start with the end
burn night (Saturday night) started off a bit shaky. first, everyone had to rush out to the playa by 9pm (most nights started round midnight). everyone was frantic in the dome gettin ready - not only with our outfits, but also making sure we had all our supplies: blinkys on the bikes, glowsticks, gallon jug of gatorade, water bottles, shades & goggles, dust masks, gifts, gum, smokes, lighters, ashtray containers, lotion, lip balm, cameras, batteries, extra layers of clothes. but we’re pros at it by now.
bikes have to left at the outskirts of the playa, as just about all 35,000 people and every single art car surrounds the man. the crowd is a little annoying, and there’s a sense of chaos of every sound system blasting and blinky things left and right. the burn itself is amazing as usual. words can’t describe it.
afterwards, we head home to rest a bit. amo is feelin sick and it’s not clear if she’ll make it out at all. we’re all feelin a bit ragged. being up the past 2 nights in a row is catching up to us. rose & nate and brian are MIA, and debbie and kevin are about to head out on their own. it starts to seem like the last night will be spent with everyone partying separately.
about 7 of our neighbors pop in before heading out to the party on the playa. my peanut butter cup is kickin in, and there’s a new energy with about 8 conversations going on at once. to their pleasure, we equip them all with bright red led earrings. they smoke up and talk about doing tequila shots - i’m thinkin they’re nuts. at least the earrings will help them find each other out on the playa. one guy is dressed as Hunter Thompson and his impression is *dead on*. it’s a hoot.
suddenly rose & nate appear out of nowhere. they head out with kevin & debbie - the plan is to meet at space cowboys and then stonehendge. amo, ever the trooper, brings herself about and we head out about 1/2 hr later. somehow we run into brian on the way out and tell him the plan.
we get to space cowboys, and it’s dead. they’ve got a small party on the playa, but our gang isn’t there. we head to stonehedge, and amongst the sea of bikes our trademark seizure-inducing blinky lights stick out right away and we find their bikes immediately. the 6 of us get into the groove, and then brian comes bouncing in and suddenly we’re all together, feelin alive, and ready to get down. we stick it out at stonehedge a bit, pay a visit to lotus, and then go to lush. things are good.
by about 4am there’s another lull - amo is in a chill mood by the fire, debbie & kevin are ready to call it a night, rose, nate & brian are all MIA again. and then, wouldn’t ya know it, we all end up together somehow and get down again…this time until the sun is high in the sky, we’re all completely exhausted and satisfied that we did the night right.
home to the dome, plop onto the hammock for about 2 hrs of sleep. wake up with a killer headache and start packing - several hours later, in the heat of the afternoon sun, the dome is dismantled and our bags are packed. one last ride through the playa to pickup MOOP.
say goodbye to black rock city around 5pm. i’m delirious on the ride home - pulled over for an hour snooze in a really scary wooded area, but i’m too tired to care (sorry, amo :)). get to amo’s dad’s around 1am. unload her stuff. to jon’s loft, do some laundry, bed around 3:30am. i am *dead* tired. up at 8am to go to SFO. i sleep from the moment i get in my seat to when the plane lands. get home around 11pm and go right to sleep. call in sick the next day and sleep til 1pm. wake up to eat and go back to sleep. wake up to eat again, and go back to sleep.
today i’m a zombie at work. the computer screen is fuzzy. can’t focus on what people are saying. leave work at 5pm and go to sleep. now, about 3 days later, i’m starting to feel a little more normal. time for a bit more sleep.
even just the last night was worth all the effort. the five days before it make it that much better.