Lovely, Bare !!

Mine are just little, more surfacy things that I keep trying to tell myself every year, and some I just discovered:

~use the pen and paper more. Keep a journal.
~Give out all of those cool stickers I made!! ALL of them, not just 3/4ths!
~Go to sticker camp, dammit! :)
~Dont be too shy to get contact info from new friends.
~Opposit of Bare: TRY to make it to some things I really wanna see! Im always having so much fun, but doesnt hurt to TRY to get to more stuff you really wanna do. For me, its music. Im music sensitive. I shoulda seen 4 Albino shows, not just 1.5. I shoulda coulda woulda seen/felt 3 Rab performances, not just 1/2. It would of done wonders for my personal psyche and I know it. Im proud I made it to the ones I did, they were very healing for me.

It was my 5th year, and there's still some things I learn every year and would do differently.

Like LyingBare, I STILL bring too many clothes. I did what I thought was a big purge this year, and cut down on my clothing/costumes.... but still ended up not wearing maybe 1/3 of the stuff..... not TOO bad, really, but dang. I guess I'd rather have too many, and be able to share, than not enough?

I need to bring a bike with gears, if the playa surface is gonna be like this again. It was TOUGH!

I want to get out and walk more, and interact with strangers more. I did that a bit more this year than in years past, but I still find myself regretting that I didn't make as many random connections as I felt I wanted to. (inherent shyness!)

And I REALLY want to ride on an art car next year. It's been 5 years, and never been on one through various circumstances. (big art buses don't count-- I rode on one of those once.)

Bare, I LOVE your advice--especially coming from someone who has already tried it many different ways.

My own lessons from Burn #1:

I wish I'd been a little less preoccupied with all the "warnings." I spent too much preparation time researching goggles, dust masks, electrolytes, hydration packs, foot moisturizers, on and on.

I should have paid more attention to the constant admonitions to "bring less food." (At least we have Playa leftovers to feast on for weeks to come!)

I wish I'd spent more time wandering the streets, making serendipitous discoveries, and interacting.

I probably wouldn't have volunteered quite so much. I worked four six-hour Perimeter shifts, which ate up a lot of quality time.

I would try harder to remember to zip my tent closed when leaving for the day.

I would make a hard and fast rule (which had actually already been suggested to me): if a project isn't finished by the time you leave home, leave it at home. Don't waste Playa time soldering, fabricating, sewing, etc.

If at all possible, I'd also avoid the Exodus crush. Ideally, that would mean leaving later, rather than earlier.

A couple things I'd want to repeat: arriving early (Saturday of the pre-Burn weekend) and spending the night in Reno on both the way in and out. (I was coming from L.A.)

And to echo Bare's observation: I preferred walking to riding. That might partly be the challenging conditions of the 2008 Playa. But also I like the slower pace, the ability to absorb more, stop more easily, not have to worry about where the bike (or trike, in my case) is, or about avoiding collisions, and be free to get on art cars.

I would not do anything differently. Not a thing.

I have really strong legs so biking on my gifted skinny tire bike was no problem. Anne thank you so much for that bike. Ms. Silver and I were flying all week long, to the point that those with fatter tires kept yelling, "Slow down!" People kept looking at 'my' new bike saying um no way you aren't riding that but I DID and it was fabulous.

My guy rented a minivan that folded all seats into the floorboards, so the entire back was our bed and we had lots of foam and padding and it was super quiet so we had this comfy bed and would take air conditioned naps every day. It worked.

I got sleep. I didn't get trashed or stay up once while there.

I ate more than I usually do because my boyfriend is a bodybuilder and he insisted. I drank more water and pushed more on him than I'm used to.

I danced a lot. And I just thought of one thing I would do different. I would start looking for boots I want to wear soon because I knew the ones I have would rip my ankles and heels up, and they did. I just didn't have time last minute to find really comfortable ones. I'm going to get new ones now and start wearing them out a lot so next BM they will be comfy.

Our camp was a low maintenance camp, with shared space and resources, but we all fended for ourselves. It was perfect. Everyone should do that.

xoxo

This year was my vigin year, so of course, what isn't there to tweak? LOL

The big ones: Less food. OMG! way less food, I'm not staying for a month.
Less reg. clothes, more costumes.
More clothes for the 3 day return home. I was starting to smell like a homeless person. Hmmm, like I was for a week?
And extra shoes! You could tell at the restaraunt in Fernley monday night who had burned by their shoes :)
Did I mention less food?
Explore more. Like Bare I did hoof it alot, partly because of the playa condtions, but also because I could see more.
Read the WWW earlier! And then freaking follow through LMAO
Pajamas!

