Day 205 – 7 Things

Earlier today on plurk, Tymmerie wondered why bloggers don’t really do a lot of writing challenges like we used to do. Well, mostly I think it’s because we don’t have a lot of people who do personal SL blogs these days. Let’s face it – most blogs are fashion related and not many fashion bloggers write more than just credits. Even I’ve noticed myself slacking big time in that department when I’m doing style posts.

So, Ms. Berry decided to start a new meme for us! Seven SL facts. I couldn’t pass it up!

Basically I’m going to share seven facts about my SL avatar or my SLife that may or may not be obvious to all my readers. The only thing I ask is, don’t judge me (or at least just do it quietly in your head)!

Now sit down and get comfortable. Y’all know once I get going, I talk too much.

My SL Fact #1:

This wasn’t my first main account. I know, 99% of the people in my SLife know that about me already, but for the 1% that didn’t, there ya go. 🙂 My first account lasted for 13 months and my SLife was wayyyyy different than it is now. I played more of a sexy girl/fetish girl/fantasy girl role back then and it was not me. AT ALL. I said and did a lot of stupid stupid stupid things because I didn’t think I was staying, and I sure didn’t think about the people on the other side of the avatar. But I also had a lot of issues in my RL going on and coming to SL and doing all these things was basically my way of squishing all my RL issues down. Of course, there’s only so long you can do that before you explode in a big fiery ball of CRAZY, and unfortunately, that’s what happened. So I exploded, made another alt [oh yeah, I was alting big time in that year] and then deleted Second Life from my computer. But I missed it, so I took that alt and started over. It was hard to be so alone, but SO completely and utterly worth it in the end. I worked through a lot of my problems and people who are my friends now know me really well. I remember when Cen and I first met, she was also on a new account, too, and she said we didn’t have alts any more. We had replacements. 🙂 It was really funny, too, because almost EVERYONE that I met in the next year after coming back were on their second or third account. It just wasn’t a huge deal any more. I have 4 alts now, but I don’t hide that it’s me if I’m on them. I use them for different things, mostly island related. And I did reconnect with a few people from my past, but there are others who probably still think I’m evil incarnate. I miss some of my old friends, but people change and people move on.

My SL Fact #2:

I’ve always wanted a Second Life family. Not really kids, but I always wanted a SL husband, mom, dad, brothers, sisters, etc. I know some people think that it’s stupid, or that you shouldn’t have SL parents because it’s disrespectful to your real parents, but I don’t see it that way at all. But much like my SL marriage, I wouldn’t just any ol’ person because I need someone for that role. I want the RIGHT person to fill the spot. This is why, even though we’ve kind of talked about it in the past month, I haven’t just run over to any of the adoption agencies. If we were to adopt, I’d want it to be RIGHT person, preferably someone we both know already and that we feel like we could have a bond with. We’re kind of weird that way. :-p

My SL Fact #3:

I almost never IM anyone on my friends list out of the blue. The majority of people on my in world friends list are bloggers and designers and I’m always worried that if I just IM them, I’m going to bother them or that they’re going to wonder what I want. I am really REALLY bad at casual conversation these days. I used to be able to talk the ears off a mule, and I still can if I KNOW you really well [ask Aldwyn!] but there’s this part of me that’s been there for the past couple of years that has made me kind of shy away from getting too close to anyone. It sucks and I want to get over it, but I feel like I need someone to take me by the hand and pull me out of it.

My SL Fact #4:

I never intended on being a fashion blogger. On my first account, I’d KIND of started doing it a bit, but when I restarted, I was just going to be this goofy casual person [much like I am in RL] and the more I blogged, and the more I shopped, the more people started just giving me stuff for the blog. So I figured, hey, why not? Something to do. I never dreamed it would be one of the best parts of my SLife!! I love putting outfits together, but I’ll admit to being terribly insecure when I post a style pic because…well, have you SEEN the other fashion bloggers?? Some of them are amazing! I want to be like them when I grow up. 🙂

My SL Fact #5:

There are 95 people on the Bluebonnet ban list. Only about 10 of them are people I’ve banned myself and when I first got the island, it was kind of embarrassing when someone would IM me and ask why they were banned when I had NO clue who they even were! Sometimes I feel like just wiping the list clean except for two names, but I’m too lazy to do it.

