectacular) we are up late. We both read, talked, and used the computer. We
have a great lead on ballet and tea ceremony schools, which Eriko would like
to continue. I'll call tomorrow.

If I'm not dilligent about this, then I forget; for now, just the highlights.

• Monday - we spent 2 hours at the social security office where we found out that we would have to wait 4 weeks for Eriko's SSN. Then we went to uwajimaya on the (round-about) way home and in the eveing I brought Bailey to Aaron's house.
• Tuesday - we went to uwajimaya and the japanese bookstore and then we waited around the house for our new mattress. After that, we walked around QA and ate some ice cream.
• Wednesday - a very hectic day; we went to Bainbridge Island via bus/ferry and then found out the trip was more exciting than the island. We went to my favorite Indian restaraunt in the evening to celebrate my birthday.
• Thursday - we went to the Woodland Zoo but Eriko wasn't feeling well and so we came home early and she took a nap until some things arrived from her mother. In the evening we jogged around QA and then walked our route, it was quite pleasant and nice exercise.
• Friday - the exercise must have tired us out, as we had a late morning. I went to work for about 3 hours (leadership training program) and then we checked out the library in the internation district (Eriko rented two books) and bought some things at uwajimaya.

In the evenings, Eriko usually reads her book on the couch. I either read
a book with her, play on the computer, or watch TV. The nightly shower starts
about 9; Eriko spends about an hour in the bathroom before it is my turn.

Be gentle with Bailey.