Hello and Welcome... What's your name? Tell me about You...

Andi Eye Candy · Post by **Andi Eye Candy** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 8:20 pm

Hello brothers and sisters...

Just joined the list. 2006 will be my second burn...my first being 2004. I'm a big sci-fi geek so how lovely that the art themes for both of my burns have appealed to that so nicely!

BM to me is about bringing out the free expression in everyone. One of my favorite things is watching some of my most stoic friends who swear they don't have a creative bone in their bodies succumb to their primal untapped inspiration to build or create something all their own.

Will be posting an invitation in the Theme Camps forum in the next day or two...be on the lookout for my "Distress Call!"

RingO'Fire · Post by **RingO'Fire** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 9:46 pm

elphaba wrote:Hello all. I'm Amy...what should I expect?...

Hi Amy! To answer your first question, "what should I expect?" is probably the most difficult one to answer. Some of the fundamental precepts of Burningman are "radical self-reliance", "radical self-expression", "radical inclusion", "leave no trace", "pack it in - pack it out" and most of all "everyone must participate - no spectators." These ideals are manifested in many forms.

You will see lots of naked folks (maybe 10% or so), and you may even see some drug use, but Burning man is NOT some drugged out orgy in the desert. There are large dance/sound installations where people will dance all night, there are a multitude of daily "programs" like: eye gazing workshops, craft workshops, nuclear physics roundtables - the subjects run the gamut from the hyper intellectual to sexual to just plain silly. There are daily theme partys hosted by various camps (based on a color - say orange or pink) or type of music (funk, jazz, glam rock). There are cool-ass interactive art installations, there will be gigantic flame-throwing machines, there will be glittery sparkly glowing art cars, there will be cool people who want to find out all about you , there will be assholes yelling at you through a bullhorn, yada yada.

You get the picture - there is no one thing that's Burning man. For one week a year, it's a city of 30,000+ extremely diverse people with an infinite number of potential experiences.

elphaba wrote:does it make sense for a teenager (albeit a faintly clever one) to fly to Burning Man alone?

I'm no expert on the matter, but I'm fairly certain that everyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. You'd really better do your homework and make sure you've got your shit together with all your i's dotted and t's crossed so that you will definately be admitted to the event. It would sure be a bummer for such a clever person as yourself to spend all that money for a ticket and other stuff and then get shut down at the gate.

elphaba wrote:Obviously there's the parental hernias, payment for which I should probably factor into my budget, but has anyone else done so and survived?

What are parental hernias? Besides of course the obvious answer - that your parents have hernias.

elphaba wrote:Anything special I should remember or bring? Thanks!

Besides survival essentials, you will want to bring something to contribute to the "gift economy."

It may be poetry, little boxes of juicy juice, cool stickers, little thingamajigs that you made yourself, etc. - use your imagination, but bring something. You'll want these gifts for those times when you make a heart to heart connection with someone you've met, so you can go, "Here, I'd like you to have this" and that person can take a little special something that you gave them and that will always remind them of you and the special moment you shared at Burning man.

Two more little bits of advice (1) Read everything you can here on eplaya and on the burningman.com website, and (2) Google "burning man gallery" and check out people's photos - this will at least give you some ideas of what you might expect.

Good Luck!
Ringo out!

i · Post by i » Sat Mar 18, 2006 5:27 am

here here, twould be a shame not to be let in!

i havent posted in a year or more, so hallo all,

this year i hope to make my 2nd Burn (1st 2003) again ill be travelling from europe and looking to go all in this year, ideally myself and a mate would fly into reno or SF and hitch a ride with other burners to brc.
im irish, he's english, we both have plenty of stories and experiences to share so really looking forward to it.

amy i wish u all the best i hope you make it out, but take it from the other more experienced burners on the forums, as ring o'fire says, read everything! it is gruelling, but its well, well worth it!

best of luck!

tcox84 · Post by **tcox84** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 10:08 am

Well, my name is Tom. I am brom BOISE, ID. Well thats were I spent the last 2 years of my life. I lived in Charlotte, NC for 15 years prior to that. I heard about Burning Man on Fat Tuesday this year at a bar and when I woke up the next morining I looked it up on the internet and right then decided I was going to be apart of this journy. I am the kind of person that likes to jump right in and take in the full experince, and thats why I am writing this, I have volunteered to be a lamp lighter, I am cooking a meal for them and I am already working on an art peice for the event.

elphaba · Post by **elphaba** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 10:46 pm

Hello Tom and Andi Eye Candy!

