Life

"Listen with an open mind, but don't try to remember this stuff. There's no quiz at the end." Jack Kornfield







Sunday, January 31, 2010

A touch of whimsy!

This is a rerun picture...however while taking this picture a day or two ago I found so much going on there I just had to do a bigger post on the place. Kattie has had quite an experience in Secondlife....many changes. Changes in both Secondlife as well as real life...and yet her sense of whimsy remains. I know her well enough to know that she not only won't mind people coming to look at what she's done... she will enjoy it. The House...
Look at this guy! =^..^=
The ducks are really high class scripting....there's also a feeder you can touch to feed them.
Horse rezzer...follow the directions. Click the saddle, choose "ride", follow on screen instructions and enjoy your ride!
While I think these can "fly" I just wanted to ride...haha, getting the horse to walk up the south beach access ramp took a couple trys. I may leave a SLurl to this later..running out of time this morning. If all else fails just go to the NorthEast corner of mainside...after all, there's a lot to see on the way. Do spend a little time looking at what Katties done...it's in the details!
***
I've avoided working with any new people that aren't already a part of our family these last few days/week....
While I really miss doing that.. I just thought it wasn't fair to offer help and *mentoring* to brand new people and then not be available for them. There are studies about the first *golden hour* here in Secondlife.... I think we all remember that first hour. I believe that if one survives that first hour...learns how to change clothes, walk, chat, not permanently wear boxes... they stay for a bit. The next hurdle seems to be to find where they fit in...a community...identification. That's something we can offer...and I want to be there. As Ling has said..., "It's what we do". ***
Just previewed this...Andy, you're right...that tree does dominate many of the shots doesn't it?
You know, I get so much from owning Benares...not the least of is getting a personal relationship with many of you. After two years here I don't think I've forgotten any resident that stayed for at least a full month.
Here's a side benefit... that tree. I stopped counting at 100 prims! Yes, It ain't free haha.
***
I know I will get one more post in before I go...but I'm so out of time today!
And so it goes
I love you all, brinda
Namaste

Saturday, January 30, 2010

What's my Price...or Yours

Allies got a new construction going... Keeping the passion alive! Lalas...What can I say...I love this lil place... It really fits her well.
Katties NorthEast corner...there is so much going on here...
it's a must see place.

I am so blessed by all lives...I login daily and marvel at what all of you have done.Yes, the basic layout for Benares is *borrowed* {thanks to Zenon & the Arrazura estate}.

The plan to allow access to the water for all and a large public area is mine...but what we've ended up with is ours. Thank you all for doing your part.

***

I heard something last evening that so speaks to me about the sentiment our place creates for so many. Once again my friend Ling has offered a home for someone new...She's done it before...and will do it again I'm sure. When I thanked her for her generosity and care for integrating a new person into what our kind of Secondlife can be?...all Ling said was simply, "It's what we do".

There's nothing better to add...Thank You my friend. *** It's very easy for all of us to say..."Darn it..I worked for mine! You want things like mine? Then work for them like I did". For me, I've found that if I'm not careful, I can lose something so precious as a friendship or the sight of a brilliantly shining soul over say... ten dollars. We all have a price...everyone of us. Many years ago, Red Gerard...{long since gone to that great loan shark heaven =^..^=} told me something about prices and people. Quoted roughly..."You can't tell me what you will or will not do untill it's 3AM here in my bar...and someone opens a case up on the pool table with ten kilos of one hundred dollar bills in it. Oh, and no ones gonna know. You tell me then what you will or will not do." I believed Red then...and still do. My price for friendship....and my price for anothers dream? It's more than ten dollars. There comes a time for some of us to decide what we choose to be *** And so it goes I love you, brinda Namaste

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Time to Learn...but what?

