It is 6:30 and the alarm goes off. This morning I feed Eriko crackers, because it is better than lying there trying to stay in slumber land. My stomach was a little uncomfortable (because of the ice cream?) so I didn’t fix much of a breakfast. I spent a little time preparing the AOS and finding headphones (the ones at work were reclaimed by my co-worker) before we headed out to work. At work I had to review a document (I had agreed to complete by review by Friday morning) and then I had an hour-long meeting to discuss candidates. By this time, I was hungry. Since none of the regulars were around to go to Shiki, I cancelled the Shiki train and went home (a change in plans) early. I was glad I did that, because my sandwich was yummy and Eriko was in good spirits. We returned and I brought my co-worker an interview book he’s been asking me about. The afternoon wasn’t real productive either; I had a meeting from 2 - 4:30 and didn’t get much accomplished before or after. At home, Eriko was not in the best of spirits, although she did prepare dinner, which was quite delicious. In the box of goodies her friend sent her were some Nagoya style noodles and she was quite pleased to eat them. After dinner we watched Seinfeld, and then some of the Arts Showcase. I worked on my Japanese homework while she laid down. She was tired and ready for her shower, so I ate some ice cream and played on the computer. I’ve decided to try and read the vim manual from start to finish. I took a probotic acidophilous pill tonight, so I’m curious to see how I’ll feel in the morning. Normally I take one of those pills in the morning after breakfast (not because I “need” it, but just to make things easier on my body). Halfway through Seinfeld I started my shower, as Eriko was looking quite tired. She was in bed by the time I took my shower, so I followed.

I awoke to more crackers being munched on. I think I’m going to have to get used to this. ;) Eriko wasn’t up for much of a breakfast, so I ate some cereal. We walked together to work, and my day began. I had a tough time with a problem at work, so I had to do a lot of fruitless investigation. This particular problem forced me to go to the lab to do testing, so I had to frequently leave my desk. My research required me to reboot the computer I was testing on, so that gave me time to look for an OB doctor. I got some recommendations from co-workers and printed out quite a few (to show Eriko) before I got the idea to search for a Japanese one. I located a Japanese birthing center in Kirkland (about 30 minutes away). I knew Eriko would be excited about that and printed out some information. At noon I came home and Eriko had prepared a yummy meal. I showed her the literature I had printed out and she was very happy. After the meal she called the clinic and made an appointment for Monday @ 3. She was feeling OK so she walked with me to work. After lunch I had a few meetings at work, so producitivity was sporadic – but I finally solved my problem. Zack and I went out for coffee (because we hadn’t talked much I gave him the news) and ended up chatting for about an hour. After that, it was time to go home. ;) Neither Eriko and I were that hungry, so we decided to goto blockbuster instead. She wanted to get some movies to watch and we wound up with four: The Castle in the Sky, Tokyo Godfathers, Oliver, and The Terminal. She made a yummy dinner and then we started watching The Castle in the Sky. At first it was quite dissappointing, because the screen would switch into reverse video every few minutes, sometimes only seconds apart. Finally I decided to investigate. I paused it while it was on reverse video and pulled out some of the S-Video cables when all of a sudden Eriko told me it was working. I guess the DVD player I borrowed from Zack can’t handle the input from my TV correctly. Thrilled, we resumed watching. After a little bit, I switched the language to Japanese and put on the English subtitles and we both enjoyed it more. Eriko has seen the movie many times and wanted to hear the original Japanese voices which she liked; I don’t like to watch Japanese anime in English. The Japanese practice is good for me and I even recognized a word or two from my current lesson. After the movie we took showers and went to bed.

