Welcome to Chaos !!

So I volunteered this year (again) as a Center Camp Coffee Shop barista.....it is so much fun! This year I did four shifts and a shift is four hours so about 16 hours, you always stay a little longer. You gets tips and I am going to donate my Burning Man barista income to a local spay and neuter fund. My last shift which was the last Sunday was the most fun because I had a super fun co barista next to me. The shift before my last which was on a Thursday was not as fun because my cashier was not that great and the runner as well.....they were just two annoying girls that had zero clue. When you do the barista thing you get divided up into "teams", one cashier that takes the orders and the money, one barista, one runner that gets the non espresso drinks plus there are other people that take the dirty spoons and give you clean ones, empty the bins with the coffee grounds, fill up the coolers with milk and milk alternatives (almond and soy), get you clean rags to clean your machine with etc. If the cashier does not perform then I get thrown off. Oh well. But yes....doing the barista thing at Center Camp is a lot of fun to me. It is supposedly the busiest coffee shop in the world for that week but I think it was much busier last year. Perhaps because you can find other places to get free coffee at Burning Man, the drinks at Center Camp coffee shop are not free and the prices went up since last year and more people come in RVs which means they can make their own morning drinks. Of course you can make your own coffee if you sleep in a tent too but in an RV it is easier....cause you have a stove inside already. But I like Center Camp in general I go there every day whether I volunteer there or not, there is art everywhere and stages where people perform and talk.....it is a great place to start your day with a tasty latte or end your night with a hot chocolate or chai.







The blend of beans created for Burning Man.

I think I spent at least half of my time at Burning Man inside the Orgy Dome in a naked haze.....no not really actually. But I did want a picture with the Orgy Dome sign so I took McKenzie to it. And she donated some baby wipes to them because that is what they needed. As you can see, the Orgy Dome also offered some educational workshops, you never know what you might learn at Burning Man.









No Orgy Dome for me....I actually DID go inside once a few years ago because I wanted to see what was going on in there, just to look definitely not participate and I think I lasted about 30 seconds in there before I started laughing so hard that I had to leave. It's not for me....but I think it is a great option for the people that want to enjoy themselves in there.

The first couple of days there were some dust storms. In fact I heard that they shut down entry into Burning Man for several hours on Monday because of dust storms. I dragged McKenzie through the dust on our bikes, glad that she got experience it. I got my bandanas on, covering my face and hair. Dusty eyelashes and brows....breathing in the playa and loving it.



Limited visibility in Center Camp.



Checking out what Black Rock City has to offer this year in "What Where When".



Once the first dust storms ceased it was actually great weather the rest of the week....the playa was smooth and easy to bike on. I am ready for the day ahead....



This was the year that Larry Harvey, the founder of Burning Man passed away. I never met him (that I know of) but I am forever grateful to him for Burning Man. A truly amazing adventure that really can't be described in words - it has to be experienced - Thank You Larry.

The gates to Burning Man 2018 opened at 12:01 am on Sunday August 26. We got there at 12:44 am (yeay I finally arrived in good time) and got to camp at 3:07 am, so not bad at all with waiting in line to get in. A lot of people were already settled in. People get early arrival passes to set up camps and others are there weeks in advance to build stuff, after all Black Rock City is basically a fully functioning city that supports around 70 000 people living there for the duration of the event. Putting on Burning Man is a huge undertaking.
A pic from the line.



This year I went with a girl that had never been to Burning Man before (a burgin!), McKenzie. As soon as we got the bikes out and a few things taken care of I took her out on the playa so she could see some stuff. And learn how to get around and find her way home to camp. The full moon was out and it was calm and clear - I felt happy to have arrived.
Center Camp and the moon.





We didn't stay up for that long, we were probably in bed by 5 am. A whole week at Burning Man was ahead of me, I knew that time was going to fly by. It always does. I was signed up for 16 hours of volunteer "work" (fun) as a barista at Center Camp and I was also going to DJ at Planet Earth this year.....check back tomorrow for more of my Burning Man 2018 experience.

I got out from the playa and Burning Man.....I got back home yesterday early evening. I have a lot of pictures to go through....even my Mom asked me when my Burning Man pics will be up and I told her that it will be a while. I need sleep, a bath, I have stuff to take care of, do and unpack and wash because I am now back in the default world now. What is the "default world"? It is, according to Burning Man community, "the rest of the world that is not Black Rock City during the Burning Man event". To learn more Burning Man glossary check this out
burningman.org/culture/glossary
I still have my Burning Man hair though....I might keep it a fe more days. So give me a while and the Burning Man 2018 pics will be up!
As always it is over way too fast.



My new necklace and my Burning Man manicure.



And when I checked my email last night, my phone was set to airplane mode for the whole duration of my burn, I saw this beautiful poem that a friend wrote to me.
How sweet! Thank You! I appreciate YOU!

I hope your adventure is all good vibe.
Amongst all the desert souls in your tribe.
I wish your soul soar high with excellent lift.
Your love, and your passion, is your gift.

Yesterday while driving around swamped with a ton of stuff to do I saw a dog running loose. A lost dog. I can't just continue driving and leave a dog on its own where it can get hurt so I pulled over and tried to get the dog to come up to me. The dog was scared but after a few tries I managed to put my sarong around her collar. She was wearing a collar with no tag. Since I was quite busy she had to ride along with me for a few hours and she seemed to be OK with that. She laid down and relaxed. Later on I had to drop her off at the Humane Society. I hope things work out for her, she is a very sweet and well behaved dog. Situations like these are difficult. I hope the owner comes forward but her toenails were long and her teeth were in rather bad condition, in fact when I gave her a treat it looked like she was uncomfortable chewing. Perhaps a nice and caring person will adopt her. Little Mama....such a cutie.