Fail.

No - it isn't this tragic. I just liked this picture....LOL!!

I didn't post all of the blogger mini-challenges. I failed. I meant to.....but it just didn't work out.

For the first one where we were supposed to wear something silly and walk around the grid, I chickened out. I realized something and something is: I do not like to look silly. That may not be a big revelation to anyone but me. My avatar is my ideal self in a way and I like her looking cute at all times. Except for theme parties. Gawd I love a good theme party. And even when I dressed up silly for a theme party in the past I always made sure it was the cutest version of silly I could muster up - know what I mean?

And I failed on the shopping one because, well I haven't shopped in a while. I know! If you had asked me to do that challenge 6 months ago there would have been a HUGE essay from me about my favorite shopping haunts. At this time though, I have all the basics in my wardrobe and it takes something very special to catch my attention and make me part with my Lindens. Maybe if I didn't always log in naked and have to dress in such a rush, I would wear something other than jeans and t-shirts. (OMG!!! MY SLex life is ruining shopping for me! :-P )

In any case, I loved that Alicia thought up a challenge for us and I hope she does another one for us sometime. I will really try to do the whole thing next time!!

Blogger mini-challenge: My Favorite Place in SL

In response to Alicia's blogger mini-challenge I am telling you about my favorite place in SL - Jerremy's lap:



Don't get dirty minded now. It could be perfectly innocent snuggling. I love his lap and I really don't care how I get there as long as I get there. And no, it is not open to the public. :-P

A Post About Nothing...

OMG I am so stuck....I am having the most difficult time with my blog. I know my habits and the amount of time I spend in SL have changed and that is one reason my blogging subjects and frequency have changed, but it distresses me to no end. For cereal. So I will try to break the writer's block by just writing off the top of my head today. (It is time for a good meme I think...)

Lately, I have been trying to decide what to be for Halloween in SL. Yes, I know it is over a month away - but OMG time flies in SL and all of the good costumes/ideas will be taken. The big challenge? To find a costume you would not wear to a theme party in SL! Last year, I was Sexy Snow White. This year I have a couple of ideas but no definite choice yet. What I like to do for most costumes is buy a couple of them and combine the best elements of each - maybe throwing in some lingerie for good measure -- that way I know no one will have the same exact costume as I do.

One thing I do know for certain is that Jerremy and I want to throw a BIG Halloween party for everyone we know! Halloween is Jerremy's favorite holiday so we are doing it up big - meaning our home and the Starting Point dormitory are both going to get decorated. YAY! (We are such big dorks but omg we have fun!) We have to start looking for pumpkins and cob webs and everything!!

Speaking of Starting Point, one other thing I have been worried about is the urge to "mother" the new residents at Starting Point. The first residents are starting to select rooms and move in now. I soooooo want them to start asking questions and ask for help. I do not want to smother them though, so I fight the urge to IM them every five minutes asking if they need any help. (My gawd -- I need a pet or child or something in RL, I think, or I will unconsciously try to meet my maternal drive with the newbies.)

What else have I been thinking about? Fall clothes. I find it so funny that I want to dress my av to match my RL weather and season. But I am bored with all my clothes and I can't find any good Fall stuff to buy. Are any of you having the same problem? Poor Jerremy is going to end up seeing me wear the same jeans and hoodie until Spring unless I can find some good shops with Fall clothes.

I have also been thinking about Alicia's and Cen's posts about friendship. They have inspired me to make better contact with the people on my friendship lists and not be so self-conscious about IMing people. And if anyone ever feels like IMing me - please do! You are not bothering me. If I am busy, I will just ask if I can catch up with you at another time. No biggie. No IM is an interruption IMHO. The reason I love SL is the people -- it is nothing without you!

Cough! Cough!...excuse me...

I know this blog is in need of an update - but I know you'd forgive me if you knew how sick I was this weekend - I have the worst cold and cough.

I'll give you a bit of an update on our newbie dorms - we decided to call them Starting Point and they are ready for business! We just need newbies now. We upped the eligibility age so that you can live there if you are less than 90 days old (up from 60).

We'll also be more flexible on needing to have payment information on file. What we are really trying to make sure of is that the people we select to live at Starting Point are people who are trying to learn more about SL and want to contribute to making a positive community - not cause trouble or grief.

We are also in need of some helpers - residents of Starting Point will be in the Starting Point Group and we need some wise, patient and kind older residents to join the group as "Helpers" to answer questions they might have. They might IM the group with questions occasionally and if you volunteered for this role you could help them. This is strictly a volunteer role. I thought about calling them RA's - for Resident Advisors since that is what they will be doing: advising new residents. Plus, I thought it would be cute. What do you think about calling them "Helpers" vs RA's? (Note: the RA's won't live at Starting Point.) Would you be interested in becoming one?

If you want to refer someone to live at Starting Point or you need a residency application for yourself, IM Jerremy Darwin or me. If you would like more information on Starting Point just IM!

The common areas of Starting Point are open to the general SL community. So you can tour and visit the area to have a look around.

The Man Behind the Goatee: Hamlet Au

Photo of Hamlet Au by Dream Studios Photography.

Blogger Hamlet Au, AKA Wager James Au in RL, agreed to sit down with me for a Man Behind the Goatee interview. Au is a writer for gaming blogs including the fabulous New World Notes blog and has contributed to the book Second Life: the Official Guide. His new book, The Making of Second Life, is a fascinating look behind the scenes of how SL came to be. Known for always being dressed in his signature white suit and tie, a nod to Tom Wolfe, he met me at Darwin Hall for our interview.

Me: HELLO!

Hamlet Au: Hi there!

