Yard Sale and Too Many Questions

We met up with the Oleanders tonight to chat and hang out while Lolita set up for our upcoming Arcade yard sale. I hope you guys come to shop! I’ve been making my list just based off of some Flickr pics I’ve seen, but you know once that shopping guide comes out, I’m going to give Aldwyn a heart attack. *laughs* I love the hours leading up to the event when the family is all together! This will be Birdy’s first Arcade night with us so I’m excited to share it with her.

Miss Berry came up with another meme for us – 20 Questions! Y’all know I like to talk, so here we go. 🙂

1. When and how did you discover Second Life?

I discovered it in 2006 through a former friend. She read an article about it, tried it, and since I was a huge Sims fan, of course I was interested.

2. Did you know about virtual worlds before or was this your first experience with them?

I had been part of a text based RPG that I guess was kind of like a virtual world, except we RPed without avatars. But other than that, no.

3. Has Second Life met your expectations?

I guess I didn’t really have any. I thought I’d play hard for a couple of weeks and then stop, much like I did with the Sims. Obviously, that didn’t happen!

4. If you could teleport back to the first ten minutes of your avatar’s slife, what would you tell yourself?

There are real people behind the avatars! Don’t hurt them and hopefully they won’t hurt you!

5. How long did it take you to master avatar flying and driving vehicles inworld?

I was always pretty decent at flying. I’m still working on the driving. I’m sure I’ll get it one day!

6. Do you have a mystery alt?

I do, actually! Well, she’s not a mystery mystery, in that a couple of people know about her. But I use her to sell something silly on marketplace. I don’t think I’ve actually logged into her in well over a year. Maybe closer to 2.

7. Is your SL avatar a reflection of you, or someone you wished you could be?

I feel like my avatar is an extension of me. I speak to people in world basically the same way I would if I met them locally. My avatar looks how I feel inside. But through my avatar, I get to have some things [like the kids and being a fashion blogger] that I can’t have/do in RL, so that’s pretty cool.

8. Is there an individual you met in SL that inspired you in your RL? How?

Pretty much everyone I meet in SL that I become close to inspires me in my RL in some way. But I think the one that inspired me the most was Renee. She taught me that no matter how bad I think my life is being, I can always find ways to be happy.

9. Do you feel it is easier to create stronger bonds/relationships with people you meet inworld as opposed to the real world?

I think it’s probably faster to create a bond with someone online because we HAVE to talk here. If you meet someone in RL, you do things with them. Movies, dinners, running in the park, etc. Here, we chat. Even if we’re out dancing at a party, we’re probably chatting. You learn more about people that way.

10. Did you ever imagine or believe people could fall in love with someone they never met before Second Life?

Oh yes. I’d seen it happen. I was a “regular” in a Yahoo chatroom from 1998-200something and many of the regulars there ended up falling in love before they met in person. In fact, I brought my bestie into the chatroom and she ended up meeting a guy in there who is now her husband! 🙂 Funny thing is, I actually met him in person before she did. I consider him my brother in law now.

11. How has your perspective of dating changed (or not) since you started playing second life?

Dating in SL, I assume? Well, hopefully I don’t have to do that again. *laughs* I’m perfectly happy being Aldwyn’s SL wife. If we ever divorced, I don’t think I’d bother dating anyone else. Let’s face it, who else would be able to handle allllll of this???

12. How has your perspective of employment changed (or not) since you started playing second life?

I think it’s been good for me to see that people can make money without being tied to a desk for 8 hours a day, or stuck behind a register. Going back into an office setting when I’m able to work again fills me with such dread, I want to cry. I was great at it, but man, did I hate it.

13. Name three things in both your lives that overlap each other significantly.

Definitely the friendships. I have a few of my SL friends on my RL Facebook and Instagram, so it’s fun getting to interact with them outside of SL. I can’t think of much else because I don’t really do much else in SL. *snickers*

14. If you could live your life more immersively in a virtual world, would you? (Kind of like the Matrix)

I think I would, actually. As long as I could still have time for my RL things, I’d love to be able to be more IN when I’m in world. I’ve had brief glimpses of it, like when we’re “having a meal” with the family or something like that, and it’s super fun!

15. How do you think behavior changes for people if they’re inworld vs in real world? Why do you think that is?

I think because people are mostly anonymous, they let the more negative side of their personality out. I see a TON of “I can’t be bothered, I hate people, everyone sucks, I can’t stand this/that/the other thing and if you like it, you’re stupid” from folks and I know they can’t possibly be THAT dang unpleasant in their RL day to day activities because they’d be punched in the face a lot. But I think it’s mostly for attention, too. If someone is all negative and venty, people will join in because it’s easy. Being negative is easy, being happy takes some work.

