Erika L. Sánchez

[00:00:01] Hey everyone this is Lynn Vartan and you are listening to the A.P.E.X Hour on KSUU Thunder 91.1. In this show you get more personal time with the guests who visit Southern Utah University from all over. Learning more about their stories and opinions beyond their presentation on stage. We will also give you some new music to listen to and hope to turn you on to some new sound and new genres. You can find us here every Thursday at 3:00 p.m. or on the Web. But for now welcome to this week's show, here on Thunder 91.1. 

Lynn Vartan [00:00:50] Well welcome everyone! It is Thursday, it's three o'clock. This is the A.P.E.X Hour A.P.E.X Hour. You're listening to KSUU Thunder 91.1. We had our kickoff for our season this week and I have been having such a great time for the last day or so talking with my guest Erika Sánchez who's in the studio live with us today. Welcome Erika. 

Erika Sánchez [00:01:13] Thank you. Happy to be here. 

[00:01:17] We've we had a great hour on stage this morning and so I'm going to try to find some different questions and get into some different topics so hopefully we're not duplicating any information. And we will be putting Erika's talk up on our website so anybody who missed it today will be able to get a chance to hear our discussion. We did an interview style hour on stage and it was just a real joy. So for those of you who are listening live, Erika is an author and a poet. You've also been a journalist and all kinds of things and we have been just really enjoying talking about your writing, talking about all different kinds of things so let's dig in. We started by talking a little bit about your background and and I'd love to just get a little bit more into that. We talked about the process of kind of becoming a writer and I'd love if you could focus a bit on some of the career things or maybe a few of the career milestones that you had that led to who you are today. 

[00:02:19] Sure yeah. I think when you choose to be a writer you choose, in a sense, a life of rejection because that's just what happens. No matter how successful you are. It takes a lot to get to that success right. There are many, many times where I was very discouraged. And so there are moments in my life that were just so significant that kept me going and made me feel like I was doing something right. And so I think one of the first ones early in my career was when I got a Fulbright to go to Spain. All right. Yeah. It was incredible. I was living in Madrid for a year. I was a teaching assistant at a junior high part time and then the rest of the time I was writing. Those kids were kind of terrible, no going to lie! 

[00:03:14] Well that's the that's kind of the thing about junior high that extra squarely at that age. 

[00:03:18] Oh my God yes. 

[00:03:22] Fulbright is a grant that you write. Yes. And the grant was written to go and spend time writing or was teaching a component of the grant? 

[00:03:30] That was one of the options and that one made sense to me because I didn't have like a full formed project in mind. 

[00:03:36] Yes I see. 

[00:03:37] So I thought it'd be good to to just try that route. And it worked out really great. I mean I had very minimal responsibilities and I was able to take a poetry class in the city every Thursday and it was one of the best experiences I've ever had. 

[00:03:56] Oh what was that like. I mean it just sounds like the most romantic thing taking a poetry class in Madrid. 

[00:04:02] It was so great it was everything that I had envisioned. And you know I met just incredible people we were such a motley group. You know everyone came from very different backgrounds I was like an older business man or like a young punk girl. And our professor was this large man who wore funny hats and he smoked cigarettes and in the class and we would go out afterwards and drink beer and it was is incredible. 

[00:04:35] Oh those sound like characters in your next story. 

[00:04:37] Oh my God yeah. We were just talk about poetry all night and it was just so wonderful. 

[00:04:44] How beautiful. So that sounds like an incredible milestone. Are there any others that come to mind?

[00:04:50] Yeah you know after grad school I had some rough patches because I didn't know what to do with my life. I had this useless degree. I was like "well what do I do now" and so I had all these jobs that I just really wasn't happy with. And at one point, I think I was twenty nine or twenty eight, I got a poetry prize, a discovery Boston Review prize, and it's for emerging writers and I feel like that kind of shifted everything for me and that also gave me a lot of encouragement because it was it was like a significant accomplishment. I got to go to New York and I read at the 90 Second Street Y. 

