Not a "Vet" or a "Virgin" but a.....???

[Rice]

When I am asked how many burns I have attended - I reply "More than one. I am still learning..."

I guess it all depends on what one considers "a Burner" actually is. I volunteer, have done so since my 2nd burn. Never felt like I belonged in BRC until I did start volunteering. I am not saying that is the correct way to burn, but my way. Everything I do in BRC is part of my burn experience. I am comfortable camping, always have been. I tend to prepare excessively and always have a plan B. - That does not make me a any better than anyone else!!

Is it the type of camp you have? What you build? What you share? Your attitude? or some combination there of???

We all have different reasons for going. I know for myself, the thing that made Burning Man my Must Attend draw is nothing at all similar to why I go now.

I am not a Vet, I am just someone who has already gone and will go again - as long as I am able...

[maladroit]

Distribute the steak done-ness levels over a few years.

Hasn't been == Raw
One year == Blue Rare
Two years == Rare
Three years == Medium Rare
Four years == Medium
Five years == Medium Well
Six years == Well
Seven+ years == Burned

[kiboy]

I like it medium rare.

[^Rhino!]

rice pretty much hit the nail dead on the head:

"Never felt like I belonged in BRC until I did start volunteering."

There's a crossover there, too. The so-called PnP camps....what do they volunteer? Money? I thought that we were decommodified. But that's a question for another thread.

So, how the fuck do you volunteer, and IN A MEANINGFUL WAY?

I bought into voluntarism at regionals, and always got out of the voluntary participation 10 times what I put into it.

First year at Interfuse, I volunteered as a ranger, just getting out and meeting a lot of participants, finding out what it was all about, and I liked what I saw. My years of camping experience in a wide variety of settings put me in good stead. I aided people with tentage problems, little 'ouchies', and pulled a tick or two. I was a regional 'green dot' before our regional had 'green dots'. Then I got into other things...prepping 10 dozen enchiladas for the mass potluck on Friday night, arranging them to get them baked, and putting them out on the table at the potluck. They were GONE in 7 minutes flat. To hear the positive constructive criticism made me do it again the following year with 20 dozen, which were GONE in half an hour. I brought hot sauces, made bacon-bourbon jam (a HUGE hit) and when it was time for me to grab a bite at midnight when the kitchen was closed, the manager of the commissary made sure I got something to eat. And it dawned on me....Burningman is about DOING. It doesn't matter if you get anything back, the satisfaction you get from DOING is HUGE.

1st year at Burningman, I helped an artist raise a major art project. The reaction from the people who saw and commented on that work touched my very soul. The artist to this day is still a friend of mine.

I've written for the Black Rock Beacon, given lectures at Earth Guardians, and helped people wherever I could.
Every time, I get out of it more than I put into it.

And I'll continue volunteering. Because to me, that's what a Burner does.

[Rice]

I guess one could say that I am staying at a PNP camp this last burn. I did pre-burn, was on-playa 1.5 weeks before the gates opened - doing Perimeter and Western Portal shifts. I worked 1.5-3 shifts per day, every day I was on-playa for 2 weeks straight. I camped in the Black Hole compound and stayed in my GF's box (a cargo container that had been converted into 2 rooms, with A/C and a light switch). I ate at the Commissary off-shift and usually in my Perimeter vehicle while I was volunteering. I would not have been able to work the quantity and types of shifts without staying where I was. I had flown down to the US, only had a carry-on and one hockey bag of gear/clothes. The A/C meant that I could sleep during the heat of the day. As a result, I was able to give more of myself. Do more things, get more involved.

Yah, sure, I could have camped in a tent - provided my own infrastructure, etc. That would have been easy to arrange. I live almost 3000KM from BRC, it would have taken at minimum 2 days to drive each way (by myself). Setting up the camp, I could have easily done that. But I didn't have to this burn. It was nice.

Now, I did not pay anyone money to camp where I did this burn. I gave of my time, energy, enthusiasm and experience. My previous burn actions gave me the privilege of camping where I did. Will I have the same arrangement next burn? - Not sure if I want to - Perhaps if I was a shift lead - on-call for 12 hrs at a time... Maybe I'll camp in a leetle trailer next burn.. I do know that I need A/C to get a full rest during light hours.

You can judge me if you want. I don't care. This is how I burn. If I could not volunteer, I probably would not go...

[goathead]

I'm just kind of dusty

[GreyCoyote]

Rice: you are so totally a Plug & Play outcast. How dare you attack our core values like this! I bet you even showered during the burn! And glamping in a shipping container with a light switch? For SHAME!!!

(Notice tongue planted very firmly in cheek here...)

[theCryptofishist]

Butt cheek, perhaps?

[chuckularone]

Butt cheek, perhaps?

[media]

[SageV]

NOT AN IMPORTANT QUESTION by any means, but still, when it comes to Burning Man, what if you aren't a virgin, but you don't feel like you are a "Vet", either?

I think after a few burns you get identified by your camp, regional, volunteer, or whatever self-selected genre you prefer. It's less chronological ranking but more based on where you're at. Really, asking how veteran you are for the Burn is kind of like asking how Schrödinger's cat is feeling this year.

[RedHeaven]

NOT AN IMPORTANT QUESTION by any means, but still, when it comes to Burning Man, what if you aren't a virgin, but you don't feel like you are a "Vet", either?

I think after a few burns you get identified by your camp, regional, volunteer, or whatever self-selected genre you prefer. It's less chronological ranking but more based on where you're at. Really, asking how veteran you are for the Burn is kind of like asking how Schrödinger's cat is feeling this year.

Yeah, its dorky, but at the same time, it goes to show how complex and huge burning man is. I mean, a couple years at an intimate music festival and I feel like a pro, got this shit down. Seven years at Burning Man and I just don't feel like I am nowhere near a vet. Im kind of pointing out how vast Black Rock City is, physically and time frame. It's so huge I can barely tap in! And Ive obsessed about the event for so long and I still dont feel close to being a vet. When I do go I plan for months and put a lot aside for it and I still can barely hug it's Buddha Belly.