Posted in challenge, no photoshop, ugh

The Bare Faced Challenge

So someone started a bare faced challenge somewhere. I guess this is a RL thing? But several avatars are doing it and tagging others to do it, too. I haven’t been tagged and I wasn’t going to do it at all. I am quite attached to my eyelashes and my liner and my lip glosses! I really didn’t want to take a pic without all of that because it’s not really me. Heck, I’m more likely to show my friends a no makeup RL pic than I am to show one of my avatar.

But Abby asked me tonight if I was going to do it. I said no, and she said that I should because I’m pretty no matter what. Well… the more I thought about it, the more I decided to just do it.

The Bare Faced Challenge

I feel like my avatar looks INSANELY tired! LOL! I need some coffee and mascara, stat!

Actually, this whole thing reminds me of a girl I went to college with. She always wore a lot of black eyeliner and mascara. Still does, by the looks of her Facebook pics. But once in a while she wouldn’t wear any and everyone would be asking if she were okay and if she felt sick. I feel like asking my avatar if she needs to go to the doctor!

So anyway, that’s my avatar. No bells and whistles, no Photoshop, no super fancy lighting and filters. I’m not tagging anyone to do it. 🙂

Posted in 365 blog project, challenge, changes, family, milestones

Day 250 – As If I Could Say No

Sit down, folks. This is a long one. 🙂

As many of you know, we lost Millie Gears this past week. She passed away suddenly, or at least, what felt sudden to probably most of us. I can’t say she and I were close and I really only knew her from Plurk, but she was a sweet girl who always had something funny to say and her passing leaves a dark space in our community.

Natalee offered a challenge to us in honor of Millie. She challenges us to be thankful and improve.

I have to think that I’m a pretty thankful person. I am thankful that for as bad as things were for me emotionally for so long, that they’re not that bad any more. I’m thankful for the friends who have helped me in ways they could never imagine. I’m thankful that no matter what happens, these people are here by my side. Second Life has allowed me to meet Ulaa and Aldwyn, and I know that no matter what happens or where we go in the future, we’ll be close way beyond Second Life. And I’m very thankful that life has led me to this point and to new friends and family that I’m eager to grow close to.

But for all my thankfulness, the SLife I’ve led in the past 2 years has been a cautious one. I’ve been cautious of who I talk to, of what I blog, of what I talk about publicly. I’ve not stepped too far out of my bubble because I’ve been scared of being hurt, of being left, of learning things that I didn’t want to know. Part of me thinks that I’ve needed it. That it was a bit of karma that needed to be repaid. The other part thinks that I did it to protect myself and maybe that was necessary, too. And then, of course, there’s the little part of me who thinks I was being stupid about the whole thing. 🙂

Over the past month or so, I’ve been slowly trying to step out of my comfort zone. Lightning hasn’t struck, nothing’s exploded, a limb hasn’t fallen off. I’ve been taking baby steps, though. Tiny little baby steps.

This leads us to this morning. I logged in to blog, and had an offline from my friend Lolita. She had sent me a notecard with a landmark that said she and Rune would like me to go somewhere. I figured it was for some event or just something they wanted me to see. So I teleported on over and stood there for a bit. I didn’t see anything except Lolita’s home.

Then I turned around.

Day 250 - As If I Could Say No

I could not believe it!!

The thing is, as much as I have talked about family and wanting one in SL… I was never really sure if I was ready to make that leap. Aldwyn and I have been married almost 2 years. Ulaa is someone I consider my RL sister [we’re even facebook related!]. But this SL family stuff…I just didn’t know. But I also knew that even if I said no, they would not hold it against me. I knew I had the option of saying no without losing their friendship.

So I took a deep breath…and took a big leap.

In For It

It’s part of the challenge. I’m challenging myself to improve, to be more social, to meet more people, to be more.

It’s been a long time coming. 🙂

Posted in art, challenge, fun, photos

Hey hey, it’s a mosaic challenge!

So Ryker Beck threw down a challenge that we’ve been doing over on Plurk today. It’s really fun! It’s a mosaic challenge, and you answer questions and find pretty pics. I just had to blog it just in case any of you wanted to do one on your own blog, or just play along!

Mosaic Challenge

Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr search. Then, using only the first page, pick an image. Then, copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into this mosaic maker.

