Cat Eye

Felis Flamus

Cat Eye

Cat Herder's 2012 Pre-Playa Rant for Virgins and Mis-Behaved Alumni

FOR THOSE WHO ARE NEW TO FELIS FLAMUS

1. Camp personality - Best summed up by Dustin after his first year with us - a lot of show, but not a lot of ego. We love to dish it, so get ready, but please know that we show our love this way. All in all, I believe the consensus is that we are an absolutely fabulous bunch of mostly middle-aged folks who get along really well and who have a lot of fun out there, evidenced by the fact that our core group - that is, those who keep coming back year after year = has grown. And those who don't return, usually have another reason for not re-joining us, mostly due to the fact that they are not attending Burning Man at all (and are therefore, obviously delusional).

2. Camp amenities/events:

3. Food - I can already tell you that all of you virgins are going to bring way too much food. You won't eat as much out there, and you will underestimate how often food will be shoved your direction. Your fellow campers tend to bring enough food to eradicate hunger in Africa, and you will be the happy recipient almost every evening if you're around. Don't feel like you need to reciprocate. You're a virgin. Chill. Take care of yourself this year and next year you can bring a dish to share if you want.

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CAMP CONTRIBUTIONS or WHAT TO BRING IN ADDITION TO YOUR OWN PERSONAL STUFF

1. Firewood - Even if you only have room for a small bundle from Safeway, everything helps. If you're bringing a whole bunch, let us know.

2. Alcohol - To minimize bar moop, we ask that campmates mix batches of drinks instead of bringing individual bottles of alcohol and mixers. We don't have nearly as much stuff to haul out at the end of the week this way. So bring the liquor and mixers that you need to produce a gallon or two of something yummy, stow it in your tent, car, or luxury RV, then when the time is right, mix it all up and set it on the bar. Keep in mind: In order to prevent the inadvertent serving of minors, we will always have a bartender present to serve when strangers are at the bar, and we will only leave a pre-mixed drink around when campmates are congregating. Anyone serving alcohol to strangers should ID anyone who could possibly be underage.

3. Drums and other instruments - We love to be serenaded when we're sitting around camp.

4. Food to share/grill - We have intentionally never implemented any kind of camp kitchen or shared dinners. Nevertheless, we evolved quite naturally into a group that routinely brings things to share at dinnertime. It worked really nicely for 2 or 3 years, but frankly, has become so prevalent, that there is almost a competition to get your food shared. So what I recommend for this year is, bring something to share if you're moved to do so, but please recognize that you probably don't need to bring enough for the whole camp (30 and counting), and if you're contributing in some other significant way (e.g., putting up a huge-ass piece of light art), then certainly don't worry about bringing food to share. I mentioned in an earlier post, that we might want to specifically designate Monday evening, prior to the Big HairBall, as a camp BBQ. A little different from a potluck, in that I don't necessarily think everyone should bring a dish to share. Some might want to bring just enough for themselves; some might want to share a little; some might want to share a lot; some might want to trust the gods and see if food is shoved in your direction; etc. I will personally bring a couple of extra pieces of chicken and maybe a pack of sausages for our contribution. Stuff I can use later in the week if no one eats it. So just keep in mind the "not overdoing it" part, and let's see if we can let this evolve naturally into the perfect amount of food.

5. Yarn, cloth ribbon, and claw clips for Hair Falls - We can definitely use more cloth ribbon and claw clips (I have about 85 small clips; we could definitely use some bigger ones.) But we have had PLENTY of yarn the last couple of years. So chime in if you're bringing yarn (I have one storage tub full) and hold off on buying any more until we see how we stand.

6. An extra large ice chest for the bar (please respond if you will be bringing this)

7. A large tarp for hair falls moop (please respond if you will be bringing this)

8. A couple of large containers for pre-mixed bar drinks (please respond if you will be bringing this)

9. If you're looking to contribute in an especially meaningful way, consider adopting a fellow camp member who is contributing in a significant way. This means making sure that that camp member has all of his/her food needs met, in the form of the finished product, served up on a platter ready-to-eat, especially when they are so distracted by their project that they forget to take care of themselves. I have found this to be a fabulous way to take care of sCary, who has put in so much time on the art car. Marty took care of Beach Bum in this way last year. There are others. Please contact that person directly if you are so moved, and let them know.

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CAMP ETIQUETTE or HOW TO KEEP THE CAT HERDER HAPPY

1. Shower etiquette - The shower is for everyone to use. You must bring and evap/haul out your own water. Don't overestimate how much water you can evaporate. Bring a 5-gallon bucket just in case. (I have an extra or two if you do not have one.) Many people have their own shower bag, but there are typically a couple of shower bags that get shared around, so not everyone has to have their own. If you use a filled bag of water to shower, be sure and refill it as soon as you are done, so that the next guy has warm water to shower with. Before you shower, check the grey water bucket to make sure it is not too full, and remove some to your personal grey water container if it is.

2. Evap ponds - We have intentionally not gone with a camp evap pond, since this is typically an ugly mess for whomever has to take it home at the end of the week. But some of us have our own personal evap containers, which are ours to use and manage. So unless you are the owner of an evap container, or are sleeping with the owner, these are not for you to use (unless, of course, you are significantly hungover and need a quick place to barf).

3. Bar - The down-side of having a successful camp with a bar, is that the bar becomes an oogy collector of stuff, both by visitors as well as our own campmates. So 3 things...

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LNT

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HOW TO FIND CAMP

Due to our huge space need this year, I'm thinking that we leave our location choice up to Bobcat to decide after he arrives and scopes things out for a day or two. So stay closely tuned in to the Yahoo group the week before BM for our exact location. Once I get there, I'll buzz over to Playa Info and put it on the computer there as well, as a backup, just in case.

Once you know the location, here's how to find us:

Drive to the intended location. Look for our two burn barrels with the Felis Flamus logo and the playatech. They'll be front and center (on the corner if we get the corner, street-front if we don't). If it's at night, look for our Felis Flamus sign, lit in red rope light.

If you can't seem to locate us, stop, pull a cold beer out of your cooler, lean against your car, and contemplate how fucking awesome your life is about to become.

Now that you have a little perspective, drive those roads again. Ask the cute girl or guy in a nearby camp if they've seen our camp. If you still can't find us, go to Playa Info at the Center Camp ring road and look us up on the computer for an exact address. Ask for Elektra while you're there. Tell her that she's the most amazing woman you've ever met and that you'd like to find sCary to tell him so, but you can't find his camp. Maybe she'll take you there.