How do you decide how to spend your time at BM?

mars · Post by **mars** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 10:48 am

I'm curious how people end up choosing what to do at BM? There is just SO MUCH to do and such limited time.

I've been two years so far. The first year I regret that I spent most of my time with my own campmates and was only there for four days. The second year I was there for a week and got out on my own much more and met other people/camps. But both years, afterwards, I realized how much more there was to do/see. For example, in that entire book of scheduled events, in two years, I went to 3 events. I know there will always be the problem that you can't do it all, but I'm curious what works for people in dealing with that.

Basically what I want to know is, how do you balance doing/scheduling things, while still going with the flow, staying present, enjoying the moment, and all that?

I know I can hang out in one spot all day and be happy and/or I can run around all day and not experience anything.

What is your experience on how to maximize your limited time at BM?

Mars

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 10:55 am

I don't schedule a lot. Just leads to more expectations and that can lead to disappointment. I get the stuff I need to get done first, and then just start walking or riding and kind of just let the day happen. Some things came to mind like after glancing at the WWW for a while. Next year I think I want to hang out at least one day out in the burbs. I spent my entire time this year within the orbit of Mars.

stuart · Post by **stuart** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 11:41 am

magic 8-ball

Ivy · Post by **Ivy** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 12:13 pm

magic 8-ball

Heh. that's how I got to BM in the first place.

DVD Burner · Post by **DVD Burner** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 12:27 pm

stuart wrote:magic 8-ball

Ummmmm, sounds yummy to me.

blyslv · Post by **blyslv** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 12:45 pm

Maximizing consumption of art at the event can be a daunting task. You can double the caffiene intake, but that leads to crashes. Freinds of friends have created sensory dopplers, but that raises a host of issues and often leads to a certain dilution. Riding a bike is good, a golf cart is better. I never stop to talk to random strangers, becasue then I get distracted from mapping the quadrant I've established as my goal. Throwing a party is good, insofar as you might consider other people and their choice of adornment as "art." Then it comes to you. Bribe people with booze to be your friend and you don't have to travel as much. Arrive early and stay late. Multiple years in attendance can increase your world weariness to the point where you just don't care, and many of the larger installations make repeat appearances. Don't waste time on things that seem unimportant.

sparkletarte · Post by **sparkletarte** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 1:41 pm

Oh, I like the 8 ball idea!

I don't try to maximize anything. I just do what I feel like, which this year wasn't a whole lot in terms of workshop/events type of things, but it was a lot in meeting people, cruising, hanging at camp, and having fun. Also I drink a red bull a day- that helps.

I did pick day where I wanted to go on an art tour, and that worked pretty well, sort of.

Next time I will make more of an effort to take part in some workshops. I don't know how, I'll just try to pick a couple things, or maybe one a day, and aim to do that.

EB · Post by EB » Mon Oct 04, 2004 5:57 pm

Let Burning Man come to you, grasshoppah.

re: Magic 8 Ball. I always got "Ask Again Later." (sigh)

sputnik · Post by **sputnik** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 6:13 pm

I didn't do everything I wanted to, but I did all I could. Next year will be just as fabulous, maybe moreso. Next year I won't do the things I did this year. Next year I will live in the moment and do the things that look immediately interesting rather than think I'll get back to them later while I hike or bike off to that thing that sounded soooo cool on paper but that turned out to be nothing at all.

Silver 2 · Post by **Silver 2** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 7:07 pm

My first year I knew no one and ended up wandering around and seeing a lot and meeting a lot of people, this year I knew a whole lot of people and ended up spending a lot of time sitting around waiting for folks to get their act together. In the case of the young women I was kinda running around with, this ended up with me at the same dance place over and over again. Me: Let's try X. Girl 1: But thats all the way across the playa. Me: So, you and I nailed 25+ miles 2 weeks ago. Girl 1: But Girl 2 can't ride that far. This lead me to way too much 'Hey, Silver, try this", 'OK'. Which is also why I was late to the meet and greet and why I was not my usual self when I got there. Though I will admit that the two 'Hey try this' at the meet and greet did not help matters.

In any case, I have determined that next year I will wander and if I hook up with friends doing something interesting I will meander along otherwise I will hug, kiss and keep moving. Where I move to generally depends on the direction I happen to be facing when my feet start to move.

Full Disclosure: When you are 51 showing up at places with two barely 30 somethings is an ego boost; even if you are not sleeping with either of them. This clouds your judgement, even when you know that one of your functions is to keep young guys from getting too ahh, friendly. Further addmision; the 'Oh shit' look on guy's faces when I am introduced as 'Our friend Silver' is a hoot.

affinity · Post by **affinity** » Tue Oct 05, 2004 3:23 am

Stuart: Love the new photo....

