Burning Man 2008: Simple pleasures, simple truths

Is this utopia? A place where we all live in peace and as equals? It is so beautiful in the morning as the sun comes out. People are so joyful and friendly.

I had my first hot cup of tea this morning. Ahhh. There is a Coffee Camp with industrial-strength La Marzoccos and Seattle baristas (yay!), which is the only place you can buy anything with cash (besides Ice Camp) in this “gift economy.” Nothing else can purchased. You can give someone something, preferably something that reflects something personally, but you can't necessarily expect something back. I lent my lapptop to someone who was writing an email to his boss to say that he wasn't going to make it to work. I wasn't expecting anything but afterwards he let me pick a page from a stack of papers, which turned out to be a novel he had written himself. In another instance, a very handsome guy who walked by me slapped a sticker of my chest that said, “YOU.” “That way, if you forget who you are, look down!” he laughed with the purest sense of joy on his face. Of course, there's the usual SWAG (shit we all get) of glowsticks, flags, and condoms.

When I went to the temple two days ago, I was totally overcome by the serenity there. This is where people leave messages and tributes to lost loved ones, which are later burned on Sunday, the night after the Man flames out. Anyway, I don't usually get weepy over this kind of stuff, but I started to think about the loss of my mother and my wish for good health of my Dad, my family and friends. I also thought about my place in the world and how I might choose to live my life from here on in.

Yea, this is the place to think about big themes and simple truths.

Burning Man 2008: It has a beat (Thursday)

The most common question being asked at Center Camp is, “Can anyone get on the internet ?” It sucks here, but you have to understand that this is one connection for the 20+ users in the Playa Info tent at the moment. I'm told that other folks nearby are also pirating the line, booting us off, and slowing it down further. So I'm told by an IT geek next to me.

Yesterday was spent exploring the art installations on the main plaza, visiting the Man and the Basara Segura temple, which will be a lower-key burn that takes place the evening after the more wild and aggressive burning of the man. The quality of the art is surprisingly good. At least comparable to many things I've seen at municipal art museum.

The most interesting interactive piece I saw so far is a large sealed glass booth that produces soap bubbles filled with helium and other gas mixes, I'm told. The particpant outside the booth is uses a lighted stick inside to pop the bubbles as they float up the booth, and the bubbles explode is a fiery pop. Cool!

Yesterday was also a real test of loss and letting go. Mostly things like one glove, a little cap on my battery-operated blingy that is needed to make it work. This stuff usually drives me crazy. I also had bolts holding down my bike rack that I searched for ½ hour at Home Depot.

The EL wire fur coat is a HIT! Strangers, and people in my camp, make a point of shouting out compliments. I'll try to load a pic, but the connection is brutally slow and intermittant. Besides looking fabulous, there's a practical reason for being lit up at night. It's so you don't get hit by a mutant vehicle cupcake or some stoner dude on a bike wiping out on a mini-sand dune.

The parties last night were quite fun. I have to say that this music is totally foreign to me, but i think i'm hearing the difference between house and techno. One has melody and sometimes voice. The other music seems to focus on the beat or a groovy sound to create a vibe like mellow and chillaxin'!

Burning Man 2008: Princess Diaries (Tues & Wed)

The highlight yesterday was meeting this mobile pedi-massager. My bare feet were thrashed from the very alkaline soil on the Playa. I was wearing flip-flops and I left my boots and sneakers in the gear boxes that were being transported down for me. Duh. So, at center camp, this nice guy (who says he doesn't have a foot fetish), was offering to wash my feet, exfoliate, and massage mosturizer into my parched tootsies. Heavenly. A gay boy's dream...even if he was straight and talking about "chicks."

I ate another cold but divine lentil pouch thingie from Trader Joe's. Divine. It powered me for the rest of the evening to go out and check the sights.

This morning, my next-tent campmate was talking about taking a shower at the camp shower. He was also three days without a shower. I asked him how to use the solar shower bag. He assured me it was simple. So I went for it after he finished. I've never looked more forward to getting clean than today. The used wash water was surprisingly clean. Hm.

I might ask him how to use the propane stove tonight, so I can heat up hot water for a cup of tea. Ah, simple luxeries!

Burning Man: Coming through the dust storm

Wow! Talk about a trial by fire...or dust. I hitched a ride with a lovely couple from Brooklyn. They weren't freaks, and I chatted them up when I was at Whole Foods.

We arrived in a total white out. The winds were fierce and were whipping up all the dust. They stopped all vehicle entry after us, in order to minimize the number of vehicles on the Playa.

So I'm no longer a Burning Man Virgin. I'm also no longer a camping virgin. I popped my cherry twice so to speak. People back home will be laughing their heads off. I didn't even know how to set up my tent. I have to depend on the kindness of my Toronto and New York friends. I ate some cold Trader Joe's Indian Rice thingy in a vacuum pouch. It was elegant.

I am getting in touch with my inner filthiness. I have not bathed since Sunday and I have not shaved since Friday. Eeek.

Burning Man: Reno

Landed in Reno late Saturday afternoon. At this time, only the organizers and a few members of each camp are allowed admission to the playa, which is more than 100 miles north of Reno. They officially open on Monday after midnight. That's fine with me. I've been spending most of my time running around gathering food and other supplies to take up with me.

As expected, everyone else is doing the same thing. They're all scouring the shelves at Trader Joes, Whole Foods and the drug stores.

Had to make a last minute change to my plans. Hertz will not allow anyone to drive their rental cars off paved roads, which means I can't drive up to Burning Man in one of their cars. People do it, but I don't want to take the risk. Besides, I won't need the car once I'm there. If Hertz suspects that you've visited Burning Man, they will also add a $175 cleaning fee to get rid of the pervasive fine dust that will coat the insides of the car. Early reports are that it is very windy and dusty.

So I'm returning the car and hitching a ride from the rideshare location at Whole Foods tomorrow.

Wish me luck in flagging down a nice, roomy RV with air-conditioning and interesting people.

Carl is Craft-y

Well, in a previous post, you saw the amazing eye-pillows that Carl made with his own two hands and a wicked sewing machine. Now, I had to call on him in for a craft emergency. I had a feeling that the costume I had planned for Burning Man was going to be challenging, but soon I realized that I bit off more than I could chew. Thank goodness, we have a number of super heroes who practice at the shala and perform equally amazing feats outside of the yoga world.

My previous post touched on Pi'ikea who stopped the noisy construction workers from turning on the buzz saws before 7 am (give or take). On Laksmi's blog, she recreated real-life drama from our shala with her puppetry, and granted students expertise in problem poses. Now, Carl steps up and saves my lame ass from being more lame than it already is. A clarification though, he didn't do any magical sewing. I had to enlist a friend who specialized in sewing with EL wire. But Carl took it to its final conclusion.

I'm not quite ready to show this costume masterpiece yet. But I will, in due time.

Thanks, Carl! You get bonus karma points!

Pi'eacable Kingdom

Thank you, Pi' for serving a cease and desist order this morning to the construction crew and making them stop the noise that intrudes on our delicate and very important morning practice. We all appreciate your magical legal powers!