| 2000: What I did on my summer vacation or Burning man 2000 Hello, I have been dreading writing about this, I have been putting it off because I have not come to full closure of some of the events that happened. But here goes. This year I have been rather busy doing things for others and working on large group projects. A video party, Com-Fest, Burning Corn, and lastly working on the bus for the trip to Burning Man. In the month’s proceeding Burning Man I was using more of my time and energy on other projects and putting off working on myself and my relationship with Kristen (my Significant other at the time) I was attempting to finish my commitments to others. Attempting to clear my plate so I could spend the time and energy after my vacation working on my relationship and myself. This seemed like a good plan at the time, but it did not work that way. We (the group of people who were planning on going to Bmy2k, Mark Gunderson, Kristen Latkowski, two others and myself) got off to a late start. We did not find a bus until 3 weeks before our leave date. Money was also tight all the way around. The group had meet and discussed what we looking for and what we wanted to do but many things were not fully discussed. We worked a lot on the bus, I spent most of my free time working on it, both in the rehab of the bus and in getting the paperwork, insurance and such in order. This left me overtired and very stressed. A condition I was all too familiar with by then. Getting 5 hours or less sleep for months on end isn’t a good idea. The end result being that I was not in the best condition to enjoy the trip. But I persevered in my endeavor and got most of what I felt to be important done. We left on Sunday, hoping to have plenty of time to get to the festival. The bus ride was mildly stressful due to the availability of fuel. (The bus runs on propane) It was slow going at times but overall the bus preformed quite well, getting all of 4 miles to the gallon and having a top speed of around 70-Mph. This was annoying when the speed limit was 75 Mph in the western states. We had no negative interaction with the Law or anyone we encountered on the way. After some shopping spree’s at thrift stores and other supply runs we finally got to the little town outside the fest only to find that once again no fuel was available and we had to wait for the morning. We arrived at Burning man on Thursday morning, it was pleasant but windy, and we found a place to camp and started setting up. The motivation of different members of the group started becoming more apparent and my stress level increased once again, a lack of communication was going on in a big way and feelings were getting hurt. It was starting to suck; we were not working well as a group. The weather was getting worse all the time. The wind was 50mph with gusts into the 80’ds dust storms and white outs were an everyday occurrence. It was also cold and rained. I could not complete setting up the awning I wanted to and the things I felt that were important to the camping aspect were less value to others in the group and the lack of communication raised the stress level even more. Most of the festival participants I encountered were Dot.Com world employees on spring break and Partying was on their minds, not art. Last year I did not encounter this as much because of the camp I was in. It took me most of the time I was there to find the artists that I knew or camps that they were in. My stress level was causing lots of issues with my group and unfortunately we did not seem to have our shit together enough to work threw it. I got very depressed, not knowing what to do to correct the problems, trying to do the right thing but missing something. The weather and lake of positive interaction with others did not help me to be in a better mood. By the time the Man burned I was over it. I just gave up and stopped caring. This was actually the best thing for me. I was getting rather bummed about not being able to hook up with anyone, not liking the interaction with people that consisted of talking about how fucked up they were or "did you see the tits on her?" kinda attitude. I did have some good times despite my bad attitude. I found some of the CMR group, (the camp I was in last year) and went out to the Hot Springs during a dust storm. That was fun, driving out in the playa in an art pickup, in a whiteout dust storm. Not being able to see anything and driving along at 45 mph, navigating by compass. We finally made it to the springs and it was beautiful. The water was slightly warmer than a bath and no clothing necessary. About 15 ppl. Relaxing and soaking in a big hot spring, getting rained on and looking out over the city, laughing at the dust storm and getting yelled at by the BM rangers for ruining the springs. What we were doing was ok by the Bureau of Land Management but not the festive organizers. If there is no Burning man next year it is my fault! You’re welcome! I needed the soaking. The next day I went to the airport and got to fly around above the city in a small plane, 6-passenger propeller driven. We flew above the city in a corkscrew, looking straight down the wing at the ground and in a maxim clime up. It was intense and beautiful. Something I had never done before. I also got to ride in some art cars and rolling bars, and even one of the dragons. I also met up with some persons who had art installations on the playa and that been very nice to meet the artist behind the work. Monday the weather got better and on Tuesday morning we left. The ride home was uneventful for the most part, the bus had some miner issues with the mountains and the crew had exhaustion and depression to overcome. My three-year relationship with Kristen ended and I did a lot of soul searching. We returned to Columbus Friday morning, I went right to work and had a hell weekend. So how do I feel about my vacation? It sucked, I wish I could have done some of it differently. I learned a lot about some others and myself. It did not turn out how I had hoped it would but that’s life. None of us were seriously hurt mental or physically. It was a big turning point in my year. I have grown a lot because of it. I am a better person now, and looking to become better still. Since returning I have been working on my issues, trying to fix my car, and relaxing and resting. I have made progress with all of these things and plan to continue. Learning from the past, practicing living in the moment, and attempting to set my self up for success in the future. |