I've received many inquiries about Eriko's family - from far and wide. Old friends, distant family, and far away co-workers - some of whom I haven't talked with in years - reached out to make sure that Eriko and her family were doing well. The good news is that Eriko's immediate family is in Nagoya and most of her relatives and friends are in Nagoya. Nagoya was not impacted much by the quake/tsunami nor is it near the reactors.

Here is a picture of our home as it currently stands: Here is a rendition of where we are heading: The tenants move out at the end of April and then construction starts. Wheee!

It has started. After the acquisition of the company I’m working for, I’m now in a position to move faster on the remodel of our home rather than slower. We are excited. We’re working with a build/design firm called Build, LLC who just continue to live up to their reputation as being principled, cost-conscious and having good aptitude for modern design. We’re not yet into the build phase, but if you spend some time on this site you should have complete confidence in their abilities: http://www.

Plan A - ask neighboring office if they'll sell and allow us to expand our condo by a single room. Plan B - low-bid for an OK home on a decent lot. Plan C - reasonable bid for a wonderful home in a decent spot. No yard, busy street. Plan D - remodel existing home. Cost prohibitive. Plan E - buy multi-tenant home on nice lot with current rental income.

This is a previously unpublished blog entry that I wrote before Momoko's birth. It touches me to publish it, unaltered, now that she is almost eight months old. The clock ticks towards the arrival of our second. We don't know if a little boy or a little girl is kicking their legs inside of Eriko's ever expanding belly. We don't know what this child will look like, sound like, or act like.

Me: Mama, we have two angels in our house. Jerry: What’s an angel, Daddy? Me: An angel is a special person … Jerry: Then I’m an angel to you and you’re an angel to me. Because I love you and you love me. Me: That’s right, Jerry. Jerry: We have four angels, Daddy. Mama loves you and Mama loves Momo too. Love - pass it on!