Thanks to you few for replying. I had actually read the FAQ, so I knew by that definition I am not allowed to go alone. The hitch in the bunting is that my parents will not, cannot and quite frankly should not go to Burning Man. They are abrasive and unhappy people. I do know a few folks who might enjoy accomanying me who are over 21, but aren't my parents. Two are close relatives (aunt and cousin) but not even close to legal guardians.

So yes. Conundrum. I understand the reasoning behind not allowing people under 18 to go unaccompanied by those who are legally responsible for them, but a part of me believes that a shindig of this nature should accept the younger ones who can't attend with a parent. Burning Man is about freedom and self-reliance, joining a community, expressing oneself. Who better to understand that then a sixteen year old?

This is all I want to do-- I just need to figure out how.

elphaba · Post by **elphaba** » Sat Mar 18, 2006 10:47 pm

Hello Tom and Andi Eye Candy!

Thanks to you few for replying. I had actually read the FAQ, so I knew by that definition I am not allowed to go alone. The hitch in the bunting is that my parents will not, cannot and quite frankly should not go to Burning Man. They are abrasive and unhappy people. I do know a few folks who might enjoy accomanying me who are over 21, but aren't my parents. Two are close relatives (aunt and cousin) but not even close to legal guardians.

So yes. Conundrum. I understand the reasoning behind not allowing people under 18 to go unaccompanied by those who are legally responsible for them, but a part of me believes that a shindig of this nature should accept the younger ones who can't attend with a parent. Burning Man is about freedom and self-reliance, joining a community, expressing oneself. Who better to understand that then a sixteen year old?

This is all I want to do-- I just need to figure out how.

Andi Eye Candy · Post by **Andi Eye Candy** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 6:36 pm

Hi Amy...I feel your pain. There are certainly many people in the world who should be or should have been emancipated at 16...those last two years are so hard! You are for all intents and purposes an adult, but you still are subject to your parents' governance. Good luck to you and here's hoping you find a way to get to BM...

RingoDurtySock · Post by **RingoDurtySock** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 8:56 pm

Andi Eye Candy wrote:Hi Amy...I feel your pain. There are certainly many people in the world who should be or should have been emancipated at 16...those last two years are so hard! You are for all intents and purposes an adult, but you still are subject to your parents' governance. Good luck to you and here's hoping you find a way to get to BM...

Ditto what Andi said.

sawabewah · Post by **sawabewah** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 10:52 pm

Hiya! My name is Sarah... my 2+ friends are interested in making the trek to Burning Man this year. But we really have no idea what we are doing in terms of planning this trip... since none of us have ever been on a trip like this. It seems like such an overwhelming task to make all the necessary arrangements.

So far, we think we might all fly to Vegas (they're in CA, i'm coming from TX), rent an RV and drive to the site. If ANYONE has any advice, or could possibly outline a better plan, PLEASE ENLIGHTEN ME!!

Chai Guy · Post by **Chai Guy** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 11:10 pm

Vegas is pretty far away from Black Rock City, about 9 hours (500 or so miles). That's a whole day of RV rental just getting to the event, another getting home, and another day to clean it, plus gas!

RV's are pretty expensive to rent and in my mind not really worth the effort. Here's why (Briefly), the grey and black water tanks won't really hold a week's worth of water, so that means you'll either have to deal with not having a shower/toilet for the last 3-4 days (depending on use) or bring some extra cash and spend some time trying to flag down a JOTS truck to pump it out for you (JOTS is the contractor who pumps out the porta-potties for the event, I've gotten conficting things about their service for RVs ranging from "They aren't allowed to service RVs anymore." to "They'll do it if the price is right". Take that third hand knowledge for what it's worth). Even if you get JOTS to pump your tanks for you, you'll still have to deal with cleaning the thing. Figure 8 hours of work to get your deposit back.