16. How has second life consumerism changed your perception of spending habits, the value of money, the need to be “bleeding edge” with fashion?

Over the past few years, I’ve moved away from having to have the best of the best of the newest. I still have new things. I still have awesome things. But I’m not like other bloggers and I’m okay with that. I shop when I like something. I try not to think about how much I’ve spent. *laughs*

17. Do you think virtual worlds like SL drive and redefine human interaction or do they narrow and limit it?

I think the internet as a whole has redefined human interaction. Would I have friends in Germany, England, Scotland, New Zealand, without the internet? Nope. Second Life is a upgrade from chatrooms, which were an upgrade from bulletin boards, which … etc. I’ve expanded my horizons. I think we’ll continue to do that.

18. If technology progressed tomorrow to allow you to send emotions to people the way you’d send text or voice messages, would it enrich your SL experience or infringe on it?

I don’t think I quite get this question. I think people who are close to me know what I’m feeling at any given time. If I really don’t want them to know, I hide it, but that’s pretty rare with the people I’m closest to. My SL/RL lines are blurred like crazy.

19. Name three skills you attribute to having learned or honed in second life alone.

Photoshop, home decorating, and… how to let go when I need to.

20. If your grand kids googled your Second Life Avatar’s name, would they be intrigued, disgusted, proud or something else?

I’ll never have grandkids, but even if I did, by that time, they’ll probably be running around in Fourth Life.

Day 337 – Yet Another Arcade Eve!!

Abby and I are doing the “Holy cats, it’s Arcade Eve” dance!

The family is doing a YARD SALE again for our extras, so if you’re like me and you basically just shop the yard sales for current Arcade items, stop on by! Unfortunately, we had to turn off public rezzing because last round, strangers came by and started eating up all the prims with their items to sell and none of us knew them at all! I don’t mind policing the sale, but man, how rude is that? We’re only going to have it up for maybe a couple of weeks because afterwards, the spot is going to be used for something else.

I love Arcade Eve, though. The family stays up late and we have the best time dancing and trying to get into the event and everything. I’m sad that I can’t stay up super late this time because I have to get up early tomorrow, and sad because Aldwyn is not in town this weekend, but happy about everything else!

We’re getting our ride to come and hang with the family so we’re off!! Happy shopping if you make it in tonight!!

Day 300 – Catching Balls

So Tuesday, I was driving home from doing all kinds of various boring-but-necessary RL things and holiday music was playing and I thought, “You know what? I wanna have a holiday type party.” Nothing too big and fancy because obviously I save all my “big and fancy” plans for the New Year’s Eve Eve party. But just something fun and casual where people could get together and listen to some music and chat. And since I have new ice skates that Aldwyn got me from The Arcade, what better than an ice skating party??

I spent some time tonight fixing up a rink and playing with the weather maker that Aldwyn bought me forever ago. While I was doing stuff, Lolita and Takeo came over and she offered to let me borrow her skating system. So we had a lot of fun just chatting and skating around while I moved trees and stuff. 🙂

Of course, you can’t get the four of us together and the conversation NOT be crazy, so I spent more time laughing about things [like balls and riding snowflakes] than I spent actually moving trees, but that’s fine by me! I’m gonna be stuck inside for the next few days, so you know…it’ll all get done.

If you’d like to come to our ice skating holiday party, we’d love to see you there! It’ll be this Friday at 8pm SLT. Everyone is invited!

By the way, we still have our Arcade yard sale happening! There are soooo many things out there!! I’m crying because SL seems to have eaten pretty much all of my Tres Blah Arcade stuff, though. 😦 I managed to get a couple of things back from the yard sale, but … wahhh!!! My cutting board and the bakeware and the cookie jars. All missing. Wahhhh!!!!! I’ve cleared cache and nothing. I did a clean install of Firestorm. Nothing. I even did a clean install of the latest LL viewer and…NOTHING. So not cool, SL. So not cool.

The only comfort I have right now is that this happened to me at the Arcade before last and at some point, everything just showed up again a month or two later. But by that time, I’d replaced everything that I’d lost so then I had duplicates. So…there’s that.

Day 296 – In The Quiet of the Evening

I started writing this last night but well, sometimes I’m really distracted by the television.

Last night we just hung out up in the “big house” on my platform. I love the house, but it’s wayyyy too big for us to have down on the ground [because I’d lose my mind trying to decorate it], so I keep it up in the air and usually open boxes in it. We just sat and chatted on Skype while doing other things.

