Just my luck....

You Have Your PhD in Men

You understand men almost better than anyone. You accept that guys are very different, and you read signals well. Work what you know about men, and your relationships will be blissful.

How Well Do You Understand Men?

Isn't that just my luck?? A Ph.D. in men and I am off the market! :-P Despite my reputation, I don't even study all that hard - I am just a great test taker. Actually, I can hardly wait to tell Jerremy that he is going to marry a doctor!

BTW, there was no corresponding test for men that I could locate anywhere on the site, so you are out of luck Gentlemen...because I just know how much you love taking internet quizzes.

SLegal Action

The new Second Life® branding guidelines are out, and to help your avatar comply, some clever and talented people have created these items:



Samantha Poindexter created the t-shirt and Kit Meredith created the floaty symbols. Your avatar can can show the ultimate respect toward the Second Life® brand as you go about living your SLife™. These items are free for the asking. Just IM me or send me an email to tymmerie@gmail.com. They will be available in-world very soon also. (I will post the SLurl™ as soon as it is available.)

ETA: OMG!! Gmail sent some of the requests for t-shirts and floaty symbols to my junk mail folder, which then ate them. If I have not responded to you please send me a new email or IM and I will get them to you asap. I am so sorry about that!

SLife is Better with...

I know that I am late to this meme party because of other excitement going on in my life, but I still want to play. So I have decided to follow suit with Willow and Alicia (and Hawks...omg read Alicia's comments) and tell you the Top 5 Things I Can't Live Without In Second Life!!

So Here we go!!! I cannot live without....



1. My sneakers! The "Alisha" sneakers are my perfect little white sneaker. They are not bulbous. They are sleek and adorable and feminine. They are perfect for running errands on a Saturday morning, working out or worn with a cute pair of shorts. They go with everything. They are a steal at $150L. I found them at a shop called Vertically Challenged.


2. My anti-bling scripts! I got these here: http://www.rykerbeck.com/bling-be-gonehttp://www.rykerbeck.com/bling-be-gone/. In a world with bling in even the most unexpected places, these are your friends. I cannot count the number of items - shoes, jewelry, belts, etc.that I trashed after not being able to remove the bling. These have saved me and my inventory countless times.

Here are the two I use (Yes, sometimes I have to stick two into an item, but I will do whatever it takes!):

SCRIPT 1:

default
{
state_entry()
{
llSetText(”", , 1.5);
llSetTextureAnim(FALSE, ALL_SIDES,0,0,0.0, 1,0.3);
llParticleSystem([]);
}
}

SCRIPT 2:

default
{
state_entry()
{
llParticleSystem([]);
}
}


3. My couch! You see, designer Chriz Palen of the LOUNGE at La Reina Boardwalk Mall has been very kind to me. Not only did he make his Comfy Couch in a custom color for me, but he put in a pose that rocks my world. This is a picture of Jerremy and I in that pose.




Sometimes I will log in and find him waiting here for me. Sometimes he parks himself here while he does RL things and I decide to sit in his lap while I IM, sort inventory or build. We sit here and talk all of the time. Once when I had become very upset over something in RL, it was here where Jerremy held me and calmed me. He says it is his favorite place in the house and I agree.

Chriz has since designed some matching chairs and chaise lounges that I have used to decorate my home.



This is the style of furniture I love in RL and that makes my SL home so inviting and comfortable. I am particularly pleased with the chaises, since Chriz put in two sets of poses. He put in one regular lounging pose and, if you click a particular part of the chaise, ...WOW! It becomes a SEX CHAISE with a full menu of cuddles and bump and grind action! Not only that, but the pillows on the chair and chaise are texture changing so I can make my furniture match any color scheme I want now.

4. My face light! My ultimate favorite face light is my Bodylight by Ayiki that is a freebie. It gives beautiful results. It eliminates any trace of shadow and lights your entire torso. Since it is made of multiple lights that sit around your avatar, you do not get as much of the shadowing or light blocking that you sometimes get with single lights. It is bright enough to be seen from the moon though, so it tends to annoy certain otherwise very friendly furniture designers (see #3).

