(no subject)
Futons and Burning Man volunteerism.
Apparently I win in the futon department. The last few weeks I've been scanning Craig's List for futon mattresses under $30. I've become discouraged. The free and cheap are out of the Seattle area, the few that aren't I don't get to quick enough. (And then some CLs are just flaky! Three days after I responded to an add for a $20 futon in Ravenna the owner finally got back to me. All she had to say was "Yes, I still have it." I verified which futon seller she was, she said "Yes, that's me." I then asked when I could come take a look at it/pick it up. That was two days ago, and I haven't heard from her again.)
Tonight there were two free futons listed on CL. One in Ravenna, one in Ballard/Phinney Ridge. I contacted both hoping to be quick enough to nab one... And was quick enough to nab both. One's in The Erf's car, the other's suppose to get picked up tomorrow. I guess the one tomorrow no longer matters as much, but I told the person I'd get it. Besides, I figure this way I can take my pick; and the other could be used by Vinland (1st dibs), passed on to Wabi or any other camp (2nd dibs), or re-CLed. Knowing CL deals (and especially when actual money isn't changing hands, I probably shouldn't count my futons till they're here anyway.)
I must say, the process for volunteering at Burning Man does not fill me with a great desire for actually volunteering. It's just been one great headache.
First there was Arctica. I filled out the general volunteer form, than contacted the Arctica lead. She asked for my full name, address, and phone number, and when I'd be available. I responded in kind. I didn't hear back for a couple of days. In the meantime I heard from Adroit what days he was volunteering, so I E-mailed the lead again asking to be scheduled on the days he wasn't working if possible (spread out the free ice). This time I got an E-mail back pretty quick. The lead sorta remembered talking to me... But she said she couldn't sign me up for any shifts till she had my phone number. Uh huh...
Then there was the airport. So I talk to one fellow there, who tells me where to find the shift schedule and who to mail about nabbing shifts. Awesome. Only about half the schedule is filled up. I pick two slots and E-mail the appropriate person. First it takes a couple days to hear back. When I do get a response she tells me that they don't seem to have a volunteer questionnaire on file for me and I'll need to fill that out first. Uh huh... This is the same questionnaire I filled out before Arctica, and which caused the first Airport contact to get in touch with me ("I see you checked off Airport as somewhere you'd like to volunteer"). Also, they state pretty clearly that you shouldn't fill out the form more than once. So I E-mail her back and explain I've already filled that out. She probably needs to look using my real name instead of Playa name (which I hadn't picked out at the time of filling out that form yet), although she should've been able to find me by E-mail address. She mails me back a few hours later and informs me that she's now found my form! However... Both shifts I wanted are long since filled. As is about 80-90% of the Airport schedule at this point. Uh huh...
And to Gate/Exodus/Perimeter. At least I haven't had lost information or unfindable forms with them yet... But talk about hoop jumping through! There's a secondary form to fill out for volunteering here. It's really not much of a form, however you then end up waiting another obligatory few days while it gets processed; and then you get sent an information-filled E-mail that ends: "Please respond telling us why you want to volunteer in these departments." Then it's another few days wait while they process your answer, and then finally you're admitted to volunteer-ability for Gate/Exodus/Perimeter. Phew...
I know they're dealing with a lot of people and a high volume of 'paper work,' and I assume these folks are volunteers themselves... But man, it rather saps my excitement at the prospect of volunteering.
With that said, I'll be volunteering at Arctica Monday and Saturday morning. And at the airport on Thursday. I kinda want to take on a Saturday shift (like the only other thing left) there too... But with Arctica already scheduled, that would pretty much blow Saturday, and I don't want to spend one of the last days without any free time. I just heard back from Gate/Exodus/Perimeter, so I need to see about scheduling the flagger class... Although it's really too late to sign up for a flagger shift at this point. So... We'll see.
In Closing:
Apparently my dog managed not to drown recently. I am pleased.
Apparently I win in the futon department. The last few weeks I've been scanning Craig's List for futon mattresses under $30. I've become discouraged. The free and cheap are out of the Seattle area, the few that aren't I don't get to quick enough. (And then some CLs are just flaky! Three days after I responded to an add for a $20 futon in Ravenna the owner finally got back to me. All she had to say was "Yes, I still have it." I verified which futon seller she was, she said "Yes, that's me." I then asked when I could come take a look at it/pick it up. That was two days ago, and I haven't heard from her again.)
Tonight there were two free futons listed on CL. One in Ravenna, one in Ballard/Phinney Ridge. I contacted both hoping to be quick enough to nab one... And was quick enough to nab both. One's in The Erf's car, the other's suppose to get picked up tomorrow. I guess the one tomorrow no longer matters as much, but I told the person I'd get it. Besides, I figure this way I can take my pick; and the other could be used by Vinland (1st dibs), passed on to Wabi or any other camp (2nd dibs), or re-CLed. Knowing CL deals (and especially when actual money isn't changing hands, I probably shouldn't count my futons till they're here anyway.)
I must say, the process for volunteering at Burning Man does not fill me with a great desire for actually volunteering. It's just been one great headache.
First there was Arctica. I filled out the general volunteer form, than contacted the Arctica lead. She asked for my full name, address, and phone number, and when I'd be available. I responded in kind. I didn't hear back for a couple of days. In the meantime I heard from Adroit what days he was volunteering, so I E-mailed the lead again asking to be scheduled on the days he wasn't working if possible (spread out the free ice). This time I got an E-mail back pretty quick. The lead sorta remembered talking to me... But she said she couldn't sign me up for any shifts till she had my phone number. Uh huh...
Then there was the airport. So I talk to one fellow there, who tells me where to find the shift schedule and who to mail about nabbing shifts. Awesome. Only about half the schedule is filled up. I pick two slots and E-mail the appropriate person. First it takes a couple days to hear back. When I do get a response she tells me that they don't seem to have a volunteer questionnaire on file for me and I'll need to fill that out first. Uh huh... This is the same questionnaire I filled out before Arctica, and which caused the first Airport contact to get in touch with me ("I see you checked off Airport as somewhere you'd like to volunteer"). Also, they state pretty clearly that you shouldn't fill out the form more than once. So I E-mail her back and explain I've already filled that out. She probably needs to look using my real name instead of Playa name (which I hadn't picked out at the time of filling out that form yet), although she should've been able to find me by E-mail address. She mails me back a few hours later and informs me that she's now found my form! However... Both shifts I wanted are long since filled. As is about 80-90% of the Airport schedule at this point. Uh huh...
And to Gate/Exodus/Perimeter. At least I haven't had lost information or unfindable forms with them yet... But talk about hoop jumping through! There's a secondary form to fill out for volunteering here. It's really not much of a form, however you then end up waiting another obligatory few days while it gets processed; and then you get sent an information-filled E-mail that ends: "Please respond telling us why you want to volunteer in these departments." Then it's another few days wait while they process your answer, and then finally you're admitted to volunteer-ability for Gate/Exodus/Perimeter. Phew...
I know they're dealing with a lot of people and a high volume of 'paper work,' and I assume these folks are volunteers themselves... But man, it rather saps my excitement at the prospect of volunteering.
With that said, I'll be volunteering at Arctica Monday and Saturday morning. And at the airport on Thursday. I kinda want to take on a Saturday shift (like the only other thing left) there too... But with Arctica already scheduled, that would pretty much blow Saturday, and I don't want to spend one of the last days without any free time. I just heard back from Gate/Exodus/Perimeter, so I need to see about scheduling the flagger class... Although it's really too late to sign up for a flagger shift at this point. So... We'll see.
In Closing:
Apparently my dog managed not to drown recently. I am pleased.