We slept in a little; the weekends are nice. Unfortunately, I cannot seem to be able to sleep in for hours like I used to. Part of the reason is that we are consistently going to bed relatively early (especially lately). Eriko was not feeling well and didn’t want to cook. I wasn’t hungry and just ate some toast. Eriko went downhill from there. She went to take a nap, but couldn’t get comfortable, nor sleep. She couldn’t handle even the slightest noise and was quite irritable, so I was chased off the computer rather quickly. I tried the TV on low volume, but that was also too much. I became a little frustrated and decided to take a shower (I had missed it the night before). Feeling a little more calm, I found an audio recording of Seinfeld’s stand-up comedy and listened to it while laying on the couch. I caught myself nodding off in the first 20 minutes, but changed positions and focused throughout the rest. Eriko emerged from the bedroom and fixed herself a snack. I was a little miffed that she didn’t fix any for me, but I managed to make myself a nice sandwich. She was really suffering, with both a headache and a stomachache. I turned the Mariner’s game on mute and we watched that for a bit. I used the computer for a bit, but was feeling pre-occupied by her comfort. (Of course, me attempting to do anything for her did nothing but annoy her). We were surprised when the computer made a ringing noise, as if a phone call was coming through. Sure enough, it was Eriko’s dad (via Skype). We couldn’t hear him very well (there was a large amount of feedback) and he couldn’t hear us at all. Eriko and him chatted briefly and then we signed off so that I could work on the connection. I tried using a different kernel module for my soundcard and it worked right away (against Skype’s test123 user). Eriko called her dad back (who confirmed the success) and he called her mother. We waited a few minutes and then Eriko called her mother (still using Skype). A funny note on the connection: when her mother answered neither Eriko nor her knew they were connected; I had to give Eriko a nudge and say ‘moshi-moshi’. Eriko and her mom talked for over an hour; the connection was really good and Eriko’s spirits were lifted. While talking to her mom, Aine (sister) and Shogo (brother) both wandered into the room and said a few words. It was neat for me to hear both sides of the conversation (since we only have speakers, no headset); of course, I could only understand a little bit but I felt particular proud when Eriko’s mom asked “where are Nick’s parents”, she replied “I don’t know”, and (from across the room) I said “Colorado.” (Although technically, I think they left Colorado at that point, but it was close enough). I cooked mashed potatoes and pork for dinner (for me) and we watched some TV. I used the computer while Eriko showered and then it was time for bed.

Having stayed up a little later, I didn’t wake up until the computer turned on (despite the alarm 30 minutes early). Eriko was even slower and didn’t get out of bed, so I went to work alone. Work was pretty busy. One notable thing that occurred in the morning is that I observed my team (during our daily meeting) really having a good time, making jokes and laughing with each other. I was glad to see that. Scott asked me (about 11) if we were having the Shiki Train today and so I called Eriko at home; she (surprisingly) accepted my invitation. We left Isilon about 11:45 and had a nice lunch; Eriko and I shared a chicken teriyaki meal and I also ordered two extra pieces of sushi. We went to the coffee shop afterwards with my co-workers (and Zack) although we walk slower and so some of them left before we had even placed our order. In the afternoon, I had a long meeting and then made some good progress fixing some memory-leak (technically object leak) bugs. I left work at 6 and talked to Scott on the walk home. Eriko was watching a movie (some Japanese animation, “Millenium Actress”) when I returned. She hadn’t prepared any dinner and didn’t intend to – I was on my own. We had been invited to a house-warming party for Hideki’s (my teacher) friend (because his wife is Japanese and recently had a baby). I came home prepared to go, but Eriko didn’t quite leap at the suggestion. After waiting an hour or so, I pressed a little more, essentially having her commit to not going. I was a little dissapointed, as I hope that her meeting more people in similar situations will help her, but the choice is hers. We went to Trader Joe’s, because I needed supplies to make myself dinner. After eating, we watched Shallow Hal. Actually, Eriko didn’t originally intend on watching it (she was tired) but perked up after 20 minutes or so. The film wasn’t bad, but certainly wasn’t good (it was recommended by my co-worker). After the movie, it was time for bed.

