see you on the flipside

[tiedyedave]

I spent the weekend (from Thursday afternoon to Monday afternoon) at Flipside, in a camp with pfiddy, ikarpov, pa3be, and about seven other people. Our camp was advertised as the "Sanctuary of No Drama", and with very few exceptions it did indeed have that atmosphere, though that was easy to maintain since we were on the edge of the camps area and had very few visitors.

For those of you unfamiliar with Flipside, it's a regional burner event in Austin, similar to Burning Man but on a smaller scale and in Texas hill country instead of in the desert. (For those of you unfamiliar with Burning Man, go Google it.)

The logistics of the camp were kind of a pain in the ass. Though everything ended up coming together just fine, we were continually troubled by intermittent rain turning the ground to mud and dripping into our tents. I actually abandoned my tent for sleeping purposes in a matter of hours, since the door seams and opposite window seams weren't adequately weatherproof. Instead, I just nestled my van near the camp space, stuck my air mattress in it, and used it as a big metal tent; all of the back seats had already come out to haul large cargo (like our shade structure and some lumber). By the second night, we had successfully set up the generator and the lights, and things got more tolerable from there on (the weather also improved on average).

I will also admit to being kind of sensitive to these troubles since I have very little camping experience, and my recent change in diet made it harder for me to share meals. However, I've accumulated a number of good ideas about how to camp more effectively next year, and at other similar events: put tent under larger shade/rain structure (like a pavillion), learn how to build a geodesic dome, bring disposable dishes and utensils, look for more food in those boxes with the foil bags that store at room temperature. (I've got my eye on some ready-to-eat Indian food if that brand is still available next year.) Also, water bottles are awesome and 2.5 gal water jugs with spouts are awesome, but 1 gal jugs are useless.

Also, there are never enough chairs.

I learned a whole lot this weekend. Some of the learning experiences were uncomfortable, but they were all worthwhile. I can't go into much more detail in the context of livejournal; talk to me in person if you care and don't already know.

I feel, despite the admonition "no spectators", that I really was a spectator this time. There was lots of crazy awesome shit going on almost all the time, and my particular approach to taking it in was to stay with my friends and drift as a group between points of immediate interest, such as dance camps and trampolines. I didn't do much solo exploration, didn't set my own agenda, and didn't really consult the list of activities to cherry-pick what I might be interested in. Furthermore, I don't really feel like I actively participated in the festivities, other than to enjoy them. However, I still feel like I had a legitimate good time, and that I understand the burner culture better than I used to. I know that there are completely different ways of approaching the event, and I wonder whether I will actively try to approach it from a different angle if I go next year.

Comments

[ikarpov.livejournal.com]

I would say that yes, I too was a spectator for the first while, despite my earlier attempts to help with the effigy - I did not really bring anything of myself to it. But it was an absolutely necessary experience for me, and having the fellowship of other spectators was crucial as well. And I think that towards the end I caught the spark. So in a way, we also participated - by providing the stuff on which the flame will feed, and by shielding each other from the wind.

As for the camp logistics, I can now see the true meaning of a quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry that a friend has recently posted: "If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea."

Participating

[adamrice (from livejournal.com)]

I'd say that if you were careful to clean up your campsite or if you did something to help out a random stranger--if you did anything like that, that's enough to say you participated. There are some people who show up at Flipside and treat it like a big party, don't engage in the communal aspect of it. I think that's what the "no spectators" admonition is getting at.

[platypuslord.livejournal.com]

If your van works, why build a geodesic dome?
I mean, okay, geodesic domes are full of awesome, and maybe that's reason enough...

[redglasses.livejournal.com]

The next step up from declared-no-drama would be enforced-no-drama; at first I was thinking some punitive measure could be taken against drama, such as spraying the perpetrators with something to startle them into shutting up. However, if what you spray them with happens to be a water gun, and they also have water guns, then instead of startling them you've started a water-gun fight, which is more awesome.

[tiedyedave]

Our nascent idea was to have "drama clubs", but lack of preparations limited us to an inflatable hello kitty stick and an inflatable rainbow carousel unicorn stick. I think I like your idea of water guns, but there are two problems:

- When it's wet (like it was), squirting people who have taken pains to remain dry is going to really really piss them off, so it's difficult for that to stay funny and lighthearted.
- When it's hot (like it could have been), getting shot with a water gun is actually a desirable outcome, so it's never really a punishment.

Also, hitting is not a limited resource and does not require additional packing space, but water for water guns does not enjoy those characteristics.

So it would be awesome, except for complicating circumstances.

[pa3be.livejournal.com]

I've gotten a hello kitty club at toy joy as a Flipside souvenir :)

[denshi.livejournal.com]

Domes are cool -- they're guaranteed to come back year after year after you build it the first time.

This year I built a blackfoot tepee -- around a trampoline. I hope next year's tent will be even more ridiculous.