Entries by TATIANA

Well.....today is the day when a shooting "hit home" for me. Las Vegas besides my time in Alaska has been the place that has been my home in the US for a long time, although I am away from Las Vegas right now. Even when I was in AK I would go back to Vegas for extended periods of time.
I found out about the shooting late last night while in Winnemucca outside a McDonald's picking up WiFi.....I was talking to my brother when I saw the first reports trickling in.....11 45 pm my time.
I spent most of my day today driving and only heard what news I could get on the radio, spotty radio because long stretches of the road had zero reception.
Once I arrived at my destination I could start checking off that my friends were OK, I suspected most would be but you never know. So far I haven't heard back from a few people and I know people that know somebody that got shot.
Always feels more "real" when something bad or good happens at home.
Same with Sweden to me.
BUT I feel that every innocent person that dies in the hands of somebody else is a valuable life lost and that person too most likely has family that will mourn their loss. It doesn't matter where in the world something bad happens, bad is bad.
Las Vegas in case you haven't been truly is a shining jewel in the desert, at first glimpse it is almost too much to take in. Las Vegas will keep on shining and being fabulous and according to some friends that I talked to the community has really pulled together in this. Still.....very very unfortunate what happened.

I spent yesterday afternoon at the Alvord Desert, camped out there on the playa and woke up there today. Camped in my car with Chhaya of course. I traveled there because of a photoshoot, that involved this.....



The photographer had an idea/vison for years and finally it came to fruition.
A more "artistic" photoshoot. I have no idea how the images will turn out, I saw a few of the raw images and they looked pretty cool. He brought a drone so we did some arial photos and we did a few "pretty" images but I honestly looked cold, tired and borderline miserable. I got up at 6 am yesterday and that is very early for me, packed up the car, drove for hours, the temperature on the playa was colder than I had expected. Chhaya was not happy whatsoever to be thrust into this adventure. Since years now she does not like longer road trips at all. And she definitely did not like being out on the playa, she was restless and spent a good portion of last night shaking and panting instead of sleeping. So today I decided that I would not stick around for more photography since it was colder today than yesterday, more clouds and less sun to keep me warm. There is only so much I am willing to suffer for an art sometimes and I like photography. I have been uncomfortable plenty of times during shoots - cold, laying on something sharp, holding my body still in unnatural positions for a long time etc, it is just something you put up with to get a good photo. But today I decided that I would not freeze.
I just couldn't. So I said thank you and continued my journey South.
Here are some more pics from the Alvord desert, a very pretty place, a vast and beautiful playa.
It would be nice to come back when it's warmer. There are some hot springs here too I heard, Alvord Hot Springs but I did not visit.









I ate twice at this place, Fields Station. I guess they are famous for their milkshakes, so I tried the "Triple C" and it was very good but the rest of the food including the coffee was bad. Typical roadhouse food, burgers, fries, lots of American cheese (I do not like American cheese). And I am being polite now, there were so many flies in that place that anybody with OCD or a strict requirement for a clean restaurant would probably be horrified. I saw a lady working there swat the flies dead flat on the counters - barf. But it is the only place around for miles since you are kind of in the middle of nowhere, so you eat where you can.



And now I am in the very exciting (not) town of Winnemucca. Chhaya is sleeping like a little piggy, calm and relaxed. I have an errand to do here of all places in the morning and once that is done I am returning to where I came from yesterday......Winnemucca is located in Nevada, now you know that.



I was going to get gas in Denio Junction today but guess what.....just as I arrived they ran out of gas! So I had to drive back to Fields Station and get gas. Seriously.....WTF.

And here are the last pictures of my time at Black Rock City for this time around.
First a bit of interesting Burning Man history.....



A painting I liked at Center Camp called "The Journey" by Mikey.
The white house represents the traditional American path to success - doctor, lawyer or civil career. The girl is a creative person. She is taking a journey into the unknown. The black cat is her intuition. He is her guide.



More Center Camp.



I visited the banya (steam room) where a Russian guy poured water on the rocks, then I sat in the banya and took deep breaths. After a few minutes he (the Russian) came back in and swatted me with the tree branches. When I stepped outside he misted me with some water that had a minty smell. Very refreshing.

