5. My MystiTool Hud! This is the tool that keeps people from sneaking up behind me and scaring the frick out of me. I use it to see who is close enough to hear me in open chat and find out just who is within a 96 m area of me. I use it to check and use my TP history and store landmarks. My MystiTool is getting more use as I slowly learn its features. It seems very powerful and I have only scratched its surface. I consider myself a technologically challenged person and I am still afraid of blowing something up if I push the wrong button.

So, those are my five Second Life essentials. I hope that I have opened your eyes to some new things and I hope you will share yours in my comments.

In the meantime, I'll be plowing thorough a pile of applications to be the subject of my next Man Behind the Goatee Interview. Things seem to have worked out well for my first subject!

Yes!

If you read the comments for my last post you will understand what these pictures are.



Jerremy took my to a very special place (the bottom of a volcano - it is a long story) and told me to read the last comment on my blog immediately.

In it, he asked me a very special question. As I finished reading, my heart raced. When I turned back to my SL screen, he was on one knee. When I gave him the answer he was looking for, he showed me the secret building project that he spoke about in his Man Behind the Goatee interview. This is that build:



If you will recall, periwinkle is my favorite color. This ring is perfect and beautiful and is just gorgeous on my hand.

Jerremy gave me the most perfect, most beautiful proposal any woman has ever had. It was an absolute surprise and just perfect for a blogger. I am the luckiest woman in Second Life because Jerremy is in my life. I love him more than I could ever express properly. And I am so excited that I will get to be his SL wife.

The Man Behind the Goatee: Jerremy Darwin

Today, I present the first in a series of informative interviews with male avatars who choose to wear goatee-style facial hair. While some could argue that the first interview subject in the series was a Prim Bear, I assure you that the following interview is the first one that used the official list of questions. This, therefore, is the first in the series.

The subject for today’s interview is none other than my live-in boyfriend, Jerremy Darwin. Jerremy is Co-CEO of the social group THE A-List of SL and CEO of Darwin Enterprises, a condo/apartment rental company. We sat down for the interview at our shared office space.

Jerremy Darwin: So, Honey, what is your name, and what is this interview for? ;-)

Me: So, OK. Mister Darwin is it? My name is Tym and I am interviewing people for my blog. I want to find out more about the men behind the goatees of SL.

JD: Oh hey, that's right…you are that Girl Wonder chick!

Me: Yup! That's me!

JD: I think we might have an office in the same building. ;-) And, if I am not mistaken, we even live in the same sim. Wow! What a small world! ;-)

Me: [rolls eyes] Yes, in fact, we shared a shower this morning.

JD: mmmmmmm…Yes, I remember!

Me: [clears throat] So, Mr. Darwin, do you have goatee in RL, too?

JD: Yes, although the RL one has some red in it.

Me: I see...nice.

JD: Can I get you something to drink?

Me: Ummm…no, thank you. So, what kind of clothing and styles do you prefer seeing your SLignificant other wear? Not counting lingerie or nudity.

JD: Anything..she is a freaking model you know. Oh yeah, you would know! ;-) Hmm, a sexy short black dress for an elegant night on the town. The kind that would make me want to lure her into the coat closet in order to have some hawt SLex.

Me: OK...so then, you are heterosexual?

JD: Yes...very...and, I have found my true love. ;-)

Me: How sweet! So what kind of hairstyles do you like her to wear?

JD: Just thinking of her brings a smile to my face.

Me: Awwwww!!!! So, hair-wise…

JD: I like it up for a night out, but down for a night in and a pony tail for camping. :-) I like long hair so that is the important thing. Is it possible to find a woman who has like 20 hair styles for various situations??

Me: Wow - you like variety!

JD: Yes I do! And a woman who can keep up and is always prepared! Hey - maybe an ex-Girl Scout! :-)

Me: Mr. Darwin, please share some advice with my readers: What is the best way for the men of SL to meet SLignificant others?

JD: Very good question! Well, public sex places and stalking have worked for me so far. But, hmmmm, maybe there are other ways. [pauses to think] I would recommend going to places related to an interest you have. For example: builders – hang out at Primtionary; dancers – go to clubs or ball rooms; landscapers – go to the various stores for that; BDSM sex fiends – well, I am not sure there are any places like that in SL. ;-) The key is to be nice and to be yourself. Sometimes when you don’t try to fall in love…it happens. (That advice of course doesn’t apply to the BDSM aficionado. In that case, be the sternest, baddest, hardest driving DOM you can be and you will go far.)

