What would an average day at burning be?
What would an average day at burning be?
As I am growing more and more in understanding the nature of the event I realize I know less and less about it. My original immature idea of it was that of a large rock concert style party, which from what I have watched and read couldn't be farther from the truth. So my wondering now would what would a first timers day be like? Do you mostly mozy around and look at the art? Or do you often spend time in one place? Is the heat to intense at mid day to do anything? Also, whats it like the day after the man burns but the temple has yet to burn?
Well, I believe you will get as many answers as there are people who go to B Man... This was my second year... On a typical day, I ride around the playa on my bike in the early morning to interact with the art. As it gets warmer, it's back to camp for breakfast, to give a workshop, and/or greet and visit with the passersby inviting them in to our art project. In the middle of the day, I hang out in the shade (I respond quite badly to heat 
and visit with visitors. Then it's dinner with campmates and back out to the playa or around the city. It's the interaction, more than the seeing stuff, that I like best. I'm not much of a partier or a drinker, really.
My first year was pretty much the same, except we didn't have our own theme camp.
and visit with visitors. Then it's dinner with campmates and back out to the playa or around the city. It's the interaction, more than the seeing stuff, that I like best. I'm not much of a partier or a drinker, really.My first year was pretty much the same, except we didn't have our own theme camp.
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headquarters
- Posts: 159
- Joined: Mon Sep 08, 2003 4:04 pm
- Location: SEATTLE
on my first day in 2002 i wandered around mostly that day. this guy who came with us, it was his first burn also. It was monday morning we just unpacked the truck. he took all of his clothes off and grabbed a water bottle and ran to the top of the mountains to the east of the playa, he took pictures as well.
http://images.burningman.com/index.cgi? ... d=&q_year=
point being, there is no way to say what the average person would do on their first day
http://images.burningman.com/index.cgi? ... d=&q_year=
point being, there is no way to say what the average person would do on their first day
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diane o'thirst
- Posts: 2092
- Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2003 5:04 pm
- Location: Eugene, OR
- Contact:
I guess it would depend on what your particular camping situation, level of physical fitness and mission would be. Here's mine, roughly:
Wake up, whenever. Take an hour to turn human and become functional.
Constitutional, vis-a-vis spit bath, lotion up, dress.
Set solar collectors and showerbag out to charge up.
First breakfast, usually something like a cuppa chai and a health bar followed by the morning vites.
Cruise around camp, do maintenance, event prep and tweaking as required.
If the weather's fine, pack a voyage bag and go a-prowlin'. If it isn't, shelter up and siesta.
Second breakfast, probably a smoothie and some fruit 'n crackers.
Hide in the shade during the hot part of the day.
Afternoon snack, probably chips, nuts, juice, vites.
Heat breaks, start thinking about dinner.
Dinner.
Trick out and light up the bike, get my glad rags on, hit the City! Go go go until I can't go no more and/or run out of water, whichever comes first. If I run out of water but I'm still good to go, quick trip back to camp to retank and drop off MOOP, back out. If I run out of water AND I'm wiped, home I go and home I stay. Maybe chat with the neighbours until I hit my wall, then crash.
That's the standard day. If there's an event I'm attending and/or I find out where my friends are camped, all bets are off.
Wake up, whenever. Take an hour to turn human and become functional.
Constitutional, vis-a-vis spit bath, lotion up, dress.
Set solar collectors and showerbag out to charge up.
First breakfast, usually something like a cuppa chai and a health bar followed by the morning vites.
Cruise around camp, do maintenance, event prep and tweaking as required.
If the weather's fine, pack a voyage bag and go a-prowlin'. If it isn't, shelter up and siesta.
Second breakfast, probably a smoothie and some fruit 'n crackers.
Hide in the shade during the hot part of the day.
Afternoon snack, probably chips, nuts, juice, vites.
Heat breaks, start thinking about dinner.
Dinner.
