To Burn or Not to Burn in 2004

[a2^8]

i've been going to bm for a few years now. well last year was a so so year. i mean you know the usual struggles, odd events which were bothersome and joys. i didn't even go see the man burn, i just stayed at our camp.

i kinda want to go back to bbc cus it's my little tradition. then again i dont. maybe it's the music, the whole scene or just me. i dunno.

anyone else in the same boat?

[Icepack]

i've been going to bm for a few years now. well last year was a so so year. i mean you know the usual struggles, odd events which were bothersome and joys. i didn't even go see the man burn, i just stayed at our camp.

i kinda want to go back to bbc cus it's my little tradition. then again i dont. maybe it's the music, the whole scene or just me. i dunno.

anyone else in the same boat?

Sure, my husband went in 2000, 2002, and 2003. In 2003 I went with him for the first time and we had to leave early because he got sick. We've been planning to go back in 2004 ever since. He feels bad that I didn't get the full burning man experience. But I'm worried that he'll get sick again, or that we can't afford it, etc etc. It's a tough time to be taking vacation from work, especially since I'm starting a new job next week. I won't have quite enough vacation time so I'll have to use personal days and even then I'll be pushing the trip home to get back to work. Not exactly ideal conditions for a relaxing vacation. So we're planning, but we may bag out.

[midgetsonparade]

Personally, having been to BM for 3 years now. I could never just sit at my house the week the festival is going on knowing what crazy shit is happening 700 miles away. I would end up leaving work in the middle of the week and driving there. Even if I have to sit at the front gate and talk to people going in because I cannot afford a ticket.

[Icepack]

Personally, having been to BM for 3 years now. I could never just sit at my house the week the festival is going on knowing what crazy shit is happening 700 miles away. I would end up leaving work in the middle of the week and driving there. Even if I have to sit at the front gate and talk to people going in because I cannot afford a ticket.

Ah to live in California!!! Wouldn't quite work for me. Investing the time and money to drive across the country, I'd need to do more than sit at the gate. Holing up in Winnemucca or Gerlach for a week I could handle though. That would be okay. But seriously.. If I'm going to drive to Nevada, it better be so I can get in.

[tonka]

i say burn.


enough said.

[Dork]

i kinda want to go back to bbc cus it's my little tradition

There's yer problem. Break the monotonous tradition. Go to BRC but do something completely different from what you've done the last few years. Camp with a different group, participate heavily in a way that's different from before, do less or more preparation, eat differently, party differently.

[Icepack]

i kinda want to go back to bbc cus it's my little tradition

There's yer problem. Break the monotonous tradition. Go to BRC but do something completely different from what you've done the last few years. Camp with a different group, participate heavily in a way that's different from before, do less or more preparation, eat differently, party differently.

My husband has camped with a different group each year he has gone, and camped in a different shelter as well. different vehicle to get there, etc.

This year, if we go, will be his first year not working at the event. I hope! I think he overdid himself last year, and I want him to just go and relax. His stress level took away some of my fun last year, and I do not need that again in 2004.

[chickenfish]

Burning Man is not an easy event to attend. I costs bank. And as others have mentioned, it is at a time that is very inconvenient for many. And if you have to work to pay your rent, taking two weeks off and still paying rent can be difficult, especially when the trip will cost you and arm and a leg. I've gone for the last 5 years, and my group collectively decided last year that it was the end for us, we were all ready to move on to other things. So this year, alas, I will not be at burning man. THough I am times tempted to go and do something new and different there, I realize that BRC will never be what it once was, it is a constantly morphing city. After what I saw last year it really felt like the scales had tipped towards the frat party vibe, away from the art vibe- though I still saw some incridible shit that I could not find anywhere else. But I won't be back.
dont go
resist the temptation
you'll get there and realize you spent all you money on a frat party for the rich and famous, and that they kicked all the cool art out from last year.

[PetsUntilEaten]

Burning Man is not an easy event to attend. I costs bank. And as others have mentioned, it is at a time that is very inconvenient for many. . . . . After what I saw last year it really felt like the scales had tipped towards the frat party vibe, away from the art vibe- though I still saw some incridible shit that I could not find anywhere else. But I won't be back.

I agree & disagree.

I realized two years ago (and a little late in the game it seems now) that in deciding to attend I'd been weighing the wrong things against each other. Previously I'd been weighing all my years of attendance in on how much fun I had compared with the trouble & difficulty of going. Now I weigh how much I learn (about people, myself, anything) against the trouble - and its no contest. Perhaps when learn nothing I'll stop going.

What do you hope to get out of going to BRC again?

I think frat boy aversion (FBA) seems to be based on some bad luck encounters and some part looking for bad encounters. I had a hard time with the idea of Frat Boy types my second year - but through luck & letting go of some of my own issues/negativity - I feel like there's been a marked improvement in the last three years. Either they aren't there, they don't bother me, or I'm rarely where they are. Who knows.

[Mus musculus]

Hi, I didn't have a great time the last time, but I'm sure that was more to do with me than anyone else (see below). I have been noticing the crowd changing over the last few years (I only started going in 2000, for my honeymoon), but I think that's going to happen anyway. The same core of great people are there, it's just got to be about trying to spend time away from the fratty types or litterbug types.

My main problem is that I seem to have developed some kind of "allergy to the sun". My first year was fine, subsequent years have been worse and worse. I get HIVES. I feel shitty. I thought it was the sunscreen since I have sensitive skin, but even not wearing any (and trying a million different kinds) and just having a giant hat and scarf does not help.

Any ideas about the hives? Is there a "health question" area where I can post this very question? Sorry, this post changed topic...

Mus

[Icepack]

Hi, I didn't have a great time the last time, but I'm sure that was more to do with me than anyone else (see below). I have been noticing the crowd changing over the last few years (I only started going in 2000, for my honeymoon), but I think that's going to happen anyway. The same core of great people are there, it's just got to be about trying to spend time away from the fratty types or litterbug types.

My main problem is that I seem to have developed some kind of "allergy to the sun". My first year was fine, subsequent years have been worse and worse. I get HIVES. I feel shitty. I thought it was the sunscreen since I have sensitive skin, but even not wearing any (and trying a million different kinds) and just having a giant hat and scarf does not help.

Any ideas about the hives? Is there a "health question" area where I can post this very question? Sorry, this post changed topic...

Mus

2003 was my first burn for my honeymoon too! People thought we were nuts when we told them about our plans.

I do know people who get hives from the sun, so I'm sure there is info about it somewhere.

Sorry to add to the thread drift..,.