Prior to your first burn was it all you could think about?

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 1:04 pm

I've been, I'll say fully immersed in the whole Burning Man culture the last couple of days, and now (Being more excited than ever about my first burn BM 2010) can't think of anything else. I spent the last two days talking everyone's ear off about BM and when I go to bed, I start thinking about burning man, which inevitably leads to dreams of what I'm assuming is Burning Man, which leads to me waking up thinking about it and the loop continues. What were you like prior to your first Burn? Will this school girl giddiness subside?
-Adam.

gaminwench · Post by **gaminwench** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 1:12 pm

Nope. 9 years, still giddy.

Deb Prothero · Post by **Deb Prothero** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 1:15 pm

Adam; sorry to tell you but this giddiness will ebb and flow for the next year. Some days you may not think about it. But most days you will. A simple shopping trip will bring it to mind when you see blinkie lights or something else you can use on the playa.

Sorry kiddo, but you've been bitten by the bug and there is no cure or vaccine. And going once won't fix it either, you might be a burner for life!

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 1:21 pm

Deb Prothero wrote:

Adam; sorry to tell you but this giddiness will ebb and flow for the next year. Some days you may not think about it. But most days you will. A simple shopping trip will bring it to mind when you see blinkie lights or something else you can use on the playa.

Sorry kiddo, but you've been bitten by the bug and there is no cure or vaccine. And going once won't fix it either, you might be a burner for life!

You know, it doesn't sound too terrible. And I already know what you mean by things bringing to mind Burning Man and the Playa, it's happened too many times

Hell even songs I never used to associate with Burning Man, have worked there way onto that list

Thanks, Adam.

Post by **Sham** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 2:13 pm

Burning Man is like tofu. It will be exactly what you make of it. It may help you a lot to start shopping for things you want to bring with you. There are all sorts of resources that will help with the lists. If you're a camper already, then you probably have much of the gear already. You can do shopping in Reno for anything you don't want to drag with you. Make yourself lists of supplies and food you will be needing.

What you are experiencing is normal---or as normal as we consider.
Did you order that book yet---Burning Book?

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 2:23 pm

Shambala wrote:Burning Man is like tofu. It will be exactly what you make of it. It may help you a lot to start shopping for things you want to bring with you. There are all sorts of resources that will help with the lists. If you're a camper already, then you probably have much of the gear already. You can do shopping in Reno for anything you don't want to drag with you. Make yourself lists of supplies and food you will be needing.

What you are experiencing is normal---or as normal as we consider.
Did you order that book yet---Burning Book?

That's a good idea, maybe having some of the things I'll be taking on travel will settle me all a bit. I've studied possibly every burning man list there is, so I should be good supplies wise.
And I haven't put my order in yet because I need to transfer some of my money to my Mom's credit card account which should be in by tomorrow (Monday) and then I can put in my order! The book looks magnificent by the way, how'd you come across it?
Thanks, Adam.

dj_john69 · Post by **dj_john69** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 2:53 pm

14 years and still giddy

mars · Post by **mars** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 5:22 pm

Nope. Never wears off...in fact, the giddiness increases!

pizzamancer · Post by **pizzamancer** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 5:59 pm

You are vicariously feeling everyone else zoning in on Burning Man. The tension in the weeks prior goes way up. I am leaving Japan in 4 days, and that pretty much marks the start of Burning Man for me.

I just picked up some very cool hand made sake cups that are going to a few select buddies on the playa, and quite a few other gifts.

Putting the final touches on my costumes, practicing triage actually. With 4 days left it is hard to drop anything, but the fact is that you need to just cut some stuff and concentrate on the stuff you can finish in time.

Either way, you pretty much have Burning Man on the brain 24/7 the closer you get to the burn.

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 6:22 pm

pizzamancer wrote:Either way, you pretty much have Burning Man on the brain 24/7 the closer you get to the burn.

I already have it 24/7, and I've got a year to go

. My head will probably explode when I actually arrive at B.R.C. in 2010, if not before

.
I hope you have a good flight from Japan Pizzamancer, hopefully catch you at Burning Man 2010!!! Can't wait!

