Travel · wandering · unplanned on purpose
a postcard wall, kept in public
Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.”
A note before we begin
I buy a return ticket.
The rest, I make up.
At my desk I am diligent, organized, on time. I keep calendars. I make plans. I track the things that need tracking.
On the road I become someone else entirely. I land in a city with a return ticket, a rough idea, and an empty afternoon, and I let the place tell me what comes next. The market that's open today. The bus that's leaving in ten minutes. The stranger who says "you should go up that hill instead" — and I do.
What follows isn't a guide.
It's postcards — the kind you mean to send,
and end up keeping for yourself.
Just back from
the most recent postcard.
MAZATLÁN · CARNAVAL · FEB 15 2026
humor, set on fire.
Burning the bad mood: the ritual that opens Mazatlán Carnival.
Before the queens are crowned. Before the parades roll down the Malécon. Before the Naval Battle fireworks light up the Pacific. There is fire.
Every year, the Quema del Mal Humor — the Burning of Bad Humor — officially opens the Carnaval Internacional de Mazatlán. A monigote is built to represent whatever weighed on the public mood: a public figure, a political tension, sometimes something as abstract as inflation. At sunset, fireworks open above the bay and the figure goes up in flame. We burn what burdens us. We step forward lighter. It is not about attack. It is about catharsis.
Read the full postcard →
Just back from
the most recent postcard.
MAZATLÁN · CARNAVAL · FEB 15 2026
humor, set on fire.
Burning the bad mood: the ritual that opens Mazatlán Carnival.
Before the queens are crowned. Before the parades roll down the Malécon. Before the Naval Battle fireworks light up the Pacific. There is fire.
Every year, the Quema del Mal Humor — the Burning of Bad Humor — officially opens the Carnaval Internacional de Mazatlán. A monigote is built to represent whatever weighed on the public mood: a public figure, a political tension, sometimes something as abstract as inflation. At sunset, fireworks open above the bay and the figure goes up in flame. We burn what burdens us. We step forward lighter. It is not about attack. It is about catharsis.
Read the full postcard →Streets · Tables · Slow mornings
Other postcards from the drawer.
· in the drawer ·
Returning to Seattle
the home that became a place I visit
— soon
№ 01· in the drawer ·
Two Mornings, One Person
the kitchen ritual, in Mexico and in Seattle
— soon
№ 02· in the drawer ·
The Airport, Honestly
Mexico City vs. SeaTac, and which one has a soul
— soon
№ 03· in the drawer ·
A Meal, Told as Itself
what was ordered, who sat down, what the room sounded like
— soon
№ 04· in the drawer ·
Packing as Philosophy
three things in, three I’ve stopped bringing
— soon
№ 05· in the drawer ·
The Place I Didn’t Love
a more honest postcard than another rave
— soon
№ 06
THE DISPATCH · ONCE A MONTH · NEVER TWICE
A letter, a postcard, a recipe, a small argument with myself.