This morning we woke up on time. Why? Because Eriko set an alarm of her own. At 6:30 it went off in the living room and she hopped up make breakfast. On the way to work we moved our recently-purchased flowers outside. Currently we have 6 flowers (in small pots) inside a larger rectangular window sill pot. However, because our unit is subterranean, the flowers don’t seem to be getting enough light and are already suffering. At work, I had a reasonably clear schedule, which was great. I have some development I’ve been trying to accomplish for a while but things keep getting in the way. I had a great time on Friday doing the work; I actually thought about things before implementing them. So smooth. Eriko met me & the gang for the regular Friday Shiki train. I wasn’t in the mood for the bento so I just had my old regular. Back at work, I had about an hour to kill before a meeting. That meeting went pretty well although it lasted for 1.5 hours and we talked about some technical topics which I didn’t fully understand so I had to concentrate to stay awake. To close out my week, I made some more good progress on my program. I walked to Bartell’s on the way home to pick up some cold medicine and sleeping aids. I have apparently caught a head-cold and I think lack of sleep (and co-worker exposure) is to blame. Eriko and I ate dinner, brought our flowers back into the house, watched Seinfeld, ate some ice cream, relaxed a little (me on computer, her with a book) and then it was time for showers. While Eriko showered I split my time between trying to translate a Japanese short story she handed me (describing it as quite interesting) and researching mutual funds for foreign market indices. I’m beginning to contemplate whether I should met with a financial advisor. I simply have too many balls I’m juggling at the moment and I fear that one will get dropped. After our showers, we went to bed. I doped myself up with NyQil and a sleeping pill before hitting the sack.

I slept poorly and forgot to set the alarm, so we overslept today. Eriko quickly brought out the cereal, as there was no time for a cooked meal. It was yummy anyway. Off to work we went. I was a little worried because Eriko’s packages from Nagoya (via barge) were arriving today and I didn’t want to miss (or be unavailable for) the call. Luckily, the called at 9:30 (they had previously said between 9-10) and I buzzed them into the front door (remotely). I sent Eriko a text message indicating they were here, but as it turns out they knocked on the door before the message arrived. At 10 I had a leadership training class, which I enjoyed. I thought some good (and sometimes controversial) discussions occurred. This month’s topic is ‘commitment’ which I think is great because I’m poor at commitment. Not for big things, when the perceived consequences are obvious, but little things like studying or reading. I often make so many little goals for myself but tend not to keep them. Hopefully I can change that tune. Of course, the class is merely a hinting tool; it encourages you to do self-analysis and has general suggestions for help – but for matters of a personal nature, I’m not sure what else can be done. I came home for lunch and Eriko’s boxes were there; she had already unpacked about 7 (out of 14). She wanted to get everything cleared out quickly. Back at work, I had some more meetings to attend, some documents to read, some development to do, and a team meeting to lead. It all happened smoothly and before I knew it, I was back at home. Eriko had dinner waiting and afterwards we lounged a bit (and watched Seinfeld) before heading to Kinko’s to pick up our postcards. The postcards turned out good (albiet, the material is a little cheap, but so are we). Eriko made a goal for herself of 10 a day and began writing as soon as she returned home. I spent about an hour writing the first paragraph of my trip description (in Japanese). Then it was time for Seinfeld & bed.

I slept OK. I forgot to set the alarm (again) but we didn’t oversleep. Eriko prepared breakfast with plenty of time to spare. Off we went to work. Work was good, I think. To be honest, I don’t remember a lot about this day – even though it was only yesterday! I remember that lunch was rushed because I had meetings from 10-11 and from 1-2. The 1 o’clock meeting was with the “big wigs” and so I wanted to make sure I was on time (which I was). I had two more meetings after that and then worked on a critical bug until it was time to go home. Zack called me right as I was about to leave and I asked him for a ride. He’s travelling to Chicago to see his ex-girlfriend. That brings back memories. ;) We talked in his car outside my condo for 10 minutes or so and then I had to go (because dinner was waiting). Eriko and I lazed around for a bit and watched Seinfeld. Then it was time to go to Kinko’s and check on our postcards. They weren’t finished at the appointment time, so we browsed the supermarket downstairs (and bought some Breyer’s ice cream). After 15 minutes or so, we went up and saw the prints and they were much better. At home, we got some ice cream, made some more modifications to Eriko’s web page, and then it was time for shower & Seinfeld.

