Hello from a 9 year noob!

[Merc007]

Hello All! This will be a decade on the Playa for me! Yet, it is my first time here on ePlaya and this year will be my first time without my husband and without my camp. I will be going as a lone wolf! I've always had a loving group around me as I entered BRC and I'm getting some feelings of anxiety along with the usual excitement of the up coming burn.

I'm not sure what to expect. I've always had early arrival to help set up our humble little camp and the last few years we've gotten theme camp space. This year I will be heading in during gate opening and finding my own space in the city. I won't have anyone to call out on the radio to let them know I'm through the gates and almost to our Playa home. No one to give me our very needed camp hangover remedy. What is a loner noob to do??

I will be poking around the forums, here and elsewhere, trying to find little nuggets of wisdom. Please feel free to say hello and leave a few words of encouragement or some tips and tricks for a first time loner!

Many hugs hello!!
-Merc

[FIGJAM]

Welcome to solo badass camp!!!

[Savannah]

Hi Merc!

I've camped alone before. I liked it! It was a little unnerving the first night, but I put up my tent before Gates opened, so my nearest neighbor was pretty far away, and rained and stormed that night. Exciting, actually. Quite a lovely experience. And then I gained some neighbors.

I wouldn't mind camping even further out and recreating the feeling of my first year when the city was less than half the size it is now. Since you first Burned in 2003 you remember something about that, I'll bet.

You might stop by the ePlaya Meet & Greet on Thursday 6pm of the Burn, Barbie Death Camp & Wine Bistro. 4:00 and Edelweiss. Bring a snack, drink or ice if you can, but if you're caught without, better come on by anyway. There now . . . you're not entirely a loner.

Welcome to the board.

[trilobyte]

Welcome to ePlaya! If you should have a change of heart and wish to connect with a new camp this year, you'll find plenty of groups of all shape and size (as well as a couple 'orphan' camps where people camp alone together), and of course in Black Rock City you're usually not far from a smiling face or open arms. Good luck with your adventure, and if you run into any questions about going solo that you don't see posted, go ahead and post it! Aside from a little bit of snark here and there I've found this to be one of the most helpful and encouraging places on the internet.

Cheers!

[misfit]

what happend to hubby, and camp.?.

[Ugly Dougly]

What happened to Amelia Earhart? Oh, she got eaten by cannibals!
Welcome! Don't worry!

[Savannah]

Welcome to ePlaya! If you should have a change of heart and wish to connect with a new camp this year, you'll find plenty of groups of all shape and size (as well as a couple 'orphan' camps where people camp alone together), and of course in Black Rock City you're usually not far from a smiling face or open arms. Good luck with your adventure, and if you run into any questions about going solo that you don't see posted, go ahead and post it! Aside from a little bit of snark here and there I've found this to be one of the most helpful and encouraging places on the internet.

Cheers!

Indeed . . . I just saw Zeke Chaparral saying Orphan Camp IV was still open to new folks, I think (at least: as of today). I'm not in the Book of Faces, but anyone else may check.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/406825406026912/

[Merc007]

Awwwee, you are all wonderful! I'll look into orphan camp. Sounds like a good place! LOL Going pure solo is a rather attractive idea as well, just a bit more Bear Grylls than I may be prepared for.

And Misfit, Hubby was founder of our camp, but there was some drama that was unpleasant and ended up pulling campers apart from one another... Long story short, Hubby wanted to start giving more leadership over to younger campers and ess hit the fan and scattered! Hubby made it to the burn 19 times and has had enough. As for the camp itself... Who know's you might see Camp Cul-De-Sac out there sometime in the future, but not this year. Some of us are heading back out, but not together.

Again, thank you all for your words! I feel better and am really getting amped for this year! Whoot!

-Merc

[gyre]

Camp Cul-de-Sac?
Well, fuck!
Sorry to hear that.

[Merc007]

Yeah, no walk by theater this year. No Bambi screening.... saddness!

[gyre]

I've met you before.
I was supposed to be camping with Cul-De-Sac in 2005.
Came in early, and someone forgot to register in playa info, so it took me a few days to find you guys.
You did have the second flashiest mailbox in Black Rock City.
I always come by to say hello.

I'm one of the Memphis burners.

[Merc007]

2005... Hmmmm, yeah I don't think much happened in camp other than the mailbox. I think we barely managed to get our camp shade up by Wednesday! LOL Well, I think L.A. from Memphis may be attending, Ron from LA/NYC and myself. Other than that, the Sac is either taking a break this year or fading into BRC. I'll be sure to put my name "Merc," aka Wes, if you wanna stop by and say hi this year! I will probably need the company!

[theCryptofishist]

And Misfit, Hubby was founder of our camp, but there was some drama that was unpleasant and ended up pulling campers apart from one another... Long story short, Hubby wanted to start giving more leadership over to younger campers and ess hit the fan and scattered! Hubby made it to the burn 19 times and has had enough. As for the camp itself... Who know's you might see Camp Cul-De-Sac out there sometime in the future, but not this year. Some of us are heading back out, but not together.

One of the burn-centered sociological studies I'd be interested in is some sort of long term study of how camps form and re-form.

[gyre]

Hi again, Merc!

I have to move again, so I'm about to turn my ticket in today so someone else can use it.
Planning for next year.

Believe me, you won't have any trouble meeting people or even joining a camp, if that's what you want.
Delivering mail will guarantee you'll meet a lot of people.

Just say -
"Hi, I'm Merc!
Who the fuck are you?"

Walk around and see what's going on.

Go to the meet n greet.
Not everyone on eplaya is an asshole.
And there are far more lurkers than you might guess.
You might meet some of them on playa.
I have.

Really, you'll do fine.

[Merc007]

Just say -
"Hi, I'm Merc!
Who the fuck are you?"

Walk around and see what's going on.

Go to the meet n greet.
Not everyone on eplaya is an asshole.
And there are far more lurkers than you might guess.
You might meet some of them on playa.
I have.

Really, you'll do fine.

Thanks much, gyre! I've been poking around bunches and have found that even in my 9 years on the playa, I've only scratched the surface of this thing called Burning Man! Think my wonderful camp may have been insulating me just a tad. And I haven't come across an asshole yet here on eplaya! LOL Everyone's been fairly helpful if not encouraging. Thank you all!

[gyre]

That's one reason i try to do something different every year.
Every day.

You can't ever see it all.

You really will do fine out there, Merc.