real estate woes

buying land and setting up a new home can be a challenge. this is a basic fact in rl and its no different in sl. i sold my property on the mainland because i was tired of the griefers who were using me for target practice, but mostly i hated the ugly. my neighbors put up clubs and shops complete with rotating lights, vehicles on the sand, helicopters. you know the drill. i am all for deliberate ugly but random, stupid ugly that lacks creativity was driving me loopy - kind of like the ubiquitous rotating red and white for sale signs on the mainland.

i bought property on a very beautiful private island that has a restrictive covenant. there is a theme to the sim and all builds have to be approved by a committee that functions like an architectural review board. i'll be honest and say having my plans approved by a committee makes me bristle. still, i decided it would be worth dealing with a committee if it meant i could get away from mainland ugly and private islands laid out in neat, flat rectangles of 4096 meters with rows of water separating one from the next.

i have had issues with the former owner of the property related to transfer of landscaping and i had to set about 100 plants and rocks to group. fun, fun -- NOT. then the committee rejected the house i liked. i compromised and got a fine house that will require minor modifictions, but its all good. the estate managers and owners have been great to deal with from the beginning of the troubles. it seems to me they very much want me to be happy and i am very excited about being part of the community. it is totally wonderful to have a live music venue right there. live music in my backyard? yeah, im a happy camper.

within a few days i will have the house set up and it will be time to have a housewarming party. i was thinking of hiring a musician to stream live for a while, just for fun. what do you think of that idea? my place is not exactly set up for music but i bet we could make it work.

Second Life on BBC

For those of you in the UK who watch telly tonight at 2150 GMT BBC2 Wonderland program is airing a 40 minute documentary about relationships in Second Life. For those not in the UK it should be available online over the next few days.

Do you play backgammon? chess?

Wednesday night is games night at Molaskey's Pub in Wichi. Get yourself over there tonight and play! Gilly Gully and Chester Cournoyer host chess and backgammon tournaments from 8 to 10 SLtime every Wednesday evening. Winners get Lindens! (Remember to tip your hosts please because the prize money comes from their own pockets.)

The game boards are all available and free to use for Molaskey’s guests at any time. You’ll find the Chess table down the alley from the patio, near the front of the Pub and the Backgammon, Checkers and Card Deck on the patio out back.

shyness can stop you

ever since this blog was added in the iheartsl feed i have been feeling more and more stress about what i write, who is reading, what to blog and what not to blog. since i blog for fun this is not a good development. as wrath pointed out to me last night in his own sweet way i am too open and mayhaps i need to have more secrets, or at least be more private. rather than remove this blog from the feed or edit myself to the point where blogging is not fulfilling i have done what all good bloggers do -- created a new blog!

shyness can stop you will be for more personal postings and it will be available by invitation only. if you want to be invited get in touch with me and i will certainly give you access. this is not meant to a secret playground or anything so don't be shy especially if you get the reference in the title of the new blog.

second life of my dreams will continue with general talk about SL -- music, games, and observations about our insane world.

blog on.

eyewall paine

eyewall pain's gig at the hypnotic moon was the place to be at 5sl time today. when you tp to a show and the first people you see are juel resistance, grace mcdunnough and cylindrian rutabega its a good bet you have picked a quality event, which is exactly what happened to me this evening.


i had not listened to eyewall for some time and had totally forgotten about how much i enjoy this talented singer songwriter. "People of the Post Artist World" is the new release by eyewall paine aka Jeremy Gilchrist. go see him and buy his album!

bwaaahahahaha

cierra totally cracked me up just now. go read her post.

You Are An INFP

The Idealist You are creative with a great imagination, living in your own inner world. Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships. It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close. But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop. In love, you tend to have high (and often unrealistic) standards. You are very sensitive. You tend to have intense feelings. At work, you need to do something that expresses your personal values. You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist. How you see yourself: Unselfish, empathetic, and spiritual When other people don't get you, they see you as: Unrealistic, naive, and weak

What's Your Personality Type?