[00:05:41] Oh great. 

[00:05:42] So that was really exciting. And then after that I received a large fellowship from the Poetry Foundation. And that really helped because I was not doing great financially because I had left this awful job that had terrible effects on my mental health. So the money was just it was exactly what I needed. And then after that you know my books were picked up for publication. I remember the moment that I found out that the novel was accepted. We got an offer from Knopf Books for young readers and my agent sent me an email. I was at a conference in Charlotte and I got the email. You know, seeing that my book was gonna be published and I had waited my entire life for this. And I just sat there having to pretend to listen for the rest of the hour while I was just like exploding inside. 

[00:06:45] Oh yeah. 

[00:06:46] Yeah, I shouldn't have checked my e-mail at that time but I did. And I was just like what do I do. I feel like screaming. 

[00:06:53] Oh you must have been beaming. 

[00:06:55] Yeah yeah I was. It was so exciting. And so yeah those are a few. Mm hmm. Definitely. 

[00:07:01] Thank you for sharing those. I was curious, I read a little bit about your time in Norway. "Exiled writers from around the world and pickled fish for breakfast" I think it says in your bio. I'm curious about what that experience was like. It also sounds like a very sort of romantic in a way. 

[00:07:20] It was. Yeah. I mean who would have thought I'd be in Scandinavia like that. That wasn't something I really dreamt of. You know, I mean I always dreamt of traveling the world but I just never pictured Norway right. Right. And I got invited through this organization. I think it was funded through the MacArthur Grant. Oh yeah. And this organization organization in Chicago called the guild complex invited five writers from the city to go to Norway for this festival. And we had a lot of interaction with poets that were exiled living in Norway and they actually some of them went to Chicago. So there was it was like a cross-cultural exchange. And so yeah we went to a city called Stavanger and it was very beautiful. I went and saw the fjords and it was just a stunning landscape. The food however was quite terrible. I will say the pickled fish got first it was really exciting because I'm an adventurous eaters, I got there and "ooh yum fish for breakfast" right. And then by day three I was like "this is disgusting". So it was it was an adventure. And then we got to meet more exiled writers from many war-torn countries and like these people had risked their lives to write you know. And and that really changed the way that I saw writing. I'm like people are putting their lives on the line to do this, so I better like step it up, you know. 

[00:09:02] Wow. 

[00:09:02] And I was just like in awe of all these people. It was really incredible. 

[00:09:08] That's really inspiring. What an incredible moment. 

[00:09:11] It was great. It was great. 

[00:09:12] Well we're just getting started with our conversation but I thought I'd play a song we've been talking about like all kinds of cool authors and music and I know that Erika has an interest in art and music and so I picked out a few songs from some really cool feisty strong Latina singers that I love. So the first one is Rosa Lia and the song is Malamente. Let's have a listen and see what you think. 

[00:12:09] All right. Well welcome back everyone. And that song was Malamente by Rosalia. Hope you enjoyed it. I'm in the studio with Erika Sánchez and we are talking about her writing and she's been generous enough to be to offer to read a little bit. And and if you're interested in how it didn't weren't at the event earlier today her poetry book is called Lessons on Expulsion published by gray wolf in July of 2017 finalist for the PEN American Book Award. And then her young adult novel which we've also been talking about and we'll continue to talk about is "I am not your perfect Mexican Daughter" also published in 2017 and it was a New York Times bestseller and a National Book Awards finalist. So welcome back Erica. Thank you. So I would love for you to read to us. 

[00:12:58] Okay. Wonderful. I'm going to read a very Chicago poem. 

[00:13:01] Okay great. 

[00:13:02] A woman runs on the first day of spring Chicago. When I am a stranger to my own ruin Twilight reminds me to give alms to my best sins. March. The city is purging in the humility of worms, salt washing from the grasses when I breathe in. I say thank you. When I breathe out I say gone. I say garden I say guns three crows devour the dead rat. Look at all that booty. The man mutters and blows me kisses. The sky is worthless and my bulbous ass is always a dinner bell. I run farther I run with the feather inside my ear I run from a bird with a broken neck and follow the sound of thine snow. Aren't we all boundless though? The way a dream secretes the morning after. The way moths feed on the eyes of fog and to and not to. Vines that strangle trees never say they're sorry. I reach the lake with this grateful ache in my throat and if I say my body is its own crumbling country, If I say I am always my own home, then what does that make me?

