Chase Griefs our Land in Marawa

Our friend Chastity Vandverre was itching for us to turn off auto return because she said she wanted to grief our new land. I was game so I turned auto return to zero and waited. Chase is an interesting character. You should read her blog and add it to your blogroll. She is funny, bawdy, sassy, a talented builder and scripter so I had no idea what she would do, but I was pretty sure it would be fun. I half expected flying penises in skirts or something.

Isn't she cute?



Imagine my surprise when I found that Chase had built us a lovely gazebo set out over the water. She added a bench with a sweet cuddle and a pretty fountain. She grabbed a number of photos of Zha and I from my flickr stream and used them to decorate the build. Chase said what she did is called reverse griefing. I have to say it was one of the sweetest things a friend has done for me in a very long time.







Thank you so much Chase!

We bought a mainland parcel!

After much map hopping, auction watching and searching Zha and I bought a mainland parcel today. The sim is on the old mainland. Our parcel is on a peninsula and has water on both sides. There is enough wild creativity in the area so you know you are on the mainland but for now there is a minimum of ugly. Given that I have talked about the cost of mainland a few times I will say we paid a little bit more per square meter than I would have liked but we decided this parcel was well worth the price.

We bought this land to build a park. It is our intent to make a beautiful place that is open for everyone to enjoy. I expect there will be places to hang out, some art and maybe even a place for a very non-explicit, non-violent, non-photo realistic cuddle since this is a Mature sim and public naughtiness is not allowed. Or maybe it is, we really can't be sure. We will rez my Magic 8 ball and see if we can clear up that PG/Mature/Adult policy and get back to you on the cuddles, ok?

In truth we don't have a specific plan for the build. No doubt it will be a true Zha and Ches collaboration meaning the build will take longer than we intend and most likely not end up looking at all as we picture it right now. I guess you will have to stop by and check it out, won't you? http://slurl.com/secondlife/Marawa/51/216/36

Here are some before pictures.







This interesting woman visited very shortly after we created our group and purchased the land. She said she was exploring the area. We chatted for a short moment, I wished her well and she was off. I can't wait until we have built our park and are able to give random explorers a reason to hang around.

There should be a rule about alcohol-driven blog posting

Today is a hot sunny day and we were out in the yard working on the pool so on a hot sunny day in two weeks or so we can shed our clothes and jump in shiny cool blue water. Today it looks a bit more like tea. Tea made with old leaves, a few sticks and, interestingly, my son's Yankee hat. But I digress.

My husband came inside and plopped himself on the couch saying it was too hot for him out there. Since he is having knee surgery on Thursday I know he stopped working because he was in pain. But I think the Y chromosome is somehow hard wired such that many men are not able to say "damn it hurts I am going to sit down."

From the comfort of the sofa my husband (who was merely hot and not in any pain at all) sent my son (who was not in any pain from the massive bruise he got at his lacrosse game today) down to the pool with a cold beer for me. What is a hot sweaty mama to do? This mama drank that lovely micro brew in about 2 minutes. As you can imagine, my excitement about taking off the pool cover and raking up the detritus of last winter quickly ebbed and then faded completely. And so you get semi lucid blogging. As the title of this post suggests, there should be a rule against it. Bravely, with this long and nonsensical introduction as a disclaimer, I am going to say a thing or two about Second Life.

On the subject of land -- I cannot tell you how many mainland parcels I have seen for crazy high prices. Like $300k for a 4096? Really? I know you love your parcel. I know it is full of memories both happy and sordid. But seriously, it is not worth that much. It just isn't. Your memories are priceless but they are not somehow infused in the server space you call your SL land. I know this is harsh and I know you think I am wrong. However I will ask you to think about how much money you are flushing each month in tier as you wait to get your ridiculous price for your parcel. Get out your Excel spreadsheet and do a little math. I am really good with a spreadsheet so if you need help please IM me. I am happy to do it with you. If you really want to sell your land, set a reasonable market-driven price and it will sell. Probably in a few days. Trust me on this. If you want to talk to a land dealer who is honest (and who I adore) just let me know. I can hook you up. ok?

On the subject of performance art -- I really just cannot believe how much fun I had organizing the ZeroG SkyDancers performance for the Impossible in Real Life group. The music by ZeroOne Paz was moving, the dancers were lovely, the build and the choreography stunning and we sold out the house. Happy sigh. This show really does represent what is possible in SL and if you have not seen it yet you really should. They are closing soon and you don't want to miss this incredible creativity. (Another sad side effect of one beer posting is I am not going to seek out links or SLurls right now. If you want to know how to get tickets for the SkyDancers IM me in world or search my past posting here or on New World Notes.)

Hmm...I know there were a few more things I intended to spew about but again I seem to have lost my enthusiasm. I will leave you with a photo I took at AM Radio's newest build called The Red and The Wild. Like all of AM's work it is peaceful and calming and a strange enough to get you thinking "what is going on here?" I think each of us writes our own personal story about AM's builds just as we write our own stories in SL.

Cheers y'all. I am going to take a nap I think.

