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Sep. 8th, 2009 18:48![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
torquillThis year's Burn was more satisfying than the last in a lot of respects. That said, there is still room for lots of improvement next year.
I solved 90% of the interpersonal problems that occurred last year (mostly by revising my own actions and expectations). So most of that went pretty smoothly. Greg and his sweetie and I got along well, minus the snarkiness that comes from lack of sleep and too much stress; no blood was shed and we're all still on good terms, so I would say it was a success on that front. Last year I was unhappy a lot of the time because I kept losing my companions or getting left behind, so this year I did most of my activities solo, and enjoyed myself. It's better with a friend, but I always end up worrying whether my companions are enjoying what we're doing or would really rather be somewhere else; when I'm by myself, the worries vanish and I can run around as the spirit moves me. Besides, I think a Burn experience can't be shared well. Problem dealt with.
Influx was difficult simply because it took more time than we expected. We left at 5pm on Sunday (almost exactly!) to avoid the I-80 closure at Colfax, which we managed by half an hour. We got into Reno around 10pm, and left around midnight or 12:30. We figured we might have to perch in somebody's camp for the last few hours before dawn, since hunting for space is hard in the dark. As it turned out, traffic started up halfway between Fernley (the truck stop at 80) and Gerlach (the town outside Black Rock City), not helped by the insane line waiting for the Gerlach Shell station which backed everything up for miles. It had been long enough when we hit Empire that Greg had to have a nap before he passed out while driving. By the time we got down onto the playa surface, it was getting light out. We dropped everyone off where they needed to go, then cruised around for a parking spot, getting more and more stressed... when it became evident that I was just short of having hallucinations (I don't think I've ever stayed up 27 hours before, even in college) Greg negotiated a few hours of perching at Poly Paradise so that I could have a nap. Sometime after that we moved to our final spot at 5:10 and Chaos, though I was still mostly asleep. We may have to figure out a better schedule for all that so that we aren't totally wrecked by what's become a 14-hour slog.
It was the Year of Equipment Failures, too. It was complicated by not having enough time to pack and prepare for the trip, but I think a lot of it would have happened anyway. The relay between the engine and the generator on the RV fused closed during the trip over (whoops) so the batteries were draining faster than usual. The generator refused to work after the first day, and we spent a day without running water or lights -- thank goodness I had put in the water tank drain outside, as it acted as our "well" when the water pump was off. The generator was made happier when a neighbor took a look at the battery bank, decided that the corrosion was excessive, and used his own generator to power the Dremel to take a bunch off; that made a good enough connection that the generator could start up again. However, the batteries themselves are so old they were basically dead, and we were running off of a friend's single deep-cycle battery we had borrowed (thank goodness). We had to run the generator daily, since my wind turbine wasn't ready to go, and the little solar panel we had gave it about a half-charge each day. My bike stand, which was invaluable this year, lost its locking bolt when I took it to Center Camp, so that I had to tie it open with twine. My solar oven worked beautifully (250F+), but the weather didn't cooperate; after 12 or 1pm, we got so much wind that the dust cut out most of the solar energy. I did cook some chicken in it for later use, but it wasn't able to heat up dinner any of the days we were there. Wacky weather; I don't remember it having that pattern every day last year. The refrigerator barely worked, and we lost the drain plug off of one of the ice chests. The engine developed a squeal which is probably a dying belt pulley, and we had to replace both front tires on the rig the morning of departure because one had developed very scary cracks. It was just one headache after another, and we got pretty stressed.
All of that gerry-rigging meant we were busy for the first half of the week, but I did get some good exploration in. I hooked up briefly with Helena, the family friend I had coached on prepping for her first Burn, and she was having a great time.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mikz stopped by a few times, which was a delight. I also found an old friend from the late 90's (anyone remember Tony Valerro?) by looking him up in the Directory -- I had no idea he was an eight-year veteran, and I'll have to add him on Facebook. I missed connections with dicedork despite efforts on both sides, but I think that was the only person I missed there. I even found Neverwas Haul, by virtue of having driven past it on the way in, so I met up with Joe (whom I met at a party a couple of months ago) and even got a tour of the playa on it one evening. That was fabulous. He says it's the most popular art car there, and I totally believe him; it got crowds of admirers everywhere it went.