[00:14:27] Thank you so much. Wow. I love hearing you read your work. Amazing. Wow.  I don't know it's just it comes to life in a way that of course because it comes from you. 

[00:14:38] Yeah I appreciate it. 

[00:14:39] Thank you so much for doing that. One of the things that I've been thinking about in my reading, I know that you mentioned how you often began writing for the little girl version of you. And I'm curious how your relationship with your writing has evolved. Is it different now than it was 10 years ago and if so how?

[00:15:03] I think it is really different. I was writing from a place of healing and I will always write from a place of healing. But I think that ten years ago I was still grappling with a lot of things that I wasn't quite fully aware of I wasn't really sure that I that I could get through. You know. And now that I'm you know 35 years old and I'm very established in many ways I'm very happy. I have a great life. There's much more joy in my work. I think I hope and so yeah I think that has shifted. I no longer feel like I have to parent that young girl within myself. Maybe at times I do but not to the extent that I had to. You know I've done a lot of work I think through therapy through my spiritual practice through writing and I'm just in a very different place where I feel very secure, I feel that I get to do exactly what I want to do. And so that is just a tremendous gift to me. 

[00:16:29] Oh I love that. Thank you. Yeah. You mentioned your spiritual life and your spiritual journey and I know that several people have already asked me about it. You mentioned your Buddhism practice and we had a great time talking about that yesterday too. I wondered if you could share a little bit on you know publicly about that. 

[00:16:50] Yeah it's something that has really transformed my life. I discovered it. Officially four and a half years ago. I had always been interested in Buddhism ever since I was in high school. But I had never really delved deeply into the philosophy. It was something that intrigued me for a long time and I had tried going to a temple like in my late 20s but it wasn't right for me. And then like the story of my life I joke is that a guy creeped me out. And so I stopped going unfortunately. So I hadn't really thought about it for a while and then a friend of mine actually who I met during that trip to Norway introduced me because I met them- they're trans so I refer to them as they. They just had this spirit that I really loved. And I was like "I want that". And I was like "we're gonna be friends". And so we became friends and they started to invite me to meetings and told me about about their spiritual practice and I just became intrigued. But I was going through a really tough depression during that time and even though there was something pulling me toward it, I was in committing to it because I was so depressed that I just could hardly even leave my apartment.  So eventually as I got better I started going to more meetings and then I officially converted. I read a text that was just really mind blowing. It was called Buddha in Your Mirror and I felt like the philosophy just explained my entire life to me. Yeah. And I was able to see things much more clearly. I had clarity in a number of ways. And I had a lot more wisdom and I started to make some changes and different choices. And so I feel like it has been really powerful in make my life better. 

[00:19:01] And what is it specifically about it you know or about the practice that is so appealing to you. 

[00:19:09] I think first it is just it makes complete sense. It focuses on the law of cause and effect which is something that can't be disputed. You have an action and then there's going to be a reaction. And so to think of your life in that way I think is very comforting because it just makes sense. And so knowing that whatever effort I put it into my life I will you know reap a benefit from. Having that sort of control over my destiny is just really powerful for me, especially as a woman. And so another part that I really loved when I first started to learn about it was there was no clergy there was there were no hierarchies. And that's something that always bothered me about Catholicism that I just like could not understand. I'm like why are these priests telling me that I have to obey my husband? You know like I didn't I couldn't grasp that. That was not okay for me. And so there was that part also the idea of everything being interconnected that makes sense to me as well especially as a poet, that's how I see the world like we're all you know a part of this tapestry. And so whatever we do affects other people and the environment and and we change ourselves and then we change our environment. And I think that is something that we should all take ownership of. If our lives are going terribly wrong like we need to examine what is happening within us and some things we have no control over like death we're all going to die right. People are gonna get sick et cetera. And that's another part like accepting that these are gonna be parts of our lives that we there will be suffering but you could find meaning in suffering and transform suffering. 

