I'm going to Burning Man!!! (I think)

There are many rules I follow, but one of them is this: If someone offers you the chance to do something you’ve always wanted, say “yes” – even if you’re not sure you can pull it off.

That’s exactly what happened when a friend texted me yesterday saying he had an extra ticket to Burning Man that he wasn’t able to sell. He said I could have it if I went as his last minute back-up date and I found my own way there as he was going early.  I also agreed to paid for the gas on the way back, the hotel and my share of expenses. He would take care of the tent, packing and set-up, etc. Deal!

Burning Man has been on my Bucket List for years.  If you don't know what it is, check out this "what is Burning Man" link (although, I admit it's not that useful.) I’ve gotten close to going in the past, but haven’t actually done it yet for many reasons.  

1. First of all, the tickets always sell out and the lottery thing is confusing.  
2. Secondly, it’s expensive.  
3. And thirdly, I was a little scared to show up by myself as it’s massive and I wasn’t sure how it worked. 

I’m also not a camper so if I went on my own, I would have to rent a tent, sleeping bag and all the gear – and figure out how to put it up by myself in the middle of the desert.

YES, YES ,YES -- BUT NO, NO, NO!!

When I got the text message from my friend with the offer, my answer was “yes” – but my head was saying “no, no, no!” This was mostly because Burning Man was not in my budget this year. Even though my friend already had the tent and camping gear, I knew I would have to spend money to pull it off.  There was food to buy, gas and plane money, overnight hotel expenses on the way back as it’s a long drive to Black Rock City from Phoenix, and then the $380 Burning Man ticket  isn’t exactly cheap.

Then there are the costumes.  If you know me, then you know I don’t own anything Burning Man acceptable.  I own work clothes and working out clothes.  I would have to buy everything.

So this last minute trip was going to be a big last minute expense especially as my credit cards were already feeling the pressure of taking on my tuition payments for my Masters Program at Drexel – which brings me to the other reason my head was going “no, no, no!!”  

Burning Man was happening the same week my semester case study, multimedia project and final exam were due.  To pull it off going on the trip, I would have to go into a bit of debt (to pay my share) and I would have to finish my case study and multimedia project a week earlier than expected  -- which would be a struggle considering I only found out about the extra ticket 13 days before the trip.

But the hard part was the writing the final exam as I was supposed to write it the SAME week.   Yup, Burning Man was August 26 to September 2 and I had to write my exam between August 29 and September 2.  The exam is available through an online link – and there is no internet access at Burning Man.

So you see my dilemma? I was screwed.

LET THE SPINNING BEGIN

I instantly went into what I call “spinning mode.” 

I always believe there has got to be way to do something. It just might not be the way you expected to do it.  So I texted my friend:

“What if I only come for part of the week? Is that possible?”

“Yes. Which part?”

“I don’t know yet. When are you driving down?”

“I’m leaving Monday, and starting to drive back on September 2 and back in Phoenix on September 3.”

Hmm….this is not going to work.  More spinning.  Keep in mind I’m trying to save money and was really hoping to at least share a ride back with my friend to cut the costs. Flights were much cheaper during the week than the Labor Day Weekend -- so maybe if I flew back mid-week.  

“What if I go down with you on Monday and then flew back from Reno on Thursday?”

“You mean Thursday September 5?”

“No, August 30.”

“That would suck! You would miss the best part. You would miss the Man being burned and the Temple burning.”

Okay….I guess missing the Man being burned at Burning Man would be bad.  More spinning. The earliest I could write my exam was Thursday morning – if the link was available. Otherwise, I would have to write it on the plane to Reno and then quickly upload it once I landed.  I could be there late Thursday night.  I could then ride back with my friend. Yes, I think this could be doable.

Of course, there was a glitch to my plan.  How would I get from Reno to Black Rock City which was four hours away AND how would I find my friend when I got there in the middle of night?

Sigh….details, details.  I’ll worry about those tomorrow.