New Birgin 2012

[VultureChow]

Been lurking for a while while I try to make the final decision whether to go.

I'm actually pretty committed to going. I'm at the age/career where it's only going to get harder for me to leave for a week to do this and I've been thinking about it for years.

Some burner had a guide or post or something where their advice to attending Burning Man was to say yes to as much as you could, and if you are on the fence about it, you should probably just say yes. So I'm saying yes to Burning Man.

I will wait until I purchase a ticket and then get the plane ticket. That will be to point of no return.

My only concern was whether I was cool/pretty enough to go. It's hard to look at so many pictures and not be overwhelmed by the scores of topless women who are younger, thinner and prettier than me.

[Eric]

My only concern was whether I was cool/pretty enough to go. It's hard to look at so many pictures and not be overwhelmed by the scores of topless women who are younger, thinner and prettier than me.

Welcome to the madness VultureChow (great name, btw!)

If you make the commitment, you are definitely cool & pretty enough. The reality of the event cannot be captured in pictures or even video, and those shots you see of the "scores of topless women who are younger, thinner and prettier than me" show more the photographers interest than the actual demographic of the Burn. You'll find that quite a lot of us don't fit into the "younger, thinner, prettier" category & we have an amazing time.

Buy your ticket in January or Feb when they go on sale- if you decide not to go you can always resell it later. Having a ticket in your hand makes things gel, and it will encourage you to plan the rest- the rule of thumb is "Ticket First". Everything else comes after that.

[ygmir]

I see many women younger, thinner, and prettier than me.........and I still go.

you can do it!!!

[Savannah]

Hi Vulturechow! Get your ticket as soon as you can. Eric's right, you can always sell it.

Three vaguely related thoughts:

There are Burners of all ages. Frankly, Burners older than me give me hope of being that cool when I am X number of years. (Pleasepleaseplease.)

Maybe 1 in 20 . . . ? . . . women are topless (at some point, usually not at night, and probably not all week). It's common enough not to be remarkable, yet rare enough that you don't feel weird in the least if you refrain. I've never done it. Not my thing.

Not all of the younger ones want to take their tops off, and not all the older folks want to keep them on.

[VultureChow]

My only concern was whether I was cool/pretty enough to go. It's hard to look at so many pictures and not be overwhelmed by the scores of topless women who are younger, thinner and prettier than me.

Welcome to the madness VultureChow (great name, btw!)

If you make the commitment, you are definitely cool & pretty enough. The reality of the event cannot be captured in pictures or even video, and those shots you see of the "scores of topless women who are younger, thinner and prettier than me" show more the photographers interest than the actual demographic of the Burn. You'll find that quite a lot of us don't fit into the "younger, thinner, prettier" category & we have an amazing time.

Buy your ticket in January or Feb when they go on sale- if you decide not to go you can always resell it later. Having a ticket in your hand makes things gel, and it will encourage you to plan the rest- the rule of thumb is "Ticket First". Everything else comes after that.

Actually first for me is to reserve the time off for next year. I can submit it December 1st. That I can always cancel, but it's a popular week for vacations, and I can't leave the same time as my immediate boss. I got a little nervous at the talk of changes to the ticket purchasing structure, especially when some were floating the idea of veterans having first dibs, but the more I read,the more it seems like that would be counter to the general philosophy. So I signed up for the newsletter etc,and the day the tickets come out, I'll buy.

Vulture Chow was my trail name when I thru hiked the AT. Fell asleep atop a bald knob (It's a rock formation I swear) with my pack on and woke to find a group of people laughing as the turkey vultures circled overhead. Never thought I'd break that one out again, but it seemed appropriate.

[MOOP_Czar]

Welcome and I can honestly say that if you feel drawn to it - you should probably go. I am 43 and far from a "spring chicken" in any sense of the word.

A couple of things:
1) Nowhere is it set in stone you have to go topless. You are encouraged to walk outside your normal comfort zone, but if anybody tries to push you outside of it, to use a phrase - "They don't get it."
2) There is a fine line between "encouragement" and "pressure".
3) Leave expectations at the door. Yes there is some amazign shit out there. Yes there are some amazing people out there. Yes the Playa itself is an amazing place. It doesnt mean it HAS to be amazing to everyone in the same way.
4) I, and everyone here, will encourage you to read everything on the BM website so you are familiar with the event, especially the 10 Principles.
5) Please don't bring ANY feathers to the Playa...

especially boas...

I hate boas..

Ask anyone...

[junglesmacks]

I hate boas..

Ask anyone...

*shudder*

He speaketh the truth.


Welcome!

[MOOP_Czar]

He speaketh the truth.

I never knew you had a lisp.

I know a surgeon...

[Bin Noddin]

Welcome (and I have to add myself to the "love your name" list). You'll find many burners to be older, fatter, balder - and far more interesting - than the pretty pictures show.

[theCryptofishist]

I'm 47 and have a collection of scars that horrify the uninitiated. I try not to be naked, the skin graft sites shouldn't be sunned on. (I can't believe that the spellchecker let me get away with "sunned".) But I'd happily run around naked. It's not particularly charged, more like skinny dipping or being in a hot tub. I like the fact that nakedness isn't "nudity" in the John Berger sense there.
Loook for the pictures that are of the art or crowd scenes and you'll get a better sense of what the actual instance of nudity and stereotypical model=types is.

[VultureChow]

Welcome and I can honestly say that if you feel drawn to it - you should probably go. I am 43 and far from a "spring chicken" in any sense of the word.

