Double Threat

Berry’s Monday Meme on Wednesday? Why not? 🙂 This week it’s a Double Threat.

Two online screen names you’ve had:

My original screen name when I first started chatting online was Tinkerbelle. Shut up, I was 15. I was also Lady Grace in a text based RPG that I played for a while.

Two video games you’ve played:

Dragon Age: Origins and Skyrim.

Two things you love about Second Life:

I love the creativity and I love being able to be with people I love every day.

Two things you’ve done in Second Life:

I had a beautiful wedding and I wrote articles for a couple of magazines.

Two things you still want to do in Second Life:

I want to learn how to make mesh one day. And … I’d like to be invited to blog some big events without having to apply. *laughs*

Two things you like about your Second Life avatar:

I like my avatar’s face [which is why I’ll probably never wear a mesh head] and I like just the overall shape of my av’s body.

Two of your Second Life Pet Peeves:

That alpha glitch that makes it so you can’t stand in front of certain trees and items without having that clear “halo” around the hair and when people refuse to use the ankle lock in their pics so their heels hit the back of their legs. IT LOOKS DUMB, DON’T DO IT.

Two things you did as a newb that you’re embarrassed of:

When I first started in 2006, we could map ANYONE on our friends list, so on occasion, I mapped this guy I was dating to make sure he really was dancing on camping pads for $L and not with some other girl. LOL!! Ummm… and at some point I put on a new hair base, but I didn’t know that hair base = eyebrows and so I thought my skin had changed because suddenly I looked SUPER SURPRISED and I was embarrassed that I didn’t know what had happened to my skin, so I saved up and bought a new one. *laughs*

Two of your closest friends in Second Life:

Aldwyn and… the rest of my family. ❤ I can't pick favorites.

Two of the most beloved things in your inventory:

My wedding ring and a rose by Light Waves that I put out in every house I owned up until recently since it’s like 24 prims and ain’t nobody got time for that.

Why You Gotta Be So Mean?

Don’t you hate when you need something that you just washed and now you can’t go to bed until the dryer finishes? Of course, the item in question is the towel my cat sleeps on and as she has me trained to be her slave, so I’m up at 1:30am waiting on the towel to dry. I am such a sucker.

But, that gives me a chance to do Miss Berry’s new Monday Meme – Mean Comments edition.

1. Have you ever been subjected to mean comments online by strangers? If not, then skip to question #5.

Oh gosh, of course. You don’t spend any time online in social areas and NOT get told something awful. You don’t become a blogger without people throwing every mistake you’ve ever made back in your face when you write about changes you’ve made. It’s just the way of the internet.

2. How did you respond to them?

Usually I just ignore it. The times I’ve fought back, it has lead to me shaking, crying, and being in a foul mood for days.

3. How did they make you feel?

Well, it really depends on the comment and the day! Sometimes I feel really bad. Sometimes I’m really super amused. It kind of depends on who said it, too. Strangers can’t hurt me the way friends can, you know?

4. Can you share some of the mean comments you’ve received and your thoughts on them?

I don’t have any saved. That’s not something I keep around. 🙂 But I’ve been told that I’m stupid, that I’m disappointing, that I don’t deserve good things. There’s always the “Omg, you’re so fat and ugly IRL” comments, too, but I feel that’s a cop out when someone can’t think of anything more to say and they know they’ve basically lost the “fight.”

5. Have you ever ridiculed or negatively commented on someone else’s work, actions or personality with the intention to hurt them?

Unfortunately, yes. Something that most people don’t know about me because I control it pretty well is that I have an incredible temper. I don’t go specifically looking to be some internet troll, but if provoked enough, I can bite back pretty hard. I go for whatever I think is the weakest spot and hit hard and fast. It is not something I’m proud of at all, believe me. But it does not happen often because I tend not to let myself get dragged into internet fights and I have learned when to just shut my mouth. On occasion when it happens, I usually feel horrible for weeks afterwards. I don’t forgive myself as easily as I forgive others, I’m sorry to say. But it’s helpful because it reminds me, “Hey. Shut up. You don’t need to say that. Walk away.”

And on that note, I’m shutting up for the night because the towel is dry and I can put it back on the corner of my bed where the Spoiled Princess sleeps. [10 points if you know that name!] Goodnight!

First and Recent

So Miss Berry has a new meme for us – first and recent! This one is easy. Just put your first blog pic side by side with a recent pic. This is the first picture that ever appeared in my blog in early January 2008 next to one I took earlier this afternoon.