Mister Jellyfish Mister · Post by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Tue Oct 05, 2004 6:14 am

It can be a blast having a hanging crew, but the self appointed leader is often the wrong choice. I was giving out little 2 minute egg timer hourglasses to people so we started using them to time people to get their shit together and show up before we moved on. We would scream their name for two minutes, then press on with the knowledge that we gave them a fair chance and an earnest wait. It was fun and it allowed people to peal off if they wanted to.

Early in the event I "loaned" my Who What Where When book and later I got hip to the coolness of loosing it. The only thing that was helpful was to know what the music schedule was at Club Verboten. You've got to admire Tim and his very German sense of scheduling. Different promises of experiences may or may not pan out, but when you see a night of only Glam Rock there, you know right away if it's going to hit the spot for you.

Mister Jellyfish Mister · Post by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Tue Oct 05, 2004 6:42 am

I could not claim any German blood at all if I did not disclose the following:

Tim's Glam Rock Night at Club Verboten was officially titled "When T-Rex Ruled The World".

Stuart: Maybe we can talk him in to an all-Erasure night next year!

Regarding this topic:

"Where your eyes don't go a filthy scarecrow waves his broomstick arms and does a parody of each unconcise thing you do" -They Might Be Giants

Tapestry · Post by **Tapestry** » Tue Oct 05, 2004 7:32 am

In the weeks before leaving for Burning Man, I went through all the online lists of camps, events and activities, checking out various webpages and reports from past burns. From that, I gave everything a lot of thought, and decided on all the things I wanted to see and visit. I made a big list of what I was going to do each day of the event.

As soon as I set up camp, I lost the list.

I ended up winging it the whole week... and I still had a good time. From now on, I think my plan is gonna be to not have a plan.

GuinivereElise · Post by **GuinivereElise** » Tue Oct 05, 2004 10:38 am

You know, by the time I got to BRC, I had ALREADY lost my sense of time and scheduling. The two-day drive down, and the promise of such a magnificent experience, quickly erased any need (or desire) to plan much of anything. So, really, I kind of loathed those little whowhatwherewhen books.

Not that they're a bad idea... just for me, personally, the idea of wearing a watch, checking the time, making a schedule of events, and planning things seemed so contrary to the lovely in-the-moment spirit that I was wanting to let live. So, I specifically DIDN'T plan anything. If friends of mine thought I would enjoy a specific show, they knew that they had to MAKE SURE that I went (read: find me and drag me along).

In fact, the only thing that I had loosely scheduled for myself was the critical tits ride. I was hurrying back from an art walk on the playa to my camp, so I could get my bike for the parade, and I realized that I was rushing. The realization very literally made me physically ill. So I stopped, I slowed down, and I MADE MYSELF miss the ride. I realized at that point that a good portion of my days in the 'real' world were spent in this rush. How awful!!

Really, I found it most enjoyable to just 'be', and follow no predetermined path.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Wed Oct 06, 2004 8:34 am

Mister Jellyfish Mister wrote:I could not claim any German blood at all if I did not disclose the following:

Tim's Glam Rock Night at Club Verboten was officially titled "When T-Rex Ruled The World".

Okay. I thought that nostalgia for 1970s Germany was RAF not, T-Rex. On the other hand, if I ever start sleeping with dead rock stars, Marc Bolan is first.

Mister Jellyfish Mister · Post by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Wed Oct 06, 2004 9:08 am

theCryptofishist wrote:
Mister Jellyfish Mister wrote:I could not claim any German blood at all if I did not disclose the following:

Tim's Glam Rock Night at Club Verboten was officially titled "When T-Rex Ruled The World".
Okay. I thought that nostalgia for 1970s Germany was RAF not, T-Rex. On the other hand, if I ever start sleeping with dead rock stars, Marc Bolan is first.

Yo ho Crypto. I was writing to that very German trait that compels us toward accuracy, precision, and beer. I'm more Belgian anyway. That's just a German who can cook.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Wed Oct 06, 2004 9:28 am

Mister Jellyfish Mister wrote:
theCryptofishist wrote:
Mister Jellyfish Mister wrote:I could not claim any German blood at all if I did not disclose the following:

Tim's Glam Rock Night at Club Verboten was officially titled "When T-Rex Ruled The World".
Okay. I thought that nostalgia for 1970s Germany was RAF not, T-Rex. On the other hand, if I ever start sleeping with dead rock stars, Marc Bolan is first.
Yo ho Crypto. I was writing to that very German trait that compels us toward accuracy, precision, and beer. I'm more Belgian anyway. That's just a German who can cook.

Dang, I'm sure it depends on Wallon v Flemish.

dana · Post by **dana** » Wed Oct 06, 2004 10:57 am

I think the appropriate tem is Brownian motion - used to describe random movement of particle. Fits me pretty well.

Usual plan: wake up too late and slow on the coffee intake to take in anything early in the morning. Then go to ctr camp and peruse the 'where-to' guide you got at greeters station. Write down a bunch of 'must do's'. Then don't go to anything all day while I recoup my energy listening to music and slouching and napping. Energy mysteriously reappears in the evening. Go out and play!
Next year I'll be even more organized!

