I slept in late, again. My ingenious plan to wake up early and watch lectures isn’t working so smoothly… I left for work soon after and had a productive morning. During lunch, Eriko was very quiet until I was about to leave. The afternoon was productive with the exception of an afternoon coffee break with Zack. I’ve started drinking decaf. I like the taste, but don’t need the caffeine. I walk and talk with Scott on the way home. Eriko had already eaten when I arrived and was talking to her mom on the phone (skype) but dinner was prepared (which was nice). After the phone call, Eriko proposed another name, ‘momoko’. I don’t know about that one either, but it is nice to know that she is not set on a particular name. We don’t even know the sex yet. Eriko had a headache, so I massaged various body parts (hand, neck, and head). We went to Safeway to buy a few things. I continued watching the baseball game (on mute) and cut some apples for Eriko. Then shower/bedtime.

I woke up late – the exercise really tired me out. At work I was productive. Lunch was good and the afternoon was productive again (of course, I attended Japanese class). Dinner was yummy and the evening was going well until we got into a bit of an argument about the baby’s name. Eriko was convinced that Satoko was the name and I wanted to hear alternatives. There was some silence and I concentrated on the baseball game. Eventually we got over it (although we didn’t discuss it again) and Eriko helped me with my Japanese homework.

I woke up at 6:30 (on purpose, via the alarm) and watched a lecture for about 45 minutes. Work was productive, and there were no meetings scheduled! How nice. Eriko and I had lunch together, which was nice. The afternoon was also relatively productive and I had only one meeting (for management training homework) and it was really just a complaining fest. After that, I had coffee with Zack and got nothing else done. At home, dinner was delicious. Eriko was in a good mood and we spent some quality time on the couch together. While she went to take her shower, I went to the exercise room and rode the bike. It was difficult! Afterwards, I watched a little TV while doing the dishes, and then it was bedtime.

We slept in today – the alarm was off and we took advantage, finally rising out of bed about 10 AM. I was still stuffed from the Indian the night before, but Eriko was hungry. She made herself some breakfast and I watched. We lazed around and eventually Eriko started taking a nap, so I moved into the bedroom and started watching a UW Colloquia lecture on my handheld media player. That worked pretty well, although the lecture was a little boring. The whole day went by quickly, even though we didn’t do anything. We watched some TV, I did some Japanese homework, Eriko talked to her mom, Eriko made herself several meals (I just snacked on ice cream and leftovers, as I was never really hungry), I watched some more Japanese anime, and we wrote thank you cards as well as a birthday card for Katrina. In the evening we watched the 2nd game of the world series, which was great. After that, I typed up some journal entries and Eriko looked at some magazines. While Eriko showered, I exercised. After I showered, Eriko continued to look at magazines and I watched two anime episodes.

I slept good and the alarm woke us (both) up at 8 AM. I laid in bed for about 5 minutes and then popped out to check my mail and cook breakfast. Eriko woke up a few minutes later and began to eat. We left the house about 9:05 and headed north on I-5. Traffic was light and we made it on-time for her drum class, which started at 9:30. I helped carry in her new bongo drums and then I left. I went to Target to buy toothpaste and paper towels. To kill time, I went to Best Buy, but I was about 10 minutes early so I hung around and listened to my iPod. Soon, I was inside and was quickly accosted by a pretty young lady named Kara, who was interested in telling me all about their digital cameras. Before long, she moved on, and so did I. I walked around the store several times and eventually wound up where I really wanted to be – the bathroom. ;) I headed back to Eriko’s class, stopping at Starbucks along the way. I sat outside in the sun and listened to some comedy (on the iPod) and also worked on my new Japanese textbook. I went into the classroom a little early so I could hear the 7 people (including the teacher) playing a very cool Carribean rhythm. Back at home, Eriko watched a Japanese trivia show (we had downloaded) and I took a short nap. I retrieved the mail from the mailroom and Eriko had a package from her mom. She was quite excited, although customs confiscated two small food items. Eriko made a quick call to her mom to let her know and then we headed off to India Bistro to meet Carol and Aaron for dinner. Dinner was nice and (since Carol is pregnant also) we had lots to talk about. Unfortunately, Eriko’s dish was incorrectly spiced (and I didn’t realize it until I stopped eating mine) so that put a damper on the mood (but she didn’t blame me, so I felt better). Back at home, we were stuffed – I watched the end of World Series game 1 and Eriko used the computer. While she showered, I watched an anime on the computer (I’m finally getting around to finishing a series I started during summer). We switched places for my shower and then spent some time on the couch watching TV while waiting for our food to digest.

I slept well and woke up relatively early. I had lots of time before I needed to be at work (I’m aiming for 8 AM as a start time) so I worked through the Washington State voter’s pamphlet and decided how I would vote on several issues. I’m not sure if I will actually vote for the various seats, I simply don’t know enough about the candidates. Then I headed off to work, where I worked on some bugs. This period in the development cycle is a little boring, because it is difficult to feel like you’re making progress, since bugs are never-ending. I came home for lunch with Eriko (which she made) and it was yummy. Afterwards, I had coffee with Zack, which was nice. It turns out he will be moving even closer to me. My afternoon was semi-productive until I had coffee with Rob, which was also nice. (Note that I had decaf both times, otherwise I’d be loaded). I came home for dinner with Eriko and then we watched some TV. We went to Safeway and then Eriko took a nap. I started watching a lecture on my handheld device but that didn’t last long. We showered and went to bed early.