One thing you learned on playa this year

[illy dilly]

~Less food, more smoothie like beverages!

I'm a huge fan of V8 Bloody Marys! Though, if you're cutting down on your day time alcohol you could skip the vodka. But a lot of the juices you mentioned also packs that vitamin/fruit punch that is O-so needed.

[Mojojita]

I learned that the medical care on the playa is top notch, and a grand example of what medical care should be in our country.

[Foxfur]

Sparkle ponies will get you in the end...

They certainly will... If you let 'em!

[Dr. Pyro]

If a woman on stilts asks you to steady her behind your RV because she needs to take a piss and you say "Yes", reconsider your answer next time.

[jella]

If a woman on stilts asks you to steady her behind your RV because she needs to take a piss and you say "Yes", reconsider your answer next time.

[junglesmacks]

I learned that the medical care on the playa is top notch, and a grand example of what medical care should be in our country.

Did you get casted up right there on the playa??

[Foxfur]

I learned that the medical care on the playa is top notch, and a grand example of what medical care should be in our country.

It really is. A friend from Playawaste Raiders had a blister (from helping so many people with set up, aww) that became infected. He went to medical, they wrote him a scrip for Cipro and gave him passes for no-charge exit / entry to go get it filled in Fernley. I volunteered to drive him in and Baddawg (from PWR) rode along. 7hrs travel time and 5hrs in line at gate... It was so worth it though. We took orders from everyone in three camps to shop for 'em @ walmart and got them what they needed. Ceasar salad for two saved til the last night on playa was just what the doctor ordered (for me)

I hope never to have to avail myself of their services, but if I do I know I'll be in good, no, great hands!

[Mojojita]

I learned that the medical care on the playa is top notch, and a grand example of what medical care should be in our country.

Did you get casted up right there on the playa??

Absolutely. Ambulance from camp to med tent, x-rays, x-rays sent to Reno and read by Radiologists, results transmitted back to med, casted me, sent me on my way at no cost. Within 45 minutes!!!!! Would not have even been seen in 45 minutes in a default ER.

[robbidobbs]

Damn! I want this in default! That's amazing!

[graidawg]

I have learned something, not from the playa but from being back in defaultia afterwards. I need to participate more i have got used to finding my niche and staying there, I want to rejoin the human race, be part of everything i do. its expressing itself as a desire to go and live over there in the us of a right now but i think its more a desire to connect with people that care.

[The Bee]

THE BLUE BLINKY LIGHTS ROCK - these have been out at the open playa banks for about 6 or so years. Blue of DPW tells me they're considering funding for all banks to be blinkied.

Yay! I hope they add blue blinkies to all the porta-banks. That would be a life saver on many occasions.

[junglesmacks]

THE BLUE BLINKY LIGHTS ROCK - these have been out at the open playa banks for about 6 or so years. Blue of DPW tells me they're considering funding for all banks to be blinkied.

Yay! I hope they add blue blinkies to all the porta-banks. That would be a life saver on many occasions.

I second third and fourth fifth and sixth seventh eighth zomg to infinity that!!

The porta potty banks on the open playa NEED TO BE LIT UP BADLY!! I looked for them had people asking me in the dark where they were, etc etc etc. We need lights or beacons of some kind on those suckers..

[The Bee]

I have learned something, not from the playa but from being back in defaultia afterwards. I need to participate more i have got used to finding my niche and staying there, I want to rejoin the human race, be part of everything i do. its expressing itself as a desire to go and live over there in the us of a right now but i think its more a desire to connect with people that care.

Yes, yes, yes. The desire to connect with people who care, people who create, people who live life to the fullest... this has hit me hard this year.

[The Bee]

I learned that I need to pack more socks and fewer pairs of under-ware. Under-ware is redundant. Socks are essential.

[junglesmacks]

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Wow. Just.. wow..

I learned that the medical care on the playa is top notch, and a grand example of what medical care should be in our country.

Did you get casted up right there on the playa??

Absolutely. Ambulance from camp to med tent, x-rays, x-rays sent to Reno and read by Radiologists, results transmitted back to med, casted me, sent me on my way at no cost. Within 45 minutes!!!!! Would not have even been seen in 45 minutes in a default ER.

[ibdave]

I learned that I fucked up badly by missing the meetNgreet.. fuck fuck and fuck..

[Dustdevil]

I learn lots of thing every year, but one item really stood out this year. I learned that ExpressoDude is one hard working, never say quit, don't stop until the job is done type of a guy. He worked with the Black Rock FX team on the Trojan Horse. He brought his SO and the two of them contributed a great deal to that project. We were faced with several adversities and the team managed to work through them all. He never once complained or slowed down. OK, maybe around dinner time he slowed down a little, we all did. We had a small team as most of the BRFX crew were at the Flaming Lotus Girls show. He worked well with the pyro team as well as the demolition/burn team. His ideas and creativity helped make the burn what it was. Black Rock FX would welcome ExpressoDude back on any show we produce.

Jack

[Turnip]

I learned that the medical care on the playa is top notch, and a grand example of what medical care should be in our country.

Did you get casted up right there on the playa??

Absolutely. Ambulance from camp to med tent, x-rays, x-rays sent to Reno and read by Radiologists, results transmitted back to med, casted me, sent me on my way at no cost. Within 45 minutes!!!!! Would not have even been seen in 45 minutes in a default ER.