A couple of things:
1) Nowhere is it set in stone you have to go topless. You are encouraged to walk outside your normal comfort zone, but if anybody tries to push you outside of it, to use a phrase - "They don't get it."
2) There is a fine line between "encouragement" and "pressure".
3) Leave expectations at the door. Yes there is some amazign shit out there. Yes there are some amazing people out there. Yes the Playa itself is an amazing place. It doesnt mean it HAS to be amazing to everyone in the same way.
4) I, and everyone here, will encourage you to read everything on the BM website so you are familiar with the event, especially the 10 Principles.
5) Please don't bring ANY feathers to the Playa...

especially boas...

I hate boas..

Ask anyone...

Thanks for the advice. I'm not really a feather boa type person anyway. It's funny... I was thinking of going the opposite, at least during the day. I was raised a reform Jew, but what I've always wanted to explore was the more visible and orthodox trappings that I never had the opportunity to experience. Tallit, tefillin, blowing the shofar. Saying prayers at the sunrise, etc.

By day religious, by night hedonistic. Is that too weird for burning man?

I wasn't so worried about being pressured to bare the twins, but rather feeling like a lump next to all the eye candy. Thanks for the encouragement everyone.

[Elliot]

Yes, yes, yes....!

Yes, that was probably me. I need to learn to say YES when opportunity knocks. Specially a cute female opportunity. I'm still practicing in the mirror. On Da Bar 3 thread.

Welcome to Eplaya!

[MOOP_Czar]

PS - I really appreciate that you are using General Woundwort as your avatar...

[theCryptofishist]

By day religious, by night hedonistic. Is that too weird for burning man?

Hm. As compared to what? The Billion Bunny March? Critical Dicks? Giant Praying Manti? The Contraption? A camp built around the Hokey Pokey? The giant Operation game? The giant Mousetrap game?

If there is any place to go to try and find a balance/connection with those two things, Burningman is one. More preparation to have fun; less Angst.

(and usually, I'm on the side of Angst.)

[Elderberry]

Hey there, welcome to eplaya!

[Drawingablank]

Welcome,

The photogs generally take pics of photogenidc young folk, so don't let that deter you.

The playa is about inner beauty - I'm about as ugly, old, fat, and have as tragic a sense of fashion as is humanly possible - yet I fit in (as does everyone).

As far as by day religious, by night hedonistic - that is the kind of dichotomy that makes it all fun.

I nver have witnessed anyone pressuring to bare the twins - or anything else.

[deutlich]

There are Burners of all ages. Frankly, Burners older than me give me hope of being that cool when I am X number of years. (Pleasepleaseplease.)

Right?!

Edit: And - duh - WELCOME TO EPLAYA, VultureChow! Sorry I got a lil' trigger happy before welcoming you properly.

[deutlich]

I swear this is the last time I hit quote instead of edit. I swear!

[theCryptofishist]

You can always backspace and hit edit. No biggie.

[Kontradiction]

Welcome.

[Nipple]

I would expect everything and nothing.

It's a giant orgiastic art festival where everything is taken to absurd extremes. I had fun just biking around saying aloud the things I was seeing. The absurd becomes normal.

"Naked guy with 2 blue umbrellas...check. Viking on a tall bicycle with a penis on his handlebars...delightful! Rattleclank fire spewing clockwork octopus... why wouldn't it be? Spinning fur tube. Yes. Giant neon chicken. Of course!"

Everything is out of place, and everything fits right in. That includes you.

[theCryptofishist]

Everything is out of place, and everything fits right in. That includes you.

I like that.

[wh..sh]

My only concern was whether I was cool/pretty enough to go. It's hard to look at so many pictures and not be overwhelmed by the scores of topless women who are younger, thinner and prettier than me.

I will give you a little bit of "just lost my virginity" advice. Burning man is literally the coolest place and you will meet so many awesome people... not because they look perfect, but because they have amazing attitude. So the only thing you need to wear at burning man is your attitude. Just be yourself and enjoy that freedom to not live up to anyone else's expectations.

So, I think you need to definitely go to Burning man. And when you do, please go to the temple. Walk around and you will see how many people are there struggling to love themselves as they are.
Make a promise to love yourself as you are and let it the insecurities Burn!

[illy dilly]

Welcome to eplaya!
I was going to say

The reality of the event cannot be captured in pictures or even video, and those shots you see of the "scores of topless women who are younger, thinner and prettier than me" show more the photographers interest than the actual demographic of the Burn

Then something like

Welcome and I can honestly say that if you feel drawn to it - you should probably go.

Welcome (and I have to add myself to the "love your name" list). You'll find many burners to be older, fatter, balder - and far more interesting - than the pretty pictures show.

Do say YES to everything! Unless it makes you uncomfortable. Even though YES is a big part of the burn, it is still ok to say NO. Do not let the "just say Yes" philosophy push you into something you don't want to do!

[Ninzy]

Welcome and yeah you should definitely get a ticket! You can always gift it (in true Burner style) or sell it if you change ur mind!

My first year and believe me I was hung up on the same shit until I got out there - you know what wh..sh is right! There is nothing more stunning than your inner beauty and its what people will notice about you out there - bring a smile and a positive attitude and people will see you for the amazing beautiful person you are!

Remember wear the crown of self respect and you will always be a Queen!

[Dr. Pyro]

Of course Ninzy, you're a Barbiebarian and life's always better when you're one of us.

[Ninzy]

Indeed it is Doc

[remi]

Welcome.. definitley check out the BM First Timers Guide on the website... other then that, your already asking questions at the right place. Listen to the advise of the experienced burners and you shall have a glorious time.