2005-09-25

We slept in, although I reach a point where staying in bed becomes detrimental; I woke up before Eriko. The morning was pretty calm. She felt a little better but was still quite sluggish. I spent the morning on the computer and she was watching a (strange) Japanese movie. I called Alex about ten to see if he still wanted to have brunch with us and he did – ETA in about 30 minutes. We were merrily plodding along when we were startled by banging on the window – Alex had arrived. My poor phone just doesn’t get reception and I haven’t told the condo manager about our landline yet. We hung around in the house for another 15 minutes or so as the movie finished up and then we wandered outside. I had anticipated us eating at the 5-spot, which is a very popular establishment in Queen Anne (especially for brunch). Today was no exception and the wait was 45 minutes! None of us wanted to wait, so we went down the street looking for other food. I suggested Pete’s pizza (where we had failed to eat a weekend or two ago) but they were still closed. We continued on and found the Queen Anne Cafe, which was also bustling but only had a wait of 10 minutes. While we were waiting, Alex and I spoke about Eriko’s pregnancy, our jobs, etc. Eriko, sitting down, drew a very good drawing of a face – completely outshining the older woman who was also doodling. Finally, our table was ready and we ordered our food – an omelette for each of us. They were delicious and there was lots of food. We had a good laugh as Alex put ketchup on everything (except the bread). Eriko and I couldn’t finish our food, but Alex ate the small amount of my leftover omelette. Afterwards, we walked back to the condo and said our goodbyes. We were both stuffed and it didn’t take long before Eriko announced that she was taking a nap. I received permission to use the computer and spent my time there; after an hour or two Eriko was up and it was almost time to leave for our next venture. We left about 30 minutes before 6, heading for an Italian restaraunt (whose name I cannot remember). We found good parking and arrived ahead of my co-worker, Todd, and his ex-wife/girlfriend/future-fiance, Miki, who were meeting us there. We had to change tables because Eriko was a little cool (due to an open patio door). Todd & Miki arrived soon and we began to talk and order. I enjoy the bread and olive oil (and they kept bringing more) so I was happily eating. Eriko wasn’t very hungry (due to her big breakfast) so we decided to split a meal – veal meatballs (my choice). As it turns out, the advertised “big” portions were not so big… I only had four meatballs! Luckily (for me), Eriko wasn’t interested in eating at all and just wanted bread and some of the sauce. Thanks to the bread, my partially full stomach, and a glass of wine, I was able to feel full. We enjoyed our time with Todd & Miki, although Eriko was pretty quiet and it turned out she wasn’t feeling very good. On the way home she really had to go to the bathroom and I urged her to wait. It was a comical dash once we arrived, as she grabbed my keys and let herself in. She wasn’t feeling very well for the rest of the evening and we didn’t stay up much longer.