[If you find that after you create your mosaic you have white squares, it’s just that the person you’ve chosen has opted out of this service. I had to go back 3 times to get some pics. But it’s not that big of a deal. 🙂 ]

1. What is your first name? – Alicia
2. What is your favorite food? – Cheeseburgers!
3. What high school did you go to? – Brewer High School [This pic has nothing to do with the school, but it reminds me of the old guys that came to football games.]
4. What is your favorite color? – Pink!
5. Who is your celebrity crush? – Patrick Dempsey. Oh those eyes!!
6. Favorite drink? – Coke, baby! Real, not diet.
7. Dream vacation? – Italy. I don’t know why, but it’s always been my dream to visit.
8. Favorite dessert? – Tiramisu
9. What you want to be when you grow up? – Happy. 🙂
10. What do you love most in life? – Possibilities
11. One Word to describe you. – Eclectic
12. Your flickr name. – Alicia Chenaux

Once you’ve made and saved your image, upload it to Flickr and join this group so we can all see! There are some truly amazing photographers on Flickr, so it’s pretty awesome to just look at all the pics.

Have fun!!

Credits for the photos:
1. Alicia | Pullip Assa, 2. Cheeseburger, 3. Marty Olson explains the origin of the Gopher Crossing sign, 4. H O N E Y C H I L D, 5. Patrick Dempsey, 6. Red Joy!, 7. Un ultimo saluto a Portovenere, 8. Tiramisu, 9. Natal Day Bliss | Mothers Day Special, 10. A Proposal from the Heart, 11. Eclectic JPEG, 12. My photo for my 2-3-6-5 post 🙂

Posted in BBB challenge, bloggers, blogging, challenge

The Big Bad Blogger 2010 Sign Up & Kick Off Post!!!

Welcome to the start of the Big Bad Blogger Challenge 2010!! If you’re a challenge veteran, welcome back! If this is your first challenge, you’re going to love it!!

The BBBC started in 2008 as a way to give SL bloggers a little kickstart, and give people something to read. But it turned into a great sharing opportunity! We’ve really had a fun time the past couple of years! Just to save my fingers [yet again!], I’ll copy & paste most of the previous years’ rules. 🙂

The Big Bad Blogger Challenge for June: Update your blog every day for one week starting June 13th, and the last challenge post will be June 18th.

Now don’t get scared! I can hear the thoughts racing now.

“I can’t update every day!” Sure, you can!!

“I don’t have time!” You do. I see some of you in world for hours at a time, and not for business reasons.

“I won’t have anything to write about!” Yes, you will. Every night before I go to bed, I’ll throw out a question that you can answer in your blog if you choose to answer it. If not, just write about what you did that day in SL, or what you saw, or what topics interest you.

Your blog posts do NOT have to be well thought out and constructed professional posts, they don’t have to be very long at all, and I think a lot of you are overthinking your blogs, which is why you do not update. Believe it or not, people enjoy reading just little personal things. I personally would LOVE to get to know some of you better through your blogging. Think of this as a writing exercise, like the busy work that your English or Creative Writing teacher may have given you, or like NaNoWriMo. There’s no prize at the end, except for knowing you took on a challenge that really may be a challenge for some of you. And if for some reason you can’t complete the challenge, at least you gave it a try!

So there you have it, The Big Bad Blogger Challenge. Are you up for it?

If so, please sign up to this post with your blog URL so I can add it to the special BBBC Blogroll!! If you don’t sign up on this post, I will get confused and I want all of the challengers to be added to the blogroll, which stays up on my blog for the rest of the year.

Remember, you can always use your own topics to write about, but if you’re stumped, here is your first topic. Since last year we had a few RL bloggers join in [you are always welcome to!], the first topic won’t be completely Second Life related.

Today’s Topic: Why did you become a blogger? How has it enriched your life?

BBBC 2010!! Ready…set…GO!!!!

Posted in BBB challenge, bloggers, blogging, challenge, fun

The BBBC 2010 Is Coming Up!!

So mark your calendars! The Big Bad Blogger Challenge 2010 is coming up!!

What is the BBBC? Well, let me tell you. Beginning in 2008, the BBBC started as a way to get people to stop overthinking their blog posts and just write. All challengers do one post a day for the week. Heck, do more if you want, but at least one. And don’t worry, you don’t really get thrown blindly out there. The night before, I give everyone a question to answer in their blog. How much you write and if you add pictures or not, that’s completely up to you. But you have to write SOMETHING.

The challenge is really tons of fun, and I keep a blogroll here of all the bloggers participating. We all get to know our fellow bloggers better and it’s like summer camp in a way. By the time the week is over, everyone is excited and happy to have gone through it together. Plus, we have a big mid-challenge party! It’s always so so much fun!! This year we may end up having a second party on the weekend since there are some who can’t make the mid-challenge party because of time zones.

So! Sunday the 13th, I’ll have the official kick off post and question, and everyone who is participating will need to comment to that post with the link to your blog. If you don’t comment to that post, I won’t know to add you to the official BBBC Blogroll, so be sure you comment!