[00:21:14] I love that if anybody listening wants to kind of get involved or sort of explore it on their own would you suggest starting with just reading that book. 

[00:21:23] Yeah I think that book is a really great primer. And also I'll mention that I'm part of the Soka Gakkai International organization - SGI for short. And so if you want to learn more about that you know go ahead and Google and I'm sure you could find your local chapter. 

[00:21:40] Great. And then that book is called Buddha in Your Mirror right. Great. Thank you so much for sharing that. It sounds like it's transformed your life and probably also then therefore transferring your writing somehow. 

[00:21:52] Yeah I feel that I make connections that I. Maybe couldn't have made more. OK that I see the way things are braided together and the way things affect each other. 

[00:22:08] I love that the way things are braided together that's beautiful. Thank you. The next sort of thing that I wanted to ask you about has to do with ambition. And I find myself thinking and talking about ambition a lot and it seems to me from what I've read that you seem to be always a very ambitious person as a child as it as an adult always searching. And so I'd love for you to speak to your relationship with ambition in your life and also how that manifests itself overcoming obstacles. Like how do you choose. Okay. Ambition and get through obstacles that come up.

[00:22:48] Yeah. It's something I think about a lot. And yes I've always been ambitious or since I was little. I had great dreams and most of them have just come true. So I think ambition is something that could really cure you when you're living in difficult circumstances. For instance like I grew up pretty poor and very traditional Mexican household. You know I wasn't really expected to be defiant and I was very defiant. I was a very difficult child. I questioned everything. And so I remain that way fortunately or unfortunately I don't know. But yeah I had this dream of being a writer and seeing the world and there was no reason why I should believe that was possible. There just wasn't. There was no example of that. Everyone in my environment like all adults working in factories and the women married early, had kids really young etc, had very difficult lives and I was like I'm not doing that I won't. And I have the privilege not to because you know I'm a citizen. I speak English well et cetera. Like I had advantages that you know people before me didn't. So. You know I was pretty determined to live the life that I wanted. And for many years I struggled to to make it happen. But I just always had this idea of what I wanted. The world and in life to be in I just never stopped. And it's created. 

[00:24:41] Some conflict also because as a woman you're not supposed to be that way. Like it's not really encouraged. You know when I go after something like that I'm pretty tenacious. You know I'm just I'm going to do it no matter what. So you know as a result I've gotten many many opportunities many accolades cetera but it makes people very uncomfortable. And I mostly amused by it. You know, whatever I don't really care. But for instance dating has been very difficult as a result. Right. As is attested to your social media. Oh my God. Yeah you've read some of my stories. And so it scares men a lot. Yeah. And I guess it weeds them out like the ones that they are not equipped for it. Right. Which is I guess OK. But it's also very frustrating. Right. So yeah it's been it's been an experience. Mm hmm. To put it lightly. 

[00:25:46] Well cool. On that note I think it's time for another musical break. OK. "Golondrina" is the name of this song and the artist is Dom La Nina. Yeah. Check it out. This is the A.P.E.X Hour KSUU Thunder 91.1. 

[00:30:07] OK. Well welcome back. Thanks for listening. That was "Golondrina" by Dom La Nina and this is Lynn Vartan. You're listening to the A.P.E.X Hour, I'm joined in the studio with Erika Sánchez. Welcome back. Hi. Thank you. We were just talking about - I didn't know that golondrina means swallow and you have a swallow a tattoo on your arm and that's one of the names that your parents call you. 

[00:30:31] Yeah. Yeah. My grandmother started calling me that because I travel so much and I'll never never sit still. According to her. So she's always asking like Where's my Golondrina. You know because she never knows where I am. 

