Category: Burning Man

  • Burning Man Tips, From Somebody Who’s Been There (And Learned The Hard Way)

    Burning Man Tips, From Somebody Who’s Been There (And Learned The Hard Way)

      I actually don’t have words to describe how heartbroken I am that I won’t be attending Burning Man this year. Every time I smell the wood-fired pizza place across the street, I am taken back to the bonfires of that first burn (see above, look how sunburnt I am!). If YOU are going, tell…

  • 2017 Favorites

    2017 Favorites

      Don’t get me wrong: the *second* the clock hits midnight, I’m erasing 2017 from my memory. It’s GONE. I’m going to repress and re-repress and re-re-repress until 2017 becomes The Year That Never Happened. Like 2012! I’m always forgetting 2012, and with good reason! It blew. It totally blew. And that’s where I intend to put 2017: in…

  • So I Got My Period At Burning Man

    So I Got My Period At Burning Man

    photo by Nina Hazen   I finally caught the bullet that I dodged last year.   Last year, I was scheduled to get my period at Burning Man, but if you’ll recall (because I know you are so into my menstrual cycle), it came early and was the cherry on top of three days of ??food poisoning??…

  • My Third Time At Burning Man CHANGED Me — But For The Better or the Worse???

    My Third Time At Burning Man CHANGED Me — But For The Better or the Worse???

    (Photo by Becki Heller)   It was my third time at Burning Man. I wasn’t supposed to come back this insufferable. So, you hear all the clichés about youths going to Burning Man and coming back changed. I don’t think I really changed all that much after my first burn, to be honest! Maybe I became a little more…

  • Currently… in September 2017

    Currently… in September 2017

      FEELING:  I’m not “over” Burning Man, yet. That was probably the most intense three weeks of my life, and I was so busy and alive during that time! One minute, you’re a bad-ass amazing survivalist, vital and thriving, pushing yourself past your limits and defying nature to have an amazing fucking time!!!!! and the…

  • Things I Learned at Burning Man 2017

    Things I Learned at Burning Man 2017

      The opposite of “Fragile Masculinity” is probably “Secure Masculinity,” as in a cishet man who can enjoy yoga and facials and pumpkin spice latte’s without having to proclaim “NO HOMO!” But what is “Fragile Femininity,” i.e. a woman who feels compelled to protest that she is “Not Like Other Girls,” or HATES the color…

  • GOOD NEWS! Burning Man is nigh!!!

    GOOD NEWS! Burning Man is nigh!!!

    You guys, I am literally in Reno right now. Yesterday my bf and I ran ALMOST ALL of our errands, and today we have a relaxed fun day planned of vintage shopping, In & Out, and Wal-Mart. I’m also hoping for a manicure but I won’t press my luck. I know it’s been quiet here,…

  • All The Makeup You Need To Survive Burning Man

    All The Makeup You Need To Survive Burning Man

    Okay, Let’s Be Honest: makeup really isn’t necessary at Burning Man. I just… I really like it! The best part of my morning (besides my super-regular 6:45am morning poop #humblebrag) is deciding what makeup to wear that day. What colors, what theme, what “look” I’m going to go for. Why should I have to forego that fun,…

  • We NEED To Have A Potty Talk

    We NEED To Have A Potty Talk

      Hi, strangers. We need to have a talk about potty training. Not for kids… for adults. For YOU.     I would say, seven times out of ten, I walk into a Manhattan public restroom and find piss everywhere. More than just a few sprinkled. More than the errant drip. Much more than a forgivable “there was…

  • the best GOOD NEWS of the year, roundup

    the best GOOD NEWS of the year, roundup

    Awwwww you guuuyyys it’s my last weekly Good News roundup of 2016! You know, in years past, I would have felt a twinge of nostalgia saying “Last X of 20XX,” but I really don’t feel anything. TIME IS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT, like virginity and breakfast. And besides, I doubt anyone’s going to be very nostalgic about…

  • When I’m Scared, I Tell Myself…

    When I’m Scared, I Tell Myself…

    Moments of bravery:  we all have them.  Do you, like me, use your personal moments of bravery in times of struggle?  In a previous post, I mentioned how much I challenged myself in 2015 and the confidence those moments of challenge gave me when faced with mundane, everyday moments of doubt.  Y’know – job interviews,…

  • Rainy Sunday Morning Update

    Rainy Sunday Morning Update

    First off, thanks for all your kind comments, tweets, and (mom) concerned texts about my cold – can’t say I’m 100% yet, but I feel like I’m sloooooowly getting better! Aside from work and doctor’s visits, I’ve been laying pretty low at home, but I had my first social venture of the New Year last…

  • 5 Things I Learned in 2015

    5 Things I Learned in 2015

    I went through so many changes in 2015 that I had a hard time narrowing down just five things I learned.  Instead of joking (whaaaa?! me, not joking?) about silly things like “I learned how to pencil in my eyebrows,” I took the high road by listing the serious lessons I learned in 2015.  And…

  • 2015 in Review: Third Quarter

    2015 in Review: Third Quarter

      JULY Living With Roommates vs. A SigOth (7/9/15): “When you live with a roommate, you are a constant thorn in their side.  Your dishes.  Your dirty tennis shoes.  Your noisy breathing!  To your roommate, you are a necessary evil they literally must  live with because they can’t afford the rent on their own.” If…

  • How I Got My Halloween Costume For Free

    How I Got My Halloween Costume For Free

    Pre-tour selfie on Halloween Eve!  Look at that grin! It’s been a week since Halloween and I just don’t know how to go on.  Really.  Halloween is the highlight of my year:  being a tour guide for Ghosts, Murders and Mayhem Walking Tours (best job EVAR) means that Halloween is the most wonderful time of…

  • Immobile Bar

    Immobile Bar

    The group I camped with at Burning Man has – get ready – a mobile bar!!  Yeah, it’s a small bar, on wheels, that can roll up to parties and supplement the existing bar with more drinks.  Don’t you know that Burning Man is basically a week-long 24/7 open bar party?  Oh boy do I…

  • How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Dust Storms

    How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Dust Storms

    Dust storms at Burning Man.  Apparently, this year was rife with ’em.  Pesky, unscheduled, seemingly never-ending dust storms.  Don’t we look thrilled.  I alluded to some dust storms in the previous posts COCONUT + RUM + POLAROID and Tutu Tuesday, but those were minor, rapidly dissipating storms.  No, the one I’m about to tell you…

  • Tutu Tuesday

    Tutu Tuesday

    Don’t look so shocked, darling!  Why, EVERYONE knows that Tuesday at Burning Man is TUTU TUESDAY!  Don’t know how it started, don’t know why, don’t care.  Just know that I stuffed a massive tulle skirt into my suitcase strapped down with rubber bands, puffed it out, and pranced around the playa all day on Tutu…

  • COCONUT + RUM + POLAROID

    COCONUT + RUM + POLAROID

    Following a wretched dust storm (that was actually only the beginning – eye of the storm, perhaps?), walking home from an open conference on technology and the future in a canvas tent, a table of drunk, rowdy millenials sat behind a table boasting a cardboard sign crudely etched  “COCONUT + RUM + POLAROID”.  Common sense…