Looking for Old Mainland Parcel

I love our little Utopian community on Shengri La and hope to always live on our parcel on Love. Zha and I built our house in the sky and it really is a refuge for us. We had a vision and although its not what a lot of people would choose, we love it. The open space park-like feel of the ground is lovely and, judging by the steady stream of visitors, lots of people enjoy what we have created there.

Although Zha and I intend to continue living on Shengri La Love, we have been itching to build and really want to get our hands on some mainland where we can play. Zha and I have been pouring over the land listings and map hopping trying to find an 8192 square meter parcel. There is a lot of land for sale. A lot. And a lot of it sucks and the parcels we have found that we like are ridiculously expensive.

If anyone comes across an 8192, preferably on the old mainland, that you think is great will you please let me know? I love the cacophony of mainland but I prefer not to be next to a mall, a huge cruise ship, or a slave auction. Waterfront is our choice, but I am not all that into the ubiquitous SL palm tree beach. Yes, yes I realize anything can change in a second on the mainland but there are stable beautiful sims and that is the kind of place we want to buy. Is it a dream? You tell me.

Reason # 278: Why Second Life Shopping is Superior to Real Life Shopping

If you have been reading here for any length of time you know I have kids. My daughter is about to turn 13 and is in the 7th grade. Her class is taking an overnight trip at the end of May. It is a big honking hairy deal because they are staying overnight at a hotel that has an indoor water park. And that means 7th grade girls have to wear bathing suits in front of 7th grade boys.

Pause for a moment and remember what you were like at almost 13 and how you felt about your body. For some of us those memories drive our body image well into adulthood.

Today we spent 3 hours walking through shops trying to find a bathing suit that she liked, felt comfortable wearing and met the school's "no bikini" rule. Mind you, my daughter is 5' 4" and weighs about 105 pounds, and is all legs. She is the skinny girl who has the body other girls envy so buying a bathing suit should not be a problem. And yet? 3 hours, multiple dressing rooms with terrible lighting, one crying jag later and we still have no bathing suit. Sigh.

Earlier today I got an invite to go to the marketplace by Phat's. Misteria Loon, a designer that has occupied space in the Shengri La Marketplace had a soft opening of her new shop. You can check it out by TPing at this link. While I was there socializing I got this lovely red gown called Amaryllis. It has fantastic texturing, two different skirts both of which swooosh and twirl beautifully. For $399 lindens I think this gown is a steal. I bought it, put it on in seconds and was transformed into a princess.

This little shopping trip demonstrated yet again that SL shopping is superior to RL shopping. You can buy a couture gown by an up and coming designer and be able to say "oh yes I had a Misty gown back when nobody knew who she was" and it will cost you pennies. There is no need to walk for hours, no uncomfortable dressing room scenes, no tears. Too bad my daughter can't wear Misteria Loon's Amaryllis to the water park.

(please click through for a larger, detailed view of this lovely gown)

ZeroG SkyDancers Performance

Ok -- taaa daaaaa! The big reveal is upon us!

I am organizing a special performance of the ZeroG Sky Dancers show Let Love Live on Sunday April 26th at 10am SLtime. The performance is for the Impossible in Real Life Group but if there are seats left I will make them available to others. I actually think the tickets will be gone pretty quickly so join the group and IM me about a ticket!

Musings at the end of a lovely day off in RL

I took today off and tomorrow as well. I am so burned out in RL it is not even funny. I need a real vacation. Sun, sand, the sound of the ocean and long stretches of time with nothing to do but read, sip on my cold drink and eat grapes while sitting in my beach chair. That is not going to happen any time soon but I can dream about it.

Instead we took a drive, had lunch on the patio of a fine restaurant, wandered around a funky artsy village. I played with my puppy, baked cookies and cooked a real meal. I spent time outside -- no office distractions, no computers, no phones. Novel, that.

From this lovely day off I have concluded that Spring is joyful. Flowers, sun on my face, the chickens pecking at the tiny green shoots in the garden, me screaming at the chickens "don't eat my hostas you nasty feathered creeps!" I just love the colors, smells and rituals of spring.

Today is Thursday which means my NWN post is up. There are a lot of great events this week so check it out. I guess people liked this post as I got a few inworld IMs saying "good job" and Bettina Tizzy commented and said it was a great list. I am a big Bettina fangurl so that made me smile.

Speaking of Bettina, she and I are cooking up a special event for members of the Impossible in Real Life group. You are not a member? Why not? You have to join, ok? Its a great group. This special thing that Bettina and I are cooking up is for the group but I am sure we can open it up to the public if we don't fill all the seats. Ah ha! There will be seats! And, the seats will be limited! See? That is called a teaser. How did I do? Are you curious yet?

Perspectives on SL

Last week I had a health scare. The kind of health scare that puts things squarely, clearly and decidedly in perspective. So when we woke up on Easter morning to learn we had no running water in the house, I had a moment of frustration and then quickly let the annoyance go. When one thinks about mortality, daily irritations take on a whole new perspective.