We were camped across from a nice couple from Washington's upper peninsula, who set up Nude Camp, and we'll see whether we can camp next to them next year -- ours was a very good neighborhood. I found The Lost Penguin cafe at 3:15 and Esplanade, discovered that I knew one of the bartenders from a different party (nice guy), and talked to Coyote a few times. He's such a nice fellow, even if I do suspect his vocal chords are scarred from his fire-eating tricks; it makes him hard to hear when there's any ambient noise. I met a charmer who introduced himself as Homeless, though I forgot and had to track him down by description a couple of nights later (he showed up behind me while I was writing a note to him on the whiteboard). He reminds me a great deal of Steve Mikkelson in a way -- I wish he didn't live in Canada, as we seemed to connect on a good level. He's a cuddler, and warm (nice on a cold desert night), and has some very interesting ideas about philosophy, spirituality, and the nature of reality. He's also old enough to be my father, but who cares. :) Physically, he looks a bit like Bill Nighy to me.
I flirted with a few art cars (think like fish sporting alongside whales, only the whales are booming good techno music as they cruise along)... I found the Burninator, a collection of large propane jets that would go off in patterns as determined by the team on the center console, truly a breathtaking experience. I found an open-walled pavilion that had fire crawling idly along its ceiling, which is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life. I saw the Flamethrower Shooting Gallery start up for the night. I came across the Temple minutes before it opened, and so saw it in its pristine glory before it was covered in sharpied wishes and pictures of the deceased. I saw the giant Rubik's Cube as three separate teams tried to solve it at once. I found the Aluminum Dragon art bicycle again, both at night and again during the day so that I could get proper pictures (they were camped again where we had been last year, which was when I first saw it). There was a sandworm art car too, which I thought was appropriate. I saw the Man at night and in the daytime; less impressive than last year, but still the Man. I wandered out to 12:00 and perimeter, the furthest out you can legally get on the playa.
I got some good emotional work done too, which I needed. The Burn seems to be a good environment for me to do that, a sort of Brigadoon that doesn't work by real-world rules, out in a place that looks like the surface of the moon. It was satisfying.
By the end I had felt like enough playa dust had soaked into my pores to last me for another year; a week is enough, I think, though not too much. I'll be doing more bike work next year, though I may set up shop by myself (I got a bad taste in my mouth from Bike Rock City in Center Camp). I'll take some of the suggestions I got from the Alternative Energy Zone folks and get my wind turbine working by next year. We'll thoroughly clean and fix up the RV while it's in storage, since it's parked at Greg's house rather than the RV yard, so we can have more reliable equipment and more luxuries (like a sound system, perhaps). And I'll bring ingredients to make soda on site for the Zymurgist's Flocculation.
Exodus started far too early, when we got woken up at 3:20am by the Duck Pond (who lost their watch and didn't want to be late). We couldn't get back to sleep in 20 minutes, and the alarm was set for 3:45. We rolled just after 5am, amazingly, thanks to everyone getting there within the departure window, and got our time-constrained passenger to Concord BART in plenty of time to get to SFO for a 3pm flight. Still, I'm not sure we want to leave that early again, even if it did get us through Vacaville and Fairfield before the Labor Day traffic jam. Everybody else got a nap on board, but I can't sleep in a moving vehicle (to say I'm a light sleeper is an understatement) and Greg was driving. Both of us are pretty tired.
I'll see about posting pictures once I pull them off the camera. I don't have everything, especially since that little $60 camera didn't handle darkness really well, but I have some good shots that represent my experience out there.
I understand that others decide whether they'll go based on time off and money available, but I can't imagine missing it, even if I have to panhandle the ticket money. I guess I'm a Burner to the core.