I didn’t start off as a fashion blogger, of course. I started blogging because I don’t know how to not write about my life. Plus I was going through a lot back then and I needed to write as a distraction, and a therapy. I also didn’t post any pics in my first few posts. I have no idea why. I just…didn’t. This photo is one I took at a freebie “photo studio” place that I found in some mall. I’m covered in freebies. I had found a club that was active enough and they had, of course, an Angels and Demons event. I didn’t win, although I think I should have. I was GLOWING. LOL!

I’ve learned so much about taking decent enough pics in SL since that time. And the way SL does photos is so much better now than it was in 2008. Shadows, depth of field, windlight. We didn’t have all that for a long long time. Plus, I know how to take BIG pics now. This one was so small, I had to shrink today’s pic down a lot. *laughs*

Ugh. Thank God everything got better for photos, that’s all I gotta say!

I’m Off Again In My World

I’m late with Berry’s new meme, “Second Life Made Me Learn…” I’ve been thinking about it since Monday, actually, but with the switch to WordPress, building our yard sale area for The Arcade, and various other things, I just haven’t gotten around to writing. But tonight I’ve got some time to really put into words things that I’ve thought about on this topic.

It would be really easy to list the basics. Second Life made me learn Photoshop, a program I had barely heard of before, much less used. Of course, I still don’t really know what I’m doing in it 99% of the time and I’m just pushing buttons. SL made me learn how to use basic DJ software and how to keep a party at least somewhat active. SL made me learn how to be a better writer because we live in a world where appearance is easily changed so what we say is what matters.

But it goes further than that for me. After all, I’ve been here a long time and had many experiences. If I hadn’t learned more, I’d be disappointed in myself.

SL has taught me that it’s okay to just be me. This was a lesson that was not easily learned. I spent a lot of time and energy in my early days wanting so badly to be someone else, someone better, someone who could be everything to everyone I met. I was dealing with a lot of grief that was tearing me apart little by little. I was hurting badly before I came here but pretending so damn hard that everything was okay. I read old journal entries from the year before I was introduced to SL and it’s so apparent that things weren’t right. I was drinking too much, making very unsafe choices, and I was obsessed with things that weren’t good for me. I came to SL and I thought, great! Here is a chance to be someone that I’m not! For a couple of weeks, I’ll play this game where I can just be whatever I want and it doesn’t matter what other people think.

This was my mistake.

But in the past few years, I’ve just been me. SL has taught me that if I feel someone isn’t good for me, I don’t need to devote my time to them. If I love someone, I can let them know. They’re not required to love me back, but I can still care about them without requiring anything more from them. If someone says they love me, I don’t have to reciprocate if I don’t feel it. If someone hurts me, I have the choice of forgiving them and then letting them go, or forgiving them and patching up our friendship. If I hurt someone, I can apologize and hope they accept it. Sometimes they will not and that’s okay. Friendship isn’t about what someone else can do for me, or what I can do for them. It’s about how we make each other feel. Positive people bring out the best in me. I’m not required to be someone’s entertainment or someone’s fantasy. If I have a bad day, I can tell people without the fear that they’ll turn their backs on me until I have more to offer them.

Second Life made me learn how to accept myself.

And now that I’ve done all this thinking, I can go back to squealing over the lovely Arcade vendor ads. That’s another thing SL made me learn. I’m EXCEPTIONALLY girly and if you make something pink, sparkly, and put a bunny or a butterfly on it, I’m going to do anything to make it mine. *sighs*

Why, yes, I have SecondLifed.

I’ve been working on our little park area the past two nights. It’s getting there. It’s actually quite comfortable now and I kind of prefer to spend my SL time outdoors rather than in the house these days. Aldwyn and I were sitting out there last night and his biggest question was “Do we get wifi out here in the park?”

Duh. OF COURSE WE DO! *laughs*

Strawberry made a new meme called “Have you ever SecondLifed?” It just so happens that I have, so I decided to answer the questions in my long winded way.

1. Have you ever owned a sim in Second Life?

* Yep! I’ve owned Bluebonnet since September 13, 2008. Want to come live near me? I have a parcel open! IM me to find out more! /shameless plug

2. Have you ever created content in Second Life?

* Of course! I sell like 10 of the famed Blingis a month. I have no idea WHY I sell them, but people seem to like it enough to pay me a $1L for it. *laughs* I also do nail polish for Slink hands on occasion [not often any more] and I used to have a store back in 2008 where I created random things like belts that had stuff hanging off of them and crappy prim furniture.

