What Do You Do?

Several months back I got into a discussion with some friends about our lack of awareness of each others’ occupations. “Do you even know what I do?” One asked.

I stammered, “You’re like an engineer or something like that right?  Or computers.  Don’t you do something with computers?”

Everyone laughed. “We don’t even know what you do.”

“It’s easy. I work for a bank.”

That’s all I’ll share publicly about my paid career since I have gotten in trouble previously for making specific references to my employer. I learned my lesson!

In addition to everyone not knowing what we do in the real world, most people don’t know what I do for Burning Man so I’ll explain. I volunteer for the ARTery which is the group that facilitates art getting onto the playa. We register artists, document each piece, place their work, and educate artists about lighting and our leave no trace policy. At the event, the ARTery has a wall-sized map showing where every single art piece is located. We print self-guided tours, conduct bus and bike tours, and throw artist parties. I’m the ARTery Volunteer Coordinator which means I am tasked with finding new volunteers, retaining volunteers, and making sure everyone feels appreciated.

I’ve been volunteering for at least 6 years. I can’t remember that far back! This year I worked the most ever. I did 7 shifts with each shift lasting about 5 hours, and then some. So you can imagine only one week in the desert with my work schedule goes by very quickly! We are an amazing, tight-knit group (I swear I’m not biased) and every hour I spend working is busy, but also enjoyable.

First picture here is me and rockstar newbie volunteers at the ARTery on-playa.  In the second picture, we’re at the Commissary enjoying ice-cream sandwiches for dessert at lunch.