Me: Ummm...wow....ok..... If you could go back and give your newly born self one piece of information or advice what would it be?

JD: Don't eat those brownies at that party in the Alpha Omega sim....Oh, wait, no. Make friends and do what you can to keep them. A lot of things can be fun and entertaining in this world. But finding true friends is priceless. :-)

Me: What is the funniest/oddest/most embarrassing place you have ever rezzed into/logged on in?

JD: I used to look at the map and TP into places with a lot of green dots. Well, I found plenty of casinos and public sex places that way. One time, I logged in nude while my significant other was giving a tour of my house.

Me: Quite a SLife you have led, Mr. Darwin. [shakes head] What is an item of clothing/accessory/household item you wish you had in SL but don't?

JD: My antique bottle collection. They have many amazing colors to them. I love history and antiques in RL. Maybe I will open my own antique shop in SL someday.

Me: Very nice idea!! Very high tech, brand new antiques! Now, Mr. Darwin, in your SL home - what is the most prim-wasteful thing that you own?

JD: I would say the bathtub – which weighs in at 26 prims. But, oh, they do not go to waste, I assure you. And when one lives in SLin, ah…one needs to try to be as clean as possible. ;-)

Me: [stares]

JD: I thought of another question that you can ask your interview subjects! Do you build? What is your favorite thing that you have built? :-)

Me: [sigh] Do you build? What was your favorite build?

JD: Well, I recently made something, but it is still a secret. I am quite proud of it. But, in lieu of that, I guess I will have to say that my favorite build was my 40m tall snowman house. It was a real chick magnet, let me tell you.

Me: I am certain. So, Mr. Darwin, if your favorite movie got made into a sim what would be your favorite area/feature?

JD: Well, I like too many movies. Many obvious ones would be good: Start Wars, Titanic, Time Bandits, etc. But, for this answer I will have to say A.I. with its funky futuristic cities where mecha hang out.

Me: Mecha...?

JD: The Artificially Intelligent robots. You have seen the movie haven't you?

Me: I don’t get out much.

JD: Oh no....hmm....Maybe some nice man will show it to you sometime. I saw it as a modern Wizard of Oz-type story...

Me: Very deep.

JD: Fun and exciting, too. Dark and edgy, as well.

Me: Dark and edgy - like goatees! Mr. Darwin, do you read SL blogs? Which are your favorites?

JD: Sorry? What is a blog??

Me: [stares]

JD: Hee hee…of course, the Girl Wonder blog !! [wink] And, I have always liked Mermaid Diaries. I also like to just randomly read blogs by linking to comments on your blog. :-)

Me: What has been the most surprising thing about SLife?

JD: Easy.... Falling head over heels in SLove with Tymmerie Thorne :-)

Me: Oh, Babe!!!! I love you!!!

JD: I love you!!!

So, dear readers, I hope that you have learned a lot about the Man Behind the Goatee and that you will have a speedy recovery from an overabundance of smiley face emoticons (I promise to have a talk with him about that.) and sickeningly sweet love talk. I will bring you the next interview in my riveting Man Behind the Goatee series soon!!!

Say "Cheese!" at DREAM STUDIOS and do your part for RFL!!

I just received this note from Dream Studios Photography and wanted to spread the word!!:

"Dream Studios is proud to announce that we are getting involved in Relay For Life. Relay For Life benefits the American Cancer Society by helping those that are affected by the pain of cancer. Chances are you or someone you love has had cancer, this is something that affects all of us in one way or another and that is why we feel it's important to get behind this and do what we can to help. Dream Studios is Thinking PINK for RFL, spread the word, come in and make your donation and get your "pink photo". All proceeds go directly to RFL."



"You'll find a kiosk at our Dream Studios HQ: and can also take a RFL Heart for a L$50 donation. Wear it with pride and help to spread the word about RFL."

So, go take a picture of your lovely self and help out a worthy cause!

