Tips for a soon to be x-virgin..

HavokTyme · Post by **HavokTyme** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 8:55 pm

Well, this is gonna be my first trip, Prolly gonna be liek 2 or 3 of us (all virgins) rigging up a van for living from Thurs to Mon nite or Tues ( My boss just doesn't understand) Any pro's or cons on this concept? ALso, We're trying to figure out how many gallons of water per person we'll need -- for Showers, cooking etc... ANy one have a suggestion as to how to figure it out? Also--I'm a big haired Mother-F'er ( Yea--I never left 1988--so what? lol I'm still gosh darn cute) My q about that is how do other long hairs deal maintaing the doo on the playa? also--Bottles vs cans in the palya--either one a better choice? ( & yes I always bring plenty to share with all) DAmn I'm full of questions. lol--all these questions I may just miss the whole darn experiance. Thanks in advance!!
:twisted:

Zulegoona · Post by **Zulegoona** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 9:07 pm

Good questions but it does make it seem like you need to do some reading on the main site, to get down the basics before you get into the specifics.

oh and good to see you here welcome,

HavokTyme · Post by **HavokTyme** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 9:11 pm

Yea--I was looking at the main site-I was just looking for a choice of options...

Ranger Genius · Post by **Ranger Genius** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 11:41 pm

The survival guide, existing forums, et cetera should answer most of your questions, with in-depth answers especially re: living out of your car. The bottles/cans quandary is easy, though: try to crush a few dozen bottles and put them in a recycling bin.

headquarters · Post by **headquarters** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 12:10 am

i bring 2 gallons of water per person per day. i only bring cans, and living out of your car is fine if you sleep at night and not try to sit in the van during the blazing sun.

phil · Post by **phil** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 11:54 am

>SNIP< living out of your car is fine if you sleep at night and not try to sit in the van during the blazing sun.

Really. Be _sure_ you have a separate shade and carpet to lay on during the heat of the day. I suggest taking a look at
http://www.burningman.com/preparation/e ... index.html
and _reading_ all the materials linked to down the right column. You should have gotten a survival guide in the mail if you got your tickets from BMOrg; if not, download the .pdf file and print it out for frequent reading. All those links down the right side of the page pretty much cover your questions: water, grey water disposal, RVs, and more.

Also take a look at these links and see if they provide some additional tips for your first time:
A Brief Guide for First Timers -
http://www.cieux.com/bm/BriefGuide.html

Guide for Second Timers -
http://www.cieux.com/bm/2dTime.html

Things you didn't know you'd need -
http://www.cieux.com/bm/things.html

A Dork's Guide to Surviving Burning Man -
http://www.cieux.com/bm/dorksGuide.html

Please be careful, as this _may_ be a hot year, so shade and plenty of fluid intake will be crucial. On our first trip, it hit 107 our first day there. It hasn't been that hot in later years, but I'm looking at the weather headlines in the Desert Southwest, and it may be that kind of year again.

As you sift through all the advice, some of it will speak to you, and some of it won't. Take what you want and make it yours, but do take safety into consideration. Heat and rain and dust can make some of the time uncomfortable, but Burners make it bearable. Make friends -- the Dork's Guide gives excellent suggestions (Thanks, Brian, for permission to post that guide).

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 8:54 am

Bottles v. cans. well the good beer comes in bottles, but broken glass is a big issue out there. Plastic bottles on liquor and mixers.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 9:01 am

as Phil noted earlier, it hasn't been as hot this last coupla years but that can't be counted on....Last year I slept in my car because it was getting down to 30 degrees at night....Letting your car heat up during the day might, by this reasoning, be a practical step. But be prepared for it to go either way- That's the playa fer ya.

swampdog · Post by **swampdog** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 10:37 am

I scanned overs some of the posts listed by Phil, in particular the "second timer's guide" 'cause that's what I am. Some of the advice seemed a little obsolete, particularly "go get a bunch of junk from Oriental Trading Company to give away". For conversation on this topic see http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic.php?t=8892 . Also refers to "offer to paint people up with glitter as a gift". Glitter paint seems to be on the MOOP no-no list these days. Otherwise, some good info there, thanks to Phil and the author.

For the original poster, you ask "how much water to bring for showers" - if you plan to shower, you need to think about your shower itself - are you going to heat the water? How are you going to spray it? How long does it take to shower? Most importantly, what are you going to do with the gray water? You can't even begin to say how much water "a shower" takes without answering those questions (and you can't even consider building a shower unless you plan for the gray water). You should try your shower rig at home before you go.

Kinetic IV · Post by **Kinetic IV** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 11:02 am

One potential water reduction strategy:
http://www.norinse.com/

Cheaper than a shower, no fuss, no muss.

Post by **AntiM** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 12:26 pm

There's glitter sun screen out there, not really high on the SPF, but very cool nonetheless.

phil · Post by **phil** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 3:19 pm

Hi, Swampdog,

I'll take mild exception to some of your comments, but I'll read the page again more carefully to make sure it's more nearly up to date.

Rather than "go get a bunch of junk," we say about Archie McPhee and Oriental Trading post, "Both sites provide tons of toys which are cheap enough to give away. Nothing lets you make friends with your neighbors faster than giving them things they never thought to bring."

I read the thread you linked to, and I have to say much of it comes across as surly, as I do on occasion (see our last three paragraphs at
http://www.cieux.com/bm/bm2004.html
for example -- some woman made Louise and me get off our bikes so she could give us a cardboard bookmark and a decal of Battery Park. MOOP, indeed. I'm with Robotland -- give stuff away with some heart in it, but that's another story.)

Glitter paint I never even thought about. I have no idea what's in it. All the people that get total body dye jobs are in the same boat, maybe, depending on what makes the glitter. I'll have to look into that.

Anyway, I'm very happy to get Burning Man schwag. Louise and I have a box full of stuff from various burns, all of which brings back memories.

We always ask if people want stuff, and let me please give a suggestion on how to turn us down: Just say, "No thanks." I don't want to hear the reasons, which always turn out long, convoluted, and uninteresting. Just a simple "no thanks" is all it takes. :->

swampdog · Post by **swampdog** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 4:39 pm

Phil, hope I didn't come across surly, just trying to connect up information flows. Apologies for my use of the term "junk", that does seem unfair in re-reading.

ETA: and re: glitter paint, it seems pretty benign to me, just passing on that I believe it is officially frowned upon.

phil · Post by **phil** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 6:04 pm

hope I didn't come across surly

Nah, not a bit. As I said, mild exception. It was that thread you quoted that seemed churlish, surly, etc.

I think it makes for a more productive discussion to have differing opinions; you make a good point about the junk that's handed out, and I agree. So I'll take another look at those pages we have which encourage giving stuff away and do a re-write to encourage appropriate toys and less junk.

Have a wonderful day and drop by in Hushville -- see if we have any clothes that fit you. If we can't give it all away, we'll just have to leave it.