What is so interesting about this is years ago i consistently tested as an ENTJ. Can your basic personality change that much over time? discuss among yourselves.

fighting fair

last night someone i know logged on and immediately im'ed me with the sole purpose of ripping my head off.


apparently i had said something the previous evening in group chat that he found offensive or hurt his feelings or something, i am still not sure. but much of my evening was spent listening to him call me names and berate me for basically not being who he wants me to be. well, as popeye would say "i yam what i yam." this is my second life and i am not here to please you nor am i here for your entertainment.

and now to the public service portion of this post. in my happy little second life adults treat each other like adults and that means fighting fairly. as a reminder to myself and others here are some rules, shamelessly ripped from here

1. Know what you’re fighting about
2. Stick to one subject only
3. Be direct - say how you feel, say what you require
4. Choose the time of your battles carefully
5. Keep quarrels private
6. Don’t read your partner’s mind
7. Don’t expect your partner to read your mind
8. Don’t Blame
9. Own your own feelings - this means starting sentences with ‘I feel’, not ‘you make me feel’
10. Don’t talk each other down
11. Don’t hit below the belt
12. Don’t wear the belt too high
13. Don’t bring up past fights and use them as ammunition for the present one
14. Actively listen
15. No physical Violence

finally, remember to kiss and make up but only if you really want to do so. you have no obligation to continue a relationship that does not fill you with joy, especially in your second life.

why do bloggers blog?

i started blogging as a way to deal with second life. i arrived inworld and immediately began a relationship that was confusing at best and majorly dysfunctional at worst. so, i started a private blog as a way to journal and deal with all the "stuff." after a while that disaster was behind me but i had gotten into the habit of writing. my blog evolved into a way for me to record what i observed and explore ideas i had about second life. all of this time my blog was private. and, trust me, its a good thing.

about november i deleted my private blog. then i created this mess, made it public and began to spew here on a regular basis. much to my amazement people started to read. people who don't know me came back! regularly? i reconnected with people i knew in other ways, i met some truly amazing people and became close to a special few. so blogging - it has been berry berry good to me.

over the weekend a new sl blog feed called iheartsl was launched. i requested that my blog be added to the feed, which it was almost immediately. great right? then i suddenly froze. i started blogging as a way to seek clarity, understand my sl experience. i write what i write because it interests me or because i need to empty the random thoughts that are running around my head. and now my blog is on the feed. holy $%^*# batman!

i am not a journalist and i don't have my finger on the pulse of anything supah kewl and new. i am just an avatar who enjoys music, art, writing, wandering around and playing with my friends. if i don't know you already please say hi! i want this to be a conversation so email me, comment, im me in world. whatever. lets be friends, k?

and the answer is yes

fisher's island
Originally uploaded by chestnutrau

me on the deck of my new home on fisher's island

sailors cove

sailors cove
Originally uploaded by chestnutrau

question for a sunday morning -- do i buy this property or not?

you know you want to come!

Tomorrow afternoon we have three back to back shows by Seattle area musicians at Molaskey's Pub. The music starts at noon SLT and goes until 3pm.

The delightful Wendy Curtis -- known as Wendy Lee in the fleshy world -- will perform her original music at Noon.

At 1pm our weekly appointment with the amazing Lyndon Heart begins. I have blogged about this outstanding musician before and chances are I will do so again. If you come listen to him play you will understand my fangirly crush. dang did i just blog that? nothing to see here folks, move along.

Finally, at 2pm you can listen to Patrick LaSalle. Unfortunately I could not find a web page for him, so instead i prettied up his picture. Patrick? Send me a link to your site, please. Link or no link, this is a show you don't want to miss.