3. Have you ever driven a vehicle in Second Life?

* Soooo many times. I’m not very good at driving, though. I’m much better at walking.

4. Have you ever gone sky diving in Second Life?

* Oh God, yes. I even have my own skydiving pod thing. Remember, skydiving is how we asked Birdy to be our daughter!

5. Have you ever played a sport in Second Life?

* Hmm. You know, I really don’t think I have. Unless you count bowling?

6. Have you ever gone clubbing in Second Life?

* Ohhhh yes. I spent the first year of my original SLife basically living in a club that I worked at. We’ve been going a little more often lately with Lolita and Takeo when the kids are in bed.

7. Have you ever fangirled/fanboyed someone in Second Life?

* Unfortunately. *laughs* Before plurk and before I got to know creators well, I thought most of them were just these intimidating, amazing things. I still find some of them amazing, but it’s hard to fangirl when you know that most of them are eating pizza and hanging out in their PJs while they work in Blender.

8. Have you ever taken a picture of your avatar in water in Second Life?

* Multiple times. There are many things in SL that just look crazy, but Linden water is really one of the things that SL does exceptionally well, and it’s nice to take pics in it.

9. Have you ever taken a picture of a sunset in Second Life?

* Many many times. I used to always put our houses so that our bedroom window would face the sunset. Of course, with windlight, you can basically make sunset wherever you want. Sunset in the north? Sure!

10. Have you ever taken a nude picture of your avatar in Second Life?

* Um, duh? I’d say most women in SL have. Heck, most men, too. Plus, I was a SLuicide Girl when the blog was active and that required a lot of naked. Ms. Trixie Belle, at your service!

11. Have you ever dated in Second Life?

* Nah, I just told Al “We’re getting married” when I met him. *laughs* Of course I have! Not lots, but enough. Dating in SL can be incredibly fun! And even when it’s not fun, it can make for some fantastic stories to tell later.

12. Have you ever had or attended a wedding in Second Life?

* Yes and yes! I’ve been to more weddings than I can count [I’m a great wedding guest. Invite me to yours!] and we had ours in 2011. I’d do it again in a heartbeat, it was beautiful!

13. Have you ever drank, smoked or taken drugs in Second Life?

* My favorite thing for a long time was finding the drinks that would have you stumble around and fall down drunk! I still have one of those “Eat your piece of the sunshine acid!” things that puts a big wavy psychedelic thing on the screen, too.

14. Have you ever engaged in sexual activity in Second Life?

* Berry, you are SO nosy. But yes. 🙂

15. Have you ever been to Bukkake Bliss in Second Life?

* Yes! We used to go when there was nothing else to do, usually on an alt, just to be jerks. I have an alt named… Busty or Chesty, I can’t remember now, and I made her look like Snooki circa 2009 [btw, have you seen Snooki now? She’s grown up well! She’s so pretty!] and I’d be stumbling all over Bukkake Bliss while people were trying to get it on. Got hit on a lot, but most of it was just “Come sit on this poseball.” No thanks, noobfreenie. No thanks.

I really gotta go remember that poor alt’s name. I have a feeling I left her at Bukkake Bliss.

So Much Better!

Hey, it’s a Berry meme! I couldn’t resist doing this one because as I mentioned earlier, I also got a new computer this month. Although, after looking at her new set up, mine is definitely not as fancy! That’s okay, though. She does way more pics than I do. 🙂 I’m just thrilled to death that I’ve been able to hang out with my family, run around for hours, do gyazo gifs, and no crashes and barely any lag. It’s awesome!

1. Share any of your computer specs (video card, memory, etc..) Click here if you don’t know any of those things or just share the year you bought it.

* I fully admit to being the least techy type person ever and I have no idea what any of this actually means. My computer is a Dell Insperion 3847. Processor is Intel Core i5-4460. 8GB of RAM. Video card is nVidia GeForce GTX 550Ti. I have Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit Service Pack 1.

2. Which viewer do you use most often?

* I use Firestorm, the 64 bit one now. I’ve heard the official SL viewer is good these days, but I need to use a viewer with RLV because the girls use the Yuus/Nuu HUD and it’s required for that. I don’t like to have more than one viewer installed on my computer at any time because I’ve heard switching back and forth a lot can lead to inventory loss. But again, I’m not techy, so that could have been a load of smoke. 🙂

3. What is your FPS (Frames Per Second) when you have your graphics on ultra?

I turned it on Ultra to take this picture and it booped on down to 7.2 FPS. That’s probably not awesome, huh? LOL! But when I have it on high and don’t have shadows on, it’s 80 FPS. I only turn on ultra to take pics, so I guess it’s okay. Turning shadows on tends to make tiny mesh look gross [as you can see on my glasses] so I don’t have shadows on too often. If there’s a setting to make tiny mesh not look icky, please let me know.

