Today was a busy day, but I don’t remember any of it. (Of course, this entry is written several days later). I do remember coming home for a nice lunch and spending a relaxing evening with Eriko. I read a management book that my boss lent me and got all fired up about work. Sleep was a little more difficult but not impossible.

Today was a very relaxed day. At work, Jane and I purchased donuts for the team and a few of us spent the first hour or so gabbing. I really didn’t get anything done (and I’m not positive anyone else did either) before the whole team left at 11:30 for lunch and bowling. It was our first “team building” exercise and was fun. Everyone enjoyed an activity on the company, and the timing was good. Scott and I left work early (about 3:30), stopped for coffee, and then I was home. Eriko was surprised to see me so soon and we spent the afternoon and evening hanging out and working on our hobbies (crocheting, computer, reading, napping, TV). With the desk in the living room, we can spent lots of time near each other without necessarily doing the same thing. I enjoy it and I think she does too. We spent some time talking and laughing before bed, since Eriko seemed to wake up when the lights went off.

A busy day. I woke up early (5:45) and studied Japanese before heading off to work. I came home for lunch and had a good time with Eriko. Work was really busy but I managed to squeeze out for my regular lesson with Hideki, which was good. My conversation is still not great, but is getting better. After work, Zack came over to help me test for current from the distributor. He cranked while I held a wrench and looked for spark. Well, my procedure was slightly flawed as I never saw the spark – but I felt it! We spent the next few hours gabbing while Eriko crocheted. After Zack left, Eriko and I watched ‘The Office’ on his recommendation. It was funny for me but difficult for Eriko to understand. Sleep came quickly.

I woke up a bit later today after our long night. I couldn’t stay in bed any longer although I probably wouldn’t have minded too much. I made chocolate-chip pancakes while waiting for Eriko to wake up. She slept in quite a bit longer and was still morose when she awoke. I gave her the consolation I probably should have the night before (by letting her know that we would get the best car seat we could) and left her to her musings. I spent some time on the computer and spent some time with the MG. I charged the battery and tried to start the engine, but it refused. It turned over quite nicely but never caught. I went to examine the sparkplugs when I discovered I didn’t have that size sparkplug wrench. Eriko decided to lay down (she wasn’t feeling so well) and so I headed to Schucks. I called Katrina, whom I’ve been playing phone tag with for about a month, and talked her throughout my errands. At Schucks I purchased the sparkplug socket, an adjustable wrench, and some ethyl starting spray. I also stopped off at Safeway (to buy some tomatoes) and Starbucks (in Safeway). I also parked the Miata on the side of the road and talked to Katrina for a while before returning home. I cleaned the sparkplugs, but the MG still refused to start. I called Zack and asked for help determing whether there was spark (I need him to hold the plug while I crank the engine and wait for a yelp) but he was busy. Instead, I installed a handheld shower (that we purchased a month or two ago) and then spent the rest of the afternoon on the computer. Eriko awoke and was feeling a little better; before long we headed to Pasta Bella Ristorante and enjoyed a very nice dinner. Back at home, Eriko looked through some parenting books and I watched 60 minutes. I also read a book that my boss loaned me. I spent a little time working on the GIFTS program before Eriko decided she wanted to make some cheesecake and needed to goto Safeway. Right then, Zack called and we chatted a bit before Eriko and I left. Afterwards, Eriko made cheesecake and took a shower while I finished my work on GIFTS and killed bugs that snuck in the window. We both enjoyed the cheesecake. Then it was time for shower, journal, and bed.