Back from the Wilderness! (Part III)

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.

Nelson Mandela

 

I’m back!

OK.  Maybe not everyone is as excited about this as I am.  But after a hiatus of several weeks I finally managed to log back into Second Life (SL) and walk the grid just a few minutes ago. 

I walked around.  Cleared my IM’s.  Found I’d been capped.  (Groan!) But, it felt good to be back.  Of course, I have a lot to do.  I’d made commitments to other residents which I have to now catch up on and I’m still dealing with the fallout from my hardware problems.  (When we meet inworld, I’ll share the Saga with you.)  My writing schedule resembles O’Hare International Airport’s flight schedule after a blizzard.  However, for all of that, being back is good.

I learned a lot while I was away.

First, the SL reader is an anachronism in this day and age.  I had a machine on loan after mine died, however, I couldn’t add programs.  Hence, I was up the creek without the proverbial paddle.  Prior to my problems, I hadn’t given this much thought.  Now, as I think about it and I see the proliferation of smart phones and pads, I’m beginning to how much longer can Linden Lab (LL) go on with a self-limiting technical solution. 

Next, I found that the SL community is alive and well, if not thriving, in Real Life (RL) across the Metaverse.  Residents are in Facebook, blogs, Flickr, and many other spots.  Last week’s blog explored SL fashion across the Web and that was just one aspect of the SL communities out there in the Metaverse.  I’ll be returning to these in my future blogs.  Interestingly, I made many friends in SL despite not being able to be inworld.  Maybe the community would survive if SL and LL were to go away?  We would become modern cyber gypsies, having lost and forgotten our original home world, but staying together because of a common history and traditions. 

Finally, I found that the SL community does care for its own.  Residents helped me, offered encouragement, and told me to hurry back.  I’m still in awe of the wonderful people who make up this world and share their lives with one another. 

I’m keeping this blog short because I have a lot to do.  My intention is to get back to my regular schedule and to include material from my misadventures. 

I’m glad to be back and will be reaching out to my all friends in the next few weeks! 

I have a request of those reading this blog, if they run into any of my other readers inworld if they would please tell them about my recent technical problems and inform them that I’m back inworld can be reached either via IM, at my blog, or at webseplunker@gmail.com.  I’d love to hear from them! 

Finally, I want to apologize to those whom I may have appeared to have simply fallen off the grid.  I hope I haven’t caused any inconvenience and I look forward to seeing everyone again very soon!  As always, I’m open to any and all ideas for places to visit and people to meet. 

As always, I’m grateful to all for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives. 

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.