Give your virgin self ONE piece of advice...

[Elorrum]

If you fill up on gas in Fernley or Wadsworth on the way in, you'll be fine.

[theCryptofishist]

Work on getting past your coffee addiction now so you won't have to go stand in line every single day at Centre camp. I'm sure I missed a hell of a lot of neat stuff by going there all the time.
I've been working on tapering my coffee drinking for about 3 months now. I'm still an addict but now I don't need it every day. I really feel better in so many ways! I lost my sweet tooth!! Amazing shit.

Or learn how to make coffee. Or figure out where the local coffee gifting camps are. Because, center camp coffee and no coffee are the two least acceptable solutions to the coffee dilemma I can think of. Well, being trampled by elephants while licking coffee spills off the playa is worse. Not by much, but it is worse.

[Savannah]

Work on getting past your coffee addiction now so you won't have to go stand in line every single day at Centre camp. I'm sure I missed a hell of a lot of neat stuff by going there all the time.
I've been working on tapering my coffee drinking for about 3 months now. I'm still an addict but now I don't need it every day. I really feel better in so many ways! I lost my sweet tooth!! Amazing shit.

Or learn how to make coffee. Or figure out where the local coffee gifting camps are. Because, center camp coffee and no coffee are the two least acceptable solutions to the coffee dilemma I can think of. Well, being trampled by elephants while licking coffee spills off the playa is worse. Not by much, but it is worse.

Aye. I taper my caffeine use leading up to the event, but my second strategy is canned coffee. Trader Joe's makes a decent mocha, and there are many other brands. Have a few in the cooler at all times and not are only are you prepped to pre-funk, but ready to gift.

[Elorrum]

Work on getting past your coffee addiction now so you won't have to go stand in line every single day at Centre camp. I'm sure I missed a hell of a lot of neat stuff by going there all the time.
I've been working on tapering my coffee drinking for about 3 months now. I'm still an addict but now I don't need it every day. I really feel better in so many ways! I lost my sweet tooth!! Amazing shit.

Or learn how to make coffee. Or figure out where the local coffee gifting camps are. Because, center camp coffee and no coffee are the two least acceptable solutions to the coffee dilemma I can think of. Well, being trampled by elephants while licking coffee spills off the playa is worse. Not by much, but it is worse.

Aye. I taper my caffeine use leading up to the event, but my second strategy is canned coffee. Trader Joe's makes a decent mocha, and there are many other brands. Have a few in the cooler at all times and not are only are you prepped to pre-funk, but ready to gift.

coffee...more on playa. can you boil water? make drip from a funnel and a filter. get a french press, a stove top espresso maker, a percolator, instant coffee, coffee bags, it's endless really. then canned coffee, coffee concentrate, ice coffee. or energy drinks if it's the caffeine. seriously how self reliant is someone who thinks the only thing they can do is stand in line at center camp? My first morning on playa, somebody walked across the road with a cup of coffee for me, unbidden. it's there. walk 50 yards in any direction with an empty mug and a bag of donuts. you'll have coffee.

[theCryptofishist]

I couldn't find the cans in Trader Joe's yesterday...

[hippyDdoc]

fuck all that. Coffee is a MUST, fire up the genny, get the keurig out 3 min later COFFEE , thank god I sleep in til 8-9 for my neighbors sake

[Savannah]

I couldn't find the cans in Trader Joe's yesterday...

Luckily, regular grocery stores carry canned coffee too. It just costs a little more than Trader Joe's sometimes.

I have grown so fond of the french press I was given that I have given thought of taking it to the playa.

[Jackass]

The french press is where it's at, that's my number one go-to for camping and home use. Good coffee, easy clean up, fail proof (unless the glass breaks)

[Savannah]

The french press is where it's at, that's my number one go-to for camping and home use. Good coffee, easy clean up, fail proof (unless the glass breaks)

They make them in stainless steel.

[AntiM]

They also make them in shatterproof plastic, the tough stuff, BPA free blah blah... we have a bright yellow one. I hate cleaning it. I mean, do you do it right away so it is done? Wit until it dries out? Huh? And figuring out the grind... eep.

[Tiffadactyl]

Don't bother packing your expectations or attachments because they are pretty much useless at Burningman. Be present in the moment and the playa will sort you out far better than if you are looking for a particular experience. Be open

[VultureChow]

The french press is where it's at, that's my number one go-to for camping and home use. Good coffee, easy clean up, fail proof (unless the glass breaks)

They make them in stainless steel.

I'm an iced coffee girl, so Starbucks via iced coffee in the morning is perfect for me.

The playa has a way seasoning everything so that it is THE BEST THING EVER!

That morning coffee could be folgers, but when it's handed to you as you stumble home at 6am it is the greatest thing you've ever tasted. The first sip from a camelbak filled with ice water is an immense pleasure. Hot steamtable food that you might ignore altogether at a corporate event is magical.

[oscillator]

Pickles. Lots and lots of pickles. The big gnarly garlicy kind. Around day 6, you will make new friends forever.