Trick out and light up the bike, get my glad rags on, hit the City! Go go go until I can't go no more and/or run out of water, whichever comes first. If I run out of water but I'm still good to go, quick trip back to camp to retank and drop off MOOP, back out. If I run out of water AND I'm wiped, home I go and home I stay. Maybe chat with the neighbours until I hit my wall, then crash.
That's the standard day. If there's an event I'm attending and/or I find out where my friends are camped, all bets are off.
[url=http://tinyurl.com/245sagf][img]http://tinyurl.com/2bbr28j/.gif[/img][/url][url=http://tinyurl.com/23753ws][img]http://tinyurl.com/2auqebj/.gif[/img][/url][url=http://tinyurl.com/m4y82q][img]http://tinyurl.com/l56rdn/.gif[/img][/url]
Well, it was my first year and..., er, uhm, could you define "average"...?
I spent a look of time wandering around, lounging at Center Camp, and wishing I weren't sick since I tended to run out of energy way too easy/early! Oh, and working on a list of things to do differently (not that the list would necessarily help anyone who isn't me [or help me, since I am not certain since the list hasn't resurfaced in my gradual unpacking!])
Plus, I think a lot of what a person's day would be like would depend upon the person-- some people would gravitate towards certain activities at BM, while others would spend there time elsewhere. The best advice I can give is: Show up and see what happens!
(It might not seem that helpful, but it is the most accurate I can give.)
B.
I spent a look of time wandering around, lounging at Center Camp, and wishing I weren't sick since I tended to run out of energy way too easy/early! Oh, and working on a list of things to do differently (not that the list would necessarily help anyone who isn't me [or help me, since I am not certain since the list hasn't resurfaced in my gradual unpacking!])
Plus, I think a lot of what a person's day would be like would depend upon the person-- some people would gravitate towards certain activities at BM, while others would spend there time elsewhere. The best advice I can give is: Show up and see what happens!
(It might not seem that helpful, but it is the most accurate I can give.)
B.
"Nothing is withheld from us which we have conceived to do.
Do things that have never been done."
--Russell Kirsch
Do things that have never been done."
--Russell Kirsch
my first day
My first time was this year, and my first day went something like this:
1.Set up tents, etc. (luckily we had a LOT of help from our neighbors for this).
2.Then we set out to find the nearest and cleanest porta potties, and while doing this we ran into so many crazy little camps and projects... it took us all afternoon before we get to the actual porta-potties.
3.Rode back to camp (see more crazy stuff on the way) and stopped and got ice as well.
4.Cooked dinner and met and hung out with some more of our neighbors.
5.Then we filled up the camelbacks, put on some sweaters, lit up our bikes and went out and had a crazy time on the town. Bars, Parties, Bands, Dj's, Dancing, Big-ass art projects, and met SO MANY random friends.
6.Ended up back at the tent (somehow) without getting lost, and passed the F out at about 5am.
1.Set up tents, etc. (luckily we had a LOT of help from our neighbors for this).
2.Then we set out to find the nearest and cleanest porta potties, and while doing this we ran into so many crazy little camps and projects... it took us all afternoon before we get to the actual porta-potties.
3.Rode back to camp (see more crazy stuff on the way) and stopped and got ice as well.
4.Cooked dinner and met and hung out with some more of our neighbors.
5.Then we filled up the camelbacks, put on some sweaters, lit up our bikes and went out and had a crazy time on the town. Bars, Parties, Bands, Dj's, Dancing, Big-ass art projects, and met SO MANY random friends.
6.Ended up back at the tent (somehow) without getting lost, and passed the F out at about 5am.
hotness
I also didn't find it too bad at all in the "heat" of the afternoon. It's really dry heat, and its super windy, so when it was probably 100', it only felt like 85 to me. I'm from Oklahoma where the humidity gets REALLY bad in the summer. So it was a breeze for me. Just make sure you always have water, it was easier to get dehydrated for me as well, since I didn't feel overheated.