This morning I had the thought that this idea -- perspective -- is why immersion in the virtual world is such a powerful thing. We can try on new frames of reference, live with them for a while and see what the experience teaches us about our day-to-day lives.

What is your Second Life teaching you? I am going to ponder this for a while myself.


(avatar from Grendel's Children, photo taken at Summer Seale's Island -- sorry I don't have the SLurl handy.)

Things to do in Second Life

NWN events post for the week is up. Check it out.

And because I really love this photo I am reposting it from NWN as well. Yeah, its a vanity photo. So sue me.

Subscribe-o-matic Spam

When the Subscribe-o-matics first came out I was thrilled. I could keep up with new releases from all my favorite stores and venues without taking up rare group slot real estate. wOOt!! I am a huge fan of the SOM because it is a classic example of people using technology and creativity to get around a limitation of the world. At the same time, I am dead tired of SOM spam.

Please do not send me the LM to your store for the 7,345th time. I know where you are located. Please do not send me yet another poorly crafted freebie. I threw out the last 634 you sent. Please do not send me the same notecard you send to Fashion Consolidated or any number of the other fashion groups. I got your note already, three times. Sigh.

I don't mean to be ungrateful or whiny. Its just that it takes me a good long time to clear notecards, IMs and group notices when I log in. I love the information and I am happy to hear what is going on. Believe me -- I thrive on hearing about the new things happening in SL. But, by the time I have heard it from you 2 or 3 times in a day it begins to annoy me and it makes you look a little desperate. If your work is good it will stand out from the crowd without the spam.

My project for the next couple of days is to unsubscribe from the SOMs that spam me regularly. I really need to improve the signal to noise ratio.

Observations About Illness, Fear and Google

Warning: not very interesting, slightly anxious post ahead. If you are looking for something fun to do move on to the next blog. Today I am using this space to clear my head of fussy clutter.

I have some personal stuff going on. Medical stuff, potentially scary stuff. Most likely I am perfectly fine but I have had to be scanned and referred to specialists. I have worked up close and personal enough with doctors to know how much of medicine is trial and error and frankly I prefer not to participate in the game, if at all possible. Unfortunately at this moment I am playing the game.

I am a bit scared which leads me to google. Now google is my friend. I actually can't remember how I existed in the days before I could look up something and get

Results 1-10 of about 8,730,000 for (blah) definition in (0.12 seconds)

Still, some things are best left ungoogled -- such as symptoms and prognosis and treatment. Stuff like that.

Anyway, today I got an offline message from someone I admire. It was simple and sweet and for a few minutes made everything right in my world. So, thank you.

Shengri La Emergence Day, Fashion Show and Happy Anniversary to Us!

Shengri La has been in SL for two full years so tomorrow we celebrate. Throughout the day there are events planned and you can see the full schedule if you click on the image above or go to Shengri La website.

Early in the day, I and many other friends of Shengri La will be appearing in a fashion show. Misteria Loon is one of the new designers Shenlei has been mentoring for the past six months. Her clothes are lovely and fairy like so we are all putting on wings and will be modeling and dancing like half naked wood nymphs. Ok, not really. We will be fully clothed in lovely, high fashion gowns but we will feel like happy, dancing, lovely wood nymphs. The show is at 7am tomorrow so get up early, drink your coffee with us and enjoy the show.

One of the highlights of the day will be the chance to look at photos by the highly talented Callipgyian Christensen taken in Shengri La Spirit, which is the Fashion Research Inc, Open Sim. Spirit is a build that would be totally impossible in Second Life. Shenlei was able to use close to 42,000 prims to build a fantasy space that is joyful. Below you can see my off center and wonky photos of Calli's work. Even from these terrible captures you know this place is something special and I promise Calli's photos are beyond stunning.






One last thing I wanted to mention. Its not just Shengri La's Anniversary. It is also our anniversary. Zha and I have been together a year now, which by SL standards makes us an old married couple. That suits us just fine.



One final note -- the dress I am wearing in the photo above is the one I will be wearing in the fashion show. Misteria Loon is a very talented designer, I think. I hope you come tomorrow and see for yourself.

TP to Shengri La

People I love in SL -- Rosie!

When I first came to SL I started to read blogs as a way to figure out this crazy world. One blog that especially caught my eye was Whole Lotta Rosie, written by Rosie Barthelmess. I loved her sharp wit and was drawn to her choice to live in SL as a plus size avatar. Like a lot of women I am rounder than I would like to be in RL and have struggled with body image for as long as I can remember. So a woman who was so comfortable with her own beauty -- inside and out -- that she chose to reflect her RL body in her SL avatar really caught my attention. Rosie struck me as someone I admired from the first blog post.

I always knew Rosie is a woman of many talents. She DJs at Lounge of Dreams where she is also the manager. She creates lovely jewelry and owns her own shop called Sable Rose. What I did not know is that she sings amazingly well. Please go here and listen to my girl Rosie sing Jason Mraz's song 'Make it Mine.' I am very impressed with her once again. Go Rosie!