Along the Road

This little coffee place was a regular resting stop for me while my typist worked on her laptop. I’d walk down Wellington Road while she was spacey and trying to figure something out. Then I’d take a break while she went back to work.

It’s connected to a store which has been there for quite a while in SL time. Late Friday night I returned to make sure the landmark was still good. And guess what.

There’s land for sale across the road and it had a flashing robot on it. I went to check it out and it shot me. I went flying through the air and landed on the road with blood spraying. Maybe it was a security thing, but on land for sale? Maybe it was for entertainment.

I found this place the first week of it’s existence. It’s a 512 plot and I’m interested in those. It’s called Cafe Spice and it was still there as of Friday night. A plant pet store has popped up on the empty land behind me in the photo and there are other new pet stores in the area.

Just a little glimpse of the Mainland. There’s something to be said for exploring without a mission.

China Grove

Tags

China Grove, mainland, virtual destinations

I’d not heard of China Grove when I found it while exploring. It must have recently changed hands because who could possibly build the Great Wall of China in a week?

There was a lot to see and I flew part of the way since the area is larger than I first thought. It isn’t just for sightseeing though, there are jetski’s to rez, (I steered like a maniac), and also float thingies that you can paddle at a more sedate pace.   There’s a beach area and private rooms. (It’s a moderate sim.)There’s a courtyard with beautiful Asian buildings.

I had a little trouble getting around some places but your machine might do better.There are tai chi poseballs in a courtyard as well as a few other places.After walking all over the places, crashing my jetski and doing some tai chi, I relaxed and had tea while watching the sun go down.

And it’s Second Life, where you can mix-and-match your interests. Like building the Great Wall and inviting the ladies to fish topless.Pearl laughs.

Otium Exhibit/Call to SL Artists of All Expressions

Tags

art, Esterwell, Otium

A group notice led me to an art exhibit currently at Otium-Leisure & Laziness. The artist is Carelyna. When you’re done looking at art you can go down to the beach. This is one sim where there are always people about when I visit.So, sometimes I play in an art gallery in Esterwell. I’m a curator and forger. Much of the art was already there but I put out a few pieces from my collection for others to enjoy. There’s an event happening soon on the whole sim, calling for the participation of SL artists who are interested. From the notecard:

“Esterwell’s First Annual Nocturne: Art at Night!

October 3rd and 4th 2014
Esterwell, a paragraph RP SIM that focuses on the art of writing would like to invite the artists of Second life to join us in a special two day event which celebrates all forms of art and not just the written word the first weekend of October.

While we welcome all submissions, we would love to challenge artists to create concept pieces based on a poem by one of the writers here in Esterwell entitled Porcelain.

Artists will have 50 prims on a first come first serve basis, at no cost to them, to display their work.

We invite submissions of all kinds including music, dancing, painting and anything else creative. This night isn’t about us telling you what to do, its about showing who you are!

Below you will find a short application form which can be returned to AnnaDeLuca Resident.”

You can IM me (pearlgrey resident) for an application if you want, or ask Anna. I’m not really involved in the event other than getting the word out. I’ve been logging in most days again and am willing to help if I can.

It’s an opportunity for you to show your stuff.

 

Home and Garden Expo ~ 3

Tags

hair, Home and Garden Expo

My final raw photos of the Home and Garden Expo. These buildings looked great inside.

I stayed there until the wee hours of the morning, being fairly sure that I wouldn’t have time to return except to pick up a small house or two.

Any info you might need about the Expo or stuff you might see here can likely be found on your favorite official blogs.  Thursday evening I went to A Clockwork Spiral. Many of my favorite brands participate in that. The build looks great and I took photos. It was very challenging to see any of the merchandise though. It’s simply too small for me and would have taken too much energy to really shop this year.

Mesh landscaping is showing up more often on the mainland, I’ve noticed. Also more newly abandoned land.Mesh flowers are pretty.These ruins have stuff for builders inside. It’s really looking like my idea of learning to make stuff in Second Life just isn’t going to happen. My typist thinks that what used to take her three days to do, now takes her a week.Yesterday, I surprised myself by getting all chatty about my new hair. This photo is the best I can do in a reasonable amount of time. The hair, Mary in coal, has braids in it. I located the store inworld by looking at the creator’s Picks. The brand is called [INK]. The creator is Japanese and seems not to be super confident of his English. He doesn’t use official bloggers.