If for some reason you don’t finish, we won’t hold it against you. 🙂 Sometimes things just come up. But as long as you try, you’ll have fun!

Keep your eyes open on Sunday for the post!!

Posted in 365 blog project, challenge, RL stuff

Day 75 – A little SL, a little RL, and a purse challenge

My friend Velvet sent me a panda. After the evening I’ve had, coming home to someone warm & cuddly was nice.

75-365

I’ve been complaining for a while about a pain in my left shoulder blade. A couple of weeks ago I started having some pain in my lower neck/upper back area. I have tried sitting differently, sleeping differently, and wondered if maybe it was my pillows or my mattress. The other night I was just in pain! I just couldn’t understand what the problem was.

Yesterday I went out for a bit to hit up Target and Bath & Body Works. As I was walking into Target, the pain started again. Then I realized something.

My purse is too damn heavy.

*sighs*

Apparently my SL inventory hoarding issue is a RL issue as well. If I had to carry my inventory with me in SL, my avatar would collapse under the weight. Today I dumped out my purse.

That’s my cat, Holly, yelling “WTF MOM?!”

A few months ago, we did a big “What’s in your purse?” challenge. Sophia told me we should do it again. So dump out your purses/bags/backpacks and take a pic. Show us what you’re carrying!

This is a better picture.

The reason I have back problems

If you go to my Flickr page, you can see all the notes of what I’m carrying. But to sum it up – I carry too much crap with me, including THIRTEEN lipsticks, balms, and glosses.

I’ll tell you this much. If we had to carry our inventories with us in SL, I think I’d be a Linden bear away from having to push a shopping cart and having full plastic bags tied to my waist.

But at least my lips would be decorated.

Posted in 365 blog project, challenge, pictures, Sophia

Day 60 – Sophia’s Challenge

So my hetero life partner Sophia plurked a challenge. Show what you used to look like versus what you look like now. She never really said noob, just what we used to look like. I thought I’d just go back in my blog and pick the first picture and call it a day. But I realized that I still had an “emergency” folder in my inventory from March 2008. Cen and I used to make emergency folders because we used to regularly change avatars and we needed something that we could always go back to quickly. So I realized that THIS folder was really how I used to look – the normal skin, shape, style of clothes, etc. I popped into it, cried, took a picture, and then popped into one of my outfit folders that I created last week.

It’s amazing what a good skin will do. lol

Yikes.

And that’s day 60 of the 365 day challenge as well! Only 305 more days to go! LOL!!

Posted in challenge, friends, Linden bears, LOL, love

Three Little Things

I’ve seen people doing Samara Barzane’s “3 Little Things” challenge, and as I’m always up for a good blog challenge, I wanted to do it too. We’re supposed to choose 3 things in our inventory that we couldn’t part with.

The first for me was easy.

3 Things - Miriel's Open Ocean

My “Open Ocean” eyes by Miriel Enfield. I purchased these in January 2008, and they became “my” eyes. The color is striking and I simply feel more like myself when I wear them. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on them too. Although I have many many different eyes, these are the ones I always come home to. I was deeply saddened when Miriel decided to close up shop and I purchased several other colors of her eyes, including a backup copy of these. [I always chose the transfer version, just in case I felt the need to share eyes.] But Open Ocean are my favorite favorite eyes in SL, no one I’ve seen yet has come close to this bright, beautiful blue color.

The second thing is more personal.

3 Things - Birthday poem 2008

In 2008, my friends got together and threw me a surprise birthday party. First surprise party of my life, actually. How they managed to keep it a secret, I will never never know. My friend Bon wrote a birthday poem for me and used the names of every one of the Ch’Know members in it. The poem is quite long, much longer than I’m showing in the picture, but it’s my poem, and I’m being selfish and not showing it entirely. It was at that moment, when I was teleported in and surrounded by my friends, that I realized that there is a lot more right with me than there is wrong, otherwise these people wouldn’t care about me so much. Whenever I’m feeling blue or unwanted, I open up my birthday folder and look at the pics and the poem again, and I feel better.

Now the third thing, I’m cheating on. I’m using an entire folder. :-p

3 Things - Linden bears folder

My Linden bears!! As most people know, I’m a huge teddy bear fan and collect bears from all over SL. But my Linden bear folder is priceless to me. Some of the bears I asked for myself, and some of them Sophia got by jumping into a lot of Lindens’ IM boxes. LOL! I even IMed M Linden once to ask for his bear, but I guess his messages capped, because he never got back to me. I have others that I haven’t moved into the folder yet, but I still want more.

And there you have it, my 3 little things. 🙂

Posted in 365 blog project, challenge, pictures

Day 23 & the challenge end!

