Erika

February 16, 2025

Erika

I had a full week with Erika, and the only sensible thing to do with Erika’s company is to embrace it completely. No half measures. Full speed. An hour and a half to catch a flight? That leaves 15 minutes for a grab bike, 10 minutes to walk the grounds of the unimaginably beautiful Buak Public Flower Park (walking quickly so as not to miss anything), 5 minutes to eat a sack of Mexican food, a lean 30 minutes to visit a nearby pet store and make promises to all the Guinea Pigs, and 10 minutes for transport to the airport. Adjustments can be made for side quests into interesting shops, but only in proportion the general amount of hope that things will work out today. And remarkably, they generally do.

So I was taking pictures and thinking things sometimes, but were I to stop to ponder too long (much less write thoughts down) she’d be gone, spending time with a dog she’s named after you who keeps up better; or just moving… always moving.

Among the best and most memorable weeks of my life. I slowed her down and she sped me up in haphazard quasi-sustainability, but Nepal loomed closer for her and Thailand still had all of my attention, so we resolved to meet in another city starting with a “B” sometime in the next four years or so. Maybe Budapest. Maybe Boise. Probably not Boise. From Buffalo to Bangkok, we are unusual and thievery thick friends sharing a great bow to each other’s independent spirit. I love her like no one I’ve ever met and I remind her of this frequently in the hope that she employ some general caution in her insatiable reaching. Life is always happening and it’s always over there somewhere... (over a field of broken glass, or past a motorcycle gang with knives, or some other horror). I like the idea of being one of the parts of life she returns to from time to time. See you when, old friend: with bear’s milk and caffeine.

So now I have some time and a renewed capacity for focus. I’ll start to update again. I have a lot to sift through.