Me: Let’s get started with this interview! So seriously - do you change clothes, ever? Maybe for theme parties?

HA: On occasion I'm known to bust out my Hunter S. Thompson avatar with a .45 and a bottle of Jim Beam. Also I'm rumored to have worn women's undergarments and nothing else as part of a Katrina fundraiser.

Me: Oh my goodness.....

HA: Indeed!

Me: Are there photos?

HA: No screenshots exist and those who took them were... dealt with. :)

Me: ROFL!! OK!!! Let's start with some official Man Behind the Goatee questions!

HA: Hit me!

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

HA: hmm…Probably to spend more time learning to create beyond the very basics (which is all I know) and to get a better handle on building/scripting needs especially around the economy and culture. Subsequently that's stuff I follow second hand, so I know it's a shortcoming in my writing.

Me: Going back to the clothes thing...sorry...I am just fascinated....you must have the world's smallest inventory. How big is your inventory?

HA: My inventory is large enough for me to abandon even trying to find anything in it beyond maybe a couple dozen things that I remember the names of, so I can search for them. The inventory continues to be the most horrific, ball-busting aspect of the user interface.

Me: So true!! What is an item of clothing/accessory/household item you wish you had in SL but don't?

HA: hmm…Well pretty much every household and clothing item I like exists except for the one thing that is central to my actual material house-- access to the broader Internet via a nice big screen with dynamic web browsing etc. Ironically interior design in SL seems stuck in early 90s, since there's no web browser that’s part of the home.

Me: Hamlet, what is the most prim wasteful thing you own?

HA: I'm looking...

Me: [waits patiently for Hamlet to look through his monstrous inventory]

HA: I have some assorted weaponry and vehicles that people have slid into my inventory that are pretty prim-heavy. I just bought a beautiful Japanese-made 3D picture book of "Alice in Wonderland" that's on the prim thick side. *Kurotsubaki* story book, google that, it's lovely.

Me: Wow! Do you keep that out on display in your home?

HA: I don't keep the prim heavy stuff rezzed for obvious reasons. My office is a Linden holdover so it's in Waterhead, which is laggy enough as it is.

Me: Oh I see!

HA: :)

Me: OK...in your book, you mention that you don’t do SL relationships – virtual sex, in particular. How do you think that has impacted your perspective of SL? Are you getting the full experience?

HA: Yes, I think that's necessarily going to somewhat limit things; then again I've had real life relationships which developed first over the Internet so I know the basic dynamics. And that doesn't preclude having sorta passing crushes on certain avatars with gorgeous avatars and a creative style. That happens all the time! :)

Me: OK back to more mundane questions....lol. If your favorite movie got made into a sim, what would be your favorite area/feature?

HA: Well, I have a vast list of favorite movies, I guess you could shoot *Seven Samurai* in numerous Japanese sims; unfortunately I don't think we have a ready-made San Francisco to shoot *Vertigo*, and ironically enough, it may be difficult to shoot *Open City* in SL, because the Nazi uniforms may be against Community Standards. Of course *Blade Runner* is easy to shoot, so many cities are like a remake of *Blade Runner* already!

Me: Since starting, what has been the most surprising thing about SLife?

HA: That it never ceases to keep surprising me. There's never been a month gone by without some new innovation or revelation happens that enthralls me all over again. I write about all kinds of virtual worlds for GigaOM, my other main writing gig, and I have to say, none of them even come close to the dynamic, crazy creativity going on in here.

Me: It is an amazing place!!! So, you do realize that I am going to need a photo to go with this interview, right? And that you have the option of going shirtless.

At this point in the interview, the shirtless photo query must have shocked Hamlet so much that he crashed. But, Ladies and Gentlemen, he obliged and -- although it is not shirtless -- I think you'll agree it is an awfully nice picture of an awfully nice and talented guy!

Will this meme stick to the wall?

Since my husband, Jerremy, and I have been preparing our newbie dorms, we have been trying to think back to when we were was new and how the experience could have been better.

I have some questions and I'd love to see others answer them, too, on their blogs or in my comments. (NOTE: I can't take credit for thinking of these questions -- Jerremy thought of asking them!)

1. What the best SL advice you ever received?
   
2. What is the worst SL advice you have ever received?
   
3. What didn't anyone tell you that you had to learn on your own?

The best SL advice I ever received was to always remember that First Life comes first. That helped me balance myself and keep my priorities straight - especially through the early "addiction" stage.

The worst advice I ever got was to make a ton of outfit folders for easy dressing. This might work for some people, but it has left my inventory a jumbled mess of outfits I do not want to wear over and over again and caused me to lose track of some no copy items that were put with outfits.

One thing I had to learn on my own was that walking is best accomplished with the highest end gaming PC you can get....even if you have to sell organs to buy it. I always thought it was something I was doing wrong that was making my avatar walk like a drunk. Nope - Tymmerie is clean and sober. The other thing I had to learn on my own was how to close down chat boxes after conversations were over -- I used to have a whole screen's width of boxes open after a few hours of play and it was so frustrating to me.

Please share your own experiences and tips so that we can share them with our newbie residents. (We should be opening up our newbie dorms soon now - we only have a few more things to do to get ready -- I'll announce it on my blog!)

Thanks!!!!!

Hump Day Party Tonight: GET SCHOOLED!

ETA: Here is the link to the Flickr page with party photos!!

Don't forget that tonight at 8 PM SLT is the weekly Hump Day party! This week the party will be at our place! (SLURL)

The theme is Get Schooled - so come as a school girl or school boy, naughty professor, coach, cheerleader, school nurse, or whatever!!

Alicia Chenaux will be our DJ, so you know it will be a good time!! See you there!!