Joanne Nania

As a colleague of Erik's, I can say that working with him has been a singular experience. I always count myself fortunate to be able to work with eccentric characters, because I rarely get the chance to engage with such people in my personal (and admittedly homogenous) life.

Erik has been a good source for entertaining stories. I have been very popular at parties lately, as I can usually regale my friends with details of Erik and his antics. His website is always a good begininning. You know, the website where Erik posts pictures of all of his things, as well as his travel schedule and driving directions to his apartment? Apparently, those of us in the office were the only ones who found that just a little nutty. Erik sees the joke in it, while the rest of us just shake our head. See, he is nowhere near as cynical as the rest of us. We find that refreshing!

The only disappointment that I have experienced in my working relationship with Erik, to-date, has been his rather uninspired attempts to add to the office magnet collection. In this effort, other colleagues have far surpassed his meager contributions. It's surprising, too, since he is so imaginative in his other pursuits. It's obvious that when he is not sufficiently challenged by the request, the results reflect it. That's something we all need to keep in mind.