I slept in a little bit (about 8:45) and then spent some time on the computer while waiting for Eriko to wake up. She did and soon we were headed to Nadeshiko (about 10:30). She had an 11:15 appointment to participate in a mercury study run by the Washington State Department of Health. At first we were worried because the highway was packed, but as soon as we got past the UW exit, things cleared up. It turns out there was a big UW football game and the 520 bridge was jammed up more than I have ever seen it! Nadeshiko took quite a while, with Eriko in another room with the grad student doing the study. I watched some lectures on the media player before sitting with Eriko for the last 15 or 20 minutes. In exchange for her participation, we received a $40 Target gift card. ;) We headed south on I405 for our big day of shopping – first Ikea, where we were looking for a computer desk but more than that, we enjoyed the many different display rooms they had. It was neat thinking that soon (2/3 years) we’ll have to get a house and will have rooms to setup. Ikea took a while and we got hungry and ate there as well (they have a cafeteria!) Eriko almost became faint but the food reached her just in time. After Ikea, we headed to Babies R’ Us and registered ourselves. That turned out to be a big dissapointment as most of the items there were Chinese-made junk. In addition, it was so overwhelming it was confusing; Eriko didn’t know why she would need have the stuff and the few things she wanted (glass bottles, flat car seat) were nowhere to be found. We left that store very drained; I didn’t do much looking at all. That is the worst kind of shopping – just looking with no real purpose. We headed next to Target and bought some plastic drawers (that will store the baby’s clothes). That was a pretty quick stop, as we knew what we wanted and were too tired to fool around anymore. I had a brief conversation with Aaron while I was waiting for Eriko to look for glass bottles. Back on I-5, I stopped off at Costco to refill the Jetta’s tank and soon we were home. Eriko made dinner and I decided to move the desk from the bedroom to the living room and get rid of the clunky computer desk. This opened up a bunch of space in the bedroom for the crib as well as making the living room the place for me to study (since the bedroom will probably be filled with sleeping mom/baby). I also like that I can do all my tinkering where Eriko spends most of her time. Eriko started knitting and looking at some baby product magazines and got herself worked up about the car seat. I tried to calm her down but wasn’t very effective; I just added fire to her passion by showing her evidence that Washington State requires rear or forward facing car seats rather than the side-facing ones that are in Japan. Eriko stayed awake, furiously knitting, until about 3:30 AM. I went to bed about 1:30, too tired to stay up longer. Shopping! What a pain.

Monday - I went to work while Eriko waited for her parents to arrive. When I returned for lunch, her parents were there and we went out to an Italian restaurant nearby. It was a bit awkward (for me, anyway) but I had a good time. For dinner we went to my favorite Indian restaurant in Ballard (Eriko’s idea) and had another good time. I even got to pay for dinner. The food was a little spicy for mom and I think that dad might not have enjoyed it as much as I did but we all had a good time anyway.
Tuesday - I went to work and Eriko awoke. I met Eriko and her parents at Shiki for lunch and had a nice meal. We even got special treatment - slices of homemade pudding made by the owner. For dinner we went to another Japanese restaurant, Ototo and another nice meal. I got to pay for that one too (Eriko and I used our Isilon gift card). I was able to have more and more conversation with her parents and it was fun.
Wednesday - I took off work and about 11 we picked up mom & dad at the hotel. We headed over to the Eastside first, to Nadeshiko clinic, the Japanese birthing center. Mom was very relieved to see the clinic and meet the mid-wife who would be helping Eriko. Dad was more interested in looking at the Jetta. We headed up north to Tsubaki Grand Shrine, the only Shinto shrine in North America. It was a pretty unique experience. We asked for a blessing for Eriko and our child as well as the Jetta. The priest put on a good show, although it was a bit long. The shrine was authentic and had lots of neat stuff. We stopped off at Burger King on our way home and snacked on some good ole fashioned American food. Mom & dad fell asleep in the car on the way back, which was a little quicker (since we took I-5). Back at our house, I showed dad the MG and he had some tips for getting it started. Then it turned out he was interested in the Jetta’s 800-watt amp (extra) which I was interested in giving away. We hurried to the car and soon he had a nice souvenir. Back at the hotel, Eriko and I relaxed in the spa for a while and then hung out in the parents room. Eriko was tired and rested while I talked to mom and dad. Conversation was challenging but not impossible. We talked about their nephew’s tonsillitis, health care systems, and cars. I suggested steak but Eriko suggested Italian, so we headed off to this little restaurant I went to once with Yuki. It turned out be fantastic and everyone was quite happy. Mom and dad split a bottle of wine (I had a bit) and mom was very talkative by the end of the evening. I focused primarily on my food. ;) I said my goodbyes as we dropped them off at the hotel and back home we went. Eriko was sad that evening and I could understand why. She really loves them quite a bit.
Thursday - I went to work and Eriko went to say goodbye to her parents who would be picked up by a shuttle for the airport. For lunch, my team went out with the CEO of the company, which was a rare and exciting event. In the evening it was just Eriko and I, and the mood was a little mellow at first. Then she became focused on the large cache of baby supplies that mom and dad brought over and seemed very excited to think about our baby.
Friday - I came home for lunch. Eriko wasn’t feeling so hot but felt a little better towards the end of the lunch hour. She had brought out her knitting stuff and was working away on some things for the baby. It is impressive to watch her, she is very focused. After work and dinner, she continued to knit and I worked on the computer. I switched to using the laptop so that I could look up and see her rather than have to turn around. It makes me feel much closer and she knows that I’m not “busy” and asks me to do stuff, which I like. Susie sent us a cool gift that Eriko thought was really cute and we spent some time playing with it. Now, it is shower time and soon… bed time.