I was woken up several times by Eriko going to the bathroom. Each time, I wondered if she had done the pregnancy test. I worried that the lack of urine in her bladder would give us inaccurate results. Sometime far before the alarm clock went off, I was woken by the crunching of crackers. Eriko ate for a while and eventually we got out of bed about 6:30. She went in and took the pregnancy test. After a minute or two, I sauntered in and checked out the result. Two lines, one much brighter than the other. After reading the directions, I knew it had been confirmed. Eriko is pregnant. She didn’t feel like cooking (she wasn’t real hungry), so I made myself breakfast. As we were leaving the building, Melissa called. She wanted to know why we hadn’t called her sooner! I spoke with Melissa as Eriko and I walked to work and she gave us advice and answered our questions. The morning was productive in the morning but also anxious; of course, I couldn’t help but think about Eriko and the new life growing inside her. I let it slip to a few of my co-workers, and I heard something that would be repeated many times: “you didn’t waste any time, did you?” Melissa called a few minutes to noon and interrupted me from work so I took the opportunity to walk home and talk to her. She recommended that we cancel the GYN appointment we made since we needed an OB and they would end up duplicating some uncomfortable tests. She also wanted to reiterate her email and encourage me to move to Pennsylvania. Eriko didn’t prepare any lunch, so I made myself a sandwich and she made herself some oatmeal. We walked to work, talking about where the baby would sleep, how long we would be able to live in our current condo, and what kind of car we should get . Back at work, I spilled the confirmation to Zack and some other co-workers in the vacinity. I was given very enthusiastic responses. I had a little time on the computer before it was time to interview a candidate for a position on a different team. After that, I was surprised to find out that my co-worker had been terminated due to a violation of the employment agreement. It was sad, he was a good worker and a good guy. My team also heaped congratulations on me; apparently Zack had spilled the beans and the word had travelled. I was a little late to my Japanese lesson due to the fuss but Hideki wasn’t too upset. I also revealed to him the news and so I learned a lot of words about pregnancy, feelings, etc. The lesson was good, and the two hours went fast. Melissa interrupted with another phone call but I told her I’d call her back, which I did at 5. She recommended that Eriko take a list of vitamins. We spoke about the pregnancy in general before I returned to work and wrote down what Melissa told me. After 30 minutes at work, I was ready to go home. Scott and I walked together, talking about teh changes at Isilon and in my life. Eriko was waiting with a simple meal, which was nice. She was feeling pretty good except her mouth tasted poorly from eating all day. We walked to the library after dinner to return some books she didn’t quite finish in time, talking more about the little miracle that was growing inside her. She was concerned of the fragility of the baby and nervous about the pregnancy, but confident about raising the child. I’m the opposite; confident about the pregnancy and nervous about the raising. We stopped off at Trader Joe’s to purchase the vitamins Melissa suggested. At home, Eriko began to feel a little poorly and she became tired rapidly. I worked on the AOS paperwork and thought I was complete before realizing a few supporting documents were missing. Eriko took a shower and went to bed early. I stayed up – I worked on the computer, watched Seinfeld, and ate some ice cream.

I woke up to the sound of Eriko munching crackers. I read online and it was confirmed by Katrina (about Melissa) that eating before you get out of bed might help prevent the initial morning sickness. After that, a constant intake of food is necessary. Of course, I can’t sleep with crackers being munched so I was awake. Eriko didn’t feel like making breakfast so we ate cereal. She felt good enough to walk me to work and then we hung around the 1st floor until the ob/gyn office opened. We asked for an appointment but it turns out that the ob/gyn is now only a gyn! Shucks. We got an appointment anyway (for next week) but (provided Eriko is actually pregnant) they’ll have to recommend someone else for the ob. I went up to work (5th floor) and Eriko went home. The morning was pretty good; I was fairly productive and only had one 40 minute meeting, which was also good. I left at noon to go home. Eriko wasn’t feeling so well, but had made lunch anyway. She apologized for the meal, but I thought it was good anyway. I walked back to work by myself. I tried calling Melissa, but she wasn’t home. She called me back a few minutes later and after a few more minutes, I returned her call. She suggested getting a home-pregnancy test and said that they were very accurate. (We had been concerned about false readings). So I decided to get one after work. The rest of work went pretty well. Given the news, I feel a new level of energy and excitement in my body but I was able to focus on work quite well. I fixed 3 or 4 problems. After work, I walked to Bartell’s and picked up a 2 kit tester and some candy (for me). Then I called Kevin and spoke to him a little bit before finding Eriko waiting inside the condo. She hadn’t felt like cooking but got the urge for some Kentucky Fried Chicken. I suggested some fried chicken from a supermarket instead and she agreed to try it. We drove to Larry’s and got a few pieces of food; I was much happier with this meal than the idea of KFC, if I have to eat fried chicken. After dinner, I worked on Japanese homework and Eriko helped me while laying on the couch. We took our showers before Seinfeld. I ate some ice cream during the show and then we hit the sack.

