snail mail

I have this idea for an art project. My hope is to bring it to Burning Man I was thikning something along these lines

• Get people to mail themselves a postcard to BRCPO perhaps something handmade
• Have it delivered by one of the BRCPO volunteers (I’ll be volunteering for certain!! – maybe I’ll document people receiving their mail!!)
• Put together some traveling art case to allow people to make their own outgoing postcard - gift them a stamp - and collect the mail and take it to the BRCPO to be postmarked after the Burn.
• Hang out at Center Camp, the Temple and some of the art installations, big theme camps and collect more mail. 
• I understand that in years past BRC has had a commemorative, special events USPS cancellation stamp.

I'm thinking it might be cool to send a card to some of the people I've met on eplaya. That way I could be sure to meet them in the dust...and wouldn't it be cool to bring them a card!!

The other thing I've been thiking about is gifting...I wanna make and gift

• Bacon Jam
• Peanut Butter Fudge
• Dark Choclate Fudge with Bacon
• Medjool dates filled with  something...frozen pear?
• Cookies
• Figs

This is just where my head is today...

next steps

Well I registered for my ticket! I looked over the form like 20 times after I registered before I hit send!!! And by the end of the day had convinced myself that I had enteredd somethng wrong..of course I didn't but until I get the confirmation that I have been awarded a ticket I'll be convinced that I said I live in Timbuktu...Next on my agenda of must do's is to decide about where to camp? It probably doesn't have to be the next decision, but it will give me something to get excited about while I save for my airline ticket. Up until recently I was pretty certain that I would camp with a group of gay sober people. But there seems to be a lack of activity on that user group, which undoubtly will change as the event draws near. However, since I've been on the eplaya I've connected with several people who stay in Barbie Death Camp and the "mayor" of that village asked me if I wanted to join their group of "ne'er-do-wells"!! I've been up and down on this thought..more up than down. First off, this is not a group of sober people...in all honesty they are the antithesist of sober..a hedonistic group of Bacchus revelers is perhaps a more apropos definition. Be that as it may is a small group of sober or non party people who, coincidently, are the same group I have found myself drawn to in the first place. So now I believe that I would prefer to camp with them in the depths of insanity...lol. I'm honestly not worried about my sobriety. I have been honest with myself about my intentions since I first decided to go. I'm aware of the potential for using at an event like this. But if I was going to use I could do it anywhere...
I will delay my decision until after I am awarded my ticket but we both know which camp I'll choose....don't we?

Ticket

Whoa! Well the holidays are over. This year was one of nicest I've had in I don't know how long. Maybe it was because this year I didn't have any expectations. Save making sure the holiday was good for mom. She had a great time, the family came to visit on Christmas day...no one thought about food or anything which was good because I had made sure there was enough and then some. In fact there was enough for them to all take something home!
But now it's time for TICKETS! That's right Burning Man 2012 main sale tickets go on sale in a few days! I'm trying to decide if I will go for it all and just register for all three tiers...or rather be prepared to pay up to the highest amount for a ticket! It means that if I should get a ticket at that level I will pay over $400, including S&H or whatever extra they charge over the cost of the ticket. The middle tier is $320 which would give me 25,000 chances to win a space. However if I kick it up to $390 it gives me an additional 15,000 chances or 40K. I could still win a spot at the lowest tier but:
Q: How do I increase my chances of getting a ticket in the Main Sale?A: You can increase your chances by opting into all the pricing tiers. (We believe, based on many years of analyzing supply and demand, that most participants will find they are able to access a ticket on an acceptable timeline.)
I figure as this is my first year I am willing to make some sacrifices in other areas to increase my chances. Or conversely if someone said "well you could have had a ticket if you had only agreed to pay another $70..." well...I'd be kinda disappointed. The bottom line then...how bad do I wanna go? The answer? Pretty bad! If by chance I don't get a ticket I will at least know that I tried as best I could. And isn't hat the way to apprioach anything? Doing the best ya can...

remember

wtf...

A couple years ago my mother had an accident that compromised her neurological system and necessitated regular live in care. We have family living in the same city as she does that was unable/unwilling to assume the care so I left my job and moved to FL to care for her. It was a choice I made without hesitation when it became obvious no one else wanted the task. She and I have made a lot of progress (both in our own ways...lol) over the last couple years and she is no longer confined to a wheeelchair and while we've debated a lot on her caloric intake she has put on some healthy weight and gained some strength. She made enough progress that I returned to a fulltime job so I could get insurance for myself and add to her social security we lived on for the last couple years. When I took a FT job we asked an adult woman who was new to sobriety to help out. I'm clean for 6 yrs and knew this woman though her sober mom. She made a deal with her mom who offered her a safe place in her home as long as she was serious about staying clean and actively particiapted in her own recovery. 10 days ago she was arrested for possession during a weekend jaunt to her old stomping grounds 4 hours away. To be honest I was initially pissed as shit. I felt betrayed and further it caused my mother some emotional sadness that I didn't want to see her endure. After a couple days though I've moved through my intial anger to accept the fact that what really made me mad was the inconvenience it was going to cause me! Funny how the selfish child in me is never very far from the surface.
Today I feel for this woman and hope that somehow she can find the courage to humbly accept the reality of her choices and move forward without a crack pipe.

not today

Overall I consider myself a pretty chill guy. I have plenty of faults and a generous amount of great attributes. I struggle more than some people and coast more than others. But every once in a while for what seems no apparent reason I just want to say fuck off! Not to life or any one in particular, well sometimes it's someone special (like this time)...but every once in a rare moment I just wanna say fuck off! When I find myself in that moment I don't always know it, just little telltale signs start to surface and I catch myself being unreasonably short or even rude. Maybe not short or rude by your standards but by mine. I found myself there today, and it took me like three or seven hours to figure out what lit the match...the fuckin IRS. I have some small ( I mean like minor...like less than $1000) problems from like 8 years ago and the IRS, as it can't seem to hit up the 1% for their errors, go after little guys like me...fuck I make like nothing and I take care of my mother and they're taking like more than half of my pay trying to get my attention. Yes, dumb ass, I'm listening! The thing that makes me the most irritable is that I know that it is a situation that I ought to have dealt with, well, like 8 yars ago...but still...it corks me!

why or how?