Our home Island January 2010...This picture taken with "coastal afternoon" Windlight settings. Such a beautiful place...and it's not just because of the scenery. Club Attitude yesterday...
Home to Colton, Steelmoon, and Belize.
Sabres new house out West!
Angels Place...What can one say....her places always have felt like home.
From early this morning, when I took these pictures, and now, I see Club Attitudes changed their place around.
Last evening I saw Allies place empty...today shes building something else.
Flors remodeling along with Zarz, Andor, Caro. Just a part of another Secondlife experience, the experience of learning.
Learning building yes...but even more I think...perhaps learning who we really are.
It's a thought...certainly not totally definitive...because I realize a part of my growth here. ***
Tomorrow I'll be able to picture Allies new space I imagine...as well as the last two parcels I'm covering. {Lalas and Katties}
I'll have pictures of Katties horse rides...by the way she has made those rides available to all...I suspect riding the horses across sim borders might be an experience...I'll report in the morning.
***
On a personal level I seen to be running a little short on time to get everything finished before my trip. I think I've mentioned about how this will be the first time I've stayed away from Secondlife...kind of curious as to how that will feel. Time seems to go so fast here. These last few posts are rather scattered I'm afraid...while I like to pretend ambivalence and total control {=^..^=}... I really am excited about going around the world. India is close to being as far away from my home of the last 30 odd years as one can get. And in many ways India is about as far from my culture as one can get.
***
I will think of Benares and it's residents as the days melt into one another... I know all of you will be in my heart as I sit at dawn watching the burning Ghats along side the Ganges there at Varanasi... {Benares}.
***
And so it goes
I do love you all, brinda
Namaste

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Sophies newest house out East... Zarz has a wonderful Victorian house going up! Fruks beach house out East Andors newest creation =^..^= Short post today...I'm running out of time to take care of all the details in both this life and my other real life ! I flew around last evening looking at what a wonderful place we have at Benares...one of my goals before I leave for India is to document all you have done creatively to make our region what it is. The four places shown above weren't picked for any special reason...or listed in any special order. Almost without fail new people come to Benares and stand totally transfixed by what they see. A common comment is, "How long did it take you to do this?" Then they get the news that while the basic island terraforming was copied from my first island home and a lot of the upper mesa landscaping might be mine...the beauty they see is the creativity of all of you...the residents. *** As always we have new people coming here...most calling the Northshore guest house home for as long as they need. Again ..in no particular order..Shayde, Deanna, Zenith, and more that escape me now...if you see them try to take a second to say hello and remember how it felt to be new. *** Now while my ego would like to believe that I have profound insights into life...HaHa Ha...you and I know that's likely not the case. I did want to get started with the pictures.....If you haven't changed your place...I'll probably not picture it again {mine included lol}. *** In this next week I will share my trip itinerary and my departure date/time and hopefully return....I've never been gone from Secondlife more than 3 days since I joined in May 2007....yesterday was day 1,000...and I'm more passionate about this platform, our island, and all of you, my friends today, than I was at the beginning. And so it goes I love all of you, brinda Namaste

Saturday, January 23, 2010

The Gift of Love...

The quote below is from the original Dutch...it's from my friend Bulli Schumanns profile. I don't remember now if the translation is mine or hers. Sometimes we cry because we look in the mirror and see lines that we don't remember seeing before. We find that the clothes we thought we looked so good just last spring.... suddenly don't fit well. The hair everyone complimented us on now is turning gray. The sparkle we once saw in our eyes has dimmed. And then, just sometimes, we get to see the grace with which another carries a burden that we think would crush us..... Suddenly all the things that we see in our mirror are so inconsequential. No one is guarranteed tomorrow..... A man I read a lot, Ram Dass, quotes so many of the Buddhist teachers... "Be Here Now ". To love is such a gift...."To love"... is strictly a human condition For Buddhists, being human is so much closer to what we call Enlightenment... And while as humans, we suffer from "wanting", we truly are on a path to whatever one sees as their particular heaven. I will try so very hard to love.... And treasure each moment here...because those moments will never exist again. And so it goes Love, brinda Namaste... I honour that place where the universe resides in you...and when you are in that place and I am in that place...there is only one of us

Friday, January 22, 2010

Secondlife changes don't always stop here...