I always collect Playa dust, so I can take a part of Black Rock City with me home. This is what I made this year.....I picked up the friendship bracelets at Burning Man.



And.....that was it. With this entry I am wrapping up my Burning Man 2017 experience. I hope you have enjoyed it.

Here she is! Playa Barbie 2017. This is a highly collectable rare limited edition Barbie, as you all can see. Rare as in exclusive, out of the ordinary and one of a kind.







And I met the creator of the Playa Barbie Box, his name is Mike. What did he tell me.....if I recall it right his wife's name is Barbie.
Some more info on the Playa Barbie Box, "Internationally renowned, Playa Barbie is a Photo Box Art Project which participants pose in at the Worlds Largest Artist Exhibition. Thousands of Burning Man participants have taken thier picture in the Photo Box, providing much love, and individual photos from all over the world. Playabarbie is featured in many videos featuring the Art of/and Burning Man experience. Playabarbie Photo Project is a gift to the citizens of Black Rock City, NV. PlayaBarbie has been displayed for a week during the International Burning Man Festival since 2013. Visit - Playabarbie.com or #Playabarbie."

This year I decided that I was going to participate at Burning Man by being a volunteer. There are many areas for volunteering but since I love Center Camp and since I love latte I decided to apply for a barista position. It only made sense. Previous barista experience is a requirement. I applied a few weeks before Burning Man, exchanged some emails with café staff management and got in.
First I had to attend a mandatory training session at the Café and then I did three shifts, each shift is four hours long or should I say short.....because those four hours go by SO fast. I did two 11 am - 3 pm shifts and one 3 am - 7 am shift.
They made sure I knew what I was doing for the 3 am shift, I had to make a few espresso drinks in front of the shift supervisor and when I was done she basically said....you are good to go, you know what you are doing. I was slammed that shift, I was the only barista for a while and while I was making a drink I would sometimes have six more orders waiting.
Volunteering as a Center Camp barista aka Café coffee cosmonaut, how do I even start explaining..... It was SO MUCH FUN!!! I met so many nice people! Being a volunteer at Burning Man was one of the best decisions that I made in a long time. Am I doing it again? ABSOLUTELY! With pleasure and a big smile on my face.

Center Camp - I love this place! ❤



An espresso machine I worked on. The Café at Black Rock City is the the largest temporary freestanding tensile shade structure in the world. And some say it is the busiest coffee shop in the world for the duration of Burning Man. Is it busy? Yes.



Some of the people I met and worked with at the Café......



Pascal from France. His first Burning Man.



Ola from Poland but residing in London. This was her first Burning Man.



Donald and Lynda. Donald's second Burning Man, he was there for about a month! Setting up internet and whatever else he was doing.....I was so jealous.
I want to be there for a month too! Lynda's first time, she also volunteered at the Medical station because she is a nurse. Lynda wasn't too sure about Burning Man.....she said it was hot and dusty. I told her she might change her mind.



The morning shift crew, well some of us.
So besides baristas there are cashiers, runners, shift leads and I don't even know what else.



And me.....about 7 30 am, been up all day and all night. So not ready to leave Burning Man but a few hours later I was on my way home.



And another thing.....I made tips. The Café is one of the two places that money is exchanged at Burning Man, there is also ice for sale at Arctica. I decided to donate all my tips to a local spay and neuter project and I rounded up the amount a bit with my own contribution. The money will allow for a spay of a dog with some left over for whatever else the animals need.
You can also donate your tips directly at Burning Man. Our group (consisting of me, the cashier and the runner) made a $45 tip one time from one person, Donald was the cashier and he took the order. The tips get split between everybody working that shift.



If you are curious about Center Camp and Burning Man in general you should check out the video in this link......

https://burningman.org/event/volunteering/teams/center-camp-cafe/

Thank You Universe for leading me to Burning Man! ❤

The Man in the distance......



And up close.....



Me in front.....



The raising of the arms....



The fire.....







If I recall it right the structure was set on fire at 9 pm and started falling at 10 21 pm.....it takes a while for everything to fall. There are fireworks as well and heat. It's quite intense. Yes, I am aware of this year's accident or incident, not sure what to call it. I did not witness it but I feel bad for the people that had no choice but to see the unfortunate event unfold in front of them and the rescue workers that were there trying to prevent it and having to deal with it.