ETA: The Pink Photo RFL fundraiser will continue for as long as people are interested in it - so it is not too late! You may have more than one person in the picture and you may wear anything or nothing! Seriously - I checked on this for you!!!

Lazy way to find a DJ

Kids - I need you help I am looking for a DJ for some events coming up. I'd like to be able to go listen to them play for a bit if possible. I think you must know some of the best. This person should not make giant howling coyotes in chat or "hoooooooo" too much. I would also like someone who will accept a handsome flat fee and not collect tips from my guests during the parties. I want a good mix of music from the 70's disco era through today - absolutely no Cat Stevens or Meatloaf must be played. I am looking for dance tunes to keep energy high and appeal to an audience of hip people. Must be willing to play NIN Closer and Add It Up by the Violent Femmes plus contemporary tunes. I know it is a tall order.

Know anyone? Please give me your suggestions!
Thanks!!

New SLNN article and a New Look(er) for the 'Ol Blog!

I have another article up at SLNN on the Skin Fair entitled "Skinning". I had so much fun interviewing designers and attendees! I even got a chuckle out of a man who was looking for skins for his slaves who offered to collar me when I asked him for a quote. Thank you to everyone who spoke with me! And thank you so much to my editor, Willow Caldera, who polishes my writing up and makes everything come together. (But just because she is a good editor does not mean I will let her win our chocolate wrestling match.)

You may also notice that this blog has a new look! I thought I would shine it up a bit. The look is centered around the absolutely brilliant photo taken of me by SL Photographer and blogger Looker Lumet at a party last fall. That photo has always taken my breath away - it is so surreal and the colors so rich. I am proud to have it anchor my blog. Looker is going to be one of my upcoming Great Goatee interviews, too!

Anyhoo, Happy Monday!

Bear With Me

Home sweet home with my handy-dandy backyard tent and sleeping bag from Pillow Talk.

I have been thinking about camping in SL ever since I added some tents and a campfire to my yard. And then I thought about camping some more when I risked being infected by SLime disease while leaning against a Linden tree for a photo. I love camping in RL and I crave camping in Second Life, but I didn't know where to begin to find a campground. So, I decided to speak with an expert on the topic - a prim bear. I contacted one and he offered to sit down with me for an in depth interview.

Me: Good morning Prim Bear. Thank you for talking with me today.

PB: My pleasure. I don't get a chance to talk to many human avatars outside of Role Play areas so this is nice. Mind if I smoke?

Me: [makes a puzzled face] But fire...prevent...only...you...

PB: Wrong bear, Tym. [leans toward me] Not everyone in the woods is a tree hugger.


I get up close and personal with Prim Bear.

Me: Okay. [pauses] Well, then Prim Bear, do you consider yourself a Furry?

PB: Do not get me started on the Furry thing. I respect what they do and they seem to enjoy it, but I am 100% bear. I smell like a bear, I walk like a bear, I growl like a bear and my ears and tail are not attachments, either. And I live in a zoo.

Me: I assume that before moving to the zoo that you were exposed to forests full of Linden trees. How concerned were you about tick bites and the resultant SLime disease?

PB: Tym, human avatars, Nekos, robots, Tinies and Furries can all get SLime disease. Prim bears can't. Just a quirk of Linden nature.



Jerremy and I enjoy the canoe at Lake Gnoma. This lakeside camp features free activities including swimming, canoing, and tent camping.

Me: Got it. What are your thoughts on camping?

PB: Everyone has been a poor noob at one time or another....

Me: I'm sorry Prim - I meant actual camping with tents and campfires and hiking.

PB: But you simply cannot just dismiss the other kind of camping

Me: But...

PB: Listen. Think back to when you were a noobie - didn't YOU lie on a beach towel somewhere for all of 20 minutes just to get 6 Lindens into your account?? And the entire time didn't some other noob try to pick you and your orange skin up for a tryst?

Me: How did you...?

PB: I know things, Tym. And one of the things I know is that until a person feel comfortable and flush enough to add payment information to their account, camping is a viable way to earn Lindens. There weren't as many good freebies back in the day. And don't forget the Linden buy limits for noobs.

Me: OMG! I remember! [begins to tear up]

PB: It's ok...there, there, those are just bad memories...here is a tissue.