The Best of the Default Avatars in May 2007... The Hat/Hair then... Today...changes...
I went to bed last evening thinking about something that Deanna said to me about patience.
Much of my self inventory comes in the night or early predawn hours... those times are so important for my growth as a person.
Early last evening I had ended up with three new people standing at our telehub. One new person can get/be confused...three is exponential growth...IE: 1+1=3 .... 3+1=6.
My hands were so full. My friend Deanna stopped in and I asked her to try to work with Rosie while I stayed with MaryB and her real life friend MC.
My personal experience seems to tell me that for anyone to *learn* anything requires a mental "click" {my description}...a seeming mental quantum jump...an "ah hah" moment, suddenly it all makes sense.
For me, when I came, those ah hah moments didn't come easily or quickly...look at the top pictures.
In 2007 all the avatars except the one you see, {me} had texture hair. It took me three weeks to finally figure out that the hat and the hair were one attachment! Slow :-)
***
Working with new people.
*A*, you never know who, or what they're about...where they're from...education... busy multitasking...substance abuse...cultural beliefs.
*B*, are you not clear with your directions?
The two I had started with actually did rather well...MC seemed to be the most confused at first...and yet..there was that ah hah moment and suddenly she *got it*...always fun.
Deanna had a longer way to travel...and after "my" two logged off for eve...I went to see about Deanna and Rosie. We did make some progress but it was slow...once we found out that Rosie had left to go to the bathroom and hadn't told us. There was a time that something like that would have just had me walking away...(and I still do at times)...and that's when I heard Deanna compliment me for my patience.
That's what started me thinking....
The countless hours my dear friend Twinkle spent teaching me the basics ...not only of Secondlife...the very basics of computer use. The hours this past year that Poly has spent in order to allow me to be able to pretty much take care of this estate and the needs of the residents. The time that Ling has spent showing me that concern for others mixed with a desire for the good of all is important. The loyalty of Lala...always there.
How could I not try to be patient?
***
Completely different thing...and yet it's still change.
I haven't logged in today to see what's going on...so I haven't seen Andors house. He IMed me last evening in the middle of my nooblet scene to tell me that he had bought a house.
Andys always had such peaceful, thought provoking parcels...and yet this will be his first house at Benares.
Secondlife stats once reported that only 15% of us owned land... owning a parcel here and putting up a house is truly a commitment to the kind of passion that will keep us here and keep Secondlife alive and vibrant.
***
I'm really starting to get excited about my upcoming trip...Just yesterday someone reminded me that it's less than two weeks away.
I know that the culture of India will be a good test of my patience...I'm a type "A" person... the song Willie Nelson wrote years ago about the beat ought to go a little faster spoke to how I feel much of the time.
Just thought of the line that says, *every ones in a hurry to go to heaven.....but no one wants to die*.
***
And so it goes
I love you all, brinda
Namaste

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Listening...

When I ask you to listen to me and you begin to tell me why I shouldn't feel that way, you are trampling on my feelings. When I ask you to listen to me and you feel you have DO something to solve my problem You have failed me, strange as that may seem. Listen. All that I asked was that you listen...not talk or do... just hear me. Advice is cheap, $1.00 dollar will get you both spiritual advice as well as etiquette tips in the same newspaper. I CAN do for myself, I'm not helpless. Maybe discouraged and faltering, but not helpless. When you do something for me that I can and need to do for myself, you contribute to my fear and weakness. But when you accept as a simple fact that I do feel what I feel, no matter how irrational, then I can quit trying to convince you and can get about the business of understanding what's behind this irrational feeling. And when that's clear, the answers are obvious and I don't need advice. Irrational feelings make sense when we understand what's behind them. Perhaps that's why prayer works, sometimes, for some people. Most gods are mute...they don't give advice or try to fix things. They just listen and let you work it out for yourself. So please...listen and just hear me... and if you want to talk, wait a minute and I'll listen to you. *** I found this thirty years ago...author unknown. I know it's good advice for me. I will try harder in this coming year...I know it's important. Just one more thing to love about Secondlife...no one can just talk over another. And so it goes My love to you all, brinda Namaste

Monday, January 18, 2010

It Was Monday...

