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