If after all that you still want to get an RV, consider renting some place other than Vegas (but be warned, you probably won't have much luck renting in SF or Reno as they know all about Burning Man and are reluctant to rent to us, because so many people return their vehicles dirty).

My personal advice? Rent a full size cargo van, buy an awning or large shade tent and get a couple of smaller personal tents. One person can sleep on a futon in the van (or all of you can, if you're close like that), the others can sleep in the tents under the shade structure. You should be good to go, have plenty of room and shade.

Read the survival guide and then feel free to browse the eplaya and ask any questions you may have.

Tony Andretti · Post by **Tony Andretti** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 11:46 pm

Hallo Zoom!

Ich habe alles sehr gut verstanden! Jetzt fühle ich mich wirklich zuhause. Wahrscheinlich ist Dein "deutsch" viel besser als mein "englisch"! Jedenfalls ist das wohl die Ansicht vom Cryptofishist...
(Aber dem werde ich mal richtig den Kopf waschen!)

Freue mich Dich bald auf der Playa zu treffen,

cheers Tony

Tony Andretti · Post by **Tony Andretti** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 11:47 pm

My favorite desert is vanilla ice cream. To my horror I noticed that none of the 9 biggest desserts worldwide are located in the States. However, please don´t be sad. I´m gonna bring you some traditional sweats from Germany.

cheers Tony ;-)

Chai Guy · Post by **Chai Guy** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 11:55 pm

Yeah, America has the worst candy in the world (ok, maybe we're just ahead of Mexico, but barely!).

Please bring extra candy to share!

Thanks!

Tony Andretti · Post by **Tony Andretti** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 1:27 am

Hi,

I´ll do so. 532 days or so isn´t a long time to wait for German sweets...
Don´t forget to let me know where you can be found...

Thanks!

a 2007 wannabe

cheers Tony

Zoom · Post by **Zoom** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 8:01 am

hey Tony, them lebkuchen are to die for with some coffee. i spent six years in the nurnberg/bamberg area. was spectacular. german cakes are so good too. hope to see you in 2007

Chai Guy · Post by **Chai Guy** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 8:12 pm

Hey Zoom,

What unit were you in?

chiefdanfox · Post by **chiefdanfox** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:57 pm

Virgin here. I think. I have a distant memory of being on the beach right around my birthday, and seeing a ruckus.
Anyway, that was about two decades ago.
Looking forward to a first time on the playa. Have a project in mind, and looking forward to meeting some of you.
Been reading just about everything I can, and I am a real fan of the high desert.
I call my home Oakland, as I have for well, about two decades.
Cheers.

Shoonzy · Post by **Shoonzy** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:58 pm

Hello Everyone

My name is Shaun, and I am hoping to get to Burning Man this year. I if I make it, it will be my first burn. I am oh so very excited about the possibilities, but I would like to know what the possibilities are like for a carpool type thingy for me to get to the burn. Thanks.

Shaun

blueniteowl · Post by **blueniteowl** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 11:22 pm

Hello cheifdanfox and Shoonzy, welcome to eplaya.

Shoonzy, you may want to try and get connected to local burners in your area. I'm not sure where you are, but if you look here http://regionals.burningman.com/index.html you can find your regional contact and see if they have any local listings, disscussion boards, or events. Otherwise, there is the regional section of this board and closer to the event a rideshare board will appear. And I think there is actually a couple of other rideshare boards out there on the internet, but I can't remember what they were. Depending on where you live, there are usually other people going to the event who have room in their vehicles.

chiefdanfox · Post by **chiefdanfox** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 12:13 am

Thanks for the welcome wagon. Good to be aboard!

Shoonzy · Post by **Shoonzy** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 12:48 am

Thanks number 2!