I found a couple links this morning that I think bear sharing . A little background first. Likely, many of you don't know, but Linden Lab has plans soon to limit the amount of time that scripts take on servers. I am so blessed by having estate managers that are working daily to make sure that, *A*, we won't be caught unprepared when these limits are established... and, *B*. that we control the current scripts so as to provide a great environment for all of our current residents. Please take advice from the managers...they don't have axes to grind...and rest assured, they speak for me. Since I, and I suspect many of you, don't have a good grasp of exactly where *Lag* comes from... perhaps take a read of the links below. http://Gwynethllewelyn.net/2008/02/16/lag-myths-dispelled http://analutetia.com/2009/06/22/anatomy-of-lag *** We do have new people constantly coming to Benares...I know some are just passing through on their way to a Secondlife that speaks to their personal passions. And we also have those that will join our family. I want to personally thank Sophie for opening her house to a couple of those new people last evening. Sophies not the first...Ms Ling has that honor {several times over}...and I suspect neither will be the last. *** You know there's the story that no good deed goes unpunished...I had a guy IM me twice over a couple of weeks telling me that he was interested in land here at Benares. Tomas Aquila speaks only Spanish which isn't a problem for me in a couple of ways: I've a really well done translator... I have Lita, a Peruvian native Hispanic... and I understand a lot more Spanish than I can use conversationally. Tomas came and tryed to run a machismo game on me... pretending to not understand that all land in Secondlife costs tier {he's nearly a year old}..Finally I told him in Spanish that the land would be sold to him just like everyone else...no difference...and the chat was over.{I think he was surprised =^..^=} Lita went about her business and I didn't think much about the deal {or lack of}...till yesterday. I saw a stray prim on a West parcel...upon closer parcel inspection...I saw 70 odd prims that belonged to Tomas...I didn't try and find them...I suspect a skybox. By now I suspect that Tomas has discovered that he's banned from Benares...I think it would be interesting to chat with Tomas real life and find out just how he thinks. *** Honest to god! I've actually had a blog comment referenced by a Linden! And not just any Linden...M linden! He was talking about the new 2.0 viewer and my hope that it wasn't going to be a *dumb down* viewer. We can hope... I've said before, I intend to stay here as long as the lights are on. *** And so it goes My love to all, brinda Namaste

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Home...and where our hearts really are

Los Angeles, Saturday early eve...I do love that city...I don't choose to live there anymore but it's still my favorite city....{on the six days a year you see a view like this and yes, a blue filter helps :-) }. ***
Coming in from San Diego on Friday...traffic bad enough we came in over the water and headed nearly to Riverside to make the turn to land from east end of runway...Haha, a fifty mile turn.
Always nice to get a low level daylight tour of just how many of us there are!
Yes, the wind was just starting so we still had air you could taste/sink your teeth in. A lot of visitors don't understand that when one can see how smoggy it is.....it's really not that bad :-)
Thirty years ago there were many summer days when I couldn't see the nearly four thousand foot San Gabriel mountains just ten or twelve miles away...{life was good! the perceptions of youth}.
Imperial Beach on Sunday...looking south... low hills are Mexico.
Home today...just four blocks from the pier I'm standing on.
As beautiful as this is...I still love Los Angeles...guess I always will.
And yet my greatest peace on a daily basis comes here.
I had a chat with my friend Andor a day or so ago...we both seem to think about Secondlife a lot even when we aren't here... I dream about Secondlife. Obsessed? Maybe... I've had worse =^..^=
***
I have several things to attend to today...and yet I will think about the newest people I've met in these past couple of days. I know they will be OK...and yet I also know that having a friendly face to chat with in our first few days is important.
***
Sadly I guess Desire Halsey has left us...I saw ten days or so ago that her house was missing...Tier ran out Wednesday and the last couple of objects returned at four day arrears.
As always, it doesn't feel good to see people leave...I remember how excited Desi was when she first came...I can only wish her the absolute best in any world she inhabits...and say it was wonderful to have had her as a friend and resident.
She too, has left a piece of herself on our island and in my heart.
And so it goes
I do love you all, brinda
Namaste