In four years of going, I have ALWAYS awakened at sunrise or shortly after and then charged around all day, gone to sleep, slept soundly, rinse, repeat. It's just impossible for me to NOT tire myself out completely, given all the bike and foot travel and other physical and mental excercise. It might just be the only guaranteed week of good night's sleep that I get all year! The one exception was one night, last year....I couldn't sleep because of a headful of art projects, and went for a ride out to The Man only to find DPW knocking down the funhouse- I got to demolish stuff, and left with a big hunk of green shadecloth!
Howdy From Kalamazoo
Arrive at Will Call as close to Monday midnight as possible.
Strap on tool belt, stuff tool belt with the “good” ice cold beer.
On way to Will Call, drink beer
Get Tickets, gift beer.
Walk along truck to gate, drink beer.
Get inspected at gate, gift beer.
Walk along truck to greeters, drink beer.
Tell greeters we are all virgins, laugh allot, gift beer.
Get on Bike with a beer to ride ahead of the truck and find our spot.
Park the rig, everyone takes a shot of Whiskey, then have a beer, if neighbors are awake, share.
Configure camp so that we can get to bed when needed, Make Espresso since we pretty drunk right now.
When drunk and wired, fill hydration packs, jump on bikes and ride until we run out of steam.
Sleep.
The following day is a stay-in-camp work day, get the shade done, set up camp and such, meet the neighbors, grill something, then deal with the elevation sickness, and feel generally lousy. I hate that first day; getting old I suppose.
After the first day, it is different every year.
2001 – Ride the bike and hit every camp on the esplanade.
2002 – Working Man – I was in a theme camp and stayed put forever working hard.
2003 – Lounge during day, spin fire like crazy at night, everywhere.
2004 – Got married, didn’t go. Instead got a bunch of burners to invade the Pelican Inn and Slide Ranch in the North Bay Area.
2005 – Stayed at camp and allowed Burning Man to come to me.
2006 – Broke an art car, fixed an art car, ran a bar in the boondocks, grilled stakes all week long just to piss of the vegetarian hippy scum sage burning fucks.
2007 – Who knows? Probably burn as much fuel and sutty diesel as I can cuz I hate the tree hugging drainbow green man clusterfuck theme.
Strap on tool belt, stuff tool belt with the “good” ice cold beer.
On way to Will Call, drink beer
Get Tickets, gift beer.
Walk along truck to gate, drink beer.
Get inspected at gate, gift beer.
Walk along truck to greeters, drink beer.
Tell greeters we are all virgins, laugh allot, gift beer.
Get on Bike with a beer to ride ahead of the truck and find our spot.
Park the rig, everyone takes a shot of Whiskey, then have a beer, if neighbors are awake, share.
Configure camp so that we can get to bed when needed, Make Espresso since we pretty drunk right now.
When drunk and wired, fill hydration packs, jump on bikes and ride until we run out of steam.
Sleep.
The following day is a stay-in-camp work day, get the shade done, set up camp and such, meet the neighbors, grill something, then deal with the elevation sickness, and feel generally lousy. I hate that first day; getting old I suppose.
After the first day, it is different every year.
2001 – Ride the bike and hit every camp on the esplanade.
2002 – Working Man – I was in a theme camp and stayed put forever working hard.
2003 – Lounge during day, spin fire like crazy at night, everywhere.
2004 – Got married, didn’t go. Instead got a bunch of burners to invade the Pelican Inn and Slide Ranch in the North Bay Area.
2005 – Stayed at camp and allowed Burning Man to come to me.
2006 – Broke an art car, fixed an art car, ran a bar in the boondocks, grilled stakes all week long just to piss of the vegetarian hippy scum sage burning fucks.
2007 – Who knows? Probably burn as much fuel and sutty diesel as I can cuz I hate the tree hugging drainbow green man clusterfuck theme.