Dear Diary – Talking to My Blog

Bloggers have a tendency to talk to their blogs. Supposedly, a blogger is talking to those faceless, numberless legions of fans who read the blog. But what if no one reads the blog? The blog still listens. This modern day Dear Diary does not judge or give advice. It just listens.

Dear Diary

The caveat here is that what you tell your blog could come back to haunt you one day. In the same way, what you say on your facebook account could be your downfall. That angst-filled teenage rant of today may cost your responsible adult self a much-needed job one day. Yes, prospective employers do check your social sites to see what kind of person you really are, or were.

So, use a bit of discretion in what you tell your blog or post on your facebook page, even if you believe no one will ever read your words. Dear Diary will listen to all your secrets but, never forget, Dear Diary has become a blabbermouth — a very public blabbermouth.

CopyBotters and Ugly Avatars

This is Xme Xue. She creates those lovely full figured shapes at Ample Avi.

This is also Xme Xue. She is wearing her default Linden Lab avatar.

Xme – Default Avatar

Xme used to wear her Ample Avi shapes while shopping inworld, to see how the shapes are received by people she meets, basically, giving the shapes a trial run before putting them up for sale. But she had to stop wearing her shapes inworld because of copybotters hanging around the events she liked to visit. In fact, she gave up shopping inworld entirely and only shopped on SL Marketplace.

Then, Xme read about a blogger whose shape had been copybotted, and who had created an ugly avatar to wear while shopping. Xme decided to do the same. But she was not happy in that ugly avatar, so she went all the way back to the default avatar she wore the first day she visited Second Life. Of course, she tweaked it a bit, but it is basically the same default avatar. So, if copybotters want to copy this shape, all they will get is the same shape most people already have in their library.

One of the great joys of Second Life is creating a beautiful version of our own self, but what is the use of having a great shape if you cannot show it off?

This pleasure in our shape has become tarnished, as we need to be looking over our shoulders to see what the other person is doing and moving away whenever a person comes close. We get in and we get out quickly, no longer stopping to make new friends. The real ugly avatars are the copybotters, but they force us to look ugly and act ugly.

A Special Chocolate Valentine

Today is Valentine’s Day, a special day for chocolate sweets. Ample Avi has created a new gift shape for Valentine’s Day, and she is covered in a sweet chocolate skin. A Style Card is included with the shape so you can get this FREE chocolate skin for your own valentine. Group membership is not required for this special gift.

FREE at Ample Avi

Chocolate Valentine also looks good in a regular skin.

Chocolate Valentine will be available for a couple of weeks, then will be removed from the shop. Be sure to stop by Ample Avi and pick up your Chocolate Valentine shape today.

Ample Avi – Main Store
Sim Rating: Moderate [Mature]

Ample Avi – Sea of Fables Shop
Sim Rating: General [PG]

POE5 Ends – And the Winners Are:

The 2012 Peace on Earth Hunt is over. Awards are in order for those who made this year’s hunt a success (for me and, maybe, for you, too).

Best Advice from Others Award:  The award goes to the BLOGGER who said to search five places each day.  The hunt lasted 37 days, there were 200 stores participating, at five per day = well, you do the math.  It worked out beautifully.

Most Ingenious Clue Award:  PRISM Designs. Clue: “hiding by the object that has two hands but no arms, and a face but no nose.”

Honorary Mention: BOHO HOBO. Clue:  “Do Ray Me Fa So La Tee Do. (Sung backwards, you’ll hear the clue in the middle)” = So Fa = Sofa.

Most Enjoyable Hiding Place Award: AMACCI. It is obvious Amacci understands the spirit of gifting during the holiday season, and knows how to do it with a sense of humor.

Tradition and Consistency Award:  ROCKBERRY – It is always a pleasure to visit a store that freely and generously gives, year after year.

Special “Walk This Way” Award : ARTIZANA

Walk right up this wall, Folks!

Lifetime Achievement Award:  This award goes to SEQUOIA NIGHTFIRE for pulling the grid-wide hunt together for the fifth year (with bonus points thrown in for maintaining her cool during the entire time of the hunt).

Honorary Mention:  To all the POE ELVES who worked tirelessly to help Sequoia, so she could get a wee bit of rest during the long, long month of the hunt.

Finally, the Better-Late-Than-Never Award:  To ME, for actually completing the hunt – any hunt – for the first time.

Well done, Winners, one and all.

Gala Phoenix is Back!!

The title says it all. Gala Phoenix (CURIO skins) is back on the grid, and she is bearing gifts. Group members should check the notices for a special gift. Welcome back, Gala, we missed you.

New Year’s Eve – Inventory Dieting

New Year’s Eve – Resolutions for the New Year – Number One: Keep my inventory on a strict diet during 2013.  It is currently in desperate shape, bulging at the seams.  The shape-up begins with purging thousands of skins. I could never wear all of them, even if I changed skin on a daily basis.

Kyng – 2007

Time to delete all those 2007 skins, which I was so proud of at the time – with the exception of the Earth skin by Gala Phoenix. The Earth skin worn in the above photo was my first major purchase in 2007. I like to wear this skin sometimes, just to see how much I have changed. Surprisingly, not much.

2008 was the year I discovered Symphony Skins by Claire Harford. Oh, the luscious lips on her skins! Symphony Skins is still my first-choice skin today.  Add Symphony Skins to the “KEEP” section and delete all other skins from 2008.

In 2009, I fell in love with the Hope skins by Tuli [Tuli broke my heart the day she discontinued this skin]. Add the Hope skins to the “KEEP” section and delete all other skins from 2009, 2010 and 2011. Some great skins came out in 2012 - I’ll leave this year alone, for now.

Demos – OMG, I still have skin demos from stores which no longer exist!  And demos from skins I have already bought. And no-mod shapes which came with the skins. And face lights which came with the skins – no longer needed.  Delete everything.

Hair – Mercy Me, time to delete all the hair demos and hair, with the exception of ETD [by Elikapeka Tiramisu].  I will never get rid of the flexi hair I bought from ETD in 2007 and 2008.  And Analog Dog [by Queue Marlowe] in 2009 – the Milli and Winter styles remain my favorites to this day.  All the rest, bye-bye!

Houses I will never live in, cabins I will never vacation in – trains, planes and automobiles – delete all of these. Clothing from the days when I changed outfits every day – what fun I had – what unnecessary baggage now – delete, delete.

As the clock ticks down toward midnight, I continue deleting my way through the years — thousands and thousands of items go into the virtual bit bucket.  The clock strikes Midnight.  I step back and view my new slim, trim inventory.

It is now 2013. 

Christmas Eve on the POE5 Hunt.

“the merry bells keep ringing … happy holidays to you.”

It is Christmas Eve and I do not have presents for all my SL friends. I have been hot on the Peace on Earth [POE5] hunt trail, but also taking time to look around the stores for things I can give to my friends. I am about halfway finished with the hunt and halfway finished with my Christmas shopping, and time is running out on the Christmas shopping.

If you are in the first half of my list of friends, you will get a nice gift from me. If you are in the second half of the list – hmmm! — would you settle for a lump of coal? How about a promise to put you in the first half of my list next year, that is, if you are still my friend after this year?

In the spirit of the season, I wish all the people on my list, and all who read this message, a Happy Holiday Season. Whatever you celebrate and whenever you celebrate, may the joy and excitement of the season be yours for now, and all year long.

POE5 — Happy Holiday Hunting!

Song: Happy Holidays - from the musical, White Christmas