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!

Seasons in Second Life

Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves,

We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!

Humbert Wolfe 

            That time of year has rolled around again.

            The time when leaves are turning color and falling to the ground.  Schools have

reopened. Days are growing noticeably shorter.

            People are talking of the approaching Holidays and wondering where the year has gone.

            Yes, here where I live in Real Life (RL), summer is ending and autumn is fast approaching. 

            This happens four times a year here. (I live in a place where we have real seasons not just dates on a calendar.  Significant Other cheers.)

            We cycle through extremes of weather and the daily vicissitudes of dealing with these.  There is something reassuring about this.  (I’ll ignore Significant Other’s remark about being reliable unlike some.)

            The regular seasonal changes in RL make me think about Second Life (SL).

            We really don’t have seasons inworld.

            Yes, some sims change for the seasons.

            Some just ignore seasonality and are perpetually in one season.

            And, some change their seasons based on the whims of their owners.  As in, “Hey,

it’s Christmas tomorrow!  Where’d we put the snow from last year?” or “Wouldn’t it be fun to have snow in our tropical island paradise in the middle of July?”

            SL doesn’t really have seasons.  But, then for that matter, we don’t have the sun, moon, or stars either unless we want them and buy or build them.  Such is the world we live in in SL. 

            Changing seasons, where they do exist inworld, are more of an afterthought than anything else.  And, in fairness, it takes a considerable effort to build and maintain seasons in SL. 

            I admit a bias.

            I love the change in seasons.  It’s been part of my entire life and I’d be lost without them.  (Significant Other claims that this is one of my more endearing features.)

            Maybe someday, there’ll be a virtual world with seasons, weather, and the constellations in the sky!  For now, I just take what I can get inworld!

            Two of my favorite sims in SL with changing weather are First UCC and 1920s Berlin.  The former has an especially nice winter transition.  (Which may be the influence of my equally biased L’il Sister!) While the latter does a nice job of reflecting changes in the

weather to approximate the seasons.  (Always check whether you should bring your umbrella before visiting.)    

            As with virtually (No pun intended!) everything in SL, it’s what we make of it.  Seasons are optional unless we want them.  Admittedly, the overhead of building and maintaining them does get in the way!

            Please contact me with your favorite season seasons inworld and where I might find it.  I’ll do an update in the future on what I learn!   

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!

Back from the Wilderness (Part VI) – I Return to Second Life

Death ends a life, not a relationship.

Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie 

             As many of you have noticed by now, I’ve been away from Second Life (SL) for a while and haven’t been blogging. 

            Once again, Real Life (RL) called me away from SL.  

            The death of someone very close to Significant Other and me, especially for

Significant Other, necessitated our being out-of-state for a while. 

            To add to the confusion, the night before we were to leave, my laptop fried.  (Literally, smoke and everything, most impressive.) 

            Let’s just say that for a whole variety of reasons, it’s taken me a while to get back to some degree of normalcy.  (I’ll ignore the pundits who question whether I had any in the first place.) 

            But, I’m back!

            As before, I’m humbled by the messages I’ve received from my inworld friends.

            From those who knew what happened and offered their prayers, kept us in their thoughts, and offered to help me stay in touch inworld, I’m grateful.  (Significant Other is especially grateful.) 

            To those who only knew that I hadn’t been around for a while and wondered why I had gone over the wall, I appreciate your reaching out to express your concerns and to check in on me. 

            Specifically, I’d like to thank L’il Sis and the members of First UCC who offered assistance, prayers, and their condolences. 

            RL events have made me realize once again how much the SL community is like an extended family in RL than being a mere game or virtual world.  People show their feelings,

concerns, and fears as readily inworld as they do in RL.  Sadly, loss appears to be a universal feeling across both SL and RL.  

            Significant Other and I are both touched and grateful to all of you for responding to our grief as you did!  We thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts! 

            I’m getting back up to speed and hope to reconnect with all of you and to thank you personally! 

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!

Back from the Wilderness (Part VI) – I Return to Second Life

Death ends a life, not a relationship.

Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie 

             As many of you have noticed by now, I’ve been away from Second Life (SL) for a while and haven’t been blogging. 