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 6:25 pm

mars wrote:Nope. Never wears off...in fact, the giddiness increases!

Man, tell me about increase, it's been two days (almost three) and my giddiness has exceeded any level of Gid I thought I could produce in a life time!

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 7:12 pm

Pace yourself.
You don't want to explode in March from over-excitment. also, you want to be careful with the whole retail therapy thing. Look at the airlines and see what an extra bag would cost you.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 7:14 pm

If you don't know how to sew, this is a good time to learn. make a costume that you think you'd like. Learn a whole bunch about sewing while doing it and then make another with what you know. Look at your old costume and know you could do better now. Do it better now. Repeat.

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 7:44 pm

theCryptofishist wrote:Pace yourself.
You don't want to explode in March from over-excitement. also, you want to be careful with the whole retail therapy thing. Look at the airlines and see what an extra bag would cost you.

In regards to the retail therapy, I meant just start shopping for the stuff I'm going to need, I don't have enough money to indulge too much

.

theCryptofishist wrote:If you don't know how to sew, this is a good time to learn. make a costume that you think you'd like. Learn a whole bunch about sewing while doing it and then make another with what you know. Look at your old costume and know you could do better now. Do it better now. Repeat.

Strangely enough, I know a bit about sewing, but I need to know more. I wish I knew what the 2010 theme is going to be, but I still have a rough idea of a basic Burning Man attire

Thanks for being so helpful Mr. Cryptofishist (My apologies if you're a girl, just assuming because you're Cryptofishist and not Cryptafishist

Post by **Sham** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 8:22 pm

Yup, she's a lady fish. As far as a costume goes, anything goes! It really doesn't have to go with any theme. This is where your craziness and creativity comes in. If you do a search from the BM home page of "people" in the photos, you will get an idea of just what you can get away with. Make yourself a "human gumball machine" or something. If you are a short person, make your costume add some height to you. Change your look into something you may have only imagined or wish you could be. Be a spaceman, add colors and lights for at night.
Also, this can be an opportunity to confront any fears you may have. Spend the day in a pink frilly dress. (well, not really, but you get the idea)
Wild lighting at night, using strings of LED lights or el wire.
Go crazy. By the way, have you given any thought to a possible playa name?

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 8:28 pm

Shambala wrote:Yup, she's a lady fish. As far as a costume goes, anything goes! It really doesn't have to go with any theme. This is where your craziness and creativity comes in. If you do a search from the BM home page of "people" in the photos, you will get an idea of just what you can get away with. Make yourself a "human gumball machine" or something. If you are a short person, make your costume add some height to you. Change your look into something you may have only imagined or wish you could be. Be a spaceman, add colors and lights for at night.
Also, this can be an opportunity to confront any fears you may have. Spend the day in a pink frilly dress. (well, not really, but you get the idea)
Wild lighting at night, using strings of LED lights or el wire.
Go crazy. By the way, have you given any thought to a possible playa name?

And you listed about ten thousand more reasons, why I can't wait to live Burning Man! Thanks for that!
As for a Playa name, I've heard everyone talking about them, but don't know (This probably sounds dumb

) how to get one hahaha. I don't have any nick names, but I really wanna have a Playa name ready and raring for BM 2010! Any help would be appreciated

.
Thanks Shambala

gaminwench · Post by **gaminwench** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 8:34 pm

I vote "grasshopper"...

Post by **AntiM** » Sun Aug 23, 2009 6:10 am

Playa names happen to you. Sometimes you get to pick one and it sticks, but be assured the playa name that finds you through accident or a stunningly embarrassing moment will last forever.

And picking a meaningful playa name nearly never happens, those come off as lame. Like our friend who wanted a version of Pyro-boy. He ended up as BoyToy.

Just use your regular name of nickname and playadipity will provide.

dragonfly Jafe · Post by **dragonfly Jafe** » Sun Aug 23, 2009 6:51 am

for some people Burningman is like the movie "the Matrix" - once you have been there, the default world is never the same again.