Well what do you know…it’s the last day of November. 🙂 It’s also day 23 of the 365 picture project.

23/365

I took that using MechanizedLife‘s FilterCam, which you can purchase over on the Rouge sim for $500L [on sale!]. Codie was awesome and had given out some at one of the SL Bloggers meet-ups, but I’m ashamed to say that I couldn’t figure it out, so I just tucked it away. After Gabby mentioned it to me in Plurk today, I thought, “You know what? I’m going to learn to use this!”

I can’t believe how incredibly easy it is. LOL! I’m going to do a proper blogpost on it later, but seriously, this thing is fantastic.

But as it is the end of November, this puts an end to my self-challenge of blogging every day in November. And hey, you know what? I did it. 🙂 In fact, I did more than just 30 posts. This one will make post 48. It’s not the 102 posts of June 2008 [wtf did I even have to talk about?!], but it’s still pretty gosh darn good.

Oh, and hey, speaking of previous blogger meet-ups, we’re hosting the December meet-up on Bluebonnet on December 13th! I’m WAY excited about it!! Most of the residents of the island are bloggers/creators, so I’m going to force ask them to help out with decorating. 🙂 It’s going to be a Winter Festival! I’m so so so excited!! Guenevere DeCuir is supposed to be DJing, so it should be completely awesome!

So with the end of November, that means I’m not obligated to post everyday anymore [except for the 365 day thing]. But you know, doing this has really reconnected me with my blog, and with writing, so I think I’ll probably find the time to write more often, especially if I’m posting a photo anyway.

My final thanks for November… Thank you to those of you who have bothered to read me. If it weren’t for you guys…I dunno, I guess I’d just be talking to myself. LOL!

Posted in bloggers, challenge, chatty, opinion, parties

La Shy Girl & some other stuff :)

I haven’t been updating quite as much lately because I’m gearing up for my personal blogging challenge next month. 30 days of updates and things I’m grateful for! Woooo! LOL But! Some things must be said.

First up, I was super excited when blogger/builder Josue Habana asked me to do his 5 Questions and Shameless Plug interview. Go read it, I’ll wait.

Done? Ok.

Anyway, that was pretty cool, so thanks for asking me to do that, Josue! He makes some pretty cool [and FREE] skyboxes, so check out his stuff on XStreet. Some of you may have seen his work before because I’ve used a couple of his skyboxes for party rooms. 🙂

Tomorrow is the Thorne-Darwin Halloween Party!! I’m DJing it and Tymm & Jerremy have set up a pretty awesome area for the party, so don’t miss it!

So earlier on plurk today, someone wondered how a shy guy could be in SL and not feel lonely, because even when he DID go out with his small group of friends, they were usually in IMs. It really made me think because although most people don’t realize it, I’m actually really terribly shy. I’m not AS bad as I once was, but … yeah, it’s still there.

Shy people are always going to have to work a little harder in SL than other people because we will get overlooked by the louder, more social crowd. It’s not that different from the physical world, really. But in a world where so many people come in, drop all their inhibitions at the door, and get wild – those of us who are shy can very easily be pushed into a corner and forgotten.

We also have to work at keeping the friendships once we get them, because we almost never IM anyone first. We never want to be a bother. Even though we’re told time & time again that we’re NOT, it takes a while before we can move past that.

Like I said, I am very shy. Some people mistake this for being aloof, or snobby, or think that I simply don’t like/care about them. Nope. That’s not it at all.

I get a little jealous sometimes when I see people who are always hanging out with others, who are loud and funny, who go to all the parties and are friends with pretty much everyone they meet. I’ve been told [in the physical world] that I’m anti-social. No, I would love to be more social, but I have a hard time just hanging out with people because I always feel like I have to be entertaining them. Ask me how many parties I’ve been to in the past year that I haven’t DJed at or stayed longer than 10 minutes. The answer is VERY slim. When you’re shy, you don’t always feel welcome at parties.

There are times when I push past it, when I IM someone first or ask someone to go do something. But even then, I spend the first half of our time together uncomfortable and wondering if they’re waiting for me to be entertaining. It usually leads to me just not saying anything at all, which…well, that’s probably weird. lol

Oh, this isn’t some big “Omg, please IM me and help me” post. I’m simply saying that if you know someone who doesn’t IM you often or doesn’t talk much, don’t think that they don’t like you. They may just be really shy.

If you’re the shy one… All I can say is that if you’re lucky enough to have one friend who understands your problem, don’t ever ever let them go. 🙂

Ok, I need food. And sleep. I think I got 2 and a half hours last night altogether. But watch…you’ll see me online tonight at 2am anyway.

I have issues.