Put 'em in a ziploc. Actually put all your food in zip locs and leave the packaging behind.

Oh, and a great recording of Beethoven's 9th Symphony and a rocking sound system so you can blast it during a white out. You know, for safety.

This one is good and goes well with pickles:

Symphony No. 9 "Choral"
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Herbert von Karajan, conductor

"Safety Ninth"

[Savannah]

The french press is where it's at, that's my number one go-to for camping and home use. Good coffee, easy clean up, fail proof (unless the glass breaks)

They make them in stainless steel.

I'm an iced coffee girl, so Starbucks via iced coffee in the morning is perfect for me.

The playa has a way seasoning everything so that it is THE BEST THING EVER!

That morning coffee could be folgers, but when it's handed to you as you stumble home at 6am it is the greatest thing you've ever tasted. The first sip from a camelbak filled with ice water is an immense pleasure. Hot steamtable food that you might ignore altogether at a corporate event is magical.

Absolutely true . . .

I still remember the cocktail onion given to me in a martini at Club Seal almost 13 years ago on the playa. It filled me with wonder that someone would go to the trouble to prepare for Gibson martinis. It wasn't even what they were officially offering.

[Sunny D]

- Completely surrender to all the experiences and lessons that the playa will bring.
- Sometimes it's okay to want to seek solitude from your camp mates to take time to reflect or explore on your own.
- Light your camp well so you can find it at night.
- Shit happens! If the car breaks down or the RV flooded - the universe doesn't give you a challenge you can't handle.
- Coconut oil and coconut water are life savers! And so is aloe vera juice!

[^Rhino!]

Folger's Coffee Bags. Like tea bags, but taste better.



Just add hot water and steep as long as you need.

[Canoe]

Best coffee I've tasted, ever.

Cold brewed.
http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic. ... ee#p761029
I leave my soak in the fridge for one or two days (when I remember it).

Make it before you go to the playa. Mix with cold water over ice for read-to-drink iced coffee. Mix with hot water for ready-to-drink hot coffee. What could be simpler?

[Zhust]

Be basically prepared; don't try to be prepared for every thing you think of.

Also, at night: it's not so light that you can be seen without any illumination, but it's so bright that you need to be dazzling.

[kiss-o-matic]

Take a tub of Cetaphil cream (not the bullshit lotion you get out of a pump... the kind you dip your hand in) and some gloves (work gloves, or surgical -- multiple pairs). Lather up + gloves before bed each night.

[CornMan]

Change the clutch in the motorhome before going to Burning Man.

[strange love]

Don't ride your bike through wet playa.

[tamarakay]

Pickles. Lots and lots of pickles. The big gnarly garlicy kind. Around day 6, you will make new friends forever.

Put 'em in a ziploc. Actually put all your food in zip locs and leave the packaging behind.

Oh, and a great recording of Beethoven's 9th Symphony and a rocking sound system so you can blast it during a white out. You know, for safety.

This one is good and goes well with pickles:

Symphony No. 9 "Choral"
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Herbert von Karajan, conductor

"Safety Ninth"

(swoon)

I love love love osc!

[tamarakay]

Also, just give in and by the darned Aeropress as someone suggested to you three years ago. Then I wouldn't have had to wait for the neighbors to wake up before turning on the genny to use the Keurig. Plus, you can make a concentrate and just add ice/water anywhere.

[pretty_monster]

less is more when it comes to costumes. what is grand and flowing in the default world is a dusty, tangled mess on the playa.

also: fuck costumes. this is a chance to truly be yourself. you don't have to dress up as something else.

[Savannah]

Virgin Self, I've got nothing to say to you. Things worked out.

[Zhust]

Virgin Self, I've got nothing to say to you. Things worked out.

Yeah, effectively:

Virgin Self, I've got nothing to say to you. Things worked out.

The toil and the tears ... the "not fitting in". Oh, it's going to be a glorious mess. So shh ... don't tell my Virgin Self. Otherwise, I wouldn't be who I am now.

But you know, I think I could have done without packing all that stuff I certainly didn't need. And I don't think that would have affected things for the worse. I could say, "don't buy dollar-store blinky shit" but then I wouldn't have given that LED pen to the woman and experienced that awkward embarrassment [that went nowhere].

[Runlinds]

If you find love on the playa, LEAVE. IT. THERE. It will not be the same in the default world.

[maladroit]

If you find love on the playa, LEAVE. IT. THERE. It will not be the same in the default world.

That might have been true for you...but everyone needs to make their own decision and sometimes things work out. Your virgin self wouldn't have taken that advice.

[tahiti_treat]

Dear Virgin Tahiti_Treat:

I know you are afraid of getting dehydrated but if you're remembering to drink water every hour or so, you'll be fine. You don't need to pound it back all day so that your belly is permanently sloshy and distended. If you have to run to the porta-potties every 10 minutes, maybe cut back a bit. Especially at night.