cybergeisha

Burning Man was FUCKING AWESOME.

A Quick Summary: Thunderdome, the spontaneous Death Guild Dance Party while volunteering at the ice booth, falling off a car, table dancing, Fire Lounge, walking across the desert at night, riding on the back of the Satellite in a blinding dust storm, driving the Satellite, shenigans involving a megaphone and floodlight, no love for glow sticks, laying in a hammock suspended 20 feet in the air, morning naptime, white night and a wedding in the dome, Jungle Pig, heartfelt talks, best friends, Kurt’s hat, hair extensions, seeing falling stars and satellites, high fives, FIRE, Death Guild, ice cream, bacon, bad jokes, good times and our very own bathrooms.

Do I need to say more than that?

It’s waaaaay too much to explain and I don’t have many pictures.

My Burning Man preparations are totally finished. At least, the parts of my preparations that I can finish before I arrive in San Francisco. When I arrive there tomorrow, my friend Carmen is picking me up at the airport and lending me some stuff that I cannot bring with me, such as a sleeping bag and a pillow. She also has some clothes she thinks I’ll like.

When Carmen drops me off at Kurt and Michelle’s house, I’m going to drop off my bag and go with Michelle to pick up their son Allistair from daycare. By the time we’ve done that, Kurt should be getting home from work and then the last minute preparations will start.

Too Much Food?

Tomorrow night, Kurt and I are going to go to the grocery store tomorrow night and pick up the rest of the stuff we will want to eat and drink… Stuff like some fruit, maybe a few cans of tuna, olives and pickles (for me… I love them!), and a few things to snack on in the car. I’m not sure what Kurt needs to get, but I think I’m pretty much ready…

…because I think I already have too much food.

I won’t need a whole lot more since my family has given me an incredible amount of camping food… Including AT LEAST 30, probably more, energy bars. And 12 of those breakfast bars. Jesus! I’ll have to force my friends to eat them too.

Packing Ninja

I am a bag-packing ninja. Seriously.

Most people would need a duffel bag or large bag of some sort into which to fit all of the stuff I am bringing. However, my father is an airline pilot and I have done a lot of traveling in my life, and I know how to pack a carry-on bag. I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve had to check a bag, but it has been several years. I didn’t have more than a carry-on rolling suitcase and a backpack when I moved to Japan for five months.

IN A CARRY-ON ROLLING SUITCASE:

• Enough (more than enough) clothes for five days
• Corset and priest cassock for dress-up
• A million energy bars
• A bag of cookies
• Two bags of dried fruit
• A bag of nuts
• A book
• Toiletries
• Low-top Converse sneakers
• More underwear/socks than I’ll need (hey, you never know)
• Jungle Pig Accessories
• Goggles
• Scarf
• Hoodie

See?

PACKING NINJA.

Bring it on, world.

I’m really excited. It’s getting really close, and I’m getting my prep done and it’s coming down to writing a list of what I want to have once I’m there, rather than stuff I NEED. I’m thinking a lot about snacky stuff, recently, because last year I had no clue what to expect so I just made some random guesses about food.

Now I know what to expect so I’m putting together some pretty good lists of the snacks I’d like to have. I tend to snack all day long, tiny little portions of snacks, and did so when I was at Burning Man last year, too. I had some pretty good stuff, like protein or whatever bars and granola and trail mix, plenty of stuff to drink (besides plenty of water, sometimes you just want something flavorful), some crackers and stuff…

But I’ve figured out a bunch more stuff that’d be great.

The Snax List

• Pickles
• Olives
• A bag of grapefruits
• Yogurt raisins
• Some bottled juices
• Jarred or canned fruit
• Daikon Pickles
• Umeboshi

The Shoe Saga

I seriously have to look into getting my New Rocks repaired. I wasn’t incredibly comfortable running around in my converse all-stars for a week last year, being the only person getting sand and dust in her shoes while everyone else was wearing boots and comfortable. Nobody in the Seattle area will repair them - but I’ve been told by several people that there is a place in San Francisco that can definitely do it. I’m not sure they can do it in 24 hours (about the amount of time I will have in SF before I leave) but hey, no problem. If they can’t do it overnight, I can just pick them up when I get back. Either way, my shoes get repaired.

Maybe I will go see if they have any boots at The Metro or something, that’s the only place I can think of that has a selection of boots in stock. I cannot for the life of me think of anywhere else in Seattle that sells plain, black, flat-soeld Doc Marten style knee high boots. I’ll take original docs or knockoffs as long as they’re desert-appropriate. Jeez, what a pain. I just want to avoid the discomfort of converse all week.

It’s almost 7PM, though. I can’t really run out there tonight, but maybe I’ll try tomorrow.

So much to do! So excited!

I recently got my hair done (by the lovely and talented Anna, who I will recommend to anybody!) and am quite happy with it. Why? As you may have guessed, I’m going to Burning Man again this year! Synthetic dreads and a shaved undercut should prove to be a pretty good hairstyle - keep my natural hair from getting in trouble and be pretty non-fussy. (other hair pictures: One, Two)

Preparations to leave are now in full swing - I have less than 10 days before I fly to San Francisco and subsequently leave for Black Rock City.

So here’s a post you TOTALLY CARE ABOUT!

Stuff I’ve Packed Already

• 1 quart plastic bag (*snrk* thanks, airport security!) of small-sized essentials (you know… sunscreen, lotion, toothpaste, deodorant… uh… some other stuff I’ve forgotten in this list…)
• Goggles
• Scarf (you know, to breathe through).
• Sun glasses
• Some basic clothes: band shirts, black cargo capris, two black tank tops, my favorite long black skirt, my favorite medium-length black skirt, and a long, flowy black dress, socks, underwear.
• My priest cassock (yes, this deserved its own line)
• Death Guild Hoodie
• Some costumey fun items to wear at Thunderdome and stuff
• Makeup essentials: one black eyeliner pencil, one taupe eyebrow pencil, a 4-color dark-neutrals eyeshadow palette, reddish lip stain (what, you think I’m going to REAPPLY lipstick? I can even use lip balm over this stuff!)
• Digital Camera (sealed in a plastic bag, duh)
• 1 pair converse all star low-top sneakers (one black shoe, one grey shoe!)
• 1 pair ballet flat style shoes
• Various hair “stuff.” Scrunchies, hair ties, a small bag of little rubberbands for last-minute hair extension repair. Possibly some neat stuff to put IN my hair.
• Two books (Lord of the Rings and The Fabric of the Cosmos, if you’re curious) and a sketchpad (and a pencil, duh)
• A rubber spider for Kurt

This only fills up 1/2 of a carry-on rolling suitcase. Jesus! I’m a NINJA at packing, obviously!

To Be Acquired in San Francisco

(these can be put in the car, do not need to go in my suitcase)

• Pillow (which will have to be borrowed unless I bring my own)
• Sleeping Bag (which I will have to borrow once I get down there)
• Purple awesome New Rocks I’m borrowing from a friend
• Big bag of yogurt covered raisins
• A bag of grapefruits.
• Some hard candies
• A couple of those pre-made tuna salad with crackers thingies

Also, duh, much water and plenty of food, but I’m not going to list all of that. The ones listed are the ones I want to bring as treats. :)

So, I’m sure you all found that INCREDIBLY interesting!

Only nine days to go!

There is an enormous bullfrog sitting behind my car and he WILL NOT MOVE. This big fat amphibian needs to know that if he wants to NOT get run over, I’m not afraid (as every other girl in the house is) to pick his ass up and put him in the yard. Thinks he can get away with taking up the driveway. I think not, buddy.