My SL Fact #6:

I always think about how our SL house smells. I know, I know. LOL! It’s so random. But I associate some of my RL candle scents with rooms in our SL house. Like in the fall, I always think our SL living room and kitchen would smell like spiced pumpkin or apple cinnamon. In the spring, I imagine gardenia or lilac for the living room, maybe lemongrass verbena. The bathroom smells like Lysol and soap and shampoo. The bedroom might smell like lavender and sandalwood. I like to play with fragrances.

My SL Fact #7:

Sometimes I feel like a loser because I still love SL so much. Aside from the almost month long break I took back in 2007 between accounts, I’ve never felt the need to take a long extended break again. If I don’t get a chance to log in, then I just don’t, but I don’t worry about it. Every day that I get to log in and be in our home or go shopping or take pictures…well, I just feel really blessed. But so many of my friends complain about SL a lot and it kind of hurts my feelings in a way because I do still love it so, and it feels like when they put it down, they’re putting me down. I know that’s not the case really, but it is how I feel.

And there are my seven facts! I’d love to read yours, too!

Mini Challenge End!

I want to apologize for this being such a crappy challenge. LOL Thanks so much to those of you who have bothered to do it. I promise the next one will be loads better. 🙂

Shopping for me in SL is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. For a while, it was almost ALL I did in SL. Log in, check notices, start my rounds of gift getting, and usually spend some money in stores where the gifts rocked. But as I watched my inventory grow higher and higher, I started to get scared. Why was I shopping SO MUCH?! When would I stop?!

I’m not a shopper in my RL. Oh, there are some things that I can’t seem to resist buying – like scented lotions and flavored lip glosses. But clothes and things like that, I don’t really shop for. I think part of it has to do with the fact that I hate the way everything looks on me. In SL, I don’t have that problem. 🙂

One store that has definitely contributed to my ever-growing inventory is M&R Cupcakes, or back in the day, <3Cupcakes. I stumbled into this store in early January when I was still living on $5L a day because of some freebies. It was not a $5L day. LOL I ended up purchasing a $100L skin from there, which I stayed in until March because it was just very ME, with the neutral lip and smokey eyes. Since that first day, the store has gone from this cute little boutique to this huge store that is now a combination of both Mimi Coral's and Rosemary Galbraith's talents.

One thing that I love about this store, and something that I’m glad has never been given up despite the many changes, is that this is just a heaven of cute, flirty, little dresses. And the BEST part, at least for me, is that they’re all sized small! If you were in a real world shopping mall, this would be the store that all the slender petite girls shopped at and you pass by thinking “Anorexic wenches…” Ok, so maybe it would be the store I would say that about. 😉

I can’t say how many times that I’ve had some event or somewhere to go and I think “OMG, need a dress!” This store is the first one I hit up because not only are the dresses unbelievably cute, but they are so affordable!! There used to be more sales than there appear to be now, but the group gifts are often wonderful and well worth the $250L enrollment fee. Lucky for me, I’ve been in the group since January, and it’s one of the few I’ve never ever taken off my list. 🙂

I do find that my shopping has slowed down as of late. Part of this has to do with my *gulp* 30,000+ inventory, but part of it has to do with the fact that it’s taking bigger and better things to catch my eye these days. [Such as the Zaara jeans!] There have been days in the past couple of weeks where I don’t shop at all – and that includes picking up gifts. My group is usually buzzing with sales and hunt information and talking about clothing and shoes and hair, but I find myself thinking, “Is it any different than anything else?” Lately I have been purchasing more prefab houses and landscaping items than anything fashion related. The notices that come out in FashCon show me items that either I already have, or are just a big mess and I wouldn’t pick up even if they were free. [Seriously, can we have some kind of regulation on who gets into FashCon? Or can I just start slapping textures on system shirts and get myself in there?] I never read fashion blogs unless they’re written by friends. I do most of my shopping on SLExchange or OnRez.

I don’t know that I could go a week without shopping in SL. But I know that I don’t HAVE to constantly shop. Unless it’s a limited time item…I no longer compulsively need to add to my inventory just for the sake of having things.

Mini Challenge Final Topic!

Here is your final topic for our little mini challenge. 🙂

** We spend a great deal of time in Second Life shopping. Why do you think this is? Do you think you could have fun in SL if you didn’t shop [and that includes getting freebies!] for a week? How big is your inventory? Do you keep it organized or is it a big mess? Do you shop for mostly fashion items, or do you shop for things like toys and prefabs and other gadgets? Show off a picture of you hanging out in your favorite store! **

Wednesday Mini Challenge – LATE, because that’s the way I roll. LOL

It really seems like I get nothing accomplished on Wednesdays for some reason. LOL But I finally got my challenge post done. 🙂

My avatar has not changed very much at all since probably February or so, except for new skins and the fact that I grew by a couple of inches recently. You’d think those couple of inches would make a difference, but in a world where women regularly tower over 6 feet tall, 5’8 is still short.