We slept in today, because we had plans to go to the Japanese consulate so that Eriko could change her name legally in Japan. We headed off to the consulate about 8:30 and arrived a few minutes before 9:00 (at which time it opened). We were the first in line and thus quickly found out that we needed original documents instead of copies. Eriko made some corrections to her forms and then we left. We returned just in time for me to attend my usual 9:45 meeting. Eriko took the bus back to the consulate with all the required paperwork. I wasn’t real productive before lunch as I was distracted by conversations with my co-workers. I went home for lunch, which was nice. We just got ourselves a regular land-line; Eriko’s dad decided not to continue paying for her Japanese cellphone and I realized I needed a reliable communication method at home (cellphones don’t work well in our house). At work, I had several meetings and wasn’t real productive. I returned home by 6:30 to a nice meal. We finished watching the movie we had started the day before. Eriko was in bed before 9 but I stayed up learning how to convert my mail server from sendmail to exim4. I had made good progress but several issues are still outstanding before I can actually cut over.

I woke up before the alarm, and lay in a daze debating about whether to get up… when the alarm went off at 6:30, I got up right away (Eriko stayed in bed for a while.) I wasn’t hungry for breakfast. It seems if breakfast is made for me, I will eat, but preparing it myself when I first wake-up isn’t automatic. I have to get hungry first. Eriko walked a little ways with me to work but turned around before heading down the hill; she just wasn’t feeling that well. I was a little busy at work but I was distracted and worried about Eriko’s health. Mainly I worry about her mental health; I know that the physical symptoms are experienced by pregnant women all over, but I have very little insight into their mental states. I eventually did get hungry (before lunch) and ate my leftover burrito. I was supposed to go to lunch with my boss, but he stood me up. I waited around and eventually heard from him, but I already committed to attending a presentation at work (with free pizza provided!). We later met for coffee in the afternoon. He has a strong desire to change things; I can tell that he has watched patiently for sometime and finally sees his chance to make “improvements.” After work, Eriko and I watched part of one of the movies she had rented and we ended up going to bed pretty early.

Eriko and I woke up about 5 AM (perhaps we went to bed too early?) but didn’t get out of bed until about 7. I was still frustrated about her mom’s proposal and we discussed it briefly. I came home for lunch and Eriko had prepared some noodles. I asked her if she was lonely and she said yes, during the day. Work was busy and it was difficult to switch to Japanese class, but I did. The lesson was good and Hideki invited us to his friend’s house-warming party on Friday. When I arrived home, Eriko was watching a recording of a play with her friends and it was very clear to me that she was missing them. Of course, I couldn’t do much about that (but I felt guilty anyway). We ate dinner and then went to blockbuster. I finished my wedding announcements while Eriko showered. I was about to shower when Rob (my new boss) called. Eriko grew tired of waiting and so she went off to bed; I soon followed suit.

The alarm went off at 6:30, but we didn’t get out of bed until 7 (when the computer turned on). I offered to cook for Eriko and she requested an egg over easy that had been slightly steamed. Not sure what this fancy contraption is called. She was feeling tired and strange so she almost immediately went back to bed; I went ahead and left for work, arriving at 7:30. Work was pretty busy and time went fast. I ate lunch with Scott and Shai; we obtained burritos from Blue Water Taco a few blocks away and went back to the Isilon lunch room. At some point we began discussing politics; surprising enough Shai brought up the topic of a military coup in the United States and we discussed that for a little while. Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised that Shai would enjoy talking about politics; he is from Israel and you simply cannot hide from politics in that country. I left work about 2:15 as Eriko and I were headed for our first visit at the Nadeshiko clinic. The clinic is in Kirkland, about 30 minutes away, but (thanks to a Google map) we found it right away. At first the clinic was relatively empty; Eriko was filling out forms when a dad, mom, and their newborn (3 days) arrived to pick up a prescription. They brought along a friend and a grandmother. It was neat to watch the tiny little baby but then they left and Eriko was hungry and I was bored. Finally (about 4) we were able to see the nurse/mid-wife (our appointment was scheduled for 3, but she was apologetic). We had a nice Q&A session for about 30 minutes. At first she did a bunch of explaining to Eriko in Japanese and then I started asking questions. From that point on, Sachiko explained everything in English (I guess she realized that I was interested. ;) Traffic was slow so our trip back too a little more time but not much. Eriko made some noodles for dinner upon our return. I used the computer (and watched a little) while she watched Tokyo godfathers (a Japanese animation). Then we switched places and I did homework while she used the computer. She told me that her mother wanted her to have the baby in Japan and that got me pretty frustrated. I had to think fast to come up with some practical reasons why that shouldn’t happen - cost (insurance) as well as immigration. Eriko took a shower and I made some tea, then I took a shower. I did some homework and used the computer, and then we hit the sack.