            Once again, Real Life (RL) called me away from SL.  

            The death of someone very close to Significant Other and me, especially for

Significant Other, necessitated our being out-of-state for a while. 

            To add to the confusion, the night before we were to leave, my laptop fried.  (Literally, smoke and everything, most impressive.) 

            Let’s just say that for a whole variety of reasons, it’s taken me a while to get back to some degree of normalcy.  (I’ll ignore the pundits who question whether I had any in the first place.) 

            But, I’m back!

            As before, I’m humbled by the messages I’ve received from my inworld friends.

            From those who knew what happened and offered their prayers, kept us in their thoughts, and offered to help me stay in touch inworld, I’m grateful.  (Significant Other is especially grateful.) 

            To those who only knew that I hadn’t been around for a while and wondered why I had gone over the wall, I appreciate your reaching out to express your concerns and to check in on me. 

            Specifically, I’d like to thank L’il Sis and the members of First UCC who offered assistance, prayers, and their condolences. 

            RL events have made me realize once again how much the SL community is like an extended family in RL than being a mere game or virtual world.  People show their feelings,

concerns, and fears as readily inworld as they do in RL.  Sadly, loss appears to be a universal feeling across both SL and RL.  

            Significant Other and I are both touched and grateful to all of you for responding to our grief as you did!  We thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts! 

            I’m getting back up to speed and hope to reconnect with all of you and to thank you personally! 

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!

Helping Others in Second Life VII – Will You Help a Child Go to School, Please?

You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.

John Bunyan

           Wandering across Second Life (SL) for the last several years has taught me at least one very important lesson.  (Significant Other cringes.) That lesson is that residents inworld are at least as generous as they are in Real Life (RL), perhaps, even more so.  (Significant Other exhales slowly and looks relieved.)   

          There’s Relay for Life and efforts to help with diabetes.  I continue to see communities come together when one of their own runs into RL issues.    

          A note of warning before we go any further!

          I happen to believe in the general goodness of people whether in SL or in RL.  I don’t think we’re superior to others because we can walk by others less fortunate than ourselves who may be lying in the gutter kidding ourselves that they’ll get out when they feel like pulling themselves up.  Building walls neither hides the problem nor makes it go away. (Significant Other smiles approvingly.)  

          I remember what I once heard in a RL church during a homily (Yes, they let me in but they do keep an eye on me.), “The spare coat in your closet belongs to the poor.”

          And, yes.  If you think this rant of mine is a result of the current political situation in my country right now then you’re correct!  

          Now, that that’s over with…

          My good friends at First UCC in SL are once again sponsoring a RL child from

Children International through their RealReach program.  

          First UCC was originally attracted to Children International because they are not a directly sectarian effort tied to a single denomination.  They had strong ratings through charity tracking sites, and they tied education and skill-building programs into their outreach efforts.  They actively involve the families of the sponsored children in in-country community efforts.  They are not just a drop-off-the-food-and-clothing kind of place.  They have programs right in the neighborhoods they serve, and they interact daily with those they're helping.          

          This year a seventeen year old girl in Mexico has been identified as the latest beneficiary of RealReach.  She lives with her family and attends school.  But, she needs help with her school fees.  She has waited 216 days for a sponsor.  First UCC will pay $32US per month to support her education.  

          Now, here’s where folks like us can help!  

          On Thursday, June 16, 2016, at 6:00PM SLT, First UCC will be holding a dance and

an auction to raise funds to cover one year’s expenses for the child that they’re sponsoring.  The dance has a pool theme!  So grab your swimsuit and join the fun!  (Please no skinny dippers, this is a church function after all!)  

          If you can afford to please come by and make a contribution.

          If you can’t afford to make a contribution then please come by any way and lend your moral support.  

          I plan on being there!  (Although, Significant Other suggests that I offer to stay away if it means more people will contribute.)  

          Hope to see you there!  (Unless someone makes a material donation and I’ll stay away!)  

          I’d like to thank Jer Newstart, Becca Kellstrom, and XMarieX Fairport for their assistance in preparing this story!

          Some of the photos used in this story are from First UCC and used with the permission of their ministry. 

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!