A View from a Virgin - Lessons Learned

[ScottFree]

I wanted to share my impressions of my first burning man with you all, and also to thank all of you for being the wonderful, beautiful people that you are. And perhaps my tale will help other Virgins to avoid some of my mistakes.

I arrived a week early to work on setting up some of the technology for Burning man. I camped at a bunkhouse at the gate and only ventured into the city to make it to the commisary. My days were pretty much made up of working during the day, then when I got tired, going to sleep, then getting up and doing it again. The bunkhouse was comfortable and had air conditioning, but after my first week on the Playa I still had no idea what Burning man was about.

Although I had seen videos read about it on the website and talked to several Burners, I had no idea of what was in store for me.

After working myself into a stupor and getting a severe case of Playa brain, I was told I had to leave my comfy little spot and go make my home in the city.

I had been offered a spot in a camp of friend, but when I checked out the location, it was about 10 feet from a row of outhouses. Not wanting to enjoy the olfactory pleasures of Johnny on the spot, I ventured out to find a new spot. I talked to another friend who said they had plenty of space and their camp area was bigger than they thought, so it would be no problem. I set up my camp and headed back up to the gate to take care of some businesss.

When I returned to the camp I found that my shade structure had been eaten by the Playa winds and was pondering how to fix it, when a member of the camp came over and explained that alot of people had put alot of time, effort and dollars into the camp and asked me if I would leave. Not wanting to cause any drama for anyone I quitely packed up my camp and left in search of another spot. I bought my tent at the same place I bought the shade structure and when I pulled up the tent it ripped, causing it to be unusable. (Newbie lesson #1, don't buy cheap shit, the Playa will eat it quickly, get quality, sturdy items, or build custom structures with sturdy materials).

I found some other friends that had a spot over at 3:45 and Bipolar, I helped set up the shade structure and by the time we finished the wind was blowing, my energy gone, the day was over and I was ready to sleep. That night I slept in my truck, as I had no reserves left to drive my tired body to set up a tent, for the second time. (Newbie lesson #2, If you are homeless find a chill dome, or other comfy, unoccupied spot and take a snooze, learning this led me to Newbie lesson #3, If you have a smile, a positive attitude and your intentions are pure, the Playa will provide).

By this time I had been in the desert for 7 days and the longest I had ever camped in my life was 4 days in a much more hospitable environment than 10 miles past nowhere. I didn't sleep well in the truck, and so I rolled a carpet out under the shade structure and layed down to try to take an afternoon nap. By this time it was Monday and a fierce dust storm was in progress, I rolled over and yawned and got a healthy dose of Playa for my trouble.

I was ready to go home. "Let's just burn the man and get this over with", I said.

It was at this point that I finally went to see something other than my camp, the commisary and the front gate. This is where I happened upon (Newbie Lesson #4, Don't be a camp potatoe, get your camp set up as soon as possible and then go out and explore). I explored every day after that as long as I could stay awake and I didn't even scratch the surface. Seeing what other setups people had also led me to (Newbie Lesson #5, A good strong shade structure is critical).

From this point on in the story I find it hard to describe with words what exactly happened. The closest I can come to describing it is to say that it was like going to a well of all the good things humanity has to offer and taking a big deep drink from it. I can tell you about the beautiful, kind people that I met, I can tell you about the strange and amazing things that I saw, but Burning Man is more than the sum of it's parts. This realization led me to a lesson that I have known for many years which is probably the most important Newbie lesson of all: Give of yourself, your time, your love, your friendship, and it will return to you 100 fold on the Playa. Nowhere else have I seen this cause and effect work itself out so plainly and so clearly, that in the default world is obscured by all the baggage and noise.

I hate camping, I hate the heat, but after 2 weeks on the Playa, I didn't want to leave. To those that have never been, all I can say is you must come. Nobody will every be able to describe to you what it is all about, you must come and see it for yourself.

I love you all and I am now a Burner for life, I can't wait to go home again in 51 weeks.

With much Love,
ScottFree

[JediDale]

Greetings And Salutations from Jedi Dale Of Reno!

The biggest thing I did right was in getting connected with highly experienced Burners and ask for as much advice as I could!! EVERY ONE of them said READ THE "RADICAL SELF RELIANCE" PAGE!! So printed it out and did a little more than I needed!
After arriving Sunday afternoon, I busted ass to get my tent up. (Mistake #1) NEVER get a "pop up" tent! The thing wasn't capable of the wind or dust. What I did that was great, was to get eight 18" rebar stakes, and eight extra 10" metal stakes in addition to the ten metal stakes I had at home. With two of the grey tarps as wind deflectors, and an inch and a half dowel above the tent held up by two 3/4" EMT pipes that were pounded deep into the playa, it worked out really good!! The design I made prior to going to the burn. I went over it in detail with a highly experienced burner friend. He told me exactly how to do things. I listened. I followed his advice. It worked!! Despite the Tuesday white outs, and the tarps flapping noisily, nothing broke, and nothing flew away!! Woo Hoo!!! Woo Hoo!!
Not getting lip balm was mistake #2. (Was gifted some later, AFTER I had given an older lady a long foot massage at the foot wash place.
Mega thing done right - Going to HeeBee GeeBee Healers Camp and getting a massage on Wed.
Although I don't feel I had the optimum location I would have preferred,
I liked being near the Port-a-Potties. Indeed the JOTS truck at sunrise
awoke me not from its sound but the smell. Perhaps those thick Playa boogers that develop have a function after all!!
Glow sticks, Blinkies, etc. YOU CAN"T HAVE TOO MANY!!
I went with 40 glow sticks, 8 blinkies, and a high intensity led head light for my hat!
There was a guy and a girl I almost ran into who were wearing all black at night and walking fast! Another guy (Obviously a virgin burner) sez "Hey man YOU better watch where you're going!!" That moron was wearing black as well at night with no light of any kind!
All in all it was a great experience, and I believe that if people were FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS indicated on the website, things would have gone smooth for them as well!!


