The man burns in 12 days...

Packing has commenced...
Plans have been checked...
Plans have been re-checked...

The pilgrimage has already begun for some. For me, it begins on August 30th... sort of.

You see, the truth is the pilgrimage started weeks ago. Some of my gear is already heading west. My focus has shifted further and further west for some time. At this point, my thoughts are directed to the desert.

I'm thinking about shade structures, hydration, gifting. I'm afraid the 9 to 5 can't quite compete. By the way, if there's someone in Reno that has 1,000 square feet of carpet or fur they need to get rid of, call me.

August has come...

Just about a year ago a dust covered, beat up, tired young man landed at Philadelphia International Airport. He was greeted by a young lady who had not seen him in about a week. She drove him to the apartment he had just moved into and returned to work.

He sat in a bath with vinegar and relaxed. He thought about the week that has passed. It had been an experience, but he was glad to be home. The young lady took excellent care of him over the days that followed. His skin returned to normal. He adapted to the environment. In the days that followed, he was not sure if the experience would ever happen again.

I think a little vocabulary is in order now.
playa: Spanish for "beach". It is often used to refer to an alkali flat in Nevada, particularly an area of it near the town of Gerlach.
Burning Man: An event occurring on the playa (currently) once a year. Further attempts to define this event are beyond the scope of a blog.

Nearly a year has passed and many things have changed. The young man is now planning to attend the event again. He only has a year of experience, but he has changed several of his plans this time around. Any reservations the man may have had have gone. This year, the young lady will join him in the strange environment. He has started packing as has she. As for what is being packed I won't say. Part of the fun is surprising people.

As a beautiful slideshow reminded me this afternoon, the event is unlike anything else in my experience. It has a beauty all its own. It is a place of freedom that leads to phrases such as "default world". I do not yet call it home, but it is a place where I can interact freely.

I look forward to returning to this strange place. I look to introducing the love of my life to the little of it I know and experiencing new aspects of it.

And the pendulum swings...

I've mentioned it before albeit on other servers. Popular opinion swings left to right in the United States. I am not going to put forth my own thoughts on why this occurs. But we are fickle creatures. We try to balance all aspects of our life and sometimes that causes people to latch on to a political ideology. Hard liners like myself just try to pull the center in our direction.

But every once in a while you see a shift. The great pendulum of thought moves. We often see it during an election. However, we elect leaders so that they will govern the way we hoped they would when pulling the lever. It should come as no surprise then that given the election of a progessive change is imminent. What I have also seen bubble up is hope.

The shift is minute. A few people switching news programs. A line or two in a bill. The major change doesn't happen overnight.... but it does happen. The beliefs of the citizens don't change that much, simply the way they are counted. A few senators see the wind blowing in one direction or another. A few more dollars get donated to one charity or another. That charity canvases a councilman's office. Momentum builds. It may seem silly as a system of government, but it is what it is. We are a country that seems to love the 49/51 split. I've never quite figured out why, but we always seem to split evenly. I guess its just our love of competition.