i grow to understand my father’s frustration. sometimes i write Eriko a note with my only intention to send a little love her way and have a positive impact on her day. but sometimes she’ll respond in a way that throws me off completely; she’ll point out a mistake in my Japanese. many times she can pull it off smoothly, but if the stars are aligned just right than she gets particuarly annoyed (or that is the impression i have) with my mistake and her correction seems a little more harsh than necessary. i believe she means no harm, which is a good thing, for it allows me to find ways to calm myself down. but the truth is, she can (and probably always will) “get to me.” the truth is, somewhere i’m glad she has that effect, although in the moment my pride often blinds me.

I have the cutest nephew in the world!

i didn’t make it up for exercise this morning… and if it happens once, it can happen again. i went to bed about 10 but couldn’t get comfortable. i woke up at 2 am convinced it was 5 am and determined not to go. once i realized the true time i turned off my alarm clock. hmmm…

Eriko tried to call me again tonight and then asked that I call her. I did and we talked for about an hour. The connection wasn’t real good and it took a while to get used to it. Naturally, by the time I did it was time for her to go. :P At first she was pretty worried – I guess her aunt and others have been warning her about the U.S.; telling her it will be difficult for her to live. I tried to reassure her and be mature about it. I said it was good for her to hear all these people’s opinions for then she could make up her own mind. Also, I told her that it was very normal for her to be scared. I hope I was able to help her relax. =) Time for bed!

i woke up at 5 am this morning and managed to pull myself together and head for all-star fitness. my co-worker, Kip, gave me a five-day pass. it took me a while to figure out how to work the machines, etc, but eventually i completed a 35 minute workout on the treadmill. by the end of the workout i was much less self-conscious and found i might actually be enjoying myself… ;P my routine is all messed up, however, as i had to walk home after working out to get lunch so i ended up taking a shower there. tomorrow i hope to (if i have prepared lunch) drop it off at work before i go to work-out and bring a decent change of clothes so i don’t have to inefficiently double-back.

i’m torn between waiting for Eriko to figure out how to call me and calling her… and as i write this i realize how much i over-analyze some things. =) if the girl wants me to call her, she’ll tell me. if i really want to call her then i’ll just do it. so the real question is do i want to call her and i think the answer is no, i’d rather wait.