I occasionally attend a multi-day gathering with friends at an old homesteader cabin in the Mojave. The area is desolate, and for one weekend we bring in generators and DJ equipment, a stage and about 80 people camp, party and generally have a good time. We shoot guns at the private range and generally engage in standard desert activities: eating, drinking, esoteric conversations and taking in the natural beauty of the desert. At night it is cold, so we have fires - inevitably started by yours truly.
In this particular weekend, it was unseasonably cold and as the sun set, everyone was gathered in and around the cabin. It was crammed in there while no one was paying attention to the cold desert beauty at dusk. So I went outside to start a fire. At first, it was just me and Sam, and a friend or two stopping by. We chucked more wood into it and really got it going. Then others came out and started adding wood and pretty soon there were a lot of people by the fire. The fire was going really well and people were enjoying adding wood and taking care of it. Since there were 2 other fire pit possibilities and plenty of wood, I moved onto start another fire in another location.
Same story as the first one. At first it was me and Sam (my firestarting partner) stacking the wood, the newspaper, twigs and lighting the match in several locations. We always get the fire started on the first try. Again, we were alone with the fire, but slowly folks moved from the first fire and others from the cabin came out to be around the second fire. It was closer to the stage and dance area so people would stop by to warm up between dancing and wandering.
The same thing happened for the third fire. At that point I would occasionally need to add wood to the previous other fires.
I feel like that's what happened here in LA Tech. There are tons of people around adding fuel to the fire, chucking on their own pieces of wood. Making a fire bigger and even starting their own. The fires are beautiful and roiling. It's very hot and going quite nicely.
Here's the preso I gave at BarcampLA 4. It spans online branding, blowing shit up, doing things and how to get your heart's desire. As in all things, be authentic, manage risks strategically and be safe KICK ASS.
xxx
-Heather
ps. I'm a kick-ass integrator.
This past weekend many folks were up in San Mateo at the Maker Faire. I headed out to the desert for the Maud-dib camping weekend.
Here's a photo of one of the highlights. (Thanks Jenna!) After the flames burned down a bit, we took turns jumping the diameter of it. Then I pulled out my favorite fire candy and proceeded to blow the minds (almost literally) of some guys. Best quote, "We don't have girls like that in the OC."
We also played with the propane belching target that the boyfriend made. What's a propane belching target? Well, it's a target that when you hit the bullseye with a 22 (yeah, small caliber due to not destroying the toy) rewards you with a flame of propane high into the night.
I also got a chance to shoot a gun I've considered buying. I've been eyeing the Kel-Tec SU16 for some time. My friend K, had one and brought it with him. And boy was it swu-eet to shoot. Then I got to shoot my love of rifle loves - the AR-15. I'll have to leave CA if I ever want to buy me one. (They are currently illegal, but grandfathered). I love me the rifles.
Later after all the crew left, S and I explored the nearby hills and found several mines - one rumored to be a turquoise mine. I can't wait to get out there again.
Great to get out to the desert.
Here are a couple pictures from my Naked Sushi Party, celebrating the 33rd year of Heather. It was a lot of fun. Thanks everyone! All photos by Kmo. More photos available on request.
Last saturday I had a slumber party at my house. There were 10 of us girls over at the house and we traded clothes, watched Valley Girls, made lots of yummy food, made prank calls, painted our faces with mud and played truth or lie.
What was the most fun was the fire. I love candles and fire and burn them a lot. I had these 3 ft candles in my front yard burning. Apparently one of them burned very fast and the wax melted onto the earth and eventually caught on fire. We found this amazing spectacle of "burning earth" when a friend showed up and asked "Is that some cool kind of fire effect or is should that not be on fire?" We all rushed to the door to check it out. Yes, indeed, it was a cool fire effect but was NOT supposed to be on fire.
(Too add to the fire hazard, that's an extension cord running under the burning candle and over the burning earth.) But amazingly no plants were harmed in the "accident" nor was any damage to anything. Just good clean fun gone awry.
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