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Feeling

It just felt like this kind of day... I woke up at daybreak listening to the heavy surf sounds from four blocks away...and the song *Human* running through my head. {I do wish the group had a different name } I'm not sure why the song so totally captures me...but it does. Thank you Lala for turning me on to it. =^..^=

Here's the link to the song..enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCE1MeUZgNk

Today my load seems very light and I know that's not true for all.

Secondlife has been wonderful to me...a few downs yes...but one can't go up without a down. There can be no wave without a trough.

I do know how how special all of you allow me to feel, and that gift is priceless...thank you.

And so it goes

As always my love to all, brinda

Namaste

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Gin had a dream....

Often when I see people in pain my first reaction is to want to fix their pain....and while that sounds like a worthy merit based goal....is it really? Who am I too judge? Why is the pain I perceive another to have mine to try and alleviate? What has caused that pain? As a young child I was blessed to have grandparents that had a very southern, homespun philosophy of life....more than once I heard my grandfather recite the following story about the frog and the scorpion. ** Mr Frog is sitting on the creek bank sunning his self when the local bully scorpion comes by. The scorpion wants to cross the creek but can't swim...so he asks Mr Frog to let him ride across the water on the frogs back. The frog tells the scorpion...no way! You're a bad character an I fear you'd sting me. The scorpion insists that it would be foolish for him to sting the frog 'cause both would then drown. OK...that sounds logical to the frog and away they go. Yup...'bout halfway across the creek the scorpion stings the frog...and as they both begin to drown...the frog tells the scorpion, "Now why did you do that...we will both drown now...Why?" The scorpions response......." You knew what I was before you picked me up". *** Last evening I saw a profile that immediately struck me as someone in pain.... But after a few moments of reflection...I thought of my sweet island girl Gin. I met Gin and Belli at Isabel Info...as with most new people I meet, I remember exactly where they were standing. They were both pretty close to abandoning Secondlife at that moment...this world can be both lonely and confusing. As with your children..it's difficult to pick one over another...but I will never forget Gin. She would rezz a house that really was a little too large...but watching her all I could do was tell her it was OK...we could trim it easily to fit...it was like Christmas all over for her. Gin is young, trusting, and was manipulated into a situation that I find personally repugnant. So when I saw the profile of the manipulator............I thought of Gin...She deserved better and I didn't do my job. I tacitly picked up the scorpion as well...and I knew better. Never again. Gin had a dream here...and I miss her http://SLurl.com/Secondlife/Benares/157/173/34/?title=Gin%20had%20a%20dream%20here And so it goes My love to you all, brinda Namaste

