What I learned at Burning Man was:

[Sandstorm]

- setting up and breaking down said camp in a radically self reliant way is a lonely experience. i'm really great at doing it all for and by myself, but i think i don't want that anymore

Amen. Although I may taking/projecting different meaning from your above quoted words let me say this: on multiple occasions at this year's burn I thought about how much I want to share a burn with a partner. I have not done so since '08 and that burn taught me the risks of bringing a default world relationship to the playa. That said, I'm once again ready to experience the beauty of BRC, the playa and the community with a partner.

Now, on to "What I learned at BM was":

- The playa will in fact return in kind the hard work and compassion you put into making your burn a reality.

- The ticket lotto fiasco did in fact have a negative impact on the number of art projects, art cars and and veteran burners that were present on the playa this year.

- When a pretty girl is nice to me and talks to me openly about her life while we're riding an art car it boosts my ego, gives me a boner and makes me temporarily forget the damage my ex did to me after she melted down on me. Thank you, playa!

- The limits of how much time and energy I can give to a theme camp and/or to volunteer shifts.

- That for me my own tears are the most powerful drug available on the playa.

- No matter how much great food your camp is providing you with don't wait until the ride out of BRC to crack open your jar of bread and butter pickles!

- That it's okay to let personal playa traditions go unrealized if it means getting the sleep and/or rest you need so that you don't collapse and/or you are ready to leave BRC when your rideshare needs to get off the playa.

[TomServo]

- Canopy legs with locking bolts to the rebar require no guy lines...much easier than t posts

http://formandreform.com/wpstore/

[Lonesomebri]

Never tell the beautiful woman who just gave you a nice used shirt that used to belong to someone special in her life, which she's brought out to the temple burn, that you will be right back, after you go burn up some pieces of your former life. Never walk away.

Love is possible on the playa. Watching it flitter away is even more certain.

[clocksnmirrors]

- That it's okay to let personal playa traditions go unrealized if it means getting the sleep and/or rest you need so that you don't collapse

sage words. listening to your body is key

[ambird]

I learned that I actually CAN let down my guard and have real, serious, meaningful conversations with people. It took a lot of courage to be "real", and it was so worth the effort. I'm usually afraid that people will think I'm a downer, or I don't speak up because I don't have my words perfectly planned out and I might sound dumb. This year Burning Man really helped me see that people will listen to me and vaule what I have to say, and they might even like me as I am! I didn't make any friends for life out there, but I made an effort to connect with people and I learned so much from those short interactions. I'm going to work on practicing this all year long.

On a less serious note, my preparation lessons from last year and this year are as follows:
-Food: V8 Fruit Juices are extremely refreshing, easy to consume, and contain a ton of nutrients, Cliff Bars are a must, Bloody Marys are a great start to the day, and I should give up bringing a bunch of stuff that might go bad during the week because I hardly eat ANYTHING out there.
-Shelter: We got some 2 foot long, thick, pointed metal stakes from the hardware store to tie down our carport, and they were SO much easier to pound into the ground than rebar. Also, the Costco Carport worked fine for our first two years, but it could use some improvement to make it shadier in there (we may use the frame with different tarps next year).
-Clothing: Clothes had to be comfortable and versatile or they weren't worn, just like in my daily life. My daytime uniform was a tank top, short shorts under a short skirt, knee high socks, my amazing boots, a scarf and a headband. At night I put leggings on under the skirt and grabbed a jacket.
-Extras: Our decorated Camelbaks got a ton of compliments! For mine I traced the shape of the Camelbak, cut two out of a fabric I liked, then sewed them together, leaving holes for the straps, and a hole at the top with a snap so I could refill it. My husband's Camelbak has pockets that he likes to access, so his cover was a panel attached with snaps. He just undid the bottom snaps and flipped the panel out of the way if he needed something from the pockets. These were ideas I got by lurking here on eplaya, along with a million other very helpful tips. Oh, and if you are a person who wears short skirts, dresses, or shorts, make a bike seat cover! A black bike seat sitting in the sun for even a short time causes extreme discomfort on bare skin.

[clocksnmirrors]

love v8

i learned that individual serving sizes of juice are much better than half gallon bottles... wasted too much...

[9ah]

pack a tube of chapstick for every day of the week.

If you go to sleep in your tent at sunrise you will still wake up at 9am and feel refreshed.

[ohCarie]

It takes my body a few days to acclimate to the weather. I get the WORST chapped lips the first 3 days, then POOF they're fine. Same with my bladder, I pee normally after a few days and am less thirsty.

I am STARVING out there. I think it's all the exercise I'm not used to getting.

It's better to bring more of a few awesome items, like lots of ice cream pops, rather than a variety of treats. It makes me feel like I can be more generous with it. I can get variety everywhere else out there, lord knows. Keeps it simple too.

Go for walks around the neighborhood rather than sit around camp. SOOOOO fun. Really, I can't stress this one enough.

[tattoogoddess]

Go for walks around the neighborhood rather than sit around camp. SOOOOO fun. Really, I can't stress this one enough.