4. How often does Second Life crash for you? Is it usually just a viewer crash or your whole system crashes? What are you usually doing at the moment of the crash?

* I have not crashed once since getting my new computer!! Before, with my old one, I couldn’t turn around in our house without crashing. I couldn’t even be IN the house half the time, and forget it if other people were around me. If I was anywhere with a sim surround? Pfft. That was almost an instant crash unless I could derender it real fast. It seemed like sometimes all I had to do was breathe and I’d crash on my old computer. This one is sooooooo much better!!!!

5. Do you know of any tips or tricks in the settings that would improve performance?

* Well, on Firestorm, I tend to disable the bridge thinger and not wear it. On my old computer, that helped a lot. Also, I turn off the HTTP textures thing. I don’t know what that does, but I know on my old computer, it helped. I also don’t have on anisotropic filtering most of the time, unless I’m taking pics. And I don’t know exactly what this does, but I uncheck the “Enable Streamed VBOs” box, too. Supposedly that helps. I’m not sure where most of that is on any other viewer, but on Firestorm it’s under the Hardware tab under Graphics in your preferences. Even though I probably don’t HAVE to do any of that now, I still do it kind of out of habit.

If anyone knows how to make my antialiasing look better, though, please let me know. For some reason since getting my new computer, I feel like I lost a setting or something because I have the AA at 4x in my viewer and it’s not QUITE as smooth as on my old craptastic computer. And also, please help a girl out and tell me how to make mesh look better when shadows are on! It’s sad when my necklaces get all crazy looking, you know?

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 364 – Don’t Stop Believin’!

Berry has a new meme for us – The Blogging Journey Challenge! So I got Journey stuck in my head, of course.

Just a small town girl…

Which electronic devices do you use to blog with? Just my old desktop that really badly needs replacing. I don’t have a lot of stuff anyway, just my phone and 2 Kindles [Paperwhite and Fire], so there’s really no other thing for me to blog on. *laughs*

Do you have a mission statement for your blog, if so, what is it? No… On this blog, I just share my SLife, boring, happy, sad, or whatever. If someone finds something I said interesting or helpful, all the better. But mostly I just want to talk about my SLife. On my fashion blog, I just want to share about things I like from designers I want to support.

How do you feel about blogs that use their platforms to spread negativity? I guess I don’t pay attention because I haven’t seen one like that in a while, unless you count SL secrets.

Are you a grammar junkie? Do you thoroughly check your blog for errors before posting and/or do you judge other people’s posts if they contain errors? I usually type the way I’d speak – kinda casual and maybe slangy. I mean, I never claimed to be a professional journalist. 🙂 But I do try to make sure that I spell everything correctly. In a venue where your words ARE how people know you, it would be wise to at least attempt to not sound too much like an idiot. LOL!

If you could switch blogs with another blogger who would it be? Probably Berry. :-p Just to see what it would be like to have such a huge readership and have people really pay attention to what I write.

Has your blog/blogging style evolved over the year(s)? How? In some ways, yes. It would be hard to NOT change over several years, you know? But one thing that hasn’t changed, and I hope never changes, is how much I’m willing to share with the people who are kind enough to read my blog. I think my pictures are better now, thankfully. And of course, the topics have changed being that I’m not the little club girl any more and I’m now a mom in SL.

What is the most extraordinary thing that has happened to you because of blogging? Honestly, without blogging, I don’t think ANYTHING that I have done in the past 6 years would have happened. I never would have met the people who became my friends, who encouraged me to keep blogging, to build, to learn, to grow. I’m a better person because one night I decided to open this blog.

When it comes to Second Life blogs, there are different styles: Fashion bloggers, Lifestyle & Travel bloggers, Informative bloggers, and more. Which style do you prefer and where do you feel your blog fits in? Obviously this one is more of a lifestyle blog. I just talk about my life. You guys know almost everything that I do and think about SL, and even some of my RL as well. If I do have a tip or trick or something to share, I definitely will, but mostly I just enjoy talking about my SL. My style blog is just that. It’s stuff I like, in the style I like. It’s not the best, I don’t take the best pics and I don’t really have the best style, but I like what I like, and I like to show it.