Alicia looks very different than the person behind her. She’s taller than RL me, which makes me laugh since she’s still short. She’s very petite and dainty, something that RL me is definitely not. I have been asked before why I’ve chosen an avatar that is smaller than the “normal” sized women. Why am I not bigger? Why am I not curvier? Am I trying to look like a teen?

The answer is…. it just feels right. 🙂 It doesn’t matter that dances never fit me, cuddles never fit me, clothes with any prim attachments must be modded like crazy to fit me, and my rings constantly look like they’re about to fall off. I’m primarily a blonde because it feels right. The big blue eyes feel like me. The way I dress is the way I dress in the real world, or the way I wish I could.

Alicia is an extension of myself, she is who I am inside. When she appears dark and sad, there’s a good chance I’m feeling dark and sad. When she is running around silly and brightly dressed, I’m feeling silly and bright. If she’s looking elegant…well, it just means I felt like looking pretty that day and RL me can’t walk in heels.

But let’s move on to the topic of the challenge – looking silly!

Back before I “got famous” or whatever you want to call this, I used to regularly run around in pajamas at night or wearing something dumb. But things do change a bit when you get recognized once in a while. LOL Oh, they don’t change a LOT, but I did start kind of being more aware of how I appeared when going out to sales or something.

For the challenge I decided to go pick up the group gift dress at Ivalde wearing…

I got the dress, and then headed off to hang out around the lucky chair with the others. Surprisingly, no one said anything about it. Either they didn’t care, or they weren’t paying attention to me.

I waited for a while, but then I totally noticed something.

The girl in front of me had BLINGING SHOES.

When you’re that low to the ground, you notice things, I guess.

She was also an A name, which came up on the chair as I was about to leave. I let her have it. I mean…blinging shoes. C’mon. LOL

But the best part of any costume is the fact that after you finish wearing it, you can just go back to being you. 🙂

Mini Challenge Topic For Wednesday!

The best part about this every other day challenge is that if you are busy to do it the one day, you can still do it the next day. 😉

Here is your topic:

** In SL, we’re often afraid of looking silly. I’ve noticed this more with bloggers than with anyone else. Why have you made your avatar look the way it does? What does it mean to you? Do you think people respond to you differently if you’re attractive? Today, put on something just totally crazy. It can be a funny avatar, a crazy outfit, weird hair, or just some bling-blangin’ jewelry. Go out in public, see if anyone has anything to say about it. See if you think of yourself differently if your avatar isn’t perfect looking. Don’t forget to take a picture of your outfit!! **

[You don’t have to stay in the outfit all day, unless you want to!]

Mini Challenge Monday!

I never really did the topics for the BBBC this summer since I was in the middle of my super prolific blogger stage. LOL But I will be doing these. 🙂

One place in SL that I go to quite often to sit, to look at things, or just be somewhere completely beautiful should come as no surprise to anyone who has been a long time reader of mine.

I immediately went to the Pillow Talk sim!!

Most people don’t realize that Pillow Talk isn’t just that upstairs laggy cloud space where everything is for sale and you usually end up seeing some naked slave spreadeagled on a pillow. If you use the teleporter and sit on the cushion, you’re taken down to the ground and THAT is where I love to go. I have spent hours just exploring the grounds, looking at the houses, sitting in the furniture. In fact, for a while, almost all of my pictures were taken out there because I found it so beautiful. And because most people don’t even know there’s more than just the main shop in the clouds, it’s also a place where I can be relatively alone.

I don’t seem to head out there much these days, just because I have my own quiet spots at home, but Pillow Talk will always be a place that I go to just to bask in the beauty of it.

Mini Challenge – Monday’s Topic!

If you’re doing this week’s mini challenge, here’s your topic for Monday!

** Second Life is a huge place, but we all have our favorite place where we seem to visit often just to look it, to hang out, to take friends, or just be alone and think. Where is your place, how did you find it, and what keeps you going back? Go there and take a picture! And no, it cannot be your own home! Ok ok, it can be your home. LOL **