I had trouble waking up, but got out of bed by 7:30. Besides a few words here and there, I can’t get a conversation going with Eriko. She doesn’t seem to happy and there was minimal interaction. I made it to work by about 8. I was very busy at work; I worked on an emergency fix. Home for lunch, I peppered Eriko with questions until she started crying. Before that, she said she was bored. I wasn’t much comfort but stayed around as long as I could. Back at work, I was extremely busy; I had to prepare a speech (for a UW recruiting event) and get my fix ready while dealing with the usual barrage of questions. I left for the recruiting event (with several other co-workers) about 5. The event went pretty well, although we probably talked a little too long or had too much detail. That is something is up for debate, as you want to provide enough information to keep them interested but not enough to overwhelm them. My talk was very short and for the most part, I liked my delivery. I have some refinements to make for the next one, however. I got home a little early than I expected (my co-worker also wanted to leave early, so I got a ride). I surprised Eriko as well. There was no food so I hungrily ate some random things from the fridge. Eriko went to bed soon after, but I stayed up for a few hours to calm down from the hectic day – at work & home.

I had a tough time sleeping last night – the hug refusal got to me. I woke up in the middle of the night to Eriko crying (turns out it was just a bad dream) and that allowed me to get past my pride. I woke up at 7, fixed breakfast and left the house by 7:30. I said bye to Eriko, who was still inbed. I made great progress in the morning and had several meetings. I had lunch with Eriko and it was nice. At one point, she very seriously told me that my belly was disgusting (my co-worker would later describe it as the end of the honeymoon). Back at work, lots of meetings. There is a minor emergency that I am in the middle of, so that took a lot of my time. I had to run to Japanese class. Class was good, but I’m clearly not studying in my spare time (which is obvious both from my own knowledge of my activities and my lack of progress). To much computer time, I suppose. I returned to work for a little more progress and discussion about the emergency before arriving home at 6:30 (a little late). Dinner was delicious and I watched the Angels & White Sox game. Things were very pleasant until I made the mistake of trying to touch Eriko’s belly with my cool beer. She got upset, I got upset, silence ensued. She went to bed and I joined her an hour or so later.

I slept in until about 8; we had plans to go to the Nadeshiko (birthing) clinic, so no reason to wake up early. I ate a small breakfast and sent out my status email for work. We left the house about 9 AM; the clinic is on the eastside (Kirkland) which means traffic is a concern. Sure enough, traffic was pretty heavy and we arrived at 9:30. Eriko’s group session wasn’t until 10, but I had a meeting I needed to make at 10, so I drove back to Isilon. Traffic was better on the way back and I found a perfect 2 hr parking place in front of work which allowed me to catch the tail end of my team meeting and make the regular leads meeting on time. I had coffee with my co-worker and I discussed his role as a technical mentor for our new employee (who starts Wednesday). I didn’t have much time to do anything but check my email before I was back on the road again to pick up Eriko. When I picked her up outside the clinic, the clock read exactly 12, which was the arranged pick-up time. Back at home, I had a quick lunch and went back to work. The day was pretty unproductive; I was interrupted almost everytime I put my headphones on. As it was, I made a few fixes but not much more than that. I had coffee with Zack (at least I’m getting something done, even if it isn’t work-related). I left work at 6 and there was a nice dinner waiting at home. I watched a baseball game and worked on my keychain-flashcards. I did some light exercise and rewarded myself with a beer. I then proceeded to work on the computer. Eriko refused to hug me and went to bed. I remained up for another hour or so.

I woke up late, about 9. I made some pancakes and shared them with Eriko. After eating, Eriko didn’t feel well and laid on the couch. I started using the computer but quickly was chased off due to the noise. I moved into the bedroom and listened to the Astros/Braves play-off game. While there, I got an idea about re-arranging the bedroom (moving the bed from the north to the south wall). Eriko started feeling better, so I moved back into the living room. I called Zack and made an inquiry about dinner; he said he would call back after checking with Liz. After getting permission from Eriko, I rearranged the bedroom. Now I don’t have to crawl into bed through the head. In general, I like the layout much better, and Eriko seems to like it as well. We went to Costco with the intention of purchasing a massage chair (cover) and after some anxious looking, located it on a random aisle. It was a little difficult to shop, because Eriko moves pretty slowly now. I’m not used to such a slow pace. Then we headed to Office Max. I was looking for some mini-flashcards (preferabbly on a key-chain) but couldn’t find any. I settled for a hole-puncher and regular index cards. We proceeded to Uwajimaya, where we ate dinner. Eriko was hungry and wanted to eat then, so I went ahead and got something to eat as well. It was a bad choice; I went for Thai food because I was in an Asian grocery store, but really wanted a burger & fries. As it turned out, the Thai was pretty lame. Eriko also didn’t enjoy her eel. Back at home, I realized that I had forgotten about Zack but I figured since hadn’t called he probably had no desire to join us. As it turns out, he called about 30 minutes earlier to tell me he had no desire to join us. ;P I had a beer, enjoyed a massage (in the chair) and watched the Yankees/Angels game. Eriko read and went to bed early. I joined soon after.

I slept in a bit – up at 8 AM. ;) Eriko had a real tough morning. She had her first day of Caribbean percussion class and it started at 9:30. She woke up earlier than I did and ate, but she was still feeling really poor. She spent some time on the couch and just when I thought she wasn’t going (@ 9:15), she announced that it was time to leave. I did my best to get her there on time, but she was about 10 minutes late. It didn’t really matter, as we were walking (finding) the classroom, another couple came bearing their drums. While she was in class, I went to the bank to deposit some checks (I had to wait 10 minutes for them to open), went shopping @ Target (a cashier mistake saved me ~ $20), and read my FreeBSD book (while listening to music and eating candy). I went into her class (with 30 minutes remaining) and watched (as well as read). On the way home, we got hungry. Eriko wanted a tonkatsu sandwich (and didn’t really want to cook), so we purchased some tonkatsu take-out from Sam’s Sushi, took it home, and made our own tonkatsu sandwich. ;) It was really delicious and reminded me of the sandwiches Yuji’s grandmother made for us in Nagoya 11 years ago. I had a headache (maybe too much candy) and took a nap. Once I woke up, Eriko took a nap and I used the computer. We watched one of the baseball playoff games together on the couch and had a nice dinner. We spent a nice evening together on the couch and wrapped it up by listening to some Disney songs.

I woke up early, about 6:30. I was eager to get out of the house. I think last night’s silence was a little too much for me; I couldn’t bear a quiet morning. I had a quick breakfast and got to work early, before 7:30. I made some progress in the morning, but that was interrupted by a surprise meeting with one of my superiors. There are some organization changes occurring; I am no longer part of a group I once was. I was a little irritated, but not too much. I made the decision some time ago to specialize in a different area, and this is a consequence. I surprised Eriko at home for an early lunch; I had written her a note saying that I would not be home so she had nothing prepared. I ate some leftovers quickly (I had a 12:30 meeting, which is why I didn’t expect to be at home) and returned to work. 2 hours of leadership training went by pretty quickly. I chose to “be respectful of other’s ideas,” which means I didn’t volunteer my answers so much. Normally I do, so that was tough. I worked with my co-worker on a problem and we came to a good understanding. Then I chatted with Todd about the quandary of loving Japanese girls. I left early; Jane brought my bike home in her jeep (per my request - I’d rather store it in the condo than at work). I watched (and helped) Eriko cook dinner, which was yummy. We watched some TV; I used the computer; Eriko read her book. She was in bed by 9, I stayed up about an hour longer.