Genuinely,

Jedi Dale Of Reno

[Paradox Plaid]

i think my biggest lesson learned as a virgin was regarding shoes. sandals are great, but man does the desert tear up the feet if that's all you've got. (i brought a pair of "boots" but they ate the backs of my feet up). sandals were all i had for the week, and the playa foot is still stinging. i wish i knew about the footwash place.
set up tent before arrival, setting it up for the first time in a white out (while we did it somewhat successfully) was no treat. thank god for Jim Beam and one of our really helpful camp mates (triple thanks to you Melanie).
warmth. night time got brutal once or twice and i was not prepared for the degree of coldness. i had sweatshirts and jeans, but that wasn't enough.
I sought out advice from an experienced burner in advance as well, and it paid off. I had much help from my new favorite people and campmates at the paradox lounge, and the Playa provided the rest (truly amazing). I will never forget my first experience - a full spectrum of the human emotion. It truly represented the pendulum of life - if you can just survive the downswing, an upswing is sure to follow. Bundle it all up and i wouldn't trade it for anything i have ever done. What's the count, 361?
love and happiness!

[ZaphodBurner]

I love you all and I am now a Burner for life, I can't wait to go home again in 51 weeks.

With much Love,
ScottFree

Congratulations and thank you for coming early and participating. Clearly, fellow Burner, you figured It out.

-c

[JediDale]

RobbiDobbs told me to go buy enough new socks to be able to change them twice a day. THAT was excellent advice!! My opinion is that getting drunk in an extremely dry environment is just begging for a heat stroke or dehyration. Having several YEARS of living in 3 deserts I know that your body can lose about a quart of moisture through your skin an hour. It
is almost impossible to drink too much water in those conditions! By myself, I drank 12 gallons and the melted ice in the cooler (about another 3 gallons) in 7 days. Soymilk is fantastic for it has a good amount of electrolytes in it, specifically sodium and potassium.
Here a bit of help to virgin Burners: seek out the highly experienced Burners and pick their brains for info and insights. These people KNOW
what they are talking about!! Being prepared makes it not that tough. Without proper preparation it could become a nightmare!
One idea I came up with is putting a very fine misting system in the tent,
so that sleeping in the day is more comfortable. I had 3 spray bottles and would spray myself as well as the sleeping bag down with ice water from the cooler and then nap, thereby reducing skin evaporation as well as cooling. It worked great!! Please post your ideas of how to make the event better and we all shall benefit, especially you!!


Genuinely,


Jedi Dale Of Reno

[ZaphodBurner]

A solution of one part vinegar and three parts water in a spray bottle, applied at least twice daily, will help prevent and soothe playa foot. The relief is in fact almost instantaneous.

...having said that, my feet are shredded, cracked, bandaged and near-mutinous. Damn 'em anyway, at least I can walk on 'em!

-c

[Fat SAM]

I accidentally left my shoes at home last year and ended with nothing but sandals to wear. What I discovered, and what I will share with all you poor unfortunates right now, is Crack Cream. I don't remember where I got it - I think it was Long's or something, but it was just at a typical drugstore. Go and get it and be happy. Also, you can Krazy Glue those nasty cracks shut for instant relief of the splitting...

I'm so glad that you all had a good time. It was a great burn and I can't wait to be there next year.

[NEXUS]

I'd like to thank many of you on this site for the many generous offerings of advice that made my trip practically tragedy free...ample dry ice to preserve the cubed edible stuff, the 101 on building a sufficient and sturdy shade structure, I even escaped the ravages of playa foot with a little vingar/H2O rinse...now if only someone could have warned me about the damn Playa boogers!

[JediDale]

Someone told me they had somekind of "Anti-Playa Booger Rinse" that if you used it it would keep them from happening as much. I keep thinking of the "Dune" books and the stillsuits. If BRC had sand dunes it WOULD
BE ARRAKIS!! Perhaps using a nasal bottle filled with water would help.


Genuinely,

Jedi Dale Of Reno

[Davoid]

Not a virgin, but I ususally have problems with playa boogers/nose ache. This year I used my spray mister (water with a couple shots of vinegar) not only to rinse my hands, but to spray right into my nostrils as well. Just let it drip out, and eventually got out the TP for a good blow. As the week wore on, I took to snorting some of the stuff as well! Not too comfy or fun to watch (ask my virgin GF), but, well, barbaric hygiene is part of the joy...

Also, I used a lot of saline nose spray in 2001, but the stuff seemed to get more concentrated/salty as the week passed. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be used so much. Or maybe I'll try making my own and regulate the mixture.

AND- I found that frequent use of eye drops (I got an herbal variety and was quite pleased) had the added benefit of causing moisture to run down through your sinuses and out your nose.

Now, what to do with that big waxy playa potato I pulled out of my ear on the way home...

disgustingly,
D.

p.s. I work (not closely) with a couple who attended last year for the first, and, it seems, only time. They thought BM was just a big shallow party. No comment on their personalities. Virgin burners who actually get it rock!

[NEXUS]

Thanks guys, but I had meant that remark to be more of a joke than a description of a real nuissance (where's the damn smiley when you need one) Aha!

But, I do appreciate the advice once again, and now I'm fully prepared for next year, until that is, Murphy comes to visit.

[spectabillis]

I'd like to thank many of you on this site for the many generous offerings of advice that made my trip practically tragedy free...

Thats one of the intentions, and now that you mention this I need to make another note of how important it can be to straighten the topic structures out a bit more.