The pleasure is all mine. And yours.

I’m a pleasure junkie. Most everything I do is designed to get those endorphins flowing, be it a walk in the sun along the Spokane River, a trip to Paris (yes, another one!), a wine tasting, an evening by the fire with a great book, a Saturday morning in the local movie theater watching a Metropolitan Opera simulcast, or even managing my freelance writing business. If it feels good, do it!

Welcome to my new blog, Hedonista. Here, I’ll take you with me on my pleasure cruise, telling you what’s to like in my pursuits–and what isn’t. “You’re an open book,” my mama used to say, and that’s more true now than ever before. I believe in stating the unvarnished truth, so buckle up! The sailing gets choppy sometimes, but our journey will never be dull.

To begin our wild ride, I’d like to share some of my favorite experiences over the last few years. From Burning Man 2010 to seven trips to Paris to riding a camel to the Great Pyramid at Giza to dancing under the stars to live music in my own backyard, surrounded by friends, I’ve had a wonderful, hedonistic, pleasure-filled life so far–and it’s getting better every day. I hope you’ll subscribe to my blog and sample the world’s bounty with me!

We’ll start with Burning Man 2010, and the Million Bunny March. I was there from the very beginning to the very end, and when I came back, I was a different person: more open and loving because of the gift economy, and more able to deal with life’s hardships because desert. I rode in a topless women’s bicycle ride, rode art cars and danced all night every night, and did lots of other things I can’t talk about because what happens at Burning Man… Suffice to say that, in this photo, my Fun Meter is off the charts–and it stayed there for 10 amazing days and nights!

Here are some other pix from Burning Man:

 

AT Burning Man 2010, LED lights were everywhere, adding a certain glow to the all-night festivities.

When the desert winds kicked up playa dust until I couldn’t see or stand it any more, or when the heat got to be too much, this pagoda offered respite and rest. It was also a great place to rendezvous with other Burners. I spent hours lounging upstairs with my book.

Burning Man is, indeed, an alternative world. Burners refer to the everyday, non-Burning-Man world as the “default world,” and it’s one that I never wanted to go back to even after 10 days.

A Burning Man tradition–Tutu Tuesday, as exhibited by some of the women in my camp. Make sure to bring yours when you go!

One of the most wonderful things about Burning Man is that you can BE ANYTHING OR ANYONE YOU WANT TO BE, and so can everyone else. As long as you’re not hurting anyone, all is accepted and even embraced.