[00:30:44] Oh I love it. That's very sweet. Oh it's beautiful your tattoo is gorgeous. Thank you. I love it. So yeah that artist is Dom La Nina. Check it out it's a beautiful arrangement. I think a very simple and then the violin that kind of comes in with some interesting techniques and sounds. All right. I love to talk more about your novel. "I'm not your perfect Mexican daughter". 

[00:31:06] And one of the things is that I understand you had some very obsessive times writing it and you kind of went all in can you talk a little bit about that? 

[00:31:17] Yeah. I mean it took a total of five years and you know there were times where I I had to step away from it. There were moments where it consumed me completely. And one of those times was when I was recovering from a really terrible depression when I was thirty . And it helped me get through it. Yeah it did. At first I couldn't write for months I couldn't write and I was just so depressed about that. I feel like something a part of me had been taken away. And I was terrified. Yeah. So when I began to write again I felt like I was returning to myself. And I just was on a rampage. You know like it's all I thought about all I talked about. I was working full time and then writing in the evenings. I just I was nonstop. And I think it was really helpful to heal in many ways. And so I was like in a frenzy and then you know I gave it some time, I revised it. And you know I have some spurts here and there. Sometimes my writing is like incredibly slow sometimes. I have those moments and so it varies. 

[00:32:46] And when you kind of were in a spurt would you write like way into the wee hours of the night like?

[00:32:54] Yeah you know it was frantic. Yeah. You know my husband at the time. He was concerned he was like what is happening. Oh wow. Yeah. He thought like I was going through a manic episode or something and maybe I was. I don't know. Yeah but it felt great. 

[00:33:15] Yeah. Well we talked a little bit about Julia. The main character but one thing that we didn't get to is this issue of identity. And I've heard you quote the Walt Whitman. "I contain multitudes" and I just kind of like to get into that the multitudes of identities that we all have. And I know that sometimes people ask you if you are Julia. But I'd love to sort of get into the character study or just the reality of characters and ourselves having multitudes existing in all these different spaces. 

[00:33:52] Yeah. Yeah I mean there's so much to us. You know we're not just one thing. I'm I'm so many different things all at once and I change all the time you know. And I think that's what I was trying to reflect in Julia as well is that she is so much more than what people see. And I think that's the case for everyone. Like there we contain like so many experiences and hurts and joys are like no one will ever know right. And I think that's really beautiful. And so I wanted to create a character who is really complex and at times difficult. And people had a hard time with her. Yeah some some people I think it was mostly adults because kids love her. But yeah I myself you know I'm Mexican-American. I am the daughter of immigrants. I am Buddhist. I am a feminist. I am this I am that you know et cetera it goes on and on and on. And so I think sometimes people want to put us in these boxes. And then when we don't fit they get upset. 

[00:35:08] And I feel you know of course that's so obvious with Julia but every character in the book has that, contains those multitudes as we all do and I think you do just an amazing job of of bringing those out at different levels of obviousness. I mean you know because even the father, the mother even even the sister and the friends they all have these varying degrees of transparency to the multitudes inside them. 

[00:35:37] Yeah. Thank you for noticing. That's really important for me as a writer to be able to do that to create characters that fuel palpable you know. Not necessarily characters that you would like but characters that feel real. And I think compassion and empathy are like really critical in being a writer like you have to imagine what it's like to be other people. And if you can't do that then I don't know if you can write, because that's just such a critical part of it. 

[00:36:11] And in the book we talked this morning a little bit about the mental health aspect of it that comes out so strongly and has been such an amazing part of this book. I witnessed people talk to you afterwards and just say it's so important to talk about these issues now and I'd love to just sort of get into that just a little bit more. What kinds of responses particularly to that part of the story have you had from young adults. 