A camping area at The Garden. There is a lot here for relaxing! You'll find a water slide, surfing, beaches, tents, pose balls for cuddles and photos, and more.

Me: Thank you. [clears throat] Ummmm..... getting back to sports camping. Where can the average avatar go to camp and hike and fish in SL?

PB: You avatars are too soft these days. You wouldn't last a day in the Linden Forrests. My recommendation, Tym? Put up tents in your yards, lay out your sleeping bags and set up a BBQ. Catch fish for dinner down at Splash Aquatics. (It beats traditional fishing. That is, if you have patience and keep chat to IMs.)

Me: But my typist was a Girl Scout at one time! She was such a bad ass that she even go into trouble for whittling without adult supervision! We can rough it! Tell us - please!

PB: Don't get in over your pretty little head. It gets pretty laggy in the Linden Forrest. [pounds paw on table] YOU have never seen z-flutter like I have! Gray people as far as the eye can see! I once spoke to a man who was missing textures and he didn't even know it. I tried to get him to rebake...but it was too late.

Me: Too late for what?

PB: For the love of dog, Tym he crashed! HE CRASHED! That is why I always clear my cache. [breathes in] Ahhhhhh!!!! The smell of cleared cache in the morning. The smell of victory.



Get away from it all when you rent a Wilderness Skybox. You'll find pose balls for cuddling and relaxing, a campfire, waterfall, bird sound effects. Plus you'll have prims to use to set up your own tent and other camping amenities.

Me: Yeah...I just want to go camping....

PB: [sigh] Fine. Have you tried the search function?

Me: Yes, but you know what you get when you search for camping in SL...

PB: Tym, search under 'wilderness' or 'campground'. Even 'hiking' works. Seriously. I thought you'd be more creative than that. [shakes head]


A photo of me enjoying the hot springs at Coldwater Wilderness Area. You'll find a rec room, fishing, long term cabin rentals, a rope swing into a river and hiking here.


Me: While I have you here, Prim, I'd might as well count you as my first Great Goatee interview.

PB: [strokes chin] Yea? You noticed, huh? I grew it like that just for you.

Me: That's not natural?

PB: How many bears do you know....

Me: [mumbling] I don't know many bears in general...

PB: ...do you know who look like astigmatic pirates?!?! [slips on a pair of wire frame glasses and rips off his shirt]

Me: Gasps!

PB: [smiles and nods] That's right, Tym! I read your blog.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The rest of this interview is not suitable for children, pregnant women, persons who frighten easily or anyone fervently opposed to interspecies sex. Look away. Seriously there is nothing to see here, folks. Move along.

© 2008 All Rights Reserved.

In the details...

OMG. Satan moved next door. It is true. And he built a monstrosity of a castle there, complete with a blood filled hot tub, fleet of bats, rainstorm and a completely paved yard (because Satan does not have time for yard work, don't you know...). Yes - the new neighbor actually told Jerremy that he was, in fact, Satan.

Jeebus - don't you think that someone claiming to be Beelzebub would move to a place with a tougher sounding name than Wonderful Land? And what? Satan doesn't want Mainland? All the Prince of Darkness could afford was a medium sized parcel here? It isn't even a corner lot.

You cannot tell me there is not a sim somewhere where his blood soaked castle would fit in better and his neighbors would welcome his bats. To tell the truth, I would not care that Evil Incarnate lived here if he had better taste and his home fit in better with the rest of the gardens and lovely buildings in our sim.

So I put up some rainbows and a butterfly emitter. I did a quick sign of the cross over the water that courses through our sim and...A-La Peanut Butter Sandwiches! It's Holy Water! (Hey, I grew up Catholic - I know how these things work.)

And he paid $30k for the parcel next to mine. Satan got screwed. I got my same-sized parcel for $15kL. And I am going to tell him that. It should make him feel really good...heh!

Maybe it's mean, but the devil made me do it.

Say it isn't so!

