Black Rock City Post Office fund raiser

[Renie]

Would you like to send a message to a friend who can’t make it to Burning Man 2k5 from the event?
Or would you like to have a short story, pen pal connection, or image waiting to greet you when you return to the default world after the event?
This year, in a fund raising effort, the Black Rock City Post Office is selling postcards for a dollar plus postage each from now until August 19th. These postcards will be filled out by willing participants and sent out from the event to every one who orders one. If you would like to order a postcard sent from the event please contact brcpomanagers@yahoo.com with “Postcard Order” in the subject line.
Also the Black Rock City Post Office has not yet picked images to be used for our 2k5 postcards. If you have a picture you would like to share please contact brcpomanagers@yahoo.com with links and “Picture Submissions” in the subject.

[Renie]

Many of you are under the impression the BRCPO is an official Burning Man funded camp.
It isn't. And never has been.
The Black Rock City Post Office is a private theme camp, and does not receive any funding from the Burning Man organization.
The BRCPO receives a majority of it's funding from the it’s organizers and the rest in donations from volunteers.
Well this year the camp organizers are unemployed and broke.
If we can't get enough funds raised the BRCPO will not be on the playa in 2005
.

[Buttsex Avocado]

Yeah Renie! Renie rocks.

If you don't know what the post office is, I've put together some photos of our history.

We're always looking for good volunteers. It's a fun group to play with. Contact us to join our e-mail list, donate funds, join our merry band, or the other things Renie recommends.

http://www.scn.org/neighbors/beacon/pdx ... ebrcpo.htm

[mo_corleone]

cool fundraiser idea! go BRCPO!

[Nightterror]

Sorry - but could explain how the BRCPO works - I've seen it for years but never interacted - again sorry.

Also please let me add --- I have told sooo many people about your sign last year "There's no team in Fuck You" - makes me laugh right now.

[Renie]

First and foremost the Black Rock City Post Office is performance art.
We play on the idea of bureaucracy gone awry, too much paper work and even more corruption.
After you have filled out enough paperwork to gag a horse we will send you to the next window to do it all again. The idea here being that you are interacting and making a connection with someone.
Keep in mind that none of the paperwork is defined. As an example you may be handed a blank sheet of paper and be asked to “fill it out”. Filling it out can mean coloring the whole thing black, or pressing the page around a curve on your body.
You may be asked to “gift” us for our time and to speed things up a bit, by this we mean bribe us. It is a jab at the BM gift economy. Depending on the person working the window a bribe could be a poem, a kiss, something shiny, or sharing an experience. Again we are asking you to open your mind and toss out your preconceived definitions.

We have a green card program. All you have to do to earn a green card is volunteer 2 hours of your time to someone out side if your own camp. Then we give you a green card to “prove you are a citizen”. Basically we want people to have a good time and get involved.
You can bribe us for a card, but you will be robbing your self of the experience. Burning Man sucks if you don’t get involved.
We also have an O-gram program to get people meeting new people. An O-gram is best explained this way: Think of a singing tel-o-gram, one person delivering a message to another in a unique fashion. Now take out the singing and the telegraph, same idea one person delivering a message to another in a unique fashion.
If you want to tell Spike’s “thanks for the wine last night.” you can send them an O-gram. The O-gram Specialist will decide the unique way the message is delivered. O-grams promote communication, involvement, and expression.

Lastly we are a real post office. Mail going off playa is postmarked nightly and taken to Gerlach daily where mail coming to the playa is picked up and brought in to the event to be delivered.
We ask everyone to remember that the BRCPO works with the United States Postal Service (USPS).
We do not work with UPS, FedEx, or DHL.

[Renie]

Ah yes, well there you have it.
I could explain this but I wont.

Just keep in mind that the BRCPO volunteer base is all inclusive.
We allow any one to volunteer.
But we do ask that you:
1. Keep the BRCPO clean.
2. Quit if you aren't having fun. You can always come back later.
3. Respect our "go take a nap"* policy.
4. Realize that when you are our volunteer your behavior reflects on the way people see the BRCPO as a whole.

*If you are too fucked up, being an ass, creeping others out, or sucking the life out of your surroundings you will told to go away. This means go take a nap and don't came back until you are in a better mood.

[Nightterror]

Sounds like great fun - thanks for the info

[Renie]

The BRCPO is already getting questions about volunterring.
So to answer some of them:

Q: Can I volunteer?
A: Yes.

Q: Which shifts are open?
A: The BRCPO does not have a schedule, if you want to work please show up. If you just want to hang out and socialize, please show up. If you just can't stand the thought of getting up and walking all the way to where ever the BRCPO is then stay where you are and enjoy your self there.

Q: When is the BRCPO open?
A: If the lights are on then some one is up and working.

Q: Can I have a spanking?
A: We have a delivery for the TOA.