AntiM said:
>>Best trick? The blanket/quilt combo over the tent which reduces dust to near nothing.<<

I read your ealier tip on that one, did it, and it totally rocked!

Great list everyone, Im saving it for next year, some gems in here.

Im going to bring a garden foam kneeler for my tent next year. So many times i kneeled in my tent and ouch.....A nice foamy garden pad would of been perfect!!

Food: Bring Less food, but better food. The steaks worked out well....the bacon was fabulous! We barely had breakfast...(the fried bologne sandwiches and moonshine were enough from this fabulous camp in our neighborhood) Salty and snacky foods worked well....We brought too much water, but I don't think i'd change that since we probably should have had more. Soda felt good on the throat since the dust storms were so bad. Peanut Butter and Jelly on Ritz crackers hit the spot and was super easy for a quick bite of protein and carbs. Croissants worked better than bread, and wraps were the best for a quick and tasty meal!

Tent: ZIP IT UP AT ALL TIMES WHEN OUT OF IT!!!!! We slept in dust the last couple of days....ugh....

Shower/Bog: I will use the camp shower instead of insisting on my own......and bring a large container for bog water instead of those little one gallon bottles.

Bring less clothing, and more fun outfits (didn't do the costume thing, I didn't understand, BUT NOW I DO)

Bring gifts for camp mates.....

Volunteer Less and NOT with the Gate!!! Perhaps the Rangers next year!!!

Cover my truck, it will NEVER be the Same!

El- Wire didn't work!!!! Must test thouroughly before Burning Man

BEST ADVICE/What really worked!!

Vinegar wipes - put cup of vinegar into bag of wipes and store in a double zip lock bag....This was by far the best thing I did....Handy for everything....

Vinegar in spray bottle for hair/actually i just poured it on after the first dust storm, because the shampoo wasn't working

Large white cooler from Costco.......UNBELIEVABLE.....I bought dry ice and block ice the day before we left, we were on the playa for 10 days....two days after I returned, the block ice was about half, but still there!!!!!

Croqs....I wore them the entire time with no socks.....They were great, except I have the strangest tan lines on my feet. I was diligent about using vinegar wipes and cleaning my feet before bed, putting lotion on them and wearing socks. They were simple, i had two pairs and they were easy to clean. I wore NO other shoes....I went barefoot the last couple days around camp....

Spray bottles with water and Lavender were refreshing and fun to share!

There is lots more....but I haven't fully decompressed yet, and I'm still processing everything!! I had to jump quickly back into my life and this is the first time i've even talked about Burning Man since i've been home! I had the most amazing time!

but if you bring a man, how can you pick a fresh one?

I will volunteer next year! I couldn't do it this year - just too much stimulation - but next year, for sure...

Definitely bringing at least one friend next year. Like Yogi says, it seemed people were more into their own groups, and it's muuch easier for a person like me to meet people when I already know someone. I eventually made some connections, but I felt like an outsider until around Friday or so.

^^^^yikes what a bummer. Letes hope for lots of rain this winter. Packed playa + bike lock = you can go anywhere you want any time with little effort. :)

A big mistake I have been making the last 3 years is, I pack everything too tight. I like to ride with a friend in my truck, so I make sure theres room for 2 peoples stuff. I end up cramming my shit into bins w/o a crack in the bin to spare. I realized this year that thats just lousy. I always have the hardest time finding shit, and it turns into a mess that frusterates. Instead of bigger bins, Im going to use my smaller bins, just more of them, to keep stuff seperate. Have me an EL wire/glowstick bin w/batteries. Have a seperate bin for toiletries and towels and ziplocs. If I have to drive to BMan alone, I cant help it.....I just cant cram my stuff so tight anymore. I actually just emptied a bin, and it was totally cracked from being too tightly packed.
Another thing I totally overlooked and I wont do it again: ORGANIZE before you go!
Put batteries in the packs. Put the Ipod boombox in a big ziploc. Get everything ready for use. THEN pack. You already gotta deal with so much when you get to BMan, every littlte step can help your sanity when youre actually there.

and along those lines, PUT UP MY HAIR and put my hair falls in BEFORE arriving to BRC! Thsi mondays storm taught me that! My hair was a clay clump the moment we arrived!! If I would of been set up in my head dressings already my hair would of been fine.

I would :

take less clothes
bring more cigarettes
not work so much