We woke up really late today. Eriko’s back was sore, which she suspected was because she was a little too rough with a massage tool. Her stomach was also a little queasy. My back was a little sore – I had cuddled with her in the night and woke up with my chin and arm numb. I’m sure that didn’t help me sleep well. ;) Although she wasn’t feeling good, Eriko wanted to make Udon for breakfast (instead of my offer of french toast). After breakfast, she laid on the couch for quite a while. I did some research (on the Internet) into morning sickness (and pregnancy signs) as well as general research about pregnancy. During this time I shared everything I found and although she hadn’t really thought it was possible she was pregnant, she was becoming more open to the idea. We decided it would be good for her to see a gynecologist, even if this was just a false alarm. I’ll try to do that on Monday. Because of her condition, we decided not to go back to the Autumn Festival in Bellevue. Instead, Eriko laid on the couch and I used the computer and studied Japanese. At one point she started feeling better so we went to Costco to get some pregnancy snacks (crackers, fruit, rolls). Zack called to say that Katrina was making a surprise visit in the evening. After Costco, Eriko started feeling poor again, so she went back to resting and me to studying. Around dinner time she wanted to go to Trader Joe’s and so we did. I got some emergency rations just in case she didn’t want to cook (sandwich materials). We took showers early so that we could stay up and visit with Katrina and Zack. Sure enough, at 9 they showed up. It was a nice visit, with lots of laugh. Zack and I talked about some of the changes at work while Katrina and Eriko sat on the couch. Eriko showed them the picture book Ken made for her. At about 10:30, it was time for us to go to bed and them to go home. With the crackers by the bed, we made our way to sleepyland.

I heard the computer turn on (it turns on automatically at 7 AM) and then the alarm went off. Eriko had decided to grab an extra 15 minutes of sleep. So she had to hustle to get breakfast ready. She wasn’t feeling well (her stomach was bothering her) so she decided not to walk to work with me. I finished up the dishes and left about 5 minutes later than usual (7:40) since I move faster when I walk alone. I arrived at work before 8 and was productive almost immediately. I put the finishing touches on this project I was working on and sent it out for review. Eriko still wasn’t feeling well by lunch time, so she skipped the Shiki Train and decided to eat a small meal at home. I went with Aaron, Qichu, and Kaya; Ki showed up a little later. It was nice. I enjoy the small trains more as they are much more personal. I didn’t have time to do much after lunch before I had my usual Friday 2 o’clock meeting. It was pretty engaging and lasted until 3:30. I had requested an audience with the big boss and he told me that he would accomodate me at 5. I worked on some problems until then. There are some changes going on at work, changes in reporting structure – which creates opportunities. However, I realized that I don’t have the political clout or the engineering experience to take advantage of those opportunities; for the most part my crawl up the corporate Isilon ladder ends where I am now. There is potential that I will be given more people to manage, since I seem to be fairly good at that – however, managing people is not the same thing as managing direction. After work I had a good chat with my co-worker about where we saw ourselves in five years; we both agreed that we would be dissappointed if we were still at Isilon. Knowing that my future opportunities at Isilon are limited (if not none) should help cement my thinking (if only be removing an option). I dream of being a professor, and I think I possess the natural qualities and desires but the road there seems long and almost impossible. Right now I’m very poor at studying (undisiplined) and I can’t go anywhere without studying. My co-worker and I agreed that we should continue to talk to each other and maybe it would lead to mutual collaboration some day. Eriko had a wonderful meal of curry waiting for me at home, and it was excellent. She still wasn’t feeling super so we didn’t really do much the rest of the night – I used the computer, we watched a little TV, lounged around, and went to bed pretty early – at 10.