Okay okay I'm here already!

[cyberina]

Hello! I know several of you, and I'm finally joining you.

I'd been trying to make it to Burning Man since 1998, and attempts to get me at Burning Flipside began very shortly thereafter.

The list of camps and individuals that had tried to kidnap me to the playa over the years is far too long. The biggest thing that had kept me behind was hosting an electronic music radio show on a Dallas community radio station that is not particularly open to their hosts taking time off for incidental reasons, though some years other reasons were significant as well. It really meant a lot of me to provide the stage for independant music year round, and as awesome as the event seemed, it did not seem worth risking my pulpit for supporting art year-round.

I finally began getting away to the Texas regional burns in 2007.... I had developed enough clout at the station that I could get away with breaking the rules 1/52th to 1/26th of the time. It was nice to be able to jump right in after so many years, and was never really regarded as "a virgin."

I had everything setup to FINALLY make it to the big burn in 2011... PTO saved, tickets obtained, camp decided, transportation arranged, the whole 9 yards.... Then, Murphy's Law decided nooOooOoOoOoOOoOooOOoO, and I was at home having my own little Rite of Passage quite literally.

For 2013, my best friend decided "Enough is enough!!!! I'M MAKING YOU COME!!!!!!" And she did. She got me a ticket, and arranged to meet me halfway across the country to ride in to the playa together. She camped in a very large sound camp and while I'm obviously in full support of music, I had more Mad Max style burn fantasies. We wound up camping on polar opposite ends (I was 2:30, she was 10). Grateful that I was able to catch up with PlayaWaste Raiders through mutual friends. Terminal City gave me the kind of home I was looking for.

It was really interesting to me to be seen as a virgin burner, after all of these years tied to regional burns, and some very involved folks at the big burn. I didn't feel virgin at all.

I will not be out in 2014.... But I will be back in 2015.

[trilobyte]

Hello, and welcome to the site. I find it kind of funny how people relate to the notion of being a virgin burner. By the very simple definition, of never having been to the Burning Man event before, you were very clearly and obviously a virgin - in that regards, it seems a bit odd that you'd ever have thought of yourself as anything else. People attach an awful lot of significance to such a simple thing, and people try to turn that simple thing into something else. Congrats on getting it out of the way - life is full of firsts, may that be one of many more to come. Welcome aboard!

[cyberina]

....By the very simple definition, of never having been to the Burning Man event before, you were very clearly and obviously a virgin - in that regards, it seems a bit odd that you'd ever have thought of yourself as anything else. People attach an awful lot of significance to such a simple thing, and people try to turn that simple thing into something else......

Yes, people do put a huge amount of significance on whether or not someone has actually step foot on BRC soil. Really, that was the one and only unanticipated, unimagined surprise for me is how much weight people put on that, and it truly returned different extremes of interaction towards me from being overly helpful to being overly avoidant (and everything in between).

Since the word virgin usually has sexual connotation, I could say that I had been playing 3rd base for quite a long time.

[Elliot]

...
Since the word virgin usually has sexual connotation, I could say that I had been playing 3rd base for quite a long time.

Many of us a saying "Birgin" now.

[cyberina]

Many of us a saying "Birgin" now.

Awww... I ain't scared.
I know better than to even mention my burn experience without expecting an eyeroll from a 5+ year veteran or two.

If this weren't the Internet, someone would have already swooped in and stated something insanely obvious to be helpful to the n00b, as well.
BUT... This is the Internet and thus eyerolls prevail.

Maybe someone will step up the game with a touch of disinformation to counter my candid honesty.

[gaminwench]

Perhaps you could get your radio station to send you to BRC;

y'know "Cyberina, live from BRC, bringing you the best in electrobeats from Robot Heart" sort of thing ...


welcome.

[ygmir]

...
Since the word virgin usually has sexual connotation, I could say that I had been playing 3rd base for quite a long time.

Many of us a saying "Birgin" now.

I say Burngin, but well, that's just me.

[Elliot]

Yeah, and I posted a rare (I hope) garbled sentence.
Birgin, Burgin Burngin, Gin & Tonic....

[TT120]

Welcome to eplaya!

Here's a piece of advice:

This is E-Playa not THE Playa. Take anything these fucko's say with a grain of salt. There can be a lot of snark here and thick skin will serve you well. They all can mean well but it doesn't always work out that way. When you meet them in person, they're all really cool. Most of these people have been going for years and have a lot of good information for you but you will be expected to do a little research on your own. Every question you have has probably been answered several times here. The search function isn't the best but it can work. Google is also your friend.

It's not really too hard, just prepare for a week long camping trip in the desert, leave all expectations at home, and you should have a splendid time.

[Elderberry]

Hey there, welcome to eplaya!

[cyberina]

Perhaps you could get your radio station to send you to BRC;

y'know "Cyberina, live from BRC, bringing you the best in electrobeats from Robot Heart" sort of thing ...


welcome.

You know, I never quite felt comfortable with broadcasting a burn stage across 100 mile range in one of the country's biggest radio markets.... Even though I was on a non-profit pledge-drive funded community radio station, it still felt exploitative.

I retired from hosting/producing my show after 14 years this past January and joined their advisory board instead, which was one of the many factors that allowed for me to be out of town *2 Fridays in a row* to attend a full week of BM.

I made a VERY strong point NOT to bring any music with me to BRC. I absolutely, positively did NOT want to DJ, and turned down a few gigs on friends' stages.... Instead, I volunteered my time to running sound for live music performances, which is a skill that I had to offer. I'm ultimately really glad I did it that way because, frankly, LIVE music (even if electronic) falls much more in line with the dystopian fantasies I had long held about BRC than DJing ever will, and it helped me to get past an internal, very personal conundrum I was feeling stuck on regarding my own musical performances.

[Elliot]

...
I volunteered my time to running sound for live music performances...

I salute you!