Looking Back on 2016 in Second Life

The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared. 

 Lois Lowry  

It’s that time of the year again.

The Holidays are drawing to a close.  Winter is taking us deeper and deeper into its cold and darkness.  Snow threatens.  (Yeah, I get it!  You folks in Florida and Arizona are clueless about what I’m talking about.  Just sit back in your beach chairs and enjoy my story!)

Another year is coming to an end.

They seem to go by faster now.

Fewer people seem to be around to remember with us those years gone by.  (I’ll ignore Significant Other’s contribution that maybe they’re just avoiding me.)

Somehow, the old doesn’t seem as reassuring as it once did.  The approaching new looms threateningly ahead of us.  (Anyone who doesn’t know what I’m referring to here, please find a nice, safe, comfortable seat, call emergency services, and wait for them to come for you.  They’re nice people and will see that you get the care that you need.)

How was my year?

Well, Significant Other and I survived.

We lost someone in Real Life (RL) who was very close to both of us.

About the same time, I had a major change in my RL situation but that seems to be turning out alright for us.

These events did affect my writing.  (My three loyal followers did notice that I missed a few stories.  Although, one wise guy just thought that I’d forgotten!)

But, enough of RL! 

You’re here to hear what I have to say about last year in Second Life (SL), so let’s do it!

I had a lot of good news in SL this year!

I had my five year anniversary blogging about SL!   

(My thanks to my three loyal followers including the aforementioned wise guy.)

I went over the 1,000,000 hits mark for my blog!   

(Yeah, OK, maybe they’re not all real people but it’s a big number to me!)

I got adopted and now have a L’il Sister!   

(I never had one before in either RL or SL, she’s a bit of a nudge but does make SL more interesting!)

I started a new series about dungeons inworld.  (And, no, this had nothing to do with getting adopted.  Where do you people get these ideas about me?  Even Significant Other hasn’t suggested that one… Yet.)

I’ve begun to look more closely at our lives inworld.  Are we content, what’s our purpose for being there, and are we spending too much time inworld?      

I wrote about old friends inworld. 

(Yes, they’ve stayed with me!)

First UCC has become a RL congregation, a first, and continues to raise funds  to educate children in RL. 

Perryn Peterson and his Mieville posse are still going strong and have one of, if not the most, active social calendars inworld.    

Another good friend got married!

And, there have been others, and space constraints preclude me from listing them all!  (Hint: Check my blog to read all about them!)

How’d I do against my original goals for 2016?

Not too shabbily even if I do say so myself! 

(I didn’t ask Significant Other so don’t feel any regret about ignoring the feedback.)

I did blog about friends and communities.

I started the new series on dungeons and covered new topics like jousting. 

There was edgier content about shibari and nudity.

Sadly, I wrote about sexual harassment inworld.  I just felt that something had to said.

Finally, I’ve gotten more into whom we are in SL. 

Overall, given all the fun ‘n frolic in life in RL this year, I’m satisfied.  I didn’t go as deep or as broad as I’d hoped but then that’s just laying the foundation for 2017 isn’t it?  (More about 2017 in my next story!)

So, what’s my final say about SL for 2016?

I still enjoy rezzing inworld to visit new places, meet people, and have new experiences!

And, I still enjoy returning to familiar places, old friends, and reliving some experiences! 

What’s not to enjoy?

SL still challenges, intrigues, and attracts me!  (Despite L’il Sis lurking about.)

I still urge anyone who is curios and has a sense of adventure to drop by and visit!

You’ll be glad you did!

Au revoir 2016! 

Happy New Year to all whether in SL or RL!

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

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

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.

            Open roads and kind fires!

What’s a Good Time in Second Life?

Good times are a reminder and a reward for dealing with the difficult and challenging times we all go through. The trick is to celebrate the good times in advance of the difficult times. Always remember, good times await you after the difficult times pass….

 James A. Murphy

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my life in Second Life (SL).

I’ve wondered about its purpose, about being lost inworld, and thought about the good inworld among other things. 

Some of these thoughts were a little heavy (Significant Other says, “A little?”) which got me thinking about how I enjoy myself inworld.  (Come to think of it, even L’il Sis said recently that I’ve been thinking some deep thoughts lately.  I think she was actually surprised.)

All this led to the premise of this story, “What’s a good time in SL?”

Of course, the answer varies depending on whom you ask.

(As you’ve probably guessed, I took philosophy for my electives at university.)

What constitutes a good time inworld is just as varied as our purposes.

Some enjoy social or recreational activities.  Others educational or crafts.  While others are here to make a profit.  (Haven’t met too many of them.)  Some seek competition.  And, of course, no list of good times in SL without romance and sex.  (My BDSM friends fall into this category.) The list is countless.

Probably just about the only good time activity that can’t do inworld but can in Real Life (RL) is drink.  (I’m sure someone is now going to correct me on this one.)

You’re probably asking yourselves now, what do I call a good time in SL?

(Yes, I do have them.)

For me, good times inworld are all about new places, new friends, and new experiences.

I’m a nomad inworld.  (Puts a whole new twist on the idea of a digital nomad, eh?)   