What has blogging taught you? Blogging has taught me that it’s okay to just be me. I spent a long time thinking that I *had* to be a certain way, do certain things, and give more of myself than was necessary. But through blogging, I’ve learned that it’s okay to be just kind of silly, or be in a bad mood, or vent about things that aren’t even that bad but in that moment, they are important to me. It’s really the best thing I could have learned.

Share your top 3 tips for new bloggers.

1. Write. Write. It’s so easy to just show a picture and some credits and be done with it. Your words are your voice, use them. Don’t ever be afraid to share. Sharing of yourself makes you more than just a plain blogger.

2. You’re not owed anything because you have a blog, so don’t expect your SLife to be paid for because you happen to have a blog. Blogging can be an expensive hobby. Be prepared to pay for it.

3. Love what you do. If it’s not fun, if you don’t love it, it’ll show. Never treat blogging as an obligation unless someone is putting cash money in your hand.

Thanks for another awesome meme, Berry!!

It goes on and on and on and on…

Day 343 – Berry’s Dirty Meme

So Miss Berry wants us to get dirty, and I love answering questions. But see…I don’t consider myself a SEXY person. I’m cute. I’m funny. But sexy? Noooo. Which, if you’ve chatted with me about my past, and if you know that technically, I’m still a SLuicide Girl, you’d find it hard to believe. But it’s true. I’ve played at being sexy, but in both lives, I’m reeeeally not. In fact, the older I get, the more I think that I’d rather everyone kept their nakedness in the house. *snickers*

Okay, on to the questions!!

What is your sexual orientation or do you not like to label yourself?

I’d consider myself fairly straight because I love men and have only ever wanted to be in a relationship with a man. But I have played around with women before. I was pretty experimental in my 20s. Well…and drunk.

Name a physical attribute that you find attractive or sexy.

I am a sucker for a good pair of hands. Big, well shaped, well groomed, strong hands on a man are sooo attractive! I also like chest hair because I like a man to be a MAN, not some little boy. I’ve also always been attracted to tall, big men, although my RL BF of 13+ years was shorter [although taller than me] and slimmer when we met. He’s still taller than me. *laughs*

Are you promiscuous, a prude or in between?

I would definitely say I’m not promiscuous. Most people in SL would consider me a prude these days because I’m not flashing my gigantic prim boobs and my huge mesh butt all over the place, but I wouldn’t consider myself one. I’m somewhere in the middle. I, again, just prefer that people keep their naked in the house. Although I don’t mind talking about sex and stuff, I don’t really enjoy seeing the porn parade that goes on. But, you know, that’s other peoples’ business and luckily it’s fairly easy to mute if I don’t feel like seeing it. 🙂 And I hang out with people who generally feel the same way, so it’s all good.

What turns you on?

That’s a hard question for me these days because I have some issues that make my sex drive low. But, in general, if you can make me laugh, you’ve got me. I also like when a guy I’m with plays with my hair, like just brushes it off my face or tucks it behind my ear. [If my hair is loose. If it’s braided or I have it up, please stay away from it.] I like being kissed on the inside of my wrist, too. Also, and this will sound superficial, but a cute little gift can sometimes get me going. Not diamonds or anything that will make me feel like I owe him. Just something cute that he saw that he thought I’d like.

Are you dominant or submissive?

Submissive up to a point. I like for him to take control, but I’m actually quite bossy most of the time. *laughs*

Are you into sexual roleplay?

I used to be. I guess I could still be, but it doesn’t really come up.

Which sexual position is your favorite?

Berryyyyy!!! LOL! I like being on my back. Which sounds lazy, but there’s a lot you can do like that!

Do you have any fetishes?

I loveeeee men in suits. Or dress uniforms. But mostly suits. Is that a fetish?

Have you or would you do porn, amateur or professional?

LOL!! Like…porn videos?? LOLOLOLOLOL! Actually, a longggggg time ago, my RL BF and I filmed ourselves while on vacation. Luckily we used a camera that had a mini tape, not digital, so I crushed and destroyed the tape when we got home.

Do you consider yourself sexy?

I already said no! And truthfully, I am quite okay with that. Not everyone has to be sexy, not everyone has to constantly make sexual references or prove their sexuality to others. Once in a while, I do wish I could be more sexy, but it’s really not who I am inside, and that’s okay. There’s room for everyone in our great big world, even people who choose to keep their clothes on most of the time. 🙂

Day 336 – The Bookworm

Miss Berry has an awesome [to me!] meme this Monday, all about books! I just absolutely couldn’t resist this one! Let’s get to it! And of course since it’s me, this is all rambly and long.