Another night of imperfect sleep. I didn’t get quite enough and it just wasn’t quite solid enough… shucks. Eriko and I were both dragging this morning, but we made it to work on time. I was real productive in the morning (before anyone else arrived) and did pretty good until lunch. Eriko joined me as I went out for lunch with my old boss, Bill, and co-worker David. It was nice. Eriko didn’t participate that much in the conversation, but neither did David for that matter. Bill and I talked tech for quite a bit. ;) I had a few meetings and then went off for my first private Japanese lesson. Hideki met me at Starbucks at 4 o’clock and the session lasted an hour. Next week it will be two hours. Humorously, this is the same Starbucks where I met Yuki twice a week. We reviewed the first eight chapters of the book. He said my grammar was good, but I attribute that to the reviewing I did. It was a good session and I look forward to it occuring regularly. I had hoped to just sneak into work and check email, but I got caught up in a conversation that caused me to be about 20 minutes late for dinner. I sent Eriko a note to let her know. After dinner we relaxed, watched Seinfeld, and then went to Kinko’s to check out our proof. It wasn’t to our liking, so we asked for some modifications and will return tomorrow. Back at home, Eriko asked me to make some changes to her website, which took a fair bit of time. Then, I wrote some diary entries, showered, watched Seinfeld, and will soon be snoozzing.

I slept horribly. I was too hot and being tired, I became delirious. My brain was solving some unsolvable problem and I kept waking up thinking I had a solution. Eriko suggested I open the window (we had closed it because it was cool earlier) but I thought I was OK. In retrospect, I’m going to try and remember to always open the window before bed. She stays warm under the covers, so I don’t get much complaint. Anyway, after breakfast we headed off to work. There were two massive piles of poop along our route. How traumatic! For the first time in a lonnng time, I had no meetings during the day. That was nice. I went home for lunch but otherwise got some good stuff done. Unfortunately, I was still interrupted pretty often. I let a little early from work so Eriko and I could eat before we caught a Buster Keaton double picture. It was my first silent movie (and perhaps hers as well) and we both very impressed with the organ accompanist. The first movie was quite funny. The second was a little too long (for me) but ended well. The event was sponsored by Trader Joe’s and lucky us, we won a gift basket! We got lots of free food and a $25 gift certificate. That paid for the tickets. ;) We were exhausted by bedtime.

Eriko and I slept in until about 8. She was hungry and couldn’t sleep anymore. I probably could have remained in bed for some time. ;) I offered to make breakfast and cooked up some chocolate-chip pancakes, crispy bacon, and grilled toast. It took me a while (I have no griddle) but she wanted patiently. Finally, we ate, and it was yummy. =) I then proceeded to relax on the couch with my eyes clothes for a little while. I also watched some of the little league world series game between an island in the Carribean and Hawaii. Then we went to Kinko’s to see about our wedding announcements. We’ve taken a wedding photo of us and are turning it into a postcard. After about 15-30 minutes of discussion, we scheduled an appointment on Tuesday @ 8 to review the proof. Next, we headed to Uwajimaya for some groceries. Eriko finished rather quickly, and it may have taken longer to enter the parking lot (due to traffic throttled by a single gate) then to leave the store. On the way back, we listened to the Mariner’s game on the radio a bit. Arriving at home, I continued to pay attention and watched them on TV as well as the end of the LLWS. Hawaii made a great comeback (3 runs) to put the game into extra innings (7). Then they won it with a dong. It was exciting but heart-wrenching to wach the players (they’re 11 & 12 yr old boys) on the other team cry. They were very sportsmanlike but wore their heart on their sleeves. Eriko and I lounged around for a while; I worked on reviewing my Japanese in preparation for class on Tuesday. Not being hungry, we decided that a walk to Safeway to buy ice cream might be enough to stir our appetites. I was greatly dissappointed to find out that there was no mint-chocolate chip ice cream! We bought a carton of strawberry and a carton of sundae, but I couldn’t hide my sadness. Eriko made dinner went we returned and afterwards we dug into the ice cream. It was bad. The cartons had both melted and been re-frozen, which eliminates the creaminess. That’s what I get for not buying what I wanted; in retrospect I should have tried another store (although the cartons were buy 1/get 1 free, which is why everything else had sold out). I continued to review my Japanese in the evenings and we watched a bit of the Eagles Farewall I tour on TV before heading off to bed.