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

The Beginnings

Where it all started! Da Boom...the first ever sim. That point I'm sitting on is 0,0,35 Da boom, a 16 meter parcel saved by Linden Lab...{BTW, notice lightning bolts in back ground...more in a few lines} This is the beginning. *** I can't remember all the words to a song from my hippie era...but there was a line about tearing down paradise and putting up a parking lot....And about not missing what one has until it's gone. That can be in spades in Secondlife...the *time compression* thing. One day I find a beautiful creation....a week/month later...it's gone. In these last months I've been trying to document as many sites of "historical interest" in Secondlife as I can locate. I will post some SLurls at the end of this so you can easily visit these if you are curious about this world of ours. *** Kapor Rosedale project...Notice Da Boom in back ground. This parcel is Kapor...the Rosedale parcel is behind me If your not a Secondlife history buff you may not know that one of the biggest early investors of Secondlife was Mitch Kapor...{now you see why it was Kapor Rosedale project}...Phillip rosedale is/was Secondlife...but money was needed. (heh heh...look at the time I took this screen snip!) *** forestrock Flowers (11/14/2003) His dragon, *Spot* is so cool....as you walk around it...it turns it's smiling face to you. The sign says don't pet....and you know I just had to! I also just had to sit in it's food dish. =^..^= ***
OK...upper left you're looking across to Da Boom...and top, just right of center?...That's Stellar Sunshines beanstalk...She was our first resident. The beanstalk was the first resident build in Secondlife...done over her first night while our world was in beta... March of 2002.
And you see Spot's turned and looking at me....just hoping I'll pet him!
***
I would hope to find more of these sites....I've tried to visit some of the sites listed in *The Official Guide to Secondlife* only to find the build was gone...or even that the region no longer existed. If any that read this come across early builds please either let me know...or document it yourself...
***
The SLurls:
DA Boom...Where all this began
Monsters Sanctuary..{Spots home}
***
I hope todays post lets you feel much as I do about what we have in Secondlife.
One of our residents was here at the beginning but didn't stay...out of the first four that helped start this community I'm the oldest by a few weeks...and at very close to 1000 days we are just about twice as old here as the next oldest.
If you are new...or feel new when you hear 1000 days...We all get here feeling that way.
You just keep logging in and suddenly just like real life...you're *old* and people think you know something.
The few things I know about this world are that while it isn't reasonable...I never want it to end...and that all of you have made my time and life here so beautiful...Thank you.
***
And so it goes
My love to you all, brinda
Namaste

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Playing on a quiet Saturday night...

Just A quick post early early on a Sunday morning! Poly, myself and a friend playing....for a change! *** Check out the view...Poly took this using Kirstens viewer...really cool shadows although the report was the viewers a little buggy still. *** Katey E. with Immys new avie....still has to stretch some hair to fit and see if Immy has a texture that she can do for the head. Shoes as always for people 3 ft 10 are rather hard to do since LL feet only go to zero..{zero at 7ft3 is cool...at 3ft10 ewww!} *** I'll post photos later today or tomorrow on the new tree I set at mainside....the top is at 110 meters above the mesa...(153 "Z")...just in clouds! Please don't yell at me 'bout the prim count on it...I didn't get an accurate total....when I got to 100 that was close 'nuff =^..^=. (Told ya there's never too many prims....only limit is your purse.) *** Real life...{Hmmm isn't this RL?} ...calls, more later. No idea why I'm this happy this morning! And so it goes A happy brinda loves you all. Namaste

Saturday, January 9, 2010

It was Friday...

Photos by 20th Century Fox Films *** Yesterday was a wonderful day....a day of highs, lows, tears, and smiles. Maybe that's called a normal day... :-) Being a little less than normal........... (There are no *normal* people...there are just those we don't know very well =^..^=) It's often difficult for me to figure out exactly how I should feel. *** The movie..."Avatar" ...a must see movie...yes, I could have done with a little less *combat*...but it was part of the story. I sat crying several times...some sad tears...some tears of just understanding. I'm not a movie buff...but this movie affected me deeply...much of the philosophy of the *native* people is a lot of my basic tenets. *** Then, in my day here in world, came Sweetpea and Layna...two new people I've met. One of the greatest gifts I receive in Secondlife is to meet new people that are instantly drawn in to what we have here...it's the same feeling I had when I first logged in...I've asked Sophie if she will help Sweetpea learn a little about building. For me, that's another gift...that this community will stretch out a hand to help new people. *** Benares had a visitor last evening...he was invited... otherwise I seriously thought about estate banning. Actually I was rather proud of one of the managers here for not performing and act that would have launched our visitor many meters in the air (w/o a "push" notice). I seem to be rather easy to fool here in Secondlife...it wasn't always that way in rl. It turned out that our visitor (that used to be a resident) was a snake...telling one person one thing...and another something else. And the lies were totally unnecessary I did get a smile when I was told later by a friend that the visitor had accused her of brain washing myself and a manager. I suspect those that know me won't believe that. Hmmm...I wonder why he didn't say hello...or ask me why he was no longer in my friends list. *** I sit here wondering what gifts my worlds will present me with today.... And today I know that whatever those gifts are...I deserve them.... Always remembering .."What the Caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Butterfly calls the beginning of a dream." And so it goes My love to you all, brinda Namaste