I found the hair by accident the last day of Hair Fair and have happily worn it ever since. I’m still liking my old avi that I’ve had almost forever. You know, I began SL as a raccoon avatar. I thought about that when I went to see Guardians of the Galaxy.

I have to be creative in finding time to be in virtual reality these days, which doesn’t allow me endless fussing about my appearance, photography skills or about my blogging.

 

 

 

 

Home and Garden Expo ~ 2

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Home and Garden Expo

Here are a few more raw shots from the Home and Garden Expo, which I’m sure is being very well covered by your favorite official bloggers.

There were maps but I didn’t use them. I did the usual random wandering around, going back to ponder the small houses I want. Some of the buildings were too small to move around inside them. This event seemed well organized.This is one of those buildings that look small on the outside and then much bigger on the inside.This is one of the homes I like. It looks roomy on the inside and just might fit on the 512 in Ghamb if our stride tests are accurate enough.This is what my current home looks like except it’s a sky box which doesn’t have the wall that the mirrors are leaning against here. There wasn’t really time to look at furniture. Most everyone else I saw seemed to be on a mission as well. Since I’ve been back from my little break, I’ve noticed less loitering in the few places I’ve gone. Most people have got their hands and plates full these days.  This is one of the larger builds, which I almost passed by. Inside it’s gorgeous.Here I am on the upper level of it. A friend just gifted me with this dress, so I’ll be wearing it until I have some good reason to change.

I don’t care for mesh hair and am happy with the hair I have, about seven or eight styles. The last evening of Hair Fair, someone wanted me to accompany them and I scrounged up the patience to attempt it. It was still full of people and the lag was horrible. Little was rezzing for me.

There was a vendor who only had four hair styles. I love this hair–Mary, in coal, by [INK]. It’s the only hair I’ve worn since I got it. Yes, I know you can’t see it in this photo.

The creator is Japanese and doesn’t need bloggers. There’s no marketplace store that I can find anyway. I get lots of compliments on the hair, although it’s a style that many women don’t wear for every day. It’s perfect for me though.

Tomorrow I’ll have a few more raw photos of the Home and Garden Expo.

 

Home and Garden ~ 1

Tags

Home and Garden Expo

Wednesday night I stayed up way too late at the Home and Garden Expo. In years past I’ve really enjoyed exploring it and this year was no different; I’d forgotten though.

I saw about four tiny houses I want. They’re between about 24 and 70 LI and will work on 512 plots if the furniture and landscaping is selected carefully.

Some friends and I like to fix up 512 plots so that may be how I’ll use my SL time soon, even though we love the set-ups we already have.

I took a lot of pictures. It was difficult because I almost crashed after each one. Walking was a challenge too and I started flying later on to save time.

I’m sure this event is well covered by the official bloggers, including your favorite ones. I’ll post raw shots of some things I like with a little bit of commentary. Two more posts are scheduled for the weekend, which is going to be a busy time for my typist.

My camera was aimed to avoid signage and kiosks. Almost everything looked really great. I’m going back to get at least one of the houses. We don’t know how to figure out footprints except by counting our strides around the demo house and also the property. But it’s kind of the most inspiration I’ve had regarding SL for a while.

Queen Alice Chess Club

Tags

Queen Alice Chess Club, Winterfell

While taking the Winterfell ferry I found the Queen Alice Chess Club. There are lots of things to look at in Winterfell. What first drew me in to the club was the graveyard in back. I do like a good cemetery and returned a few evenings later to take some pictures.I rested on a swing and some people showed up, asking if I was looking for a game of chess. One of them is the owner of the chess club. I don’t play but was made to feel very welcome.

You can find people to play with and also computerized chess. There are other games to play as well. I like the cat sitting in the window looking out over the harbor.

