Welcome to Chaos !!

It's been two weeks today since the Man burned down to the ground at the Playa. Two weeks went by already! That means I am two weeks closer to next Burning Man, the countdown started in my head as soon as I left the Playa. All I can do now is live a good year until the next time. Here are pictures from the burn. The Man was 60 feet tall this year. He lit up neon green and pink after dark. So pretty. It's really something......you have to be there to feel the experience. Here I am with the Man the night before the burn.



And the night of the burn.





My new friend from Brasil.





The next day there were pieces of the Man burning still.

I drove to Anchorage yesterday to fix my phone, while I was there I had a facial. Wonderful as usual. This is how cute I looked in my hydrating mask from Korea.



I love every minute on that table, even through the manual and sometimes a bit painful extractions.



Anastasiya that does my facials is the best. Her face massage technique is amazing, she has THE touch. I have worried a bit about where I will be able to find a good esthetician when/if I move from Alaska. Finding a good one is not easy, there are many out there but I think at least half of them have no clue of what they are doing and I don't want them to touch my face. Well, it turns out Anastasiya has the perfect new esthetician for me. Another Russian lady created her own skin care line that Anastasiya actually uses. She lives a bit outside Portland. I love Portland!
So now I have somebody that I can go to for facials outside of Alaska. I'm relieved. I go for facials maybe twice a year, I would go at least three or four times a year, or once a month even if I lived in the same city or at least close by my esthetician. I LOVE facials and massages.
So today I actually had a massage here is Soldotna. A Thai massage, I never had one of those before and I loved it! I got my feet and calves massages (I love that) and the rest of me kneaded, bent, stretched and told that I'm "tall, small, perfect and flexible".
The compliments worked because I booked another session.

I start out every day at the Playa with my precious Center Camp time. I love going there and sit down with an iced latte or chai that I savor every sip of, relax alone or with a friend.....think, reflect, plan the rest of my day, talk, read, watch people. I love that place. ❤ This year Center Camp celebrated 20 years on the Playa!





So yes, you can actually buy some stuff in Black Rock City. Beverages at Center Camp and also ice at the ice stations.



I think my little Fjällräven backpack is my official Burning Man tote now. It's the second year for it on the Playa now. The first year I used my Deery Lou backpack. But Fjällräven is Swedish like me and has many useful compartments for my stuff plus is CUTE!



I love the flags flying at Center Camp, they flap nicely in the wind and the colors are so pretty. The whole place is just NICE. Next year I want to take a long nap there. Many people sleep there, very calm and soothing energy over the whole place.



This is me on my last visit to Center Camp this year, I was so sad that this was the last time for a whole year. Nooooooo!





So I'm subscribed to a Burning Man newsletter that is called The Jackrabbit Speaks . Here is some of the latest......this is the first newsletter since the Burn.

"Welcome back to... some semblance of reality and normality (whatever that means to you)! Don't worry, the feelings you're feeling are okay, no matter what they are.
That Burn was something else, huh? A week in Black Rock City's no breezy vacation. Last year's torrential rains were replaced by this year's cold temperatures and major dust storms like we haven't seen in a while. Also, there was an overwhelming infestation of non-bugs all over the place. It was unbelievable how many bugs there weren't.
So yeah, what you made happen this time... wow! From the Totem of Confessions to R-Evolution, Dream to Love, it was absolutely incredible! And of course The Midway around the Man! There was such an artistic abundance. These pieces drew people together, provoking discussion, participation, even impromptu performance.
And while the media loves to fawn over who was on a Segway at Burning Man, we know full well that the real celebrity is YOU, the people who make Black Rock City the world's most incredible crucible of creativity and wonder. Thank you for bringing what you brought, and doing what you do, and being who you are."

There is even a link to an article about how to cope with post Playa depression. I'm not the only one feeling super sad that Burning Man is over and that I'm back in reality. Post Playa depression is real and I suspect that majority of the people attending Burning Man feel it to some extent. Here is the link but I am crying reading it here at Coffee Roasters. Good I can hide behind my hair!

http://antranik.org/dealing-with-post-playa-depression-burning-man-i-love-you/

There is plenty of art at Black Rock City, art installations (a whole 260 this year) paintings and other stuff. You can immerse yourself in the art for days. Here are some paintings that I liked.
Playa Romance, I l❤ve this one. CUTE!



Beautiful.....











This collection of items was called Tribute To The Feminine.



I think painting is a beautiful way of expression. Nothing that I have taken up, yet at least.
My absolute favorite (famous) painting that speaks to my soul is The Scream by Edvard Munch. It's haunting, I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels that way about it. And I also love the work of Dali. A long time ago I almost bought a small sketch of his. Actually being at Burning Man is a bit like stepping inside a Dali painting. And then I have collected some Olivia over the years. Feeding my mermaid obsession.

This year was the year of dusty, cold and windy at Burning Man. No rain though which is good because things quickly turn very muddy on the Playa. It wasn't awful weather the whole time, us Burners had sunshine and clear skies too but at night it was rather cold. A few nights were VERY cold, so I had to bundle up in layers when I was out and often walked or biked around with my face covered by a bandana and my head and hair covered with a bandana or a hood to get some protection from the dust and the cold. Nevertheless, it was GREAT.



My Playa bank robber look. At least my lashes didn't come off in the wind, I wondered if they would a few times.



I got lost trying to find Center Camp one afternoon because there was so much dust swirling around that you couldn't see anything, I finally made it there.....looking like this.



I don't like the sun scorching my face, so I cover up as much as possible.







At least inside Planet Earth you can shed the layers of clothing. Me and a new friend.....



These two girls were absolutely beautiful and flawless despite the dust. I don't know how they managed and I had to take a picture with them, they were that pretty.



I LOVE this pic of myself. A new fave. ❤ I was out dancing at White Ocean, having so much fun. Feeling alive .

There are many messages at Burning Man, some in the form of stickers and others written down by people. I like to take pictures of them to capture them forever. Sometimes I wonder about the person who wrote it down (many, many messages can be found in the Temple). Like, are they OK now? Sad? Happy? How is life going for them? It's very emotional, even sitting here writing about this over a week since Burning Man ended, looking at these pictures I feel very emotional. Here are some of the messages that I captured this year.....