The Playa Provides

[Drawingablank]

The Playa Provides

Late one night a young woman spent several hours in our bar. She apparently had a great time and said she liked our bar so much she would come back with swag the next day, and that it had her picture on it. Thinking that putting a photo of ones self on swag for Burning Man gifting was rather odd, I asked why it had her picture. She replied that she was famous on Youtube.

This instantly triggered my snark gland so I told her that I'm rather famous myself, and in a fit of gross exaggeration said that half the people in Black Rock City knew me - by name. I could see the doubt on her face, although she didn't actually call me on it.

Another hour passed and when it started getting light out we all decided to go next door and toast the sunrise with some picklebacks. So we are standing there in the street and there wasn't another soul moving the entire length of 4:00. Suddenly a guy comes around the corner of G and is walking down the opposite side of 4:00. When he was almost directly across the street he looks up, sees me, yells Brand X! (my playa name), and comes running over.

Much to my surprise and delight, the first words out of his mouth were "I know you from Youtube". The look on her face was priceless, we all chatted a while, had some picklebacks, and as usual I missed the actual sunrise. She never did return with the swag though.

The funniest part of it all is that I've never posted anything to Youtube, although he probably knew me from my BM Birgin Guide web site. This couldn't have gone better if I had scripted it. I doubt I will ever have a better BM story than this.

Sometimes the stars just align for you.

[Captain Goddammit]

My most popular YouTube video has 13,750 views. How many do I still need before I can put my own face on my swag?

[Lonesomebri]

Tell me about it

[AntiM]

I love playadipity!

The Home gets a lot of swag, and every year there's some with personal photos on it. Usually Djs, but yes, youtubers and so on. Even though everyone loves stickers, the photo ones languish. Oddly, if I put up an actual photo of myself posed in front of the Home up for adoption , people will take those. I'm a big fish in my tiny niche puddle.

[Ratty]

Our camp is privately known as 'Over preparation Camp'. It just means we bring too much stuff. We are on the other end of that scenario. Oh, you ran over your goggles, can't find your water bottle and the valve fell off of your Camelbak. Wait here. Through the years we all try to cut down on what we bring. I fail at that every time.

[BBadger]

Had to repair my bike last year on playa because my bearings got fucked by the dust. My friend and I got it working, but I didn't know if I would need to do some field repairs or tighten down something.

So just in case, I took along a big Crescent wrench I had used to get the bolts off the bike, the only wrench I had big enough for everything including the locking ring (I think that's what it's called) near the pedals.

Later that night around 2AM or something, we're riding around to some sort of art piece way out in the middle of the playa where people are hanging out. I notice some guy in a smaller art car riding around asking people for oddball stuff as a joke. He pulls up next to us and leans out and jokingly asks:

"Hey do you have a Crescent wrench?"

"Oh yeah, I've got one right here," I reply as I draw the wrench I had out of my bike basket.

He stares at it in an awkward pause. My friend and I laugh.

"Er, wow, uh then, do you have a band-aid?"

"Sorry man, don't have one of those."

[Lonesomebri]

After putting up our signs for The Last Bar on Earth/First Bar on Playa on the trash fence at point 3 last year, the first person I greet at our not listed, random time event, at the remotest spot in BRC, is a young woman riding up on her bike. I offer her a drink, she requests non-alcoholic. "Would you like a Cactus Cooler?" She happily says YES, and I ask her if she's ever had one before.
"Yes, once before, last year, right here, from you..."