Looks like despite being some of the most fun you can have in SL while keeping your clothes on, Primtionary needs some help. They are looking for your ideas on how to sustain the game and stay afloat. If you recall from an earlier blog post I did, Primtionary is the game of Pictionary done with building using prims instead of drawing clues to guess. It is such a good time. And if you have ever played while with friends on voice or Google Chat (and perhaps even drinking a glass of wine), you know pure joy! If you have ideas about how the game can be sustained (it is expensive to run at the moment) or you know people who would be willing to sponsor the game, leave a comment on the March 5th post on their blog.

And if you ever want someone to go to a game with you, IM me! I would love to go!

I Don't Meme to Annoy You

Poll results are in! Fully 79% of the 55 voters are ok with me interviewing men here! In fact, 10 of you have volunteered to be interviewees and 4 have interview subjects to recommend!! (You must IM me so we can set these up!) 21% demand shirtless interviews. (I guess that means that I should include pictures, huh? :-P) For the 9 of you who are concerned with my making Jerremy upset, I promise to make him one of my first interviews and to keep things platonic with the others. And for everyone who voted for me not to interview anyone at all (21%), I promise to keep them fun and not rely on them too much.

Now onward to the meme. I got tagged by Willow Caldera for a new meme on reading material. Here is the thing though: I got tagged in my home office. I have no pleasure reading in here. All the books with dog-eared corners marking naughty passages are on the other side of the wall. What do I have in here? Computer manuals, grad school text books, trade magazines and reference books.

So, let's just tell you what, Willow, I put down my copy of How to Beat Anyone in Chocolate Wrrestling and grabbed the next closet book, Ready for Anything by self-styled 'personal productivity guru' [/me rolls her eyes.] David Allen. This was a book purchased in a desperate attempt to make myself an efficient and organized person. In other words, this book was my attempt to go against every natural instinct and habit I have.

Here are the meme rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

Here is my meme response:
"No matter how good you are at creating macros in your spreadsheet or how sophisticated your PDA add-on, you won't be able to push a button, run a formula, and have the result be 'Call Fred.' Even if it did, you would have to consider a lot more things not on the spreadsheet or in your PDA in order to trust that judgment about your desired action. Countless questions have been emailed to me asking for the best ways and tools to organize project thinking."

HEY! Wake up!

I know! That is why I never finished reading it!

Anyhoo, I tag...Alicia Chenaux, Katoria Stevenson, Chestnut Rau, Casius Masala and Garrett Larkham. I am excited to learn something new about you all!

I certainly don't meme to annoy you. :-P

Culture, Feathered Friends and My Goatee Poll

Happy Sunday! Today would be a great day to take in Looker Lumet's showing at Galeria LX ! You can really get an idea of the potential for expression, art and beauty in Second Life by looking at Looker's photos. The show runs through March 29. This is a definitely an A-List event. Go get yourself some culture.


Looker answers a question about his work for me and Jerremy as lovely gallery co-owner, Winter Wardhani, looks on.

Yesterday, I got to attend Timothy Lilliehook's Rez Day Party and arrived to find him dancing on the bar. Now, there must be some inside joke relating to flamingos that is going over my head because the party decor featured a giant pink flamingo and even the party favors were flamingo t-shirts. The giant bird stared at us as we all salsa'ed to NIN's Closer. By the way, you have not lived until you have cha-cha'd while singing those lyrics. I really should stop requesting it at every party I go to.


Timothy sent me another SLintruder photo. He seems to be unusually close to his lawn ornament, which he obviously felt needed to be taken for a walk...in my yard. I only hope he didn't leave droppings call over the lawn. The flamingo, I mean.

Speaking of feathered friends, I got the honor of donning a gorgeous showgirl costume and posing in an ad with 5 other models for Digital Eyes' newest creation. OMG I may start wearing the outfit everywhere from now on. I felt so sexy.


Jerremy snapped this behind-the-scenes photo.

And HEY!!!! This is the last day to vote on whether or not you'd be interested in my interviewing men with goatees for this blog. If it gets the thumbs up, I will be sure to feature a huge variety of men: men with goatees with shirts on (which I refer to as the 'dashing pirate' look), men with glasses and goatees (which I call the 'astigmatic pirate' look) and shirtless men with goatees (which...OMG!!!). I think there is a good probability of getting a yes vote on the interviews, so....

...men of SL? Start growing your goatees!

© 2008 All Rights Reserved.