Real Life vs. Second Life

Once harm has been done, even a fool understands it.

Homer          

          Sometimes, Real Life (RL) gets in the way of being in Second Life (SL).

          Like early last year when my laptop crashed and I went “into the wilderness” for a while until its replacement arrived.    

           Or, when Superstorm Sandy came roaring through and took out power for a while here in the Northeast.   (Come to think of it now, last year was pretty wild and I still managed to post to this blog every week.  Pulitzer prizes have been given for less!) 

          My current dilemma is that my broadband provider has failed to provide the reliable, fast service to my home that their advertising claims will always be there for me.  (I won’t mention their name now but if this situation isn’t fixed soon, I may not be so forbearing.) 

          So, now, I’m sitting in one of those ubiquitous coffee shops with Wifi as I post this. (Hey, I’ve run consulting engagements out of these places; blogging is a cinch by comparison.)  Significant Other is with me, wondering how their involvement went from emotional support and tolerance to assisting in marking and holding turf in a crowded coffee shop on a Saturday night.  (I’m reminded that once upon a time I used to know how to have a better time on Saturday nights.) 

          I’m feeling pretty good about this work around.  I’ve made my deadline.  My regular readers hopefully will not be disappointed.  (Both of you know who you are and I’m grateful.)  I’ve done my weekly promotions.  (Trust me, folks just don’t show up at this blog because of divine inspiration.)  And, as a real treat, I had a very nice cup of tea with a pastry.

          This recent example of life’s vicissitudes has gotten me thinking about how can I integrate myself into SL to better insulate myself from these service interruptions.  (Significant Other’s eyes are rolling about now.) 

          The problem is SL is not easy to get into.  First, there’s that pesky problem of the viewer.  Next, another favorite gripe of many of us is the lack of a mobile SL solution.  (Although, there may be some relief coming here soon.  See Wagner Au’s recent very interesting story on his blog about a potential tablet solution for SL aficionados.)  Then there’s the juggling of RL events when a problem arises in order to meet SL commitments.  (It really is like having a “second” life.  Whoever named this virtual world really knew what they were doing.)  One theme that runs across all of these is the difficulty of reaching anyone inworld outside the viewer unless you happen to have their RL email address. 

          I don’t have any ready solutions right now other than running out to my friendly, local coffee shop.  Like most good things in life (RL that is), SL is difficult to get to but worth the effort once you’re there. 

          I do wish to apologize to Lisah Lorefield whom I stood up today.  She was going to take me on a tour of an art gallery that she’d discovered.  I will reconnect with her and get that story done. (Along with the one that I missed last week.  I seem to building a bit of a backlog here.) 

          In closing, to all my loyal readers, I regret this recent interruption and I hope to get back inworld and to more orderly blogging shortly! 

          In the meantime, please feel free to read some of my other stories that you may not have gotten around to yet!

          Be well, be safe, and I’ll be back with you as soon as I can!  

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. 

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. 

 

Second Life and Superstorm Sandy

The wise man in the storm prays to God, not for safety from danger, but deliverance from fear.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

           In Real Life (RL), I reside in the northeastern portion of the United States.  Being there gave Significant Other and me the dubious distinction of experiencing Superstorm Sandy recently.  (I know some will say that technically Sandy was a hurricane, having lived through it, I feel entitled to call it whatever I want to.) 

          I’m going to be serious with this story.  It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen.  If President Obama and Governor Christie can work together then I can be serious.  Sandy was real.  Neighborhoods that I once knew have been devastated and lives have been lost.  People already struggling with their lives have had another burden added.  Please bear with me if my usual humor isn’t in this story. 

          So, while sitting in the dark without power and access to the Internet and Second Life (SL) for just under thirty-six hours, I had a chance to think about SL and some of the differences with RL.  (Significant Other asks that I point out that being stuck with me alone in the dark for that period of time is another inconvenience.)

          The first thing that crossed my mind is that things like this don’t happen in SL.  Sure, there’s lag.  Yes. We crash.  But we all know we can relog in and everything is fine.  Well, we can’t reboot or relog in RL.  We have to accept RL as it comes to us and get on with it. 

          SL goes on without the exigencies of RL.  The people we deal with in SL may or may not be affected by RL events.  In the run up to Sandy and after our power was restored I talked with people inworld who were in a similar situation as we were.  Others weren’t affected but were curious and some were concerned.  (Some more than I was.) 

          Then I started thinking that SL is also part of RL.  A small, informal community had formed around me in SL as others and I talked about our respective situations.  We swapped stories and exchanged solutions for problems.  (Thanks to the friend who told me about Coleman camp stoves and MRE’s!)  The social media phenomena was alive and well.  SL is an alternative or a complement to Facebook and Twitter. 

          So what happens when the cord is cut?  We lose contact with one another.  When a storm like Sandy rolls over us, we lose that contact in both RL and SL.  Trust me, when the winds were blowing outside my home I wasn’t about to go wandering about in the dark and the rain outside.  I was as disconnected in RL as I was in SL once the power went out.  Both worlds went dark. 

          Having just posted my one hundredth story in this blog, I’ve spent enough time inworld that I still wonder whether SL is something separate and apart from us or is it part of our reality?  Are virtual worlds and their relationships just something we have when the lights are on or are they part of us and our RL’s and are missed just like our RL friends when they can’t be with us?  Something to think about as we dig out from under Sandy. 

         I’d like to thank all who met with me as we went through Sandy.  I’d also like to thank all those who were nowhere near the storm but expressed their concern and checked in afterwards.  I’d like to think that events like the last few days are once in a lifetime occurrence.  But, who knows? 
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.