My first time I was invited by some friends who thought I would fit in (and wanted me to bring my big-ass army tent for camp shade). I had a pretty busy summer (a dozen or so music festivals, guest role in a local movie as a drag queen cowboy, kayaking trips, etc) so didn't do much research. Being an experienced festival-goer, backpacker/mountaineer and SAR type, I figured I had the survival part down, so I just focused on some costumes and gifts.

Boy was I wrong! The wind and dust and heat took me by surprise, as did the corrosive playa (both on metal and your skin). And the beach stuff I brought was totally useless (no kidding, for some reason I thought the city was horseshoe shaped because it was on a lake shore, with water - the Google map that year showed the winter lake). My gifts were all wrong (moopy store-bought things) and my costumes were all S&M type things, which attracted a lot of "interesting" peeps. Especially when I wandered into the rear side of Jiffy Lube without realizing it...(their animatronic sign was hidden from that side - boy I miss that sign)

It wasn't until I returned to the default world that I went berzerk with anticipation and planning for the next year (the floating world year)...and those memories still glow within me.

Then the 3rd and 4rth years I dove too deep, and nearly broke myself (mentally, physically, and financially). Be careful, Lonely Grasshopper, to remember moderation is sometimes the key to survival. The trick is knowing when to say "not now" and when to jump in with both feet....

pizzamancer · Post by **pizzamancer** » Sun Aug 23, 2009 7:59 am

I did choose my own playa name. It was something I had never told people before finding Burning Man, just an idea I had had for a while. 21 Years if making pizza for a living is enough to drive anyone crazy. I quit that just after the last burn, and haven't sold a single pizza since.

It makes it so much nicer to make pizza for my camp, knowing that I don't have to get back to the default world and rely on my most relied upon skill.

But back to your playa name. Lonely Grasshopper is not bad. A close second could be Persistent Little Shit. (I always thought you have to at least gain entrance to the Shao Lin Temple to be called Grasshopper...)

justfred · Post by **justfred** » Sun Aug 23, 2009 8:15 am

Shambala wrote:Burning Man is like tofu. It will be exactly what you make of it.

Except I have never once said to myself, "This is great! I can't even tell that it's Burning Man, it tastes like real food!" Or "If you put enough sauce on it you can hardly taste the Burning Man." Or "What the hell is this, Burning Man? I ordered Bacon, damn it!"

Apollonaris Zeus · Post by **Apollonaris Zeus** » Sun Aug 23, 2009 10:44 am

Read:

Hi I'm a cop, like my NY Dolls avatar.

Don't you find an Avatar of a regional New York city band (and one that really sucked!) being used by a so-called Aussie not suspicious!

Hopefully none of you are stupid enough to PM him!

Or you'll show up on that TV show!

AIIZ

PS- Every fucking Vice squad in America or Australia wants to bag a Pedo and this could be your lucky day even if you are NOT!

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Sun Aug 23, 2009 4:15 pm

Apollonaris Zeus wrote:Read:

Hi I'm a cop, like my NY Dolls avatar.

Don't you find an Avatar of a regional New York city band (and one that really sucked!) being used by a so-called Aussie not suspicious!

Hopefully none of you are stupid enough to PM him!

Or you'll show up on that TV show!

AIIZ

PS- Every fucking Vice squad in America or Australia wants to bag a Pedo and this could be your lucky day even if you are NOT!

For your information Officer. Dickhole, no one in Australia likes Australian music, it's shit and you have your music taste, I have mine, I guess yours is just crap. I'm NOT a cop, I'm 14 years old! If I knew YOU weren't a pedophile, I'd link you to my Myspace profile.
Go die.

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Sun Aug 23, 2009 4:22 pm

AntiM wrote:Playa names happen to you. Sometimes you get to pick one and it sticks, but be assured the playa name that finds you through accident or a stunningly embarrassing moment will last forever.

And picking a meaningful playa name nearly never happens, those come off as lame. Like our friend who wanted a version of Pyro-boy. He ended up as BoyToy.

Just use your regular name of nickname and playadipity will provide.

