I woke up after about 6 hours of sleep and prayed my car would make it. I went around the corner to a tire shop and asked the guy if he could help me jack up the car for a few bucks so I could put the front differential fluid in since it spilled the night before. He told me that if it spilled out it means there is enough and I am fine but it sounded like my power steering was very low. He took a look and filled it up for me. He then listened to the noise under my car but it wasn’t making it at the moment. I tried to give him some money and he wouldn’t accept it. He just kept telling me don’t worry about it, it’s just some fluid and you be safe on your travels. It was really beautiful of him. I don’t know how most people feel about things like this, but the little things mean the world to me. Random acts of kindness are just such a wonderful gesture. Thank you my friend.
So GOOD NEWS! I had a straight shot to burning man. I didn’t have any problems at all. Dick and Erin kept me company along the way and it was a smooth sound. I was watching my temperature the entire time honestly and sometimes it looked like it was rising a tiny bit so I would throw the heat on but other then that I had only one small hiccup. I got pulled over. The officer came up because I was doing 38 in a 25. I apologized and explained about my overheating and told him I was honestly not paying attention because of the issue. He was understanding and told me to be careful and to pay attention to all speed signs explicitly because there would be a bunch of similar towns on my way to burning man and every mph over is $10. He told me to enjoy burning man and be safe and let me go. THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!
On the rest of the way if a sign said 25 you better fucking believe I did 25 and let me tell you that you could be cruising doing 70 and all of a sudden you roll up to a town and boom 35 MPH then 25 MPH in like a half mile stretch but hey my pleasure. Thank you Mr.Officer.
I get to gerlatch which is the last town before Burning Man and fill up just to make sure after I don’t have to wait in a super dumb line. This mini van behind me is filled with some nice kids around my age and he told me his car engine exploded on him on the way here for the second time in a month so he sold it to a shop for like $100 and rented a minivan with his friends and headed out. I told him about my poor baby and we laughed together agreeing that all that matters is we made it.
I was totally not expecting to have any service by this point but I did. AND FULL PERFECT BARS LTE BABY YEEEEEEEEAHHHHHHHH ATNT, FUCK VERIZON. =D
Still I stopped texting people back and pretty much only used my phone to take pictures and snapchat which is just more pictures. Anyway, I roll down the road and I just see cars driving in the middle of the desert. I am instantly elated. I get in line with the other incoming cars and am just going nuts singing with my big shit eating grin. The guy and girl in the car to the right of me start laughing and waving at me. When we came to a stand still because of the shift change I got out to pee and got to meet Kyle and his friend Crystal. He recognized the tool lyrics on my arm instantly. Can you say bff? We end up talking to a bunch of people in the surroundings and it is also his first time and they drove there together but were staying in seperate camps whatever that means.
His friend gifted him the ticket and told him there was a trailer there for him and Media Mecca. I literally have no idea what all of these funny names are or what camps are, I am indeed a little confused. So he invited me to go with him to find it and see if I could maybe stay there too. AWESOME. After sitting there for about two hours (it flew by because I was so excited and I was just letting it dust storm directly into my car no fucks given.)
I follow him and they get us pretty close to the camp. I am so confused at this point, SO CONFUSED. The entirety of location at Burning Man is based on a clock and it blew my mind. Keyholes, center camps, times, italic, holy shit. Thank god I am pretty good at remember landmarks and just stick to those. We get all of his stuff tot he camp and his buddy apologizes and says there isn’t anymore room to set up. Ok. I will figure it out.
I leave and am just driving around asking random people where to go to camp. Finally I pull up to this mid sized mobile home with 4 people sitting out front under a canopy. Little did I know I would fall in love with these people and they would easily become my favorite couple ever. However, prior to that knowledge I pulled up and was like uhhhhhh do you know where I camp? Stan who spells his name in a crazy way that I don’t know tells me to camp right next to them that it’s open but not to block the guy next to him just in case he needs to leave… Ok? Maybe I’ll just sleep in my car and move the next day to find another spot thats a bit more rambunctious. Thank god Stan told me not too, I can’t imagine I wouldn’t come even close to having the beautiful experience I had.
My brain is literally not in my head. I have NO IDEA what is going on. There are tents and RVs everywhere and then here is me with my cans of chef boyardee. So I throw up my tent and go hang out with Stan and company. We talk a bunch and I telll them how I came by myself from NJ and everything that happened with my job. I took my bike off to go for a ride and they laughed and gave me lights so I wouldn;t get crushed out by someone….. which happened anyway…… about an hour later….
So I am having beers and getting to know the awesome Belgians and decide I need to take a ride and figure out whats going on here. It’s already dark out and fairly late like 10pm. Stans beautiful wife Ruth insisted I write where the camp is on my arm (6:45 and Italic) so I don’t forget because I am a knuckle head. Thank god she did. I referred to it for three days until it disappeared. =)
I did also briefly get to meet the really sweet man Sky staying in the tepee behind me and his beautiful mother Philis. Two other people ho really helped me sort some things out in my life and I am very grateful for it.
I took off and rode around a little drunk. I tried to stop and grab some drinks but I needed an ID. Fuck.. Did not know this. So I head out to camp to grab it and head back. On my way back some dude like wobbled on his bike and slammed right into me smashing my big toe nail in half. Brutal. I am pissed but I am not trying to let it get the best of me. It’s gushing so bad though I need to go back to camp. Balls man. Balls.
I’m a little frustrated so I start cleaning my feet and decide it’s a better move just to go to sleep. Fresh day tomorrow. Lots to do.
There is a big learning curve here for me. Aesthetically and mentally. But this is just the beginning and it it about to get very very beautiful and intense for me.
The Universe has this beautiful way of working out. It worked out the second I pulled my car up to that spot and met my new neighbors.
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