Tony Andretti · Post by **Tony Andretti** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 8:12 am

[quote="Zoom"]hey Tony, them lebkuchen are to die for with some coffee. i spent six years in the nurnberg/bamberg area. was spectacular. german cakes are so good too. hope to see you in 2007[/quote]

Hi Zoom,

I would very much like to meet you in 2007 and share some Lebkuchen with you. It´s more common as a Christmas present, but who cares?! I had a customer in Bamberg, some years ago now. Some quality problems occurred... - I deeply hope you are not working for BOSCH and not at the quality department. Otherwise I would have to bring much more Lebkuchen...

cheers Tony

Zoom · Post by **Zoom** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 8:24 am

nein, ich war in den militar. auf den muna kaserne. ich kann das nie vergessen, wir immer habt spass mit den deutschen. aber ich mit ein getranken (weinquelle brakkhoff) liefferung geshaft gearbeited, ein bischen besauffen vom dem pubs, viel spass bis spater dann. ciao

badphish5988 · Post by **badphish5988** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 5:37 pm

hey...my name is mary and im doing a research project for my Creative English class. im 18 and a senior in high school. I have always been really interested in Burning Man and hope to attend this summer. Any information on the event itself and experiences would be greatly appreciated...stories, feelings anything you want to tell me would be nice. Thanks and i look forward to learning more
email me at [email protected]

Ink_Burn · Post by **Ink_Burn** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 2:02 am

My intro...
Im Joshua or Josh either is fine, Live in AZ, born in Reno NV, lived damn near every part of the US, NY, Il,Tx, etc. I have been to BM before, however i just joined the site tonight, so hello to all! my fav part of the burn last year? the greater love the old welcome home, and i had a bunch of virgins with me, was fun! I love meating new people, and have always been a art nut, probably part of why i like BM so much.. Hope to meet some of more you all this year!

CLARKcon · Post by **CLARKcon** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 8:40 am

badphish5988, hope you can make it out this year! As far as your research project for your Creative Writing Class, tell your teacher that you will do your presentaion after you get back from the desert. Sure, you may have already graduated, but just send the project (if you like the teacher) to their house for review, and essentially, get the highest grade you've ever had in any class!

See you in the dust...

Tony Andretti · Post by **Tony Andretti** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:06 pm

Hey,

it´s me again and I would like to introduce you to my home town Dortmund...

DORTMUND, Germany (AP)

After a scoreless first half that left the home fans booing and whistling, the Germans went ahead when halftime sub Bastian Schweinsteiger scored 21 seconds into the second half. Germany then overwhelmed the Americans with goals by Oliver Neuville (73rd minute), Miroslav Klose (75th minute) and Michael Ballack (79th minute).

"What this game proves is who can play at this level and who can't," U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller said.

Thank you very much, good night and see you soon,

cheers Tony

ceri · Post by **ceri** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 10:36 am

hi
i am totaly new to burning man and am planing to travel from wales... in the uk for this years event need some advice any thing you think is usefull
i do a lot of outdoor stuff here but its in the hills wet and wild not sure if tents boots and waterproof are going to cut it in the desert need basic info on things like do i bring a tent how do i carry water ? is there peole i can blag lifts with to bm or do i need to hire a car?
how to you guys do it????

ibdave · Post by **ibdave** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 5:32 pm

ceri wrote:hi
i am totaly new to burning man and am planing to travel from wales... in the uk for this years event need some advice any thing you think is usefull
i do a lot of outdoor stuff here but its in the hills wet and wild not sure if tents boots and waterproof are going to cut it in the desert need basic info on things like do i bring a tent how do i carry water ? is there peole i can blag lifts with to bm or do i need to hire a car?
how to you guys do it????

Ceri, Welcome to the wonderful world of Burning Man.

Read EVERY page for the next two weeks and all your question will be answered. Also do a search for thr Euro burners group..
We all look forward to see you this year...

Entropy · Post by **Entropy** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 12:56 pm

Hi there, I'm Entropy. I'm from Vermont, and this year will be my first burningman! I've got my ticket, but other than that, my plans are pretty up in the air. I may be traveling with some friends, or I may be coming alone, but I'm coming damnit!

I am pretty terrible at summing myself up in a few words. I love good music of any genre. I'm presently in a velvet underground kick. I love books, especially by the beats. I'm presently reading "Desolation Angels" by Kerouac. Here's a picture of me. My hair isn't this cool presently, because I bic'd it, and now it's growing out again.

Also, I'm not as cool as this picture makes me look.

Edit: I can't seem to make the picture show up.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v157/ ... a8fcf0.jpg

Hello and Welcome... What's your name? Tell me about You...

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Re: New One..

This is ME

conundrum

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Newbie to Burning Man...

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Germany 4, United States 1