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Thu Oct 07, 2004 8:45 am

dana wrote:I think the appropriate tem is Brownian motion - used to describe random movement of particle. Fits me pretty well.

My father (Emiritus Prof of Physics at UCB) describes Brownian motion this way: Imagine a bunch of drunks in a pile. They get up and move around and distribute themselved. Much as do particles in a pile.
Or something like that.

safetythird · Post by **safetythird** » Fri Oct 08, 2004 5:07 pm

First year but stayed in a large camp with lots of friends. Had tons of plans to meet up with other people, see certain camps, art pieces, etc. Plans got larger after reading the WWW and hearing what our friends wanted to do.

Promptly ditched the plans and our friends in favor of spontaneous wanderings. Barely spent any time in camp or with camp mates. Every time we headed out to go see something we were wonderfully distracted by someone/something even better. GF and I had the times of our lives.

Looking forward to the unplanned excursions next year.

S3

mars · Post by **mars** » Sat Oct 09, 2004 9:17 am

I appreciate hearing from y'all.

I think my "problem" is that I love my campmates so much, that it was hard for me to leave my camp. I could easily just hang out there the entiire week, but then I would miss out on so many other things and I can hang out with my camp mates at home as well.

Either I had to try to herd them all, which ain't an easy task--unless they all needed to pee and we could stop at portopotties on the way to whereever--

OR I had to go off by myself, which was hard cuz I didn't really want to leave my buds and miss the fun at home, even though there was other fun to be had elsewhere

OR I had to try to leave with a small group, which was hard because the bigger group would feel the pull and would end up wanting to come at the last minute and then we'd all have to wait while everyone suddenly decided to come because we were on our way out.

So having a camp you love can be a real PROBLEM!!!! (Now THERE'S a good California whine for y'all!)

Next year, Mars is gonna get out there more!

sparkletarte · Post by **sparkletarte** » Sat Oct 09, 2004 12:07 pm

I loved my campmates too and wanted to be with them a lot. I would pair up with one and go adventuring. We'd always seem to meet back up for dinner at camp so then we could go do stuff in the evening together. Really, the only thing we all did together was the man burn. I guess you need to have campmates that don't get offended if you say leaving in 10 minutes and then you leave without them if they aren't ready, or they can say, 'leave without me' and be fine with it. That's the key.

Mister Jellyfish Mister · Post by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Sun Oct 10, 2004 7:31 am

One of the joys of the playa was seeing something cool, and then watching how somebody you care about reacts to the same thing. In some slight way, I found it took me out of the moment. I still loved galavanting with a "hangin' crew", I kept reminding myself that it was all temporary. Just like some water molecules that briefly swirl around each other in a stream. They may or may not meet up again.

mars · Post by **mars** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 10:22 pm

Looking forward to the unplanned excursions next year.

If you plan on unplanned excursions, doesn't that mean that the excursions are planned?

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 11:46 am

The only hardwired plan I've had the last two years was to have a designated "Tourist Day", where I'd ride the deep Playa and photograph art....And then pretty much pack the camera away except for sunsets and camp shots. I had a few crummy experiences with Burnier-Than-Thou types calling me a Tourist just for catching a few snaps of things so that the Folks At Home could see, and since I'm too sensitive to crap like that it's easier to pack it into one day than to dodge Bad Vibes all week for nothing.
One of my favorite things about BM is that Best Laid Plans have a strong tendency towards Gang Agley, and that you can be a hundred feet away from something interesting, like a full-scale herd of flaming aluminum giraffes, and not even suspect it. I usually just start walking in a random direction and stop when I run into something interesting, or the trash fence.

robbidobbs · Post by **robbidobbs** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 6:47 pm

I'd wake up every morning at dawn, get my gear/supplies together and go to breakfast. Poop Patrol all day. Sleep in my truck at night. Repeat.

I didn't get to do much sight-seeing, except incidentally. Talked to a LOT of people about shit. Kept my eyes open for ways to distract myself from PP, but often fell short of satisfactory. I was pretty focused on work this year.

Anyone coming thru K-Falls? I could use the company of a burner beer drinking partner. Esp german beer.

Beer is good food.

tonytohono · Post by **tonytohono** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 8:32 pm

I got up the morning, pulled out the bottle and started guzzling, when it was gone, or I was too drunk to care, I tossed the bottle on the ground and spun it. Wherever it pointed I went. Really sucked when it pointed west and I ended up passed out at the western end of the fences. Fortunately, a couple of joggers came by and woke me up.

How do you decide how to spend your time at BM?

How do you decide how to spend your time at BM?

~

Hanging Crew

German Blood

Re: German Blood

Re: German Blood

Re: German Blood

how do you ..... what was it again?

Re: how do you ..... what was it again?

~

be here now

Tourist Day