I did this one day last year with bigdane. Bdc to the man then to 2 and f then f all the way to camp. Not once did anyone pull us aside and invite us for fun... Kinda was sad. Can't say if any camps tried to pull me off the street and I would feel weird just walking into a camp uninvited. Maybe I burned wrong?

[lemur]

YER DOIN IT WRONG

[Roberto Dobbisano]

I did this one day last year with bigdane. Bdc to the man then to 2 and f then f all the way to camp. Not once did anyone pull us aside and invite us for fun... Kinda was sad. Can't say if any camps tried to pull me off the street and I would feel weird just walking into a camp uninvited. Maybe I burned wrong?

[Asquared]

If there is shade stand in it.
If you fall in love say somthing.
There is no better joy than the joy on your new frends face.
Eat random pills off the floor of Simon of the Playa's Tipi, you only live once.

all of these made me smile. knowmad, you have a way of doing that!

[knowmad]

[Savannah]

Go for walks around the neighborhood rather than sit around camp. SOOOOO fun. Really, I can't stress this one enough.

I did this one day last year with bigdane. Bdc to the man then to 2 and f then f all the way to camp. Not once did anyone pull us aside and invite us for fun... Kinda was sad. Can't say if any camps tried to pull me off the street and I would feel weird just walking into a camp uninvited. Maybe I burned wrong?

I would encourage you to meet people halfway, and more. At minimum, smile and wave sometimes while you're walking or biking. (That's just fun.) If that makes you nervous, wear sunglasses; there's a good chance you need them on anyway. Look for indicators of Welcome--signs posted, games in progress, and bars with people standing at them. Approach & either catch someone's eye, lean on a counter or sit down on an empty seat. Camps do not necessarily have barkers yelling "step right up!" . . . or they may need all hands on deck for whatever they're doing.

I'm guessing that 70% of my positive experiences out there required me to take the first step--walk into the bar, approach the art car, approach the camp. I'm very fond of those folks who did descend upon me like bandits and invite me to do something fun, but they were special, and not the majority.

[ygmir]

Go for walks around the neighborhood rather than sit around camp. SOOOOO fun. Really, I can't stress this one enough.

I did this one day last year with bigdane. Bdc to the man then to 2 and f then f all the way to camp. Not once did anyone pull us aside and invite us for fun... Kinda was sad. Can't say if any camps tried to pull me off the street and I would feel weird just walking into a camp uninvited. Maybe I burned wrong?

I would encourage you to meet people halfway, and more. At minimum, smile and wave sometimes while you're walking or biking. (That's just fun.) If that makes you nervous, wear sunglasses; there's a good chance you need them on anyway. Look for indicators of Welcome--signs posted, games in progress, and bars with people standing at them. Approach & either catch someone's eye, lean on a counter or sit down on an empty seat. Camps do not necessarily have barkers yelling "step right up!" . . . or they may need all hands on deck for whatever they're doing.

I'm guessing that 70% of my positive experiences out there required me to take the first step--walk into the bar, approach the art car, approach the camp. I'm very fond of those folks who did descend upon me like bandits and invite me to do something fun, but they were special, and not the majority.

[TomServo]

but they were special, and not the majority

Truth in that! But some, are true assholes in person. A few of them here!

[Simon of the Playa]

"here, try this"

[Savannah]

but they were special, and not the majority

Truth in that! But some, are true assholes in person. A few of them here!

Whether or not there are asshats on the playa was not really what I was talking about . . . (of course there are). Just that to walk or ride for half a mile or more without receiving an invitation does not mean people were being rude, but that one might need to experiment with different techniques of interacting.

No one can tell you're awesome or interested or looking to participate in something unless you put yourself out there.

[junglesmacks]

Go for walks around the neighborhood rather than sit around camp. SOOOOO fun. Really, I can't stress this one enough.

I did this one day last year with bigdane. Bdc to the man then to 2 and f then f all the way to camp. Not once did anyone pull us aside and invite us for fun... Kinda was sad. Can't say if any camps tried to pull me off the street and I would feel weird just walking into a camp uninvited. Maybe I burned wrong?

Wait.. you did this.. one day?

[ygmir]

but they were special, and not the majority

Truth in that! But some, are true assholes in person. A few of them here!

Whether or not there are asshats on the playa was not really what I was talking about . . . (of course there are). Just that to walk or ride for half a mile or more without receiving an invitation does not mean people were being rude, but that one might need to experiment with different techniques of interacting.

No one can tell you're awesome or interested or looking to participate in something unless you put yourself out there.

we gonna have to start calling Savannah, "Yoda".

[junglesmacks]

As if I couldn't be more strangely aroused.

[Savannah]

I do hear tell of a green Fleshlight.

Don't google that at work.

[knowmad]

"here, try this"

worked for me.

[Lowz]

If you don't chase the unicorn, the unicorn will chase you.

[theCryptofishist]

How to short sheet a campmate's bed.

[teardropper]

Many, many things...

But a couple things I've brought back - I can hug. I give hugs.

And I dance. Well, I still can't, but I do it anyway.