Burn the Man / Save the Man - Hope and Fear

oh man oh man oh man... we leave tomorrow, and I'm here at work - it's 10:30am and I've already had 4 conference calls. It's a mad dash to complete everything or whatever I can before we leave.

This last weekend has been about finishing costumes, doing inventory and working on the ahem... art cart. This year is going to be one of the best years. (1) We are having a small camp, which I am so ready for. (2) We have an art car, oh oh I am peeing in my pants I'm so excited about this one... it's the ultimate dream fantasy of being rolled around in a luxurious car while rolling rolling rolling. (3) We have a firepit. This is super ultra important as it's fucking cold at night, and from the reports we've heard, it's even colder at night this year than before. A nice cheery fire to come home to after a night out sounds bone warming. (4) We are having a grill and dinner is organized from Wed-Sat in groups. So for food this year, it's minimal except for one big day that AG and I signed up for... good yummy food, like grilled salmon and beef ribs for our Thursday dinner. (5) There are 240 art installations registered this year. It's the most ever and we have the ability to see it all..... do it, see it all....

I should think about this year's burn a bit since it's highly unlikely that we are going next year or even the next couple of years. I know that I want to check out everything this year, I want to see all the art installations, take pictures, sleep on the edge of the playa. I am in complete explorer mode. AG and I are on the same wave length on this. Let's overstimulate. 

Happy Birthday to my favorite virgo

Today is XT's bday... this picture was from 2 years maybe even 3 years prior when we celebrated our birthday together.

Today I'm thinking about her and the paths that has led to our friendship. She's a uniquely powerful and deeply spiritual sister.

I hope she's feeling the love that her west coast sisters are sending her way, so thankful for her friendship and her spirit. We miss her dearly and can't wait to see her again soon.


Birthday wishes for XT:

See the strength of your spirit
See the beauty you create in others around you
Find your love
Bring him home to your heart
Have adventures
Be young again....

Love you XT 

Birthday weekend

This has been an extremely full month. Where did time fly to? I came back from NY and now it's 1 week before the burn.

Saturday Shelaine threw a birthday bash for me, and it was everything I needed... good friends, good food, and very cool/chill place to hang out with everyone. I know I have lots of great friends, but I forget sometimes how many I have, and this weekend was a great reminder of the ways I've touched people. You can tell when these people take the time out to call, to set up and remember a special day. Elaine and Sion went all out on the food.. ahi tuna, tri-tip steak....they are so good to me.

Not to mention that I got a cool ass digital camera that all my friends pitched in for. Actually, it was quite a surprise. I am happy that people showed up out of their busy day to celebrate with me. An amazing, beautiful smelling candle for Carla/Sandy and a book I can't wait to read from Sara/Dan. Pictures of the party to come. 

Jersey Shore and NYC

Wednesday, I boarded the red-eye for Newark, NJ. Got in at 7:30am Thursday morning and picked up by the AG and family Glucks. Drove to the Jersey Shore - specifically Bradley Beach.

Moura is a friend of the Glucks, a retired nun with spunk and lots to say. She was actually quite intelligent and super cool. She owned a 5 bedroom house half a block from the beach. Dav, AG and I were blessed with the basement... I say blessed b/c the heat wave was ready to incinerate AG.

Of course I forgot to bring the card for the digital camera, and since we only had 1 car.... no pictures. Bummer. Wedding was beautiful though, very personal, and thoughtful. First wedding that started on TIME - even a few minutes early and we almost missed seeing AG as the Best Man. I had a blast and met everyone's family. Saturday morning we headed to NYC and got much needed AC in our hotel. Met up with AG's family for dinner that night. Sunday morning, took the train to Brooklyn and met AG's great Aunt and Uncle. Really sweet people. We walked the boardwalk on Coney Island and I had my first taste of Nathan's famous hotdogs... so much anticipation after reading Minty's blog and watching the annual Hot Dog eating event. It did taste different than other hot dog's I've had, but not enough to want to buy another one.

PS - I had another dream of Shelaine this morning.... we must be connected somehow. Anyways, long time ago - when I was journeying and going through a rough time, I had mentally reached out to Shelaine and they appeared magically within 2 minutes. Since then, they've been one of my closest friends and I've been having so many dreams of them lately. This one wasn't as weird as the last one. But I was in a dentist chair with an IV hooked to a tooth (I guess it was an innovative way to inject morphine for dental services).. and there was Shelaine, in the dentist office offering advice about - my career, relatinship etc.