The thrill of the open road and what’s around the next bend is my idea of a good time

in SL.  (Significant Other hums Born to be Wild in the background.)

We all come inworld for different reasons. 

Yes, we all have different purposes inworld.  But, somewhere along the way, we having a good time.

What’s your idea of a good time?

(Sorry L’il Sis, torturing me doesn’t count!)

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

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

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.

            Open roads and kind fires!

What’s Our Purpose in Second Life?

The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.

Eleanor Roosevelt

The end of the year is approaching.

Recently, blogging about all the Christmas festivities at Mieville in Second Life (SL) started to get me into the mood along with Real Life (RL) events like Christmas, New Year’s, and all the other things that come with the closing down of another year.  (Some, like getting

ready for filing taxes are real mood killers.) 

Maybe I’m getting old but this time of the year has gotten me thinking about my purpose in SL and which also got me thinking about the rest of you.

(Significant Other groans and asks if this is going to be another one of those heavy, big thought stories.  Significant Other was hoping for one about elves.)

What’s your purpose in SL?

Let’s discuss it!

(Significant Other leaves to watch the DVD of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Apparently, the elves in that one have a high cuteness quotient.)

You probably have one in RL.  (If not then I can recommend some other blogs to you.)

But, SL?  Really?

Actually, believe it or not, most of actually do have a purpose inworld.

How can I say that?

The fact that we keep coming back.

Many rezz in either to leave never to return or come back a few times and then

disappear never to be heard from again. 

We’re what’s left. 

We’ve found something that brings us back. 

            Our purpose in SL!

            But, what’s our purpose you may ask.

            Aye, therein lies the rub!

            (BTW I think paraphrasing Shakespeare, no matter how badly, adds a certain cachet to my blog.  I’d really appreciate some feedback from my three loyal readers on this topic.)

            Now, there won’t be any great thoughts here.

            (Significant Other’s head pops in to say no surprises there.)

            Just what I’ve noticed over the years inworld as I’ve wandered and blogged. 

            People return to SL because they want to…

            Because they enjoy themselves…

            Because they find some value.

            What’s the value?

            Here the reasons vary.

            For some, it’s the companionship.

            For others, it’s the technical challenge.

            For the remainder like myself, it’s the lure of the unknown.

            (If you haven’t encountered the unknown inworld then you obviously have been visiting the wrong places.  Contact me and I’ll get you lost.  Promise!)

            We all have a purpose inworld.

            Even me, the itinerant wanderer.

            Maybe we all don’t realize it but we do. 

            Think about it.

            If you’re a regular inworld then obviously you have a purpose for being there.

            What is it?

            How about telling us and I’ll share it out to my three loyal readers!

            Thanks In advance!

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

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

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.

            Open roads and kind fires!

A Mystical Christmas in Second Life

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more! 

Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

It’s that time of the year again.

We wonder where the past year has gone…

We look forward to the winter solstice…

And, with of all of this, some of us look forward to Christmas!

(I reassure Significant Other that a certain list has been received.)

In Second Life (SL), Christmas is very much alive just as in Real Life (RL).

But, perhaps, no more so than in Mieville where the indefatigable Perryn Peterson, its Mayor, and his elves have been pulling extra shifts to get ready for the Christmas Holiday inworld!   

In Christmases past, Mieville has been host to A Christmas Carol, an Elizabethan Christmas with a frozen River Thames, and a winter wonderland to name but a few themes.   

Perryn and his band of merry elves have not been lacking for ideas for this year’s Christmas. 

Its theme is Mystic Yule which as Perryn puts it is, “A full sim of snowy, forested, magical, faerie Christmas and Yule delights!”  (The man does have a way with words!)

And, it’s all waiting for you to come and enjoy!

There is much to see and do as always!

Visitors will be able to visit merchants in over one hundred booths and wagons peruse their goods.  There'll be entertainment, gachas, ice skating, dancing, food and drinks, and much more! 

And, of course, don’t forget the new and improved mini-hunt where each merchant will have a surprise gift hidden in their establishment for shoppers to try and find. 

Mieville wouldn’t be Mieville without new and magical attractions.

This year has almost all new buildings, gorgeous landscaping by Mike Olbracht,

beautiful dance area, wintery rides and the Wizard's Tower!  (Hint: Which you can find your way out of by following the "down" doors which are clearly marked!)    

Perryn and his crew wanted to do something faerie-like and mysterious, home in on the mystical nature of Christmas, and to cater to their large fantasy following.

They’ve outdone themselves as usual!

(Yes, admittedly, I’m biased.  But, given the wonderful experiences which Perryn and his team produce consistently for their visitors, I think I’m entitled!)

I heartily recommend visiting Mystic Yule in Mieville which runs from December 1^st to January 1^st and can be located here! 

Maybe you’ll even run into me there!

I’d like to thank Perryn and his elves for another wonderful seasonal event and for

assisting me in preparing this story for all my loyal readers!  (All three of you!) 

I’d also like to thank The Companion who took all the beautiful photos used in this story and the others which can be found on this flickr page. 

Happy Holidays to all from Significant Other and me! 

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

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

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.

            Open roads and kind fires!