The last time we had this line up of musicians the patio was packed and it was hard to get into the sim so please come early. If you need a tp im me inworld and I'll bring you in the VIP entrance. Ok, well, there is no VIP entrance but I'll send you a tp if you ask nicely.

second life sculpture

blackwater art sculpture gallery you have been there right?



if you have not been you owe it to yourself to go and see the incredible works of art. im me and i'll join you.



if you have been -- go again. i could wander around at blackwater over and over and find something new each time.

more about alts

if you are interested in a great post about alts with real information as opposed to my nonesense, go read Dusan Writer.

from the post

"As always - a strange loop. Synthetic worlds magnify, focus, and contain our explorations until they cycle back to catch our “real selves” and to challenge our long-held assumptions. Alts, for example, seem like separate questions - divorced from reality, and ‘not possible in real life’, until we awaken and discover that the very questions about avatars and alts are really questions about trust, self-confidence, faith, our personal moralities and how we view our ethics in the context of the broader “tribe” or “world”, and our yearning to have a purpose and place in life.

How we respond to these issues is often a far deeper indication of the strength of our foundations and a measure of how we value ourselves as individuals than it is a true opinion on issues related to code or moral relativism. As always, the rabbit hole seems to take us on a strange ride, but when we reach its end we find ourselves … well, we find ourselves with us."

"keeping RL and SL TOTALLY separate"

I was sick yesterday and i went to bed very early but i did have time to read "keeping RL and SL TOTALLY separate" on the front of a person's profile. So, as i lay in bed not sleeping but feeling like total shite i had time to think about this statement. over and over i said to myself "what does that even mean?"

keeping RL and SL TOTALLY separate.

i guess it means i don't want to give out personal details about the real me so please don't ask. now this i understand. i will say i am very open about who i am and anyone with too much time on their hands could probably figure out my name if they were really bored. i certainly don't want SL strangers trick or treating at my house but i don't really hide either.

so if i am using my alt (yes i have one who is not chestnut morissey) am i still me? yes of course. i may be rp'ing and it may be things i don't necessarily want people who know chestnut rau to know about. so i *get* the desire for privacy. but its all still me, right? parts of my personality, parts of my imagination, things "I" do. and its all part of the totality of my SL.

so, what leads someone to say "keeping RL and SL TOTALLY separate?" is it because they are doing things that are potentially embarrassing? they don't want their spouse, employer, friends or family to know about how they play? maybe they are worried about the possible career consequences of their favorite SL activity. these are all valid reasons for maintaining privacy. absolutely. but, let's not kid ourselves either. these things you do in SL? its part of your RL people. its not some "other" -- it is you who is clicking the mouse, right? what you feel is real.

what i concluded through the fever and the sneezing and the body aches is this -- me, myself and i are part of everything i do in second life. on the other hand, i don't necessarily want avatars to come out of the world and hang around my living room. having said that? there are people i have met through their SL avatars i can totally imagine inviting to my home for a beer and a swim.

I'm sure my deep insight clarifies this topic once and for all. thank god for fever. hehe

kate nash - "foundations" filmed in Sims 2

etherian kamaboko at the clocktower

yep. i am dancing in the air -- you have to do that when you go to crap mariner's clocktower. i don't think its *required* but you owe it to yourself to find a new perspective once in a while. seriously, crap's venue is one of the most creative places around and the music is great. go, grab a gear and dance.

strange things happen sometimes, just ask gospeed.

ETA: i must have been tired last night because it is all about the music and i didnt really write a word about how much i enjoy etherian. sometimes i just close my eyes and roll around in the richness of his sound and other times i curse the short length of the wire on my headphones because i am dancing around in my living room as he plays and sings. go and listen. you will enjoy the music and the perfomance for sure.