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Letting Go....gently

*** A close friend found this proposal on her group info a couple days ago. First, there's no way to ascertain exactly who added this proposal or when it was posted...but my friend and I did use some deductive reasoning. We know who in the group had the assigned ability to post proposals and there only seems to be one person out of five it could be. So often my first response to anything I perceive painful tends to be self serving...when something hurts me, I immediately don't/can't see any other side. In this case, as so often happens, if I get a couple days to think about things... my attitude becomes better able to see *you* and not just *me*. In trying to read between all the lines and remembering what has transpired over these last few months I believe this proposal just may be Lauralis goodbye to us. I sit here thinking...what if I'm wrong? What if I'm making a melodramatic scene? If I am...so be it....and I would hope that I am wrong. But I don't think I am. I saw a beautiful young woman with the creative talent so rarely seen here go from being in world everyday to being unable to finish a build over several months. I saw her log in long enough to pay her tier...visit briefly for a few days...and at the end never return. {see *Staying*, January 2nd} *** I have often posted about how I want people to just come and say goodbye. Simple thing isn't it? I'm not seeing the other side...I'm not seeing how badly the other person hurts...how hard it just may be to end a loving relationship. Yes, Secondlife is pixels...a virtual world...but if one gets truly involved here, this world and the people are real. How many times have I told nooblets that Secondlife isn't a game...there's no score...no points...it truly is a second life. Somewhere long ago I read something that now returns to mind.... We all play games...nice games...sometimes fearful games...selfish games...the number of games is the number of people. Please forgive my games of fear and insecurity...in another life I hope to do better than this time. *** While those who leave will likely never see these words... Laurali, if you did leave that as a goodbye....... Vaya Con Dios, go with God my child. I will never forget you...and you too have left a part of yourself with many of us. And so it goes I do love you, brinda Namaste

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Second Abilities...Support all of us

Cape Able Art Gallery Announcement
Gallery
Please come...meet and enjoy!
Representative Art Fabulously talented works!
The artists involved....
***
Second Abilities...
There's likely nothing in SecondLife that really makes this platform as moving...or in my opinion
a better statement of the original premise made by Linden Lab early on...{"Your World...Your Imagination"}...than this group.
The mute speak...
The chair bound dance...
The paralyzed fly...
***
It happens here in Secondlife and I think there is no higher calling than public service...
And for that I am responsible.
***
Please take a few moments on Saturday to stop and think... even if you can't attend.
Nothing is for sale at the gallery...it's a non-profit. Art can be purchased from the artists and I suspect any money the artists receive will be donated to Second Abilities.
And so it goes
My love to all, brinda
Namaste

New Homes...

New home to be of Belize, Steelmoon, & Colton
Andor has returned home
***
The time thing again...a day here in Secondlife can change ones perspective for the week. Steelmoon contacted us last eve around Five SLT. Ling was on line to handle the details, that's something I'm always so proud of... that Benares usually has staff in world a large percentage of any day. A little later I went and set up a tier box for the newest members of our community...and an hour or so later Poly and I went back to do a little fine tuning. Terraforming a mini isle, moving a few rocks around. Steelmoon was just totally amazed that our service is quick and complete, and that after a year in-world we are the first place she's ever seen that invests so heavily in off parcel terra-scaping to improve the total experience for everyone.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
***
I mentioned yesterday that Andors returned...as always his build will be something to watch. I did chat briefly with Andy and saw he's working with a lot of physical state prims...can't wait to see the completion.
*** Must run real life...this PM I want to post on an art exhibit for Second Ability....if you get a chance go take a look here...Cape Able Art, Cape Able (102,152,22) I promise a SLurl this evening.
For now...
And so it goes
My love to all, brinda
Namaste

