Twenty-four Hours in Second Life – Hour III

As you’re all probably aware by now, my intention of blogging every hour has fallen apart.  However, I am enjoying myself and accomplishing my goals of meeting with old friends, meeting new ones, and going to new places.  I will continue to blog over the course of today so fear not in that regard. 

After my last set of adventures (Which can be read here.  I moved on to meet with another friend, Farwolf Armastus, invited me to join him and a group of his friends at a bar called Muddy’s Music Café.  

The place was jumping when I arrived. Dozens were dancing and a DJ kept the music going.  I met Farwolf and was soon dancing out on the floor myself.  The owner, WilliamD Bracken, surveyed the dance floor from his perch at the bar.  Holiday decorations livened the place up and everyone was in good spirits. 

While I was boogying away, Perryn Peterson, IM’d asking if I could join him because he would be away for a while in RL.  Due to some serious lag problems, I had some difficulty in extricating myself and responding to his TP.  I crash landed in mid-boogy at Perryn’s feel in Mieville – Chinatown.  Lag was still killing me when the region was taken down for service (Don’t you just hate it when that happens?) not long afterwards and I only got a brief glimpse of what Perryn wanted to show me.  Hopefully, later this evening, I’ll be able to reconnect with him and see what promises to be another interesting journey to another one of Perryn’s sims. 

By now, I had to shut down my computer and restart.  This had been my longest uninterrupted session in SL since I joined and am noticing that the longer I stay on, the more likely I am to experience response problems. Especially, if I’m with crowds or have multiple IM’s going.  Which is what today is all about for me.

Returning to SL, I meet with another old friend, Jan Kharg, from Ankh-Morpork.  I meet her in its suburbs which are in their winter finest and are decorated for the Christmas Holidays.  She makes me feel good right off the bat when she asks if I’ve been noticing considerable lag in chat and other activities today.  I share my theory that I think many more people are on the grid today because of the Holiday season and its impacting system response time. So much for the pleasantries! 

Jan tells me about the recent difficulties she’s had with Linden Lab (LL) concerning the loss of four years’ worth of shoes and other objects created by her when a folder disappeared.  LL has been unable to assist her and she is, rightly in my opinion, very frustrated about the matter.  We talk about SL’s long term prospects.  While both of us are SL enthusiasts, we sometimes wonder if LL feels the same way. Jan and I then talk about how SL has helped, and continues to help, people who are either shut-ins for one reason or another and whose only access to the wider world is SL.  Topics like that make some of the LL issues seem trite by comparison.

Taking my leave of Jan, I go to see Rosemary Thyme Chesnokova, whom I first met in 1920’s Berlin  several months ago.  We meet at her home in Taro and we decide to visit the Tiny community of Raglan together.  Another friend, Sisson,  had recommended this as a fun place to visit. 

We TP over and arrive high in a tree which is obviously inhabited by Tinies.  Christmas decorations, the size of houses, hang from its branches.  We take an acorn elevator down to the lowest levels and fly down to the ground after that.

As before, the local environment is snow covered and decorated for Christmas.  Rosemary and I come across a group of snowmen recreating an automobile accident. 

We walk along a street looking in at the shops. Few Tinies are about, the few that are direct us to shops where we could present as Tinies if we wish.  Only planning to stay for a short while, we decline.  While we walk, Rosemary and I talk about the structure and meaning of SL families.  (I promise a story about relationships in SL for next year.) 

Then one of those moments occurred that when they happen in Real Life (RL), we take it for granted.  However, in SL, it’s really something.  Out of nowhere, Spec Belfire, a friend of mine, asks via IM how I’m doing and where am I in my quest.  I reply and he says he’s in the neighborhood.  He walks over to join us and I introduce him to Rosemary. This is the first time I have ever run into a friend in SL away from our usual haunts and the first time that I’ve introduced friends of mine to each other.  Either SL is getting smaller or I’m getting more friends. 

After talking together for a while, we go our separate ways.  I felt good about this.  (Not sure how Rosemary and Spec felt, but, hopefully, they have similar feelings.)  I grab some RL lunch and come back to finish this post. 

I’m really excited about this day in SL.  I’m meeting with old friends and seeing new things with them.  I’m even running into people by chance.  The diversity and camaraderie of SL are at their best as far as I’m concerned. Maybe it’s because I’m still in the Holiday spirit but I think something else is here. 

Hourly stories are hopelessly gone.  I did not allow for the human interaction and the spontaneity of SL.  I hope my readers are not disappointed but I am trying to give a full and faithful account of my day in SL.    

I want to thank Farwolf Armastus, Perryn Peterson, Jan Kharg, Rosemary Thyme Chesnokova, and my unannounced guest, Spec Belfire, for coming out to meet with me during my twenty-four hours in SL.  I also am grateful to all of them for helping me along the way! 

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

     If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

Photo No. 1: Muddy’s Music Café Dance Floor

Photo No. 2: Ankh-Morpork Winter Scene

Photo No. 3: Snowmen Auto Accident