1. Are you a bookworm?

I really am. I started reading a few days shy of my 3rd birthday, surprising my parents my reading billboards while on a family vacation. They had no idea I could read! Since then, I have been surrounded by books. My family had a hard time keeping me supplied in books because I would race through everything so quickly and I’ll admit, they totally let me read things FAR above my maturity level as a kid. But I don’t think that’s a bad thing, really.

2. Which do you prefer: hardcover, paperback or electronic?

God, there is NOTHING like cracking open a new hardcover book. But I love paperbacks because I don’t have to be as careful with them and I can read in tubs or outside. I held out on getting a Kindle for a longggg time because for me, part of the whole reading experience is the feel of the book in my hand. But I have to admit, it’s pretty awesome to be able to tote around my Kindle and have access to my current library…about 560 books! I use my Kindle Paperwhite for most of my reading, since my Kindle Fire is really more for Netflix and games, although I do read on it on occasion, too.

3. Which book is your favorite?

Berry. Really??? LOL! I just don’t know what I could possibly choose. I guess I’d have to say Gone With The Wind because it’s the one that has a place in my heart as my first real “grown up” book. I read it when I was 9. I totally didn’t understand everything in it, and it took me a while, but I did it. Since then, I’ve re-read it pretty much yearly. I’d have to also say that The Color Purple, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Maggie-Now are jostling for position as second favorite, although really, Maggie-Now is more of a guilty pleasure book.

4. Which children’s book is your favorite?

Oh my goodness. So hard! I think I’d have to pick Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, All Of A Kind Family, and Sideway Stories From Wayside School. But there really are just SO FREAKIN’ MANY.

5. What’s the last book you’ve read?

I’m currently reading Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin but it’s been slow for me for some reason. I re-read The Girlfriend by Abigail Barnette this past weekend because I was in the mood for a little smut. LOL! Whaaat????

6. Name your top five favorite writers:

Hmmmm. JK Rowling, John Steinbeck, Jen Lancaster, Alice Walker, and…. probably Shakespeare, just because I truly believe he told some wonderful stories, not because I’m trying to be pretentious. *laughs* It’s hard to think of your favorite favorites when you love so many books, you know? Whoever I’m reading at the time, that’s my favorite.

7. Name a book that had a strong impact on you:

This actually wasn’t a book, but a short story in a high school literature book that belonged to my sister and is now in my possession. The story was called Waiting For Her Train and it was about an older woman who was quite ladylike, but didn’t have a home, and she learned how to basically survive on her own just taking things day by day.

8. Favorite & least favorite book genres?

I am not a huge fan of science fiction or fantasy. I find it very hard to read for some reason. Some fantasy I can do, such as the Harry Potter books [huge Potterhead here!] because it seems like regular fiction to me even with magic. But I’ve been attempting to read Game of Thrones and I just can’t. Same with all those Anne McCaffery and Robert Jordan novels that a lot of people in my circle go nuts for. I love Young Adult novels, contemporary fiction, historical fiction/romance, biographies, memoirs, comedy, chick lit, etc. But really, anything with a good story and semi-normal named characters can draw me in.

9. Favorite & least favorite book-to-movie adaptions?

I loved the movie adaptation of Memoirs of a Geisha! I thought it was so beautifully done, even though I know people were all “Wah! Geisha are nothing like these fashionistas!” I didn’t care, I thought it was awesome. I really loved The Hunger Games and all of the Harry Potter movies as well, although I do think they left out a little much in the HP movies. I thought the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic was wayyyy less fun than the book.

10. Have you ever bought a book based on the cover alone?

Not that I can remember, but I’m sure it’s happened. I’ve picked up a lot of books just because the cover was interesting.

11. Where do you usually buy your books?

Amazon, these days. LOL But I love going to Half Price Books and browsing sometimes, too, because I still buy regular paper books. I like the smell. I have a paperback copy of Beverly Cleary’s Fifteen from the early 60s and it smells divine.

12. Do you go to the library?

Definitely not as often as I used to, I’m sorry to say. I used to go all the time, but convenience has trumped everything and it’s so much more convenient now for me to just find what I want to read online.

13. If you were to write a book about Second Life, which topic would you focus on?

I always thought it would be fun to write a Second Life based fiction book. I read one [and did a review of it] a couple of years ago and it was pretty silly, but I enjoyed that SL was the main part of the story. I’d love to do a Second Life story like that sometime.

You know…if I ever finish reading the 560 books in my Kindle first.