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Catherine Gacad

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It’s Playa Time

It’s that time of year when I start grinding my teeth at all hours of the day and night. I’ve got sores in my mouth from trying to chomp my stress away. I don’t have time to walk several blocks down to the See’s Candies on Market for a cup of peanut butter patties and a cup of toffee-ettes. My mind is wrapped up in spreadsheets and email. I don’t have a trailer. I don’t have a tent. My clothes are still filthy from last summer.

Why worry? Because it’s playa time! Even though I am so majorly stressed out…what if I fuck up on the schedule?….what if the volunteers aren’t prepared?….what if I mistype the early arrival details?….  Even still, I am brimming with excitement for Burning Man this year. More art than ever, best temple ever, and my (sniff sniff) 10th year. Booyah Vixen for dedication, loyalty, passion, bliss! What have you done for 10 years in a row? School maybe? Worked for the same company possibly?

I guess this makes me a full-fledged Burner 😉

You really can’t understand unless you’ve experienced it. The unbelievable culture, community, genuine caring, partying, amazement, creativity, love. I love love love Burning Man and reaching this milestone has made me misty-eyed. Every email, every meeting, I think, what brilliant people I work with. What amazing volunteers this organization is comprised of.

Burning Man, what a blessing you have been. Thank you.

That’s a picture of me playing with a large-scale Connect Four at my first Burn in 2002.

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07.09.11

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kristy

    July 13, 2011 at 9:38 pm

    Wow Vixen, you just TOTALLY got my psyched for the Burn. I can’t wait to see you out there. It’s on!

    Reply
  2. Kristy

    July 13, 2011 at 9:39 pm

    Oh and by the way, if you seriously don’t have a tent, you can use mine. It’s been sitting in playa dust and storage for 2 years but it’s tall enough for me to stand in and I think it’s 9×9. Used only once.

    Reply
  3. Catherine

    July 13, 2011 at 10:05 pm

    KRISTY!! OMG, OMG! I get to meet Ryan on the playa. I am beyond excited. You are so kind to offer your tent. I actually just sealed the deal for a trailer. I think I paid way too much. You’re going to laugh when you see it. FIND ME! I will cry if I don’t get to hold Ryan! Check the ARTery and those peeps know my sched. If I’m not there, try the ARTery camp next door. In the ARTery camp, you will see a trailer the size of a walk-in closet. No joke. If I’m there, I will be in a horizontal position because I (me, a midget) cannot stand in it. Haha! Cannot wait to B-U-R-N!!

    Reply

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Welcome to my site, derived from an advice column I wrote while getting my MBA. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I give helpful, opinionated advice based on my own experience and from the expertise of my extensive network. For more, click here.

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