I solved 90% of the interpersonal problems that occurred last year (mostly by revising my own actions and expectations). So most of that went pretty smoothly. Greg and his sweetie and I got along well, minus the snarkiness that comes from lack of sleep and too much stress; no blood was shed and we're all still on good terms, so I would say it was a success on that front. Last year I was unhappy a lot of the time because I kept losing my companions or getting left behind, so this year I did most of my activities solo, and enjoyed myself. It's better with a friend, but I always end up worrying whether my companions are enjoying what we're doing or would really rather be somewhere else; when I'm by myself, the worries vanish and I can run around as the spirit moves me. Besides, I think a Burn experience can't be shared well. Problem dealt with.
Influx was difficult simply because it took more time than we expected. We left at 5pm on Sunday (almost exactly!) to avoid the I-80 closure at Colfax, which we managed by half an hour. We got into Reno around 10pm, and left around midnight or 12:30. We figured we might have to perch in somebody's camp for the last few hours before dawn, since hunting for space is hard in the dark. As it turned out, traffic started up halfway between Fernley (the truck stop at 80) and Gerlach (the town outside Black Rock City), not helped by the insane line waiting for the Gerlach Shell station which backed everything up for miles. It had been long enough when we hit Empire that Greg had to have a nap before he passed out while driving. By the time we got down onto the playa surface, it was getting light out. We dropped everyone off where they needed to go, then cruised around for a parking spot, getting more and more stressed... when it became evident that I was just short of having hallucinations (I don't think I've ever stayed up 27 hours before, even in college) Greg negotiated a few hours of perching at Poly Paradise so that I could have a nap. Sometime after that we moved to our final spot at 5:10 and Chaos, though I was still mostly asleep. We may have to figure out a better schedule for all that so that we aren't totally wrecked by what's become a 14-hour slog.
It was the Year of Equipment Failures, too. It was complicated by not having enough time to pack and prepare for the trip, but I think a lot of it would have happened anyway. The relay between the engine and the generator on the RV fused closed during the trip over (whoops) so the batteries were draining faster than usual. The generator refused to work after the first day, and we spent a day without running water or lights -- thank goodness I had put in the water tank drain outside, as it acted as our "well" when the water pump was off. The generator was made happier when a neighbor took a look at the battery bank, decided that the corrosion was excessive, and used his own generator to power the Dremel to take a bunch off; that made a good enough connection that the generator could start up again. However, the batteries themselves are so old they were basically dead, and we were running off of a friend's single deep-cycle battery we had borrowed (thank goodness). We had to run the generator daily, since my wind turbine wasn't ready to go, and the little solar panel we had gave it about a half-charge each day. My bike stand, which was invaluable this year, lost its locking bolt when I took it to Center Camp, so that I had to tie it open with twine. My solar oven worked beautifully (250F+), but the weather didn't cooperate; after 12 or 1pm, we got so much wind that the dust cut out most of the solar energy. I did cook some chicken in it for later use, but it wasn't able to heat up dinner any of the days we were there. Wacky weather; I don't remember it having that pattern every day last year. The refrigerator barely worked, and we lost the drain plug off of one of the ice chests. The engine developed a squeal which is probably a dying belt pulley, and we had to replace both front tires on the rig the morning of departure because one had developed very scary cracks. It was just one headache after another, and we got pretty stressed.
All of that gerry-rigging meant we were busy for the first half of the week, but I did get some good exploration in. I hooked up briefly with Helena, the family friend I had coached on prepping for her first Burn, and she was having a great time.
