Finally...I feel I can update Kokochi about BM 08. I think this year is probably the most difficult to summarize. The main reason was we didn't have Tesla with us. That was the hardest. When people asked, "so how was BM this year?" I didn't have the simple, "It was great!" reply. We missed her.
Also, simply put, we have a 2 year old. Even though she wasn't with us, preparing for BM and the clean-up post Burning Man was quite a lot of work in addition to our daily life with our wonderful, energetic 2 year old. It took every ounce of energy I had to trudge through all we had to do along with daily life with T and work. So blogging was low on my priority...now life is slowly returning to normal. Whew.
So...to share BM08...
First is my last picture of Tesla before we hit the road. We actually were ready around noon on Friday (we had early arrival tickets), but Tesla was napping. So Dav and I decided to take the RV to pick up a friend, then head back home to say bye once she was awake. Now, I can't believe I was able to leave my baby knowing I had a week plus ahead of me without seeing her. I brought a bunch of pictures of her to have with me. Second pic is the first on the playa...although apprehensive, I was nevertheless happy to be "back home."
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Part of our complaints from the past few years was that BM was getting big and crowded very quickly in the week. We used to arrive on Sunday and enjoy seeing the city build. The initial days were precious because we met fellow burners who were about community and sharing...vs the end of the week when the city became filled with weekend partiers which changed the atmosphere. But since a few years ago, it seemed that even by Monday, the city was crowed with raging partiers...and frankly, we were disappointed but were distracted because we were at camp with our baby. This year BM was strict about early arrival. And since we were working as Rangers, we were able to get in early. Honestly, the early pre-opening days this year were the best. Things were slow, there was space, and it felt like the old days. Everyone was either working or building a theme camp. Everyone was super friendly and all about sharing. I celebrated the open space!
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Dav calculating how much space we needed for our camp & friends: As early arrivals, we had to be "placed," but that meant going where we wanted to camp and making sure everyone around us was cool with the space we needed...and being blessed by the "placer." It was all about meeting everyone's needs. I liked that. We considered several spaces within a few blocks and everyone around us was extremely accommodating. We basically chose our spot based on great location, not too close to porta potties, and cool neighbors.
Second pic is Playa Information. No one there...yet!
Silly pose picture...but I was so happy! A flaming tuba player...I saw him later surrounded by a crowd so I was glad I got to see him warming up.
My first Ranger shift. 6am on Sunday...before BM officially opened. Only DaMongolian and I were on shift so we got to roll around the city in a golf cart. I was surprised that so early in the week we found a person recovering from a night out, so we helped her home (later she left a gift for us as a thank-you...so sweet). We also drove by a camp and smelled bacon and started talking about how yummy that would be (Rangers can't accept food/drinks while on shift)...later, we happened to run by a camp of 2 experienced Rangers and a few newbies...and they had just fried up a full skillet of bacon. Being fellow-Rangers, we could accept. Quite the "ask and you shall receive" sort of moment. Thanks, DaMongolian for an awesome first shift!!
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Next day, Monday, I did another Ranger shift starting at 6am to noon, but this time, I got to do the shift with Dav. 2nd pic is Dav riding with the sunrise. Funny thing is, I totally thought we'd have an easy shift and get to enjoy it together, but we had to deal with a pretty involved situation with all sorts of Ranger protocols that I wasn't familiar with. Good quick lesson, and I learned a lot, so overall I was happy, but it was a bit stressful. We totally had to deal! Later...we were called to switch quadrants to a more quiet side of the city because us newbies had been in a busy area for sure!
Post-shift. Tired!
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