Burning Man 2004 11: Final Thoughts

I will never, ever drive from Oklahoma City to Black Rock City again, at least by myself. It's hard on me, mentally as well as physically, and in a lot of ways I still haven't recovered from that horrible trip through Utah. I just pushed myself WAY too hard, and while it's nice to know I can still do it when I have to, I should work a lot harder to avoid being in that situation.

I really did enjoy Burning Man this year...frankly, after 2002's madness, I wasn't sure what it would be like. I =hate= how long it takes to set up and break down, and although I know things would be easier if they were organized better, I still get a headache thinking about doing it again next year.

Favorite things:

the swings--they were so simple, but facilitated what the event is all about: community, and meeting people.

my group--we kicked ass, and I have very few complaints about the crew, except that I wish it was about twice as big.

You Are That Pig--a friendlier bunch of folks I've never met. With any luck I'll be able to reconnect with some of them in NYC over New Years. God, just seeing everyone I need to see in NYC is going to be problematic, never mind anyone NEW.

Josh's RV--this goes without saying, but I'm glad I got to spend more time with them than in 2002.

Big Fire--seemed like something big was burned almost every night--the Pagoda was burned Wednesday night, Whistleworks Thursday, and something else, I'm pretty sure, Friday. Then the Man on Saturday and the Temple on Sunday. That doesn't include the number of fire sculptures, propane cannons, and general freaks with poi or mouths full of paraffin. One of the people down in Snowflake Village had a goddamn flaming bullwhip, incidentally. Sweet.

The Silver Bus--art cars are a whole different ballgame, and this was the first year I'd been able to work with one. I'd like to devote a whole lot more time and money to helping it kick ass next year, but I don't know whether that's going to be possible or not, since I'll be broke and probably NOT in Denver.

Least Favorite Things:

Cleanup--damn, that sucked.

Utah--again, not the people.

Toilet paper in truck stops in Utah--how much money do they really save?

Drunk people who piss in our dome--can you fucking imagine? Christ. Very rarely in my life can I say that I truly wanted to punch somebody. This was one of those times.


So, what's next? I've got a relatively short, VERY ribald tale that I'm not sure I feel comfortable telling you guys about, because it says something very bad about me, and I'm not sure it's been long enough ago for you to believe I'm not like that anymore...