Burningman 2005

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Burningman this year was really an amazing trip. As usual, I was amazed and inspired by almost everything there. The art, the creativity, the generosity, the friendliness and the awareness are unmatched in any place I've ever been. No less than 10 times a day, I would stop, look around (usually confused) and think that I was on another planet. There is just no way to describe it. It's probably the closest thing I've seen to a utopian society anywhere, and I am planning on hosting a theme camp next year so all of my friends can come and see. Everyone is welcome.

This year, I had 3 goals at burningman. I wanted to be a host for my friends who had not been yet, I wanted to explore a little on my own, to branch out and see what other people were doing with their burningman experiences, and I wanted to give back to the community in a more significant way than I have in the past. I felt like I accomplished the first two goals, but faltered on the third...which is why I hope to focus on that for next year. I had a really fun time taking my friends around and showing them the exciting things that exist there. For some reason, I feel like hosting comes easy for me. I also expanded and met some GREAT people from camp Overkill. Their attitude and energy was amazing, and I really enjoyed spending some late nights with them. I think I saw the sunrise 4 days in a row.

I'm sad to say that I don't know a ton about the founding and development of burningman, but I am thankful for the people who were involved. They have created an event that has become an annual mecca for me and one that invariably inspires me to be a more creative and better person. In addition to them, I am thankful for my good friend and college roommate Sam Waldman. Thanks to Sam's design direction, we were able to construct a simple and functional shade structure that provided a cool place to spend our hot days. We would have been in trouble without it. Thanks, Sam.