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Learning...sometimes =^..^=

I've spoken before of how fast our Secondlife changes...what I've called time compression. Evening before last my friend Poly and I discussed where we thought Benares was headed. I've learned that running an estate is much like herding cattle, {yes...I wasn't always a city dweller!}, you can't very well push thousand pound cows around....what you do is try to not let them {or the estate} start running...then you can just kinda stand where you don't want them to go and wave your arms. It has to be a gentle control...those *horse* people understand...a gentle touch of reins on the neck gets results...jerk the bit and you will likely either irritate the animal [estate]...or scare them because both know when you don't know what you're doing. We agreed to not try to do much of anything until a couple months down the virtual road. *** One day later *** Barbara is on vacation from college so she's returned... Desires parcels almost bare...{no idea if shes just rebuilding}... People are asking about a large parcel out West {thanks to Nighthawk}... And........ I saw flags, a sign out East, and a rowboat had moved! Andor has returned... Andy...Welcome Home. While you were gone from Benares you were in the hearts of many. You see...I'm trying to learn one of lifes great lessons.........that's that we each must find our own way. The burdens we carry are our choice...sometimes I'm able to listen to how another survives their load and then ease my own path. Andy and I will chat...likely environment set to sunrise for me. I will return a piece of property I've held for safekeeping...and I'll be glad I didn't jerk the reins. And so it goes My love always, brinda Namaste

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Staying...

Secondlife Resident #924...7 years here {clic pict to read}
Laurali, Secondlife Resident # 17 million ?
Such unbelievable talent...3rd day!
The second house she was building...right center
Today, seventeen days short of one year :-((
***
Today wasn't a happy day for me...and I hope that the part that makes me sad is just a misunderstanding...or just real life and the holidays getting in the way.
On January 18th 2009 I met Laurali at one of the Help Islands...I guess I did make a great first impression...she was being approached by a brand new guy...one of those nooblets that's in love...{with anything that moves}... and I promptly sent his butt packing! =^..^=
Two days later she created a snowman here at Benares...the next day the wagon...perhaps two weeks later her first house... and the only help she got on the house was the doors.
Lari became such a part of us...she was everywhere and always a delight to be around.
After perhaps six or seven months...as with many of us... Laurali didn't seem to have the time to log in as often. I looked today...over a month , 11/20/09 :-(.
It happens...and I really don't understand just why. Some of us seem to find a missing piece of ourselves here and others I guess don't. Look at the top picture...I saw it on SL Universe this morning. Seven years here in Secondlife and still so involved.
I 'took' Laris tier box almost a week ago... I had to...for one thing, if allowed to go to four days arrears the box will parcel return everything....omg what a mess... when one goes to rezz objects prims just explode everywhere. The thing that will hurt my heart is when I reclaim that parcel.
While I would like to be able to provide a parcel for everyone free...financially I can't afford it. I owe it to the rest of the residents to try and treat all equally.
My reclaim won't cost Lari money...Benares doesn't "sell" parcels...if a resident chooses to leave they don't have ongoing tier eating up L$ while they look for a buyer.
I end each post the same way...by telling all of you that I care about you and love you...and I do. I wish everyone of you to find the passion that Cristiano found seven years ago...or the passion that still burns so brightly for me.
If you must leave us, please come and chat with me about it... So often people just disappear. Just come and say goodby.
Goodbyes are seldom fun...
I see things like goodbyes as growing...maybe not growing up...just growing.
I still believe that each of you leaves a part of you here after you go, and some of you so touch my heart. For that I am thankful...
And so it goes
I do love you all, brinda
Namaste