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!

Looking Back on 2015 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

 

 

          Yes, that time of the year has rolled around once again!

          When I prepare my last story for the year and look back on what my year in Second Life (SL) was like.  (Significant Other walks away saying once was enough!)  This is my time to see what I’ve accomplished or not.  Then to reflect on it.  (You’ve been warned!)

          This year began for me shortly after the loss of someone who was close to me in Real Life (RL).  I wanted to be more positive and upbeat because of this.  It would have been too easy to slide into despair and negativity.  (Kudos for Significant Other’s help here!)

          Trying to be positive, my primary goal for 2015 inworld was to be less of an obituary for closed sims and to focus more on the communities there. 

          Other goals were to keep my series like Sex and the Single Avatar going, try to meet someone from Antarctica, experiment with social media, and most importantly, have fun! 

          How’d I do?

          Well, even if I do say so myself, pretty good! (Significant Other always said I have a healthy ego!)

          Some of my highlights were blogging more about people helping other people inworld, I got a job, wrote about maintaining balance inworld and who are our friends in SL.  Not only did I continue series like Sex and the Single Avatar and Erotic Art in Second Life but I started a new series, The Great Castles of Second Life. I also kept current with all the happenings with Perryn Peterson and his crew over in Mieville.  My readership on my blog is up thanks to social media.  And, I finally met someone from Antarctica who visits SL regularly! 

          There were many more great people with great stories too! 

          What did I miss?

          Not too much in my opinion!  (Significant Other is still unsure if my glossing over the

negatives is a good thing.)

          I still haven’t made my voyage across the seas inworld but my excuse is my crew jumped ship on me.  (We won’t explore Significant Other’s question about why they jumped ship.)

          Overall, I feel I had a good year in SL having fun and I hope my readers enjoyed my journey as much as I did!  I went to new places, met new friends, and had new experiences!  (You’ll have to read my blog for all the details!)

          I’ll still be blogging as I go forward and another story will tell about my plans for 2016 in SL!   

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!

 

 

 

 

Whom Are Our Friends in Second Life?

If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself alone. A man should keep his friendships in constant repair.

Samuel Johnson

 

          My recent fourth anniversary of blogging about Second Life (SL) got me thinking about all the folks I’ve met inworld and especially those whom I’m fortunate enough to call friends.  (I’ll ignore Significant Other’s wondering aloud if they’d admit publically to being friends with me.)

          The communities that I visit in SL are all comprised of individuals. 

          Each with their own unique personality and characteristics.

          But, one common theme across all of these folks is that they all have friends themselves.

          Which led me to today’s question, “Whom are our friends in SL?”

          Some may ask if we even have friends in SL or, if we do, are they even real?

          I’ve written about friendship in SL before.    

          Today, though, I want to look more closely at what makes up our friends inworld.

          Obviously, I believe that we can have SL friends and these friendships can be as real as those in Real Life (RL).  (In order to be balanced, contrary to Significant Other’s observation, I do have RL friends too.  Although, I must admit, many of them just don’t get SL.  Their loss!)

          So, I’ll start by using myself as an example.

          No, don’t worry, I’m not about to bore you with a long list of the names of my SL friends or their numbers (Again, to keep the record straight, I disagree with Significant Other that I have more SL friends than RL ones.) or their numbers and how long we’ve been friends.

         

Instead, I want to talk about the types of people who are my friends and why we are friends.  (I’ll take Significant Other’s advice and not identify my SL friends here to avoid causing them any embarrassment and risk losing them as friends.)

          My SL friends are people whom I’ve met along the way as I’ve explored and blogged about my inworld experiences. 

          My SL friends are people whom I share common interests or experiences.  (And, yes, people who laugh at my bad jokes.)

          My SL friends are people whom I’ll look for when I rezz inworld or who look for me when I do.

          Come to think of it, isn’t this a lot like what determines whom our friends are in RL?

          What are the characteristics of our SL friends?

          Are they like us?  (Significant Other shudders at this one.)

          Do they help us not only in our SL lives but our RL ones as well?  (I’m presently reading a great book in RL recommended by a good SL friend.  Another SL friend helped me find someone to interview for a story whom I’d been looking for.  Help can be very small things!)

          Are our SL friends supportive?  (Like all those who helped me when I had a recent personal loss.) 

          Do we share confidences (at least SL ones!) with our SL friends?

          Do we do things with our SL friends that we would never dare to do in RL and laugh about them later?

          Do we miss our SL friends and feel a sense of loss when they disappear inworld and we never see them again? 

          I could keep going but I think you get the idea.

          Do you have friends in SL?

          Why do you have them?

          Was it planned or did it just happen?  (I was the latter, I thought I’d be the lonely explorer inworld only to turn around and to find out that I had all these friends!)

          Do you need your SL friends?

          Where do you think your SL friendships will lead?

          Will they be ongoing inworld?

          Will they cross over into RL?  (I’ve met many who have and some who have even gotten married!)

          Or, will they become something else entirely?

          These are just a few thoughts about our friends in SL.

         

Probably, the best advice I can leave for everyone is that, as in RL, we should never take our friends for granted and always hold them close!

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!

                                             

Life and Death in Second Life

 Life is but a dream for the dead.

Gerard Way

 

          Recently, I came across an interesting and thought provoking article by another blogger, Canary Beck. 

          (Yes, I do read other bloggers!  The question is how many of them return the favor!)