Wow, makes me wish I would have went to the Medicamp when my UTI/Kidney infection came back in full force. But I was embarrassed and thought I'd get the "Sorry, nothing we can do for you here."

Made going to the bathroom an even more unenjoyable experience.
A few times I almost didn't make it to the potties in time, and always scared to go out of view of the potties.

[FIGJAM]

Pee jugs rule!

[Turnip]

Pee jugs rule!

I wasn't going to carry a pee jug with me 24/7.

And call me modest but I didn't feel comfortable dropping trou and squatting over a jug/funnel just any ol' place.

[Elderberry]

This year, we brought an extra large plastic cooking oil jug--maybe a gallon and a half size, so we didn't have to empty it as often. On the last day of the burn, I went to the porta-potties to empty it one last time before we left and there was this guy emptying a completely full 5 gallon water jug! I made some sort of remark about thinking my jug was big, to which he replied, ya, and I filled it all myself!

Pee jugs rule!

[graidawg]

This year, we brought an extra large plastic cooking oil jug--maybe a gallon and a half size, so we didn't have to empty it as often. On the last day of the burn, I went to the porta-potties to empty it one last time before we left and there was this guy emptying a completely full 5 gallon water jug! I made some sort of remark about thinking my jug was big, to which he replied, ya, and I filled it all myself!

Pee jugs rule!

oh that tickled me, i thought my two uses of the pee bottle where just lazy as the loo's where about 2 minutes away but that is very impressive.

[tahiti_treat]

This year, we brought an extra large plastic cooking oil jug--maybe a gallon and a half size, so we didn't have to empty it as often. On the last day of the burn, I went to the porta-potties to empty it one last time before we left and there was this guy emptying a completely full 5 gallon water jug! I made some sort of remark about thinking my jug was big, to which he replied, ya, and I filled it all myself!

Pee jugs rule!

How often did you empty it? I had a laundry detergent bottle that was big enough, but I found quickly that if I didn't empty it frequently, it REEKED.

I also found that a few pumps of hand sanitizer inside the jug after I emptied it, shaken up real good, took care of any lingering odor.

[FIGJAM]

I celebrate my lazyness!

The portos were 30 seconds away, but it was just so damn convenient to use the "jug", then dump it once a day.

[bubbavic]

A few things that I learned:

If you wear snug fitting boots that go up to mid-calf, for the love of god wear socks that are long enough to go past the tops of the boots. I wore long socks but they stopped just short of the top of the boots. That ended up giving me a ring of lost unhappy skin where the playa dust and boot tops combined to basically become sandpaper. =(

Bring some oranges with you in your day pack to cut open and gift to random people in the deep playa. I happened upon a group of burners hanging out deep in the playa and they gave me a slice of orange which after a long midday art tour was like heaven. I think one of their names was Space Kitty (forgive my poor and altered recollection). Many thanks to all of them!

Explore more.

If you have a connection with someone, open yourself up to exploring that connection because you never know where that will lead.

Even people that you don't think are like minded outside of the playa can be awesome and good to be around at BRC. Leave your prejudgments at the gate when you enter BRC. =)

[BBadger]

Pee jugs rule!

I wasn't going to carry a pee jug with me 24/7.

And call me modest but I didn't feel comfortable dropping trou and squatting over a jug/funnel just any ol' place.

I had some incidents at camp where it wasn't laziness that prompted me to use the pee-jug, but rather that I knew that whatever diuretics I had during the day were not going to let me get there in time. That happened at one of the burns too, and those lines at the portapotties take absolutely forever, might be full enough to touch skin, and who knows what asshole hovered over the toilet, used up all the toilet paper, etc. Easier for a guy of course, but certainly not something I'd normally do if I didn't need to.

Another thing I learned about the mid-playa portapotties: they're lit up in blue light!

[Trishntek]

Pee jugs rule!

I wasn't going to carry a pee jug with me 24/7.

And call me modest but I didn't feel comfortable dropping trou and squatting over a jug/funnel just any ol' place.

MODEST!

[Elderberry]

It was emptied almost every day, for the reason you mentioned. But we often used it while around camp too, just as a time saving measure. The guy with the five gallon water jug full only emptied it that one time and had a whole weeks worth! *gag*

This year, we brought an extra large plastic cooking oil jug--maybe a gallon and a half size, so we didn't have to empty it as often. On the last day of the burn, I went to the porta-potties to empty it one last time before we left and there was this guy emptying a completely full 5 gallon water jug! I made some sort of remark about thinking my jug was big, to which he replied, ya, and I filled it all myself!

Pee jugs rule!

How often did you empty it? I had a laundry detergent bottle that was big enough, but I found quickly that if I didn't empty it frequently, it REEKED.

I also found that a few pumps of hand sanitizer inside the jug after I emptied it, shaken up real good, took care of any lingering odor.

[Drawingablank]

On Saturday we witnessed 2 very petite women struggling to haul a 5 gallon USG pee bucket to the jots. I suppose it never occurred to them to dump it daily. Or that the task would have been a lot less disgusting if they had put the lid on the bucket or not filled it nearly to overflowing.

[essjay]

Pee jugs rule!

+1 on pee jugs. There is absolutely no reason to trek to the portos after you have taken your shoes off for the night. Once you get used to the jug, all concerns about whether you need to make one last porto run before bed are gone. And to wake up and just piss and go back to sleep, rather than having the internal debate as to whether you need to go out in the cold and find the porto, is a priceless comfort.