[00:36:40] Oh my God so many. It's overwhelming. I didn't expect that people would cry as often. That's something that I just couldn't have imagined. And it's very touching sometimes like emotionally it's hard because I don't know how to like handle it right. It's very beautiful. I'm very grateful that the book has done that for them. So just people told me very beautiful things after reading it. It's incredible. And then you know I received notes, messages, emails etc.. And one actually response that I will always remember it was at a high school I think it was in Texas and a young woman after my presentation asked how many lives do you think your book has saved. I was told stunned by the question and I was like "what in the world I don't even know to say". I mean I think her for her question and I was like I have no clue but thank you and I was just left wondering. Yeah. And recently a poet that I really love. They put on Twitter that was my last poem and my collection literally saved their life. Wow. And that blew me away. I didn't know what to say to that either. I just said "I'm sending you love because that means everything to me". So I'm just really fortunate to be able to do that and the fact that my work has that kind of like power in people's lives. It's like something that I could not have fathomed. 

[00:38:25] The book deals a lot with the relationship between the parents and the children and taking into account also mental health and depression and suicide awareness. What is there in this process and in your growth. Is there anything that parents can do or should do?

[00:38:44] Yeah I think it's really important for parents to be aware of what depression is. First of all, I think a lot of them don't they just think oh my teenager's been difficult and moody etc, when in fact it's a clinical problem and it's not a phase. At times it's an illness and so to become more aware of what depression is, what the signs are Not to to judge their kid's behavior too harshly because they're going through something very difficult and to be open and listen. I think that's really critical. I could never have these conversations with my parents when I was growing up. I just held everything inside because I didn't feel comfortable and so that communication is really critical and the way that I hope to raise children is going to be very different. But just like being understanding and not being afraid to talk about uncomfortable things. 

[00:39:50] Yeah and it seems like in a way art saved you through your writing and the power of art and I noticed that thread in the book. I mean the father draws and I was just curious if you think that art is an answer or could be an answer because of the kind of mirror like qualities art can show you, life can teach you things. How do you feel about that?

[00:40:19] Yeah definitely. For me art has shaped me you know in many ways in art in all forms you know music, visual art, literature etc. I think it has that power and it is one way to see the world. It offers like many different lenses and it shows you both the often the beauty and the horror of being a person. And it makes you feel less alone. Yeah that's how I feel when I when I interact with art that I'm not alone in this journey. 

[00:41:01] Mm hmm. And with everything that you've gone through. How do you deal with critics. I mean that to me as an artist, that's one of the hardest things. Not just the inner critic but the outer critics as well. Do you have any tactics? Do you have any armor that you're willing to share? 

[00:41:21] Yeah that's a great question. I think at this point in my life I'm very comfortable with who I am. I'm very happy with the person that I've become so I'm not as affected by criticism as I once was. I'm just not that fragile. And there are times where it does hurt my feelings or I feel misunderstood etc. but I have come to terms with the fact that I cannot please everyone. My story is only one story and it can't be everything to the whole world. Not everyone is going to like me. Not everyone is going to like my books and that's OK because I'm not here to please everyone here. I exist to seek the truth. Whether that makes me unlikable or not. 

[00:42:15] Oh I love that. Thank you. That's great. What a great statement. Well that's a perfect time to play another song. And speaking of strength in women Ana Tijoux is one of my favorite. I've played her before on the A.P.E.X Hour and this is a song called "Shock" KSUU Thunder 91.1.  

[00:45:59] OK. Welcome back everyone. That was "Shock" Ana Tijoux one of my favorites. You're listening to the A.P.E.X Hour KSUU Thunder 91.1. Welcome back Erika Sánchez. Hi. Thank you. We have our fun last few minutes. And I'd love to ask a couple of questions. I know you love Toni Morrison. And I'd love to ask you for you, what is it about Toni Morrison?

[00:46:28] Oh where do we begin with Toni Morrison. She was incredible continues to be incredible. I feel that she was able to write about sex and desire in a way that was just stunning. And I've never seen it done the way she does it. The way she writes is as if she were a poet but she wasn't really a poet. I mean she published maybe a handful of poems in her life but the way the prose is written is just so concise, so musical. Yeah it's just transcendent. And there is no one like her. And I am so sad that I never got to meet her. 

