We were up pretty early. I took a sleeping aid before bed (my throat is starting to bother me; I’m guessing that the night of poor sleep was a cold taking root) and slept great. Eriko got up too, but she was tired and not feeling so hot. Before too long, she was asleep on the couch. I read my FreeBSD internals book before succumbing to the sandman. We were both awakened unexpectedly by the doorbell – the mailman, with a package for Eriko. In it were maternity outfit brochures, some vitamins, and some other booklets from her mother. Eriko began looking through these materials and I moved to the computer. After a short while, I decided it was finally time to get my haircut. I located a barber, Counterbalance Barbershop, gave them a call, and headed that way. The barbership was only about 5 blocks away and in between was an ATM so I grabbed some cash. I was immediately surprised (upon entering the shop) to see two big dogs lying on the floor. They weren’t just lying, they were barking too. ;) I’m glad Eriko declined my invitation for her to come along. There were two barbers and two clients, so I sat and waited. I had brought a magazine and my iPod so I was prepared for the wait, however there was a NY/Boston game on TV that was more interesting and I watched that. The barber was smooth – he asked for orders, I told him I had too much hair, and he started cutting. The game was exciting, but the Red Sox just couldn’t seem to pull it off. I stopped at Trader Joe’s on my way home and picked up some juice (for Eriko) and other items (wine, ham, soy milk). Back at home, Eriko laughed and said I looked like Seinfeld (in the low-flow episode). I ate some lunch and I had just started getting to work (at doing nothing) when Eriko decided she wanted to go maternity clothes shopping. I suggested Target (but I didn’t really know) and off we went. Target had a dismal selection. We bought a few assorted items (shower head with cable, cotton) but no maternity wear. I looked up the address to babies r’ us (on my blackberry) and we headed there. Unfortunately, the store was not to Eriko’s expectations – only baby clothes! In Japan, baby clothes are always accompanied by clothes for mommy (makes sense to me). Dissappointed, we headed back south. Macy’s was the next idea, but I was already burned out on shopping and suggested we stop at home and eat first. Eriko suggested pizza and we were headed to Pete’s. We played some pictionary before our meal arrived and ate far less than either of us expected. We both agreed to go to Macy’s another day and went home. Eriko fell asleep almost as soon as we got home and I worked on the computer. The rest of the evening was restful – Eriko wasn’t feeling in tip-top shape (she thinks it is anemia) but she wasn’t feeling horrible either. We watched some TV, I practiced Japanese, we took turns on the computer and we were in bed by 11.

I slept quite poorly. I couldn’t get comfortable; I kept waking up. Hot, cold, etc. Eriko both woke up early and had a pleasant morning together. She was feeling pretty good and so was I. ;) I had another interview at work, and I did a lot of management of bugs. Then it was lunch time. I wasn’t interested in the Shiki train so I headed home. Eriko wasn’t expecting me and hadn’t made lunch but I didn’t mind. I made a sandwich and we had a good time; she was still in a good mood. Back at work, I began researching a debugging technique. I wasn’t really in the mood to work, though, and eventually I asked if Zack wanted to get some coffee. It turns out that he wasn’t in the mood to work either, so we got some coffee and spent about 45 minutes yacking. That was nice. When I returned to the office, there was champagne being drunk! Some co-workers were enjoying a milestone so I spent a little while joining in their festivities. Then it was time to go home. Eriko had not prepared dinner either, so I ate some leftovers. We watched the Mariner’s game and a recording of one of Eriko’s percussion concerts; I also used the computer and studied Japanese a bit. Then it was bedtime.

I woke up early and popped out of bed. I’ve always liked waking up early; I just usually don’t have the discipline to go to bed early. With Eriko around, that happens pretty naturally and then it is easy for me to get up! I was hungry and made myself a real breakfast (omelette & bacon). Eriko was slow to rise, but she did wake up before I left. I had a busy schedule at work today; several meetings and several interviews. I even had an interview at lunch, so I couldn’t see Eriko until the evening. I arrived home a little before six (early) and we ate dinner together. Afterwards, she was quite tired and took a nap while I read. Next, she went to bed and I moved to the computer. After an hour or so she got up and that was my signal to go to bed.

I woke up late this morning; I forgot to turn “on” the alarm. (Actually, in the middle of the night I woke up and thought I turned on the alarm, but in reality I didn’t hit the right button). Eriko and I shared breakfast together, which was nice. Off to work I went. I don’t remember whether I was productive or not, but I had no scheduled meetings today. I came home for lunch and we shared a nice meal together. Eriko walked me to the park, and off I went. I was a little late coming home as Scott and I stood outside and chatted for a bit. Dinner was yummy. Soon after, Eriko became tired and tried to nap. I read magazine, used the computer, and read this FreeBSD kernel book from work. I also had some ice cream! Then it was time for showers & bed.

I woke up early this morning (about 6:20). I set the alarm aggressively; my strategy was that if Eriko was going to continue to go to bed real early and not wake up in the morning than I might as well get up earlier so that I could go to sleep earlier (and maybe leave work earlier too). To my surprise, after about 30 minutes, Eriko left the bed too. We made a banana smoothie for breakfast and then Eriko went back to work. Since I was at work so early, I arrived at the same time as my boss’ boss (VP of Engineering) and he invited me to join him for coffee, which I did. That was interesting. Two of my other co-workers happened to be in pretty early as well. I remember working diligently in the morning. I decided to invite Zack to join Eriko & I for lunch, and with her permission, he did. That was nice and I think everyone enjoyed it. Eriko cooked and Zack was probably a bit surprised. ;P Back at work, we had a meeting at 1. I was then scheduled for another meeting but after about 30 minutes I couldn’t stand it and left. It was a training seminar and the material was not at all interesting. That gave me another hour of work befor I had my Japanese lesson with Hideki at Starbucks. Now we are on Chapter 10 (last in this book) which is about the Environment & Society. I went back to work for less than an hour, and then headed home. Eriko had prepared curry (which I love) and had a tale as well – she had gone to Uwajimaya and discovered that (due to some downtown construction) the bus route was dramatically different. She got a little lost and had to reverse her direction and walk a bit, but found Uwajimaya. A nice discovery (on her part) was that since she was so busy (she had left at 5 PM and only had an hour before I came home) she didn’t have time to feel sick. I encouraged her and let her know that Melissa had said the same thing. We enjoyed some levity on the couch before heading to Safeway for juice and ice cream. Soon afterwards, we showered and hit the sack.

I woke up a little late since the alarm didn’t go off. Eriko stayed in bed. I wasn’t real hungry (my stomach still had food from the previous day of eating) so I just ate a piece of toast with honey. I went into work and had lots of stuff to do. The day was relatively light, with only a single meeting in the morning. I went home for lunch and Eriko had prepared a meal; afterwards she walked me to the park before I headed down the hill. I don’t remember much of the afternoon. Eriko prepared dinner and we ate when I returned home. It turns out that the reason the alarm didn’t go off was because it had reset itself to Japanese time. It is a clock which is designed to self-synchronize to the Japanese clock radio signal, but up to this point it hadn’t worked. Eriko was very lethargic and took a nap; I studied Japanese and used the computer. Soon, Eriko went to bed. I kept using the computer and after about an hour, Eriko was out of bed. That was my sign to finish and I took a shower and hit the sack.