A little less noob-ish now when it comes to burns, still haven't gone to Burning Man though. Been to Transformus in NC twice and Alchemy in GA twice as well. Hoping to go to Southeast Decomp this weekend!
I really love burners and the community. I've met some really great people and forged some friendships at burns and you can't ask for much more than that out of an event.
I like volunteering a lot. When I went to my first burn I wasn't sure how I'd fit in, I'm not really artsy, or creative. Luckily I've found that with most people at burns you can just be yourself, whatever that is and you fit right in. So to stop myself from becoming a spectator I started volunteering right off the bat and found that I enjoy it a lot. My first burn at Transformus I volunteered for First Aid, they needed someone desperately to be on duty during the effigy burn, so I spent my first burn being sober and on duty. I didn't mind though, I got one of the best views available because being on duty I got introduced to the fire team and their medic. I've made some friends with them and have been around to help the fire team at every burn I've been to so far. I pretty much did the same thing at my first Alchemy. EMS and helping out the fire team at the burn. Second time around at Transformus I wore a lot of different hats. I showed up early and helped DPW a bit, I was on EMS, Rangers and Fire Safety. This past Alchemy I wore only one hat but I was the EMS team lead. I gained some valuable insight and first-hand experience on what our poor team leads have to go through. With only about 25% of my scheduled staff actually showing up for their shifts and being on call for the entire event. Only a few near catastrophes though, so no big deal. Regardless I had an awesome time doing that.
Don't get me wrong, I love to party and I always try to make sure I get time to do it when I go to a burn, but volunteering seems to be a core part of my burn experience. Maybe one day I'll get burnt out on trying to help things run, but I hope not. Even though most people look at it as a tedious job and they just volunteer because they feel like they need to, I really enjoy doing it. I like being able to interact with people, and I like keeping burners safe and healthy while they go crazy for a weekend. Also I like the free bacon and booze that I'm given.
Anyways, not sure why I shared all that, but there is a little insight on me and the way I burn
How do you burn?