Hahahahahaha, 'Boy Toy', that's hilarious. Thanks AntiM, hopefully I don't get stuck with anything terrible

.
-Adam.

pizzamancer · Post by **pizzamancer** » Sun Aug 23, 2009 4:59 pm

lonelyplanetboy wrote:... I have mine, I guess yours is just crap. I'm NOT a cop, I'm 14 years old! If I knew YOU weren't a pedophile, I'd link you to my Myspace profile.
Go die.

Lonelyboy15 - Not only is your name snark bait, your topics are also snark bait. The only reason more people didn't jump your arse earlier is because your posts are actually coherent. mildly entertaining, and you don't come off as a cretin.

Don't sweat it. Eplaya is a very thin cross section of Burning Man.

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Sun Aug 23, 2009 5:12 pm

pizzamancer wrote:
lonelyplanetboy wrote:... I have mine, I guess yours is just crap. I'm NOT a cop, I'm 14 years old! If I knew YOU weren't a pedophile, I'd link you to my Myspace profile.
Go die.
Lonelyboy15 - Not only is your name snark bait, your topics are also snark bait. The only reason more people didn't jump your arse earlier is because your posts are actually coherent. mildly entertaining, and you don't come off as a cretin.

Don't sweat it. Eplaya is a very thin cross section of Burning Man.

Wait, does my name come up as lonelyboy15!? It's meant to be lonelyplantboy which is a New York Dolls/Johnny thunders song. And I genuinely didn't know my topics were, how can I avoid doing it next time, if I ever feel the need to post a new thread? But more so, does my name really appear as Lonelyboy15??
Thanks, Adam.

Post by **Sham** » Sun Aug 23, 2009 6:38 pm

lonelyplanetboy wrote:
Apollonaris Zeus wrote:Read:

Hi I'm a cop, like my NY Dolls avatar.

Don't you find an Avatar of a regional New York city band (and one that really sucked!) being used by a so-called Aussie not suspicious!

Hopefully none of you are stupid enough to PM him!

Or you'll show up on that TV show!

AIIZ

PS- Every fucking Vice squad in America or Australia wants to bag a Pedo and this could be your lucky day even if you are NOT!
For your information Officer. Dickhole, no one in Australia likes Australian music, it's shit and you have your music taste, I have mine, I guess yours is just crap. I'm NOT a cop, I'm 14 years old! If I knew YOU weren't a pedophile, I'd link you to my Myspace profile.
Go die.

It's stuff like this that can knock the wind out of the kid's sails. There are lots of young'uns at BM and all are welcome as part of the scene. He is bringing an adult with him and he is not looking to meet up with anyone here. Furthermore, he is not talking about coming until NEXT year, not this year.

lonelyplanetboy · Post by **lonelyplanetboy** » Sun Aug 23, 2009 6:56 pm

Shambala wrote: It's stuff like this that can knock the wind out of the kid's sails. There are lots of young'uns at BM and all are welcome as part of the scene. He is bringing an adult with him and he is not looking to meet up with anyone here. Furthermore, he is not talking about coming until NEXT year, not this year.

Thanks for backing me up Shambala, I appreciate it.

Dr. Pyro · Post by **Dr. Pyro** » Sun Aug 23, 2009 9:22 pm

OK, here's my take, and this is my 11th year.

I'm sick of Burning Man. Oh, not the event, all that leads up to it.
- Hosting the preparty so we can get our shit together
- Hammering over 1000 Barbies into planks (thanks Ygmir)
- Trying to organize a village of 150, it's like herding cats
- Painting the Goddamn crusifixes, planks, etc. The assholes at Home Depot call me The Pink Dude
- How much wine? How much beer? How much (you fill in the blank)
- No, I will not take up your water in my RV. Do I look like a sherpa to you?

But I do love it so. But what a hassle. Less I can think of it the other 51 weeks of the year, the better off I am. That's why I do things like running the Boston Marathon, something so un-Burning Man-like, it is almost a relief.

Oh shit, where's my swag?

See everyone I hope at the Meet and Greet for mostly ePlayans 6 p.m. on Thursday at Barbie Death Village (3:30 and DNA).

TomServo · Post by **TomServo** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 12:39 am

My first year I went against my will. It wasn't till after that I couldn't stop talking about it. Drove a lot of people nuts.