ETA: read what crap has to say about the show last night

chestnut morrisey

/hey! waves

shoutout to twiz

sunday morning

i love my sqat in topgol. the place is drafty, there is broken glass everywhere, randomly there are fires in the street and an occasional bomb. but, the neighbors are great!

still, on a sunday morning you can't beat a comfy chair, a good (comic) book, the sun streaming through a big window and the smell of sea air. sometimes i just have to get out of the city and be near the ocean! i always leave a gift so i am not really taking advantage am i?

please tell me i am not the only one

so, this morning i log in at my last location which happens to be the beach at molaskeys' pub. i decide i am going to sit in the coconut chair and go through incoming ims and notecards and such. i snap a photo because i am in love with this dress i just got from dutch touch. then i have to upload the picture to flicker because i have an idea about how to play with it in picnik. so i mess around with the snap and it takes about 5 minutes. please let me know if this idea worked -- seems like it is getting a lot of hits but i wonder what you think.


by the time i get back to my ims it is a while later. more ims have come in and two different people are talking to me, not including members of my family who are also in need of things like breakfast. (cereal, milk, bowl anyone?)

then i remember there is going to be a tiny empires mayhapsibly ball tonight. of course it is a freakin' lingerie party. now, i am all about the lacy doo dad the right context. but the idea of prancing and dancing at a ball with a bunch of people i don't know that well in sexy underwear? well this pushes all my insecurity buttons -- each and every last one of them -- even though, yes, i know its just pixels. anyway, i decide costuming myself for this party is merely a shopping opportunity. so off i go.

but its never that simple with me. i get distracted. oooohhhh....look at the water.


and the colors


and how in the world do people create things like this?


so by the time i get done talking to friends, wandering around, taking pics and actually get to the store it its an hour and a half later. and it is also time for me to go have some fun with my rl family. sigh.

this is my second life. so much to see, so much to do, and the place i intend to go is never where i actually end up. how cool is that?

shantu selene - "are you ready for love?"

the camera work is jumpy in places but the song made me happy so i thought i would put it out there for both of my readers. /me smiles

the sixtyone

i first heard about thesixtyone.com when crap blogged about it. then i heard kaklick mention it at his gig the other day so i figure it was time to figure out what this thing is all about. i began playing with it yesterday and, wow, it is a lot of fun.

thesixtyone is a website where musicians upload music and you can listen. simple. you get points for logging in, listening to music and inviting friends. you then use the points to "bump" tracks you like. you also get points if other people bump songs you have picked. You get more points for bumping tracks before they get popular so there is a treasure hunt element to bumping. There are levels and as you move up the levels you get bonus features, although i am not sure what they are just yet. There is a social networking component to thesixtyone and maybe even a little bit of friendly competition (*cough* Alex).

what is really cool is you can create playlists and share them with people, which i think would be very useful in the hands of a dj. (*cough* jellybean).

one more thing, dolmere talamasca is behind the effort to use thesixtyone to support sl musicians so if you are interested in signing up do it through him so he gets the points. dolmere has also created an in-world group so if you are interested in an invite to the group please let me know.

now go listen, bump your favs and create amazing playlists -- then share them with me please.

grace at heron island

"welcome home" performed by grace mcdunnough. the words were written by salome strangelove and the music is by grace. if you look carefully you can see garrett, crap and me in the crowd. (crap is cleverly disguised. see if you can find him)

how pretty is this?

me on the deck of the home where a friend has graciously offered me a room -- homeless in sl isn't that bad.

i am pretty disappointed because my plan to buy an island with a group of friends appears to have sputtered, coughed and taken its last breath. it could still happen but the feeling seems to be gone...sniff.

wandering around looking at land is so entertaining. there is so much excess, so much ugly and then all of a sudden you happen upon creativity that takes your breath away. i have come to realize how much i hate estates that look like a little suburb of islands. i keep looking for a butler to bring me a martini while i wait for the water taxi to take me to the club. it is *so* not my sl dream.

it is tempting to go for a beautiful parcel where i can sail my trudeau but what i really want is community. i have found some beautiful green areas that have a pacific NW feel -- moutains and water -- that may be calling my name. not sure yet. more than likely i will rent something and take some time to decide.

homeless

bye jokung. i will miss you.

i put the land up for sale and i got full price in about a day and a half. why am i sad?

