The Assless Chapel #63: Decompression Edition

The Chaplain’s Screed

So, you’ve been back in the quotidian milieu for a couple weeks now and are already missing Black Rock City?  Well, just as you brought all that Playa dust back with you, it’s on you to bring some of the BRC magic back with you, too.  Here’s my yearly advice on how to do that:

Take as much as you can of who were on-Playa with you into who you are off-Playa. Take as much as you can of what you do to make Burning Man magic with you to make the Default World a bit more magical. Take as much as you can of what you loved on the Playa and figure out where to find a bit more of it in the world than you did before the burn. Keep being open to new people and experiences; keep gifting; keep finding value outside of the economic system; keep teaching yourself how to be self-reliant; keep finding opportunities to express yourself in fulfilling ways; keep finding ways  to work with other people to do great stuff; keep being a good person; try to leave every person or place you come into contact in as good shape or better than you found it; do cool shit; stay off your phone, be present and enjoy the magic all around you. Go to decompressions and regionals or make your own Burning Man-inspired events. Stay in touch with your Playa people.

My own decompression is in full swing.  Cleaning, organizing, replacing and repairing gear.  Getting the truck fixed (getting back was a nail-biter!)  Touching base with new friends I made on the Playa.  Filling forms out for BORG.  Receiving unending and unhinged text tirades from the dildo-chucker.  Setting up interviews with next year’s round of brides and grooms.  And I just did an interview with The Shadow of the Man podcast (to be released in April.)  And thinking about what a great fucking year it was this year!

I want to thank all of you.  It was a rough start this year, yet, while many camps never recovered, we were built in time to rock our first round of weddings.  We fit in extra weddings and made them special.  We housed each other when the going got rough.  And we finished strike and de-MOOP’d and, despite the rain, managed gray water well.  No drama, lots of love and a really great time.  And we won best camp name in Black Rock City!

This was the most meaningful Burn I’ve had.  Somehow I stuck to my paradoxical intentions this year and managed to make it to more planned events than in all other years combined (three events, not a high bar).  But more than anything, I came back from the Playa ready to move on and evolve in an unprecedented way.  Thank you all for being there for me and helping me do that. 

I’ll be attending Decompression in Oakland on October 18^th.  You are all invited to join!

The truth is, though, I don’t really believe in decompression.  I’m still burning, just as I was the day before we left for the Playa.

“I am burning myself up and will always do so.”

-Jean Cocteau

Group News

·         Paulin made it back to France, where his lady had planned a surprise birthday party for him!  And here’s the really big news: Paulin proposed and he and Aurelie will be getting married at The Assless Chapel next burn!

·         Red plans to rejoin us next year!

·         Unfortunately, Stupid will be taking next year off.

·         I got to speak to Kayla and she’s doing all kinds of amazing stuff.  Planning to return to BRC next year, probably with another camp.  She’s even contemplating starting her own camp!

Please send me any news you have to share with the camp!

Also, please send me all of your Burning Man pictures!  I’ll put them on the cloud and create a link so everyone can download them.  And please do so ASAP!  I’ll need to come through them to find the best pictures of our camp to submit with our Post-Playa report.

Here is our current email list.  If you want to be removed, change your email address or add someone, just let me know!

[Please see newsletter for email list]

Camp Planning

Wedding Planning

We’ve already had a couple reach out about getting married next year!  Send me any suggestions you have for improvements to our weddings!

Other Camp Planning

Let me know how you’re feeling about coming next year.  We’ll need to replace one camp tent, the bar and podium and two car ports.  Does anyone remember if there’s anything else we forgot, need to add or need to replace?

Black Rock City News and Acculturation

·         I filled out this post-event survey.  You can, too, if you feel like it.

·         I did not fill out the Black Rock City census, but go for it, if you want.

·         Did you lose something?  You may be able to find it on ePlaya or in the Lost & Found database.

Placement / Ticket News

Placement News

So, I’ll need to fill out the Post-Playa report soon and I’ll need whatever pictures you’ve got!

Ticketing News

Nothing to see here.

Adding New Camp Members

If you want to invite someone to join us, please send me an email about it.

Ticketing Calendar

Nothing out yet.

Upcoming Tasks

To Do in the Next 10 Days

Everybody

   Send me your Burning Man pictures.

TAC

   Start setting up interviews for next year’s couples.

To Do in the Next 30 Days

Everybody

   Send me any news you have to share with the camp.

   Let me know if you want to remove, change or add an email to/from the newsletter list.

TAC

   Post-Playa Report.

To Do in the Next 60 Days

TAC and Stupid

   Clean, repair, organize and store gear.

Closing Thoughts

Burning Man is much like a fire.  The experience grows and grows until it burns itself down and casts us out, leaving us Playa-homeless for the year.  So, if you now that fire is burning and you can only take one thing with you as you flee back to your off-Playa life, what should it be?  It should be the fire. 

See, burners are always burning.  For us, Burning Man is like Christmas to devout Christians.  It is a time to see all of our family and friends; a time to revel and reflect; to close out one year and enter the next.  It’s a time for ritual, introspection, contemplation and partying.  But Christians are not Christian because they celebrate Christmas.  They celebrate Christmas because they’re Christian and, if they didn’t celebrate it they would still be Christian.

We burners are also burners because of what’s in our heart.  It defines how we live and Burning Man is a celebration of that, not the reason for it.  Don’t stop burning.

And for that matter, if you were listening to BMIR for hours on end during Exodus, you likely heard the advice not to make any drastic decisions in life for 2, 3 or 6 weeks.  Fuck that.  Make the decisions now, before the off-Playa voices drown out your own.  That is how you make the best decisions – certainly that’s the case for me.  But… that doesn’t mean you make drastic changes right away.  Did you realize you need to quit your job?  Great.  Commit to that, but plan for it: put away money, plan your next moves, whatever.

The Man Burns in 354 days!