So The Arcade is coming up! I’m excited, because I like stuff. LOL! I told Aldwyn not to break out into a cold sweat JUST quite yet because I haven’t seen too too much that I will die if I don’t get…but then again, I haven’t seen all the stuff yet either. We WILL be doing a yard sale on Bluebonnet again, so if you’re more of a yard sale person during Arcade time [trust me, I do not blame you if you are!], keep us in mind when you go shop.

I really should be preparing for the snow to hit Bluebonnet. I want some new landscaping items for the snow, so I guess I should also be shopping. But… I think it’s definitely lunchtime.

Nobody will notice…right?

I was thinking on the way home tonight, I really need to get smart about Arcade.

I have been reading about the yard sales…and it dawned on me.  MY SOLUTION!

I figure if I stake out the yard sale, I won’t have to fight the crowd!

It blends…right?

Nobody will even notice.

Wish me luck!

-Al

I love it when a plan comes together!

Have you ever had one of those moments, where someone says something off the cuff, and you realize something big is actually about to happen?  I recently had one of those moments.

Alicia and I were having a normal conversation, just chatting about our day, when she said “Oh, that is cute!”.  Of course I asked what was.  Then it happened.  She said “this (whatever it was) that is coming out at Arcade”.

My world stopped.  It was coming back!  The Arcade!

I have experienced The Arcade once before.  She was all excited about it.  I was breaking out in a sweat as I was thinking “OMG!  Not again!”  Maybe I should explain.

From what I can gather, The Arcade is an event where creators make stuff, and then put them in these arcade type game vendor, where you pay lindens for a random selection of what that creator created.  The contents are actually quite amazing.  It is interesting in how it is all set up.  I give cudo’s to whoever thought it all up.  But that is not the point here.  The point is that the “stuff” is so damn cute, that people go nuts over it.  And when I say people, I mean my wife.

Now, I get that ladies love cute stuff.  It’s a girl thing, and I get it.  What is a guy to do, right?  Last time around, Alicia fell in love with this set of pigs in teacups.  I cannot even tell you how many were in the set, but there were regular ones, then the “rares”, or royal ones.  THOSE were hard to come by.  You either had to keep playing the game (and paying for each turn), or find someone that had extras, and buy them that way (more on that in a minute).

Now, Alicia has been having some computer issues of late, so going to the actual event really was not an option for her.  So as the dutiful husband, I went in her place.  The setup is actually very well done.  I am always impressed with the creativity shown at events like these in Second Life.  I worked the game for a while, even got 1 rare I believe.  But she had mentioned that she would love the whole set.  So I set out to get her just that.

So, how do you find these rares?  One way, is to scour the “yard sales”.  People set up these places where you can sell your “Arcade items” that you have duplicates of, or decide you don’t want to try and get a complete set of something.  There were quite a few yard sales last time around, although only a few of them really seemed to get a good supply of things.  I even had a list of landmarks, and I would pop through them on a regular basis looking.  In the end, I was able to get a full set, which made Alicia squeal with joy.  That made it all worth it!

BUT IT WAS COMING BACK!  The blood was draining out of my body as that thought washed over me.  What was I going to do?

Things are a little different this time around however.  Alicia and I have recently been become part of a family in Second Life.  That has been coming for a long time I think, but that is also not the point.  In our family, there are other “wives” that are getting all gaga over the coming event.  And what do these SL wives all have?  SL HUSBANDS!  Then it hit me…time to get organized!

So I sent off the man signal (otherwise knows as a private plurk), and gathered my new brothers.  We needed a plan to deal with this.  We all gathered at the local watering hole that is not too crowded and has a nice pool table.

Once we all arrived, we played a quick game, then settled down at a table to go over our strategy.  We are men. We needed a plan.  We always have a plan.

Takeo started taking the chess pieces from the game on the table, and layed them out in the pattern of the vendors.  I really liked that idea. I always work best with visual aids.  I almost felt like Takeo needed one of those long wooden pointers that generals always have when moving models around on those miniature battlefields you see in the movies.  Between me, Rune and Takeo, we finally settled on a strategy.  It only took a few beers, and some nice cigars, but I think this plan will work.

Once we had the plan in place, preparations needed to be made.  This was not going to be a sprint; it was going to be a marathon.  We needed to get in shape for this.  We needed to prepare as a team!

All in all, I think we are ready.  Arcade?  Prepare yourself.  The A-team has arrived.

– Al