ETA: i just realized at today's exchange rate i made about $135 actual US dollars on the sale of jokung. suddenly i feel much better.

sl most embarassing moments

not that anything like this has *ever* happened to me. or to you. but it could happen. i had a friend once who may have had *something* like this happen. im not sure.

you are at a public event on a particularly laggy sunday evening. you try to cam in to the stage take a picture and instead you click on something, like maybe a pillow and you end up onstage. a quick tp home and you are gone, hopefully, before someone gets a picture. you want to die a thousand painful deaths of mortal embarrassment. after a few deep breaths you get back to your seat and deal. then a singer performs with no audio and suddenly you realize -- its fucking second life.

skin

myg blogged about the great free skins available. go read her post. i'll wait. /me taps her foot......

you back? now if you didn't read myg's post shame on you. while you are at it add her blog to your daily read because it is great.

anyway, i had all the skins myg wrote about except for the dutch touch beauty because i was not a member of their update group. well, i am now!

anyway i went and got the skin today and i have to say i love it. no i mean i love, love, love it. the makeup is perfect, the lips are kissable, i don't hate the nose, which is saying a lot. there are freckles -- but not to many! the thing i love the most about this skin is the shading, especially where the neck meets the clavicle. omg. its just great.

here you go without glasses


and with glasses, which i can't seem to take off lately. why is that? anyone want to venture a guess.

selling

my 8192m2 in jokung is for sale. class 5 sim, new continent on the protected linden ocean, which looks loverly in windlight. the parcel faces west so the sunsets are amazing. it looks like a triangle because i have cut in a canal, however, the land is a rectangle and goes beyond the water at the top of the pic. i have the parcel listed at L$160,000 but that is negotiable.

the pics in the post below are taken on my parcel. it really is prime waterfront and in many ways i am conflicted about selling but i think its time for me to move on.

please let me know if you are interested and if you are not i would certainly appreciate it if you would spread the word. i have no idea where i am moving so if you know of an interesting place let me know. let the next adventure begin!

ETA: *laughs and laughs* this has nothing to do with my friend ken and his leather-clad dates.

my home is not your love shack

i have 8192m2 in a sim called jokung. my land is on the linden ocean and is a pretty typical sl beachy-place. i love it but i am getting bored and thinking i should build a habitrail or something, but i digress.

so this morning i log in as is my habit. i usually drink my coffee, wipe the sleep from my eyes, catch up with European friends, get dressed -- you know, morning. when i get inworld there on my beach is a woman dressed in some strappy leather-y, kinky as hell get-up. she immediately starts to stammer, "i can explain, im so sorry." so i'm wondering wtf happened here? where are the photos?

long story short, a friend of mine has been using my home as a place to bring his dates. now, i do have great dances and some sweet cuddle pillows from pillow talk. being the winner of the "most single woman in sl" award i really don't have pose balls out or anything like that. the cuddles were wishful thinking purchases, if you want to know the truth. again, i digress.

so, this guy brings his dates to my place on a semi-regular basis. do i care? not really. kind of. i am not sure. i don't have a security system and i don't want one because i am comfortable with people coming by and hanging out. but if someone is going to regularly use my place, the least he can do is kick in something for the tier. right?

reason #42 why i love lyndon heart

last night at the freudian slip lyndon heart performed "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" by KT Tunstall. I love this song despite its unfortunate association with katherine mcphee.

One of the things i admire about lyndon, in addition to his obvious performing and songwriting talent, is he adds new and unexpected songs to his set regularly. i listen to lyndon play at least once a week, sometimes two or three times, and i never get bored.

lyndon heart plays molaskey's pub every sunday at 1pm sl time. i am one of the hosts so please come! i promise you will have a good time. (dang -- a surl surely should go here but i cant get inworld atm so if you want a tp please let me know.)

to see if i can get the video to post here - taa daaaa here is KT performing Black Horse and the Cherry Tree.