Behind me, from my point of view as photographer is an Anywhere door teleport that leads to a sky box.

This is where tournaments are occasionally held. Some people who experience lag below use this area to play. I checked traffic both times I visited and it appears the club does get use. I was told that people from India and Egypt can be found playing chess here.

The graveyard may be part of the seasonal decorating. There were leaf piles to play in too.

I went on my way to chill on the ferry ride. It’s more relaxing than the Yavascript boat rides which seem to be on some sort of mission and which dump me somewhere occasionally, although I like those too. The different areas of Winterfell have their own lighting and it’s become a soothing way to wind down after other internet stuff.

 

 

The Path Away From the Synthetic Matrix

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Casablanca Bay

Autumn is gradually arriving with days when the sun feels good again, there’s a little less daylight and that back-to-school vibe is happening even if you’ve been out of school a long time. As an avatar, I don’t suffer from sunburns, yard work, chilly winds or the laundry getting piled up so autumn is as carefree as any other season.

That isn’t to say I can do as I wish all the time. My continued existence depends on the whims of my human who’s been allowing me out of my sky box a little more lately, the sky box where I’ve been parked as she works in another window or putters around her home which has actual dust and live plants and such.

So I went to explore near The Grove Country Club Estates in Casablanca Bay. The first thing I noticed was the tasteful, unobtrusive signage which gives information and direction without looking hideous.

Near the landing there are bikes to rent. I chose to walk and experienced enough lag that I was relieved not to be riding. Otherwise, these public paths look like great places to ride bikes. They wander around the area in a more extensive way than I often see.

Most of the sim is private residences in gated communities. The build of rolling hills and fences give a lot of privacy. Walking around I got a few glimpses at the homes which appear to be very luxurious.

I had learned of Casablanca Bay by revisiting a Second Life travel agency called Terra Incognita where there’s a new selection of one light and one dark sim every month. The dark sim for September is Steelhead Boomtown, which has been around for a while, so this one could very well be an established sim too.There’s a club which is public; a group can be joined to learn of events. I liked the looks of it as compared to those I’ve seen the last couple of years. I’m not much of a club goer, tending to find them annoying.

I had a drink and enjoyed the quiet, pondering my human’s wishes that she could break up with the internet. I worried a little about her internal rants regarding intrusive colonizing by corporations, the ramp up of bombarding information and mind control, the waste of resources and general jackassery going on.

Whenever she reaches a junction of synthetic matrix and an organic path, she’s more often choosing the natural path. Really, don’t get her started talking about this.

But she cares about me so if she continues to take good care of herself and her life, I may very well get to continue to explore for quite some time.

I left the club and soon found a beautiful courtyard with a fountain. Then I headed towards the beach, walking through a vineyard to get there. There’s a gorgeous building with a wine cellar and someone had left it unlocked! Cheese wheels! Wine!

Soon all the exercise and wine and cheese sampling made me crash on the beach for a while. There’s a fire pit or two for when the evenings get a little chilly.

When I arrived here it was night time region setting so I chose mid day sun on the Lab viewer.  It wasn’t the best light for the place but I wasn’t in a mood to fuss too much with the photography.

Otherwise, I’ve been wandering down mainland roads looking at the changes. (Mostly not for the better.) Some people are still building and settling and I’ve seen some amusing things.

Summer Vacation

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Seedyville

My human says a summer afternoon could feel like an eternity when she was a kid. When she got older, taking road trips with friends seemed like the time of her life. Travelling from one small town to another when life was simpler in many ways, she and her friends longed for excitement, more sophistication and certainly more freedom. In their wildest imaginings they couldn’t foresee all the freedoms that would be lost in the ensuing years. When she started working in the city, living in a house with way too many people, she’d go to matinees just to have some peace and quiet.Many of the small towns she knew have lost that lazy feeling. Maybe you have to live there for a while, or for twenty years, to feel like you belong.

Several times during the last few months I took a little summer vacation to a small town called Seedyville in Second Life. There were all sorts of little town businesses but no homes. You could visit and stay at the motel. I went fishing.

Seedyville is gone; I have memories and these pictures.