          The article was titled What if our avatars aged (and died!) in Second Life? and discusses the pros and cons of avatars aging in Second Life (SL).

          At about the same time as I read this article, I ran into Bec Kellstrom, my unofficial  

spiritual advisor inworld.  (This may be news to Bec and should in no way reflect poorly on her.  Like many in her calling, she has a penchant for lost causes.)

          Bec had read the same article and this led to a far ranging discussion about life and death in SL and the relationship with Real Life (RL).  (Significant Other groans and leaves.  Significant Other doesn’t like this topic.)

          The question that arose for me from Canary’s article and my conversation with Bec (No blame should attach to either of them here.) is what’s our ultimate end in SL?

          In other words, where do our virtual existences lead inworld given that our RL ones are finite.  (Now, you can understand why Significant Other left.)

          Let’s start with aging.

          If our avatars were to age along with our RL selves what end would it be to?

          Would our virtual selves become more like our RL selves?

          Would we act our age (Does not sound as strange to you reading this as it does to me writing it?) or become some sort of senile delinquents? 

          One thing’s for sure, aging would be a real crimp in the sex industry inworld. 

          (But, then I did run across virtual Viagra™ in an earlier story.) 

Why would we want to age inworld?

Added realism?  Perhaps.

Because we could?  Possibly.  (There’s one in every crowd.)

Would I do it?

No.

My reasons are primarily ease and I don’t want my SL existence to be about my avatar.

I’m an observer of life inworld and I don’t want my avatar to be a distraction.

(OK, and yes, as Significant Other would say if here, I’m probably too lazy to stay up with all the changes required to age properly.)

Besides, I’m close enough to my RL self.  Except for the blond hair, red eyes, and a few other details…

Let’s move along to death. 

In RL, death has a certain finality about it.

None of us knows for sure what lies beyond the curtain.

Maybe there is life after death.  Maybe there’s not.

Or, maybe reincarnation does exist.

(For the record, I happen to believe in life after death.  I have no logical argument for this that I can offer.  Personally, I’m more worried about being locked out of both levels.  But, that’s my problem.)

In SL, on the other hand is it final?  Does it have to be?

          When we lose someone inworld, many times we never know why. 

          Has the person just grown tired of a virtual existence, has RL reasserted its rightful place, or has the person actually passed on in RL?

          Sometimes, we know.

          There may be inworld memorial services and gravesites that can be visited. 

 

         I recently came across three such gravestones at Beau Belle Village memorializing members who never came back to SL because they had passed away in RL.

          Can we have reincarnation in SL?

          If we change avatars and never go back to our former selves isn’t this a form of reincarnation?

          What if another RL person takes over someone else’s avatar because they’ve died in RL or left for some other reason?

          (Starting to get heavy here, eh?  I don’t go to nudist sims all the time!)

          Which brings me to when death intersects both RL and SL.

          What should one do?

          Just disappear?  Leaving friends to always wonder why in the false hope that we’ll return?

          Let someone else take our avatar over a la Dread Pirate Roberts and we go on as long as there’s a virtual world to hang out in?

          Or, do we just stop being in SL just like we must do in RL someday.  (If anyone has figured out how to avoid the final day of reckoning, please let me know because I can make us a lot of money!)

          Me?

          (Not that I’m planning on going anywhere soon!)

          My SL existence will end with my RL one.

          Is it vanity?

          I don’t know.  

          All I know is that I’m here for a certain length of time and that should be good enough for both RL and SL.  (Besides, let’s be honest, could anyone else ever replace my inimitable wit and charm?)

          I’ve made my inworld arrangements.  (Significant Other’s not too crazy about this.)

          So, if someday you get an invite to see me off then please come and remember my stories with everyone else!

          (I repeat.  Everything is fine and I plan on being around longer than SL!)

          I’d like to thank Bec for taking the time to have these heavy philosophical discussions with me and Canary for writing an awesome blog!

          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 V) – I Return to Second Life

 

Overheard at a gravesite: "And they all said ’I’m sorry for your loss,’ as if you were someone who could ever be taken from me."

Robert Brault

                                                                

 

          I’ve been way from Second Life (SL) for a while.

          There are reasons.  Yes, reasons and not excuses.

          First, Significant Other and I went away for a few days (Yes, this was in Real Life (RL) and not some cybertrip, I have some standards.) and the usual available WiFi wasn’t available.

          OK, things happen and as I’ve posted before in the Back from the Wilderness stories I invariably bounce back and somehow manage to post a story.

Then, as Significant Other and I were preparing to return home, I received word that a very close loved one had passed away unexpectedly.

As I guess as many of you know, a time like this can be a stressful and confusing one in a family. Hence, I left SL and the Metaverse for some time.

I did reach out to several friends at various times to let them know why I wasn’t inworld.

I received messages from other friends wondering why I wasn’t about or posting.

From all I received their prayers, thoughts, and condolences.

I’m slowly coming back now.  Beginning with my blog and following with social media.

Significant Other and I thank all for their prayers, thoughts, and condolences.

I’d also like to thank everyone for their patience as I put RL and SL back together again.  And, to those who kept reading my stories and retweeting my tweets!

I’ve blogged about loss before but when it comes at us in RL it’s hard to accept but I know that I must and go on.

Those in SL were as supportive and sympathetic as my RL family and friends.  I guess this shows that we’re not really all that different regardless of the mediums we use.

I look forward to reconnecting with all my friends in both worlds over the next several weeks.

Thanks again!

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!