ETA: See KT's boots? I want those in RL and in SL. Hello - sl shoe designers? please?

wandering

rip frisky

the flag on the clocktower is at half mast this morning. condolences to crap and his wife.

these are the days i love

my evening started with great conversation with a dear friend. there are times when i shy away from voice but other times it is wonderful to be able to connect and have give and take in real time.


my evening ended with music by dj garrett and dancing at clockwork, which is quickly turning into one of my favorite places to hang out.


offsetting my dark mood of the past few days, today i was reminded that my slife is great and i am blessed in 1,000 ways. most importantly i was reminded there is joy in the simplest of things like hearing a perfect lyric, soon-to be released killer boots and the promise of new friendships.

random, random

good morning bloggers. i have nothing of substance to say but never let it be said that having nothing to say stopped me from talking. newp. oh and i have no picture that is relevant to my no-content post. but myg says that all posts should have pics and she is absolutely right. therefore, i have uploaded for your viewing pleasure an actual rl photo taken in my backyard.

so, random observations to go along with my morning coffee.

i love the rain. maybe its being married to a brit that does it? dunno

being sick puts a huge damper on my mood. now that i am not sick any more i am happy, happy, and i have a lot more hair to choose from. oddly that makes getting dressed much harder.

sally fields has nothing on me

i seriously have to learn to say no. just because someone wants something from me does not mean i have to meet their needs.

this week i have been offered 3 jobs in sl out of the blue. i am feeling a little pressured and overwhelmed but i do not have to accept every gig offered to me. see above.

i need to talk to katy about booking a wider variety of musicians. i cannot stand to listen to the same thing over and over and over no matter how good it is.

to all the people who commented and emailed me about my ban line post, thanks. i really appreciate it.

well that was a whole lot of nothing, right?

did you ever

feel like this?


i totally do. the 10 new hairs i got at the etd sale didn't even help much. i am of the opinion that a little retail therapy can help when you are feeling down but not this time. meh

file under: truth is stranger than fiction

i was wandering around today on slexchange and onrez looking for a gift for someone and found this. ok so talking pixel dicks are not bad enough, apparently.

yes, you can use your lindens to buy "Cyber Sex Flash Cards For Him"

people can i say omg? flash cards are for learning your multiplication facts and if you are still learning them you belong on the elementary school grid.

flash cards for cyber. this saddens me to no end.

ETA: the flash cards were a featured item. i was *not* shopping for anything cyber related and the gift was entirely pg. i swear.

ETA: im laughing at the email i just got, which will not be quoted here. i sent sunshine yellow flowers to a friend. not naughty bits -- talking or otherwise.

sl live music - only more live

some of my very favorite musicians are playing at singing arc a festival celebrating sl live music in las vegas on march 1, 2008. who is going to be playing?

grace mcdunnough
ETA: grace is not going to be there. /me frowns

lyndon heart
frogg marlowe and jaycatt nico
cylindrian rutabega
juel resistance
dan octavia
kafka dinzeo
tone uriza
takamura keiko
ankari holder
astrin few

so, are you going? i would love to go but i need to seriously consider the expense and time. let me know your plans here in the comments or via im or email. kthanks!

this is important!!!!

have you ever lost slexchange or onrez purchases because you crash and dont have a chance to accept the offers? well the blogosphere is mobilizing to get people to vote on a jira to address this annoying problem. this is way more important to a lot of people than increasing the number of groups we have. so, please take a second and vote on the jira

oh and the observant among you will notice that i finally, finally figured out how to link to another page. i know, i know. its easy. and i feel stupid. kthanks

nukes in topgol

If you see a suitcase on the ground and you don't know what it is, do not open it.

you just never know what can happen.

not feeling well

another perfect thing about sl -- no colds. no fevers. no feeling like crap. rl? not so much

anyway i was entertained this evening despite feeling under the weather. how? well you have to laugh when you see this:



why the hell not? her shirt says "my sick post modern love cult" i wonder if the cult uses this:


at least i amuse myself - hehe