• Change Happens (They Keep Moving The Cheese)
• Anticipate Change (Get Ready For The Cheese To Move)
• Monitor Change (Smell The Cheese Often So You Know When It Is Getting Old)
• Adapt To Change Quickly (The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, The Sooner You Can Enjoy New Cheese)
• Change (Move With The Cheese)
• Enjoy Change! (Savor The Adventure And Enjoy The Taste Of New Cheese!)
• Be Ready To Change Quickly And Enjoy It Again & Again (They Keep Moving The Cheese)

I was too tired to sleep well and the room became too bright too early. Eriko seemed to sleep better but was also tired when we woke up at 10 AM. The morning was slow and short. I called Todd to arrange a movie time, took a shower, and worked on the computer. Eriko ate and showered. About noon, I found Eriko laying down for a nap and I joined her. We woke up at 2, surprised by the time, and hurried off to meet Todd & Miki for a matinee showing of Chicken Little. We arrived with plenty of time, although I received some worried phone calls from co-workers and I was a little distracted. That went away when the movie started; it was funny and action packed. Eriko and I enjoyed Todd & Miki’s company and parted ways after the show. Back to the house, Eriko started to make dinner and I studied Japanese. While we waited for the rice to cook, Eriko drove the Jetta (with me in the passenger seat) to the hotel her parents will be staying at. After one successful trip, she decided to do it again. The trip should be relatively smooth as it is only a mile or two away. Back at home, we enjoyed a nice dinner and relaxed on the couch. Eriko did the dishes while I caught up on some journal entries. Then it was time for our showers.

The alarm went off at 8 o’clock and Eriko and I got out of bed. She was worried about whether she would feel good enough to go to her drum class, but neither of us mentioned it and we just ate breakfast. She seemed to feel fine and at 9 we headed off (in the Jetta). I dropped her off in class (we were the first to arrive) and talked to her instructor a bit. Then I headed off to Starbucks to get a mocha and Big Foot car wash to vacuum the car. That went well and it was a big improvement. In the process, I discovered that Gene had left us a stereo and there was a repair book as well. Upon returning to North Seattle Community College, I spent some time looking around the car and cleaning up here and there. I felt very grateful to have been given this vehicle. I watched a colloquia lecture while waiting for Eriko to finish. When her class was over, we headed down to Ballard (with Eriko driving) so we could finish the vehicle registration. Unfortunately, the lady told us that we needed an emissions test, and the place was up north (a few blocks from where we had been). We only had about 40 minutes to get back, so I took over the driving and we hurried. We made it, the Jetta passed emissions, and we drove back south. We made a detour at McDonald’s and enjoyed a yummy meal. It has certainly been a while for me and this McD’s was much cleaner than others I remember. The registration went off without a hitch and now we are the proud owners of a 1994 Jetta. We came back home and Eriko took a nap and called her mom. I finished watching the lecture, which was on eliminating memory latency by allowing out-of-order loads/stores with the possibility for rollback (in the event of a conflict). It was pretty cool. Then we headed to Costco, where Eriko got herself a new winter coat and I purchased an LCD monitor for the computer. I had been struggling with paying the big bucks for a laptop (with a small screen), whereas this big monitor allows us to keep our eyes happy and my wallet thick. We ate some Costco pizza before leaving – the first bite tasted so much better than the last. We waited around @ home for a bit before heading off to Scott & Judy’s for game night. (I didn’t actually think we would go, since we left about an hour later than it started). There were four other couples there, all with asian women (one korean, two japanese-american, and a hong kong chinese) and caucasian men. We sat out the first game, which was American pop-culture heavy and enjoyed the next two – pictionary and cranium. Eriko impressed everyone with her drawing skills, especially when she had to draw “counting sheep” with her eyes closed. We had a good time and ate lots of food, finally heading for about 2 AM.