User:Butterbits

Monday
Arrived at Black Rock City around noon after camping somewhere just north of Alturas, California. On the way, Sushi told me about the chemical reaction inherent in fusion and fission bombs. Hydrogen, neutron, etc. Scary, but cool: vaporization of human bodies! We also figured that about 750,000 gallons of gas are used getting to Burning Man every year. We'd like to arrange the rental/donation of one or two rail cargo and passenger cars to carry all the people and crap from all the Portland camps.

Check check check 1-2-1-2, Drivin' down the road with the Mooncake Krew. M-o-o-n K-r-e-w, Don't ya know that we'll be lovin' you.

We arrived and started setting up. Byrnesie worked all damn day and after dinner on the loft structure. We put up the Free Geek carport with all the accoutrements: that thing is strapped down in every possible way it can be, and gives us good protection from the dust storms. Thanks, Free Geek!

Sushi spent hours on the greatest solar-powered electrical system. We have music, lights at night in the camp, and electronics recharging power. Without freakin' smelly/loud diesel generators.

This place is dry, and vast, and beautiful, and harsh. Still getting used to the dust constantly in my eyes, and physical work requires very consistent water and food breaks to avoid overheating. But the sunsets are amazing.

We headed out (after the inevitable 1.5 hours it takes this camp to get dolled up) and visited the man and some art out on the playa. The theme this year is The Future: Hope and Fear. The pavillion surrounding the man (how can you really tell it's a man and not a woman?) is constructed in a neo-modernist style. Clean and good. I like it. The temple, a place to think about people who've died and maybe just meditate a bit on life, is in the same style. It actually reminds me of the Rose Quarter Yellow Line Max stop: upside-down tree-lookin' sculptures extend over an area about 3/4 the size of a football field. Beautiful.

Then we went to a huge structure: cave-like but open, made of long thin pieces of wood. A DJ played, and the crowd was wonderful. You know you're around good people when they can look you in the eye while you're dancing and still dance all eccentrically and silly.

I got a little too wasted, was separated from my friends, and had to sit down. A nice computer animator from BC named Alex offered to walk me and my bike home. Thank god people are so helpful here: it makes me feel safe. I got home, and we hung out with my campmates for a bit before I went to bed.

Tuesday
Worked on the mini-maxi chopper today: the handlebars need welding, but I found out about a chopper-making camp, so I'll visit them soon.

Today was a day for workshops. Brad held a fire staff-making workshop at our camp, a few of us headed out to a smooching workshop (it was a bust: too many gnarly, hetero men and a strange vibe), and went to a inner tube craft workshop. Yea, this place is kind of a constant party if you want it to be, but you can also pick up lots of skills and experiences along the way.

I've had lots of amazing conversations with the women in my camp. They're deeply thoughtful, supportive people. And they've got creative fashion senses. I'm incredibly happy to have them around.

Folks are getting ready to go out now. Brad says to tell you all that I think he looks incredibly sexy in his red pants and striped arm warmers. The fuzzy ears on the hat are a nice touch, too. The world could do with a bit more silliness, no?

Wednesday
Morningtime is the best. Still cool, the day full of possibility. Picked up our extra costumes and food from Bjorn, who arrived today, then our krew ate some bacon and drank bloody marys at the camp next door. Brad tried to weld the chopper, but the welder wasn't working, he got frustrated, a spark landed hot-hot on my leg, and I fulfilled my cranky quotient for the day.

Then nap. Then went to deliver a postcard to the airport, stopped at a few places along the way, and got caught in a massive dust storm in my skivvies out on the playa, where there's just about nothing for protection. Not too bad: 25-30 mph winds. I put on my goggles and dust mask, put my back to the wind, and waited. The sun got dark -- it looked like the moon -- and I could see about 10 feet in front of where I sat. A pilot eventually led me through the storm to the airport. He said that some of the planes probably weren't tied down properly and might be floating down the playa. Not good. The folks at the airport there didn't know the person who the card was addressed to, but were in good spirits in their wind-protected structure. They were dressed up and drinkin'.

I fought upwind to get back to camp. Fun! I had to stand up and pedal in my lowest gear to move at all. The winds and dust were lighter in the city, and eventually let up completely after an hour or so.

We just had a meal of all the stuff that was about to go bad: burritos, mostly, with some additional accoutrements. Spicy beef!

Brad's spanking and biting everyone, Emily's a killer pole dancer, and Miriam knows how to spank just right: sauciness abounds.

Dance Dance Immolation: one of the best games ever, with fire shooting straight at the players. We watched for a while, and I wanted to play, but the line was too friggin' long. Poop. Lots of fire, though. Hott.

Thursday
Earlier this week, I met a friend of some campmates named Nico. It turns out that I'd met Nico a couple of times at Reed back in the day. I talked with Nico for an hour or two up in our camp's crow's nest this morning. He opened my eyes to a lot of men's issues out on the playa and elsewhere.

Byrnesie's birthday! He rushed into camp in the morning and gave everyone spankings. Jen had made matching shirts for all of us with a picture of him on them. He didn't notice until we pointed them out, then sat down and laughed.

Went to a prom with Phil's friend Bjorn in the afternoon. Bjorn came to pick me up at my camp, and my campmates grilled him while he waited for me to finish getting dressed. They tried to make him as uncomfortable as possible, "So, what do you do for a living? When will you have her back home?" I guess they approved, as they gave him a PBR before we left. The prom was fun. The Hurricane rum drink they served was great, and we were crowned king and queen (probably because we were the only couple that danced during the whole thing.

Epic dancing night. We went to Jawa, where we'd danced the first night, and got down for a couple of hours. Then wandered the playa, hung out, and drank. My campmates are wonderful, no-drama, and while a few of them can be somewhat annoying when drunk, I still like hanging with them.

Friday
Today we were invited to serve tea around the city with someone from another camp who was giving out raw, vegan cookie dough. I took the opportunity to ask some people some questions about their burning man experience and record their answers with Sushi's pda. I've always been curious about others' experiences at Burning Man: what does this place hold? Is it more than I could attain? The responses were generally really thoughtful, and folks liked to talk about what they've been through.

Critical Tits ride was a 4pm. 6,000 topless women on a 1.5 mile bike ride through the playa, with men lining much of the way, many of them snapping photos. Last year, I had some mixed feelings about the ride: the photo-taking seemed a bit too voyeristic and pervy, but I want to support women and our right to be naked. I interviewed a few women on tape, and recorded much of a great debrief conversation we had at our camp.

Saturday
This morning, two emo-coolie guys dressed in huge, parachute material, stuffed fat lady suits were jumping on the trampoline at the end of the block. They were giggling and doing ollies. If only the coolie hipsters in Portland would get over themselves.

In front of the Death Guild camp (the folks that run the Thunderdome -- yea, I shit you not: there's a Thunderdome), there's a 2-ft. high ramp set up. Through a megaphone, "Go over the Ramp of Death! Every time you bike over the Ramp of Death, a raver dies a painful death.  You!  On the unicycle!  Go over the Ramp of Death!"

I love this place.

Finally, on Saturday, the mini-maxi chopper has been fixed! The good folks at the Astral Vortex camp (a PDX-based camp) whipped out the welder and fixed it, no problem. I can't help but smile while I ride that thing (even though its steering accuracy is somewhat dubious). Hooray!