[00:47:19] Yeah yeah well I love hearing- I mean she's amazing but I love hearing what connects to you individually about it. Cool. Thank you. Sure. So the next thing is is I've been looking at your social media and you seem to love lipstick about as much as I love lipstick. So do you have any go to favorites right now? 

[00:47:38] Yes. Yes. Well I have a Fenty lip paint that I really like. OK. It is really long lasting and I love Rihanna. Yeah. Obsessed with her. Yeah. I will support her always. Have you tried her perfume. No is it good? Yeah. Oh OK. I tried her underwear also. Lovely. Yeah. I really like it and there is a company in Brooklyn, New York called High Wildflower and it's run by a woman of color. Her name is Dani. I forgot her last name but we follow each other on social media, haven't actually met her in real life but she's so lovely. I posted something about like what lipstick do you recommend for someone who likes to eat hamburgers and not get lipstick all over her face and she sent me two of her lipsticks and they were incredible so I've been ordering more. OK. They're a little pricey but they're made with like organic great materials and it's just it's a really nice company. 

[00:48:48] And the name is High Wildflower. 

[00:48:50] Yes.

[00:48:53] Ok I'm totally googling it. 

[00:48:55] Yeah I love it. Wonderful. 

[00:48:57] That's awesome. Everybody who knows me knows me I love. I love makeup, I love clothes, I love fashion. We've been having fun talking about that. Well I have two more of our favorite questions that we always ask and one of them is- I just think this question is so interesting and that is- if you were to meet yourself from ten years ago in a bar fight who would win that bar fight?

[00:49:24] It's tricky so tricky. I am really scrappy, little and I don't look like I could do any damage but I can. And I'm not afraid to fight. Yeah I'm a Buddhist that will fight if need be. 

[00:49:42] But ten years ago you weren't Buddhist. 

[00:49:45] I wasn't that's true. Oh that's so hard. Because was a stronger then than I am now? Am I in better shape now than I was 10 years ago? 

[00:49:57] I mean I know for me I'm a little more careful now than I was 10 years ago. 

[00:50:01] Yeah. I don't know. 

[00:50:03] I mean how I did this is probably revealing too much. But I did have an altercation a few months ago with a misogynist in the street. Oh no. In London.Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:50:22] This story gets better and better. 

[00:50:23] Yeah it was unfortunate and I warned him. I was like if you don't stop talking I'm gonna punch you in the face. And he didn't stop talking and he was just really disrespectful and I just lost it. Oh like I would like to see that I'm more careful now. But I don't know. I don't know. 

[00:50:39] So maybe a tie. 

[00:50:40] Tie. OK. 

[00:50:42] All right. And last question that we love to ask is what's turning you on this week? Now this could be and it could be a TV show it could be a book. It could be a comic. It could be your lipstick. It could be anything. So Erika Sánchez what is turning you on this week? 

[00:51:01] Well. Honestly, I really love trashy tv sometimes and it's so great. It's such an indulgence and when I travel I particularly love it because I'm an introvert and so it helps just to relax and just not think of anything. Once I get to my hotel room tonight I will be watching something awful. What did I watch yesterday. I think I was telling you about. Married at First Sight. What a train wreck. So good. And then you know the Housewives of wherever the hell you know, also fun. It's just like the pettiness. It's fascinating to me. 

[00:51:44] I love it. That's all that I'm that we have today. Thank you so much Erika for coming in and being on the radio with me. 

[00:51:53] Thank you so much. 

[00:51:54] Well you've been listening to the A.P.E.X Hour on KSUU Thunder 91.1. We'll see you next week. 

[00:52:01] Thanks so much for listening to the A.P.E.X Hour here on KSUU Thunder 91.1. Come find us again next Thursday at 3 p.m. for more conversations with the visiting guests at Southern Utah University and new music to discover for your next playlist. And in the meantime we would love to see you at our events on campus to find out more. Check out suu.edu/apex. Until next week. This is Lynn Vartan saying goodbye from the A.P.E.X Hour here on Thunder 91.1.