mikz stopped by a few times, which was a delight. I also found an old friend from the late 90's (anyone remember Tony Valerro?) by looking him up in the Directory -- I had no idea he was an eight-year veteran, and I'll have to add him on Facebook. I missed connections with dicedork despite efforts on both sides, but I think that was the only person I missed there. I even found Neverwas Haul, by virtue of having driven past it on the way in, so I met up with Joe (whom I met at a party a couple of months ago) and even got a tour of the playa on it one evening. That was fabulous. He says it's the most popular art car there, and I totally believe him; it got crowds of admirers everywhere it went.We were camped across from a nice couple from Washington's upper peninsula, who set up Nude Camp, and we'll see whether we can camp next to them next year -- ours was a very good neighborhood. I found The Lost Penguin cafe at 3:15 and Esplanade, discovered that I knew one of the bartenders from a different party (nice guy), and talked to Coyote a few times. He's such a nice fellow, even if I do suspect his vocal chords are scarred from his fire-eating tricks; it makes him hard to hear when there's any ambient noise. I met a charmer who introduced himself as Homeless, though I forgot and had to track him down by description a couple of nights later (he showed up behind me while I was writing a note to him on the whiteboard). He reminds me a great deal of Steve Mikkelson in a way -- I wish he didn't live in Canada, as we seemed to connect on a good level. He's a cuddler, and warm (nice on a cold desert night), and has some very interesting ideas about philosophy, spirituality, and the nature of reality. He's also old enough to be my father, but who cares. :) Physically, he looks a bit like Bill Nighy to me.
I flirted with a few art cars (think like fish sporting alongside whales, only the whales are booming good techno music as they cruise along)... I found the Burninator, a collection of large propane jets that would go off in patterns as determined by the team on the center console, truly a breathtaking experience. I found an open-walled pavilion that had fire crawling idly along its ceiling, which is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life. I saw the Flamethrower Shooting Gallery start up for the night. I came across the Temple minutes before it opened, and so saw it in its pristine glory before it was covered in sharpied wishes and pictures of the deceased. I saw the giant Rubik's Cube as three separate teams tried to solve it at once. I found the Aluminum Dragon art bicycle again, both at night and again during the day so that I could get proper pictures (they were camped again where we had been last year, which was when I first saw it). There was a sandworm art car too, which I thought was appropriate. I saw the Man at night and in the daytime; less impressive than last year, but still the Man. I wandered out to 12:00 and perimeter, the furthest out you can legally get on the playa.
I got some good emotional work done too, which I needed. The Burn seems to be a good environment for me to do that, a sort of Brigadoon that doesn't work by real-world rules, out in a place that looks like the surface of the moon. It was satisfying.
By the end I had felt like enough playa dust had soaked into my pores to last me for another year; a week is enough, I think, though not too much. I'll be doing more bike work next year, though I may set up shop by myself (I got a bad taste in my mouth from Bike Rock City in Center Camp). I'll take some of the suggestions I got from the Alternative Energy Zone folks and get my wind turbine working by next year. We'll thoroughly clean and fix up the RV while it's in storage, since it's parked at Greg's house rather than the RV yard, so we can have more reliable equipment and more luxuries (like a sound system, perhaps). And I'll bring ingredients to make soda on site for the Zymurgist's Flocculation.
Exodus started far too early, when we got woken up at 3:20am by the Duck Pond (who lost their watch and didn't want to be late). We couldn't get back to sleep in 20 minutes, and the alarm was set for 3:45. We rolled just after 5am, amazingly, thanks to everyone getting there within the departure window, and got our time-constrained passenger to Concord BART in plenty of time to get to SFO for a 3pm flight. Still, I'm not sure we want to leave that early again, even if it did get us through Vacaville and Fairfield before the Labor Day traffic jam. Everybody else got a nap on board, but I can't sleep in a moving vehicle (to say I'm a light sleeper is an understatement) and Greg was driving. Both of us are pretty tired.
I'll see about posting pictures once I pull them off the camera. I don't have everything, especially since that little $60 camera didn't handle darkness really well, but I have some good shots that represent my experience out there.
I understand that others decide whether they'll go based on time off and money available, but I can't imagine missing it, even if I have to panhandle the ticket money. I guess I'm a Burner to the core.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-09-09 13:45 (UTC)This can be jury-rigged, depending on the model. One common plug size can be replaced by a 2-liter soda bottle cap if you add a layer or two of thin plastic (I used a sandwich baggie).
Alex
no subject
Date: 2009-09-09 18:01 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-09 16:06 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-11 00:17 (UTC)