Nancy - aka "gekko", 52

Where do you call home?
Black Rock City. When I'm not living there, well, I make do in Scottsdale, AZ

Been to Burning Man before? When?
2011 was my first Burn, and I camped with a small group of friends new and old, squatting on a corner of 7:45 & Hajj with Camp Conception.

Camped with PolyParadise Before?
This will be my first time.

Why Burning Man? – For Burning Man, there is no description, no photo, nor YouTube that will ever adequately capture it except to those who have indeed experienced it. The reason is simple: the time spent immersing yourself in the Burning Man experience coalesces within your soul. You breathe the dust and its scent will stay with you forever. You become a collective part of the emotion, the excitement, the tension, the serenity, the animalistic, the jaw-gaping oh-my-god mind-altering surreality of it all. There is no translation for that.

A fiftyish pampered middleclass hausfrau with little life experience and a pronounced inclination to hunker down in the comfort of my privileged existence I found that the Burning Man experience presented challenges that I needed in order to move past my self-imposed boundaries.

It’s the BMan core value of “radical self-” that genuinely drew me -- radical self-expression as well as radical self-reliance. People tend to act in their own self-interest. It's when our self-interest is expanded to include finding contentment in assisting others, there is harmony. Burning Man pushed me to rely on myself, express myself, and give myself.

Who I Am - I have identified with the poly lifestyle for nearly 10 years, and for the past few have been sharing my time with loves on each side of the continent, plus recently two local ones. It's only in the past few months that I began to reach out to the larger community within the Phoenix area. I work in the default world as an engineering manager. My background is in software development and systems engineering, and I have a serious geek streak and a strong attachment to electronic gadgets. I am a writer, I love to sing, I yearn to learn to express myself well through photography and sketching.

Toughest Thing - returning to the default world. In 2011 I had intended to go to Burning Man and return, having accomplished it. I had not gotten more than a few miles past Gerlach when I found myself planning what I would do different "next year"; going back to my house and to work was an intensely alien feeling.

Best Thing - That greeting hug and the welcome home. I burst into tears.

Burning Man Advice - Don't have any expectations. Make your own Burn, rather than relying on other people to "behave" in a way you expect them to. Be ready for your life to change.