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Burning Man is about observation. Well, it was for me. I came back and
noticed all sorts of things in my neighborhood that I'd never seen before.
I felt/feel very observant about people, too; I can totally sense moods
and preoccupation and all sorts of other little things we're trained as
adults to ignore. I came back feeling very very good about myself. I started off the week feeling very much as I did last year: alone. Wednesday night I was crying in my loneliness after I got separated from the rest of the group (that happens all too easily at Burning Man....you just turn around and poof! your group is gone). Thursday night Carol, Jodi, Alex and I went to hang out in the cafe at Center Camp. We sipped our tea/coffee/whatever and sat near the line and lo and behold a whole slew of people came up and talked to us. We were holding court, in a way. Alex wanted to meet men, and was being far too shy about it, so Jodi found me a piece of cardboard and I wrote "got dick?" on it in purple letters and hung it around his neck. It brought the men to hiim, forcing himi to interact and talk to these people he so desperately wanted to know more about. The cafe was "interactive" and those behind the counter continually asked trivia questions for free coffee. I won a free coffee for correctly answering "What is the definition for felching?" Thank you, Carol Queen, for addressing that in your column just weeks before. This was the one night I got lost going to the bathroom, and I ended up close to camp so I swung by to pick up more water, my zils, etc. Jeff, Ian and Elle's current roomie, was there so I brought him back with me to the cafe. Jodi and Carol decided it was bedtime, so I headed out with Alex and Jeff. So, what do you guys want to see/do? Alex: Jeff: (I was already getting close to Alex at this point - he was like a little brother to me. I was to get to know Jeff better too; Jeff is a musician and has that artist's soul that allows one to use phrases like this. At the time it took me aback a bit.) We rode through a wind storm on our bikes,; I was trying desperately not to get my skirt (one of the few warm pieces of clothing I had) caught in the spokes. I had a dust mask over my face and was squinting into the wind. I'm afraid I didn't do a very good job of entertaining them - we found rave after rave after....oh, here's a nice place with carpets and pillows and almost cool, earthy music....after rave. I forgave myself my failure, though. Alex and Jeff have very different ideas of fun, and I don't think I could've succeeded even if the weather wasn't miserable. The next day,
I got to hear Jeff drum. I know this story is rambling all over the place. I've been trying to update this journal all day, so I'm finally getting to write and I'm nervous it's going to cut me off again. Anyhoo....Friday night Alex and I stayed at Bianca's to dance (Carol and Jodi again turned in early). Alex was agreeably complimentarly about my dancing, which only spurred me on to dance harder. We had a blast, snagging grilled cheese sandwhiches as they came around on trays to keep us going. They had a great DJ who played lots of funky stuff and I was in that mood where I know any move I make is pure and utter dancing genius (Alex's awe certainly helped that along). It's exhilarating to dance like that. Alex is a good dancer too - that is, he can *move* smoothly and with that confidence most guys lack (sorry, but it's true). I can't wait until he turns 21 so I can drag him dancing in the City; he's a good dancing pal. Satruday Jeff and I rode around the playa during the day. I managed to scrape the hell out of my knees on a giant swingset, which put me in a mood despite my best efforts. There's no way to not get dust in wounds out there....by Sunday night I could barely walk. Ah, but that does not mean they were too bad for me to have a blast on Saturday night.... It was the night they were going to burn the man. I dressed up very elaborately, but by the time I left I was again bundled up against the cold (I got pictures before that happened, though). One thing that did happen - I painted my face up with curly-ques beside my eyes. Before I knew it, everyone wanted their face painted (as everyone had wanted their hair braided earlier). It was a good move, as it was the one part of you that everyone saw, thereby giving you a costume no matter how wrapped up the rest of you was.
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