Japan Tempura Island - still one of the best locations

Since the closure of Camelot Gardens, I have to say that Japan Tempura Island is one of my favourite places of all Second Life, it terms of peace, beauty and tranquility, as well as romance. With a very Oriental tone, and one of the most beautiful autumn-hued forests I have seen in this virtual realm, Tempura has wide open spaces for meditation, Tai Chi and relaxing, and some impressive Architecture and dance places as well as forests and waterfalls.

Photography for a small profit

Once again I've been able to do some Photography work as well as free L$ gathering and have been saving/accumulating Linden funds slowly. The past weekend I was paid 600L for a few edits with the hint that a long-term position as photographer and decorator of a Castle might result, although nothing further has eventuated, but I'm hopeful.
I have to say one of my most enjoyable Photography jobs in terms of the end-result appearance (and I wasn't even paid for this) were the edits I did for "Shela".

the "Random Friendship Request" - or RFR

One of those things that make me laugh... in SL, is the "Random Friendship Request" - and by that I mean, being offered "friendship" by an Avatar that you have not "met" in the normal sense of the word, not seen, exchanged words with in Local or Private IM, acknowledged, interacted with in any way.

Once I even encountered an Italian guy(?) who had, in his profile, a broken-English ramble that included "no random friendship request" - yet I still got one from him! Yes, he offered me friendship, without ANY word of conversation. Why? I certainly asked him why, but got garbled responses and sub-English-literacy justifications then abuse.

/me shrugs.

It's happened a little more frequently lately, especially following some generous act of helping someone. Other Avatars will RFR me expecting the same, I guess, and to me it seems a bit concerning. The level of respect for the term "friendship" is devalued very quickly - I guess I regard SL friendship as a "contacts list" - when people want to be your friend one second after seeing you and only with the aim of getting something from you. When I express my concern over the RFR, the response is not positive, so I breathe a sigh of relief that I didn't accept. :-)

Beware the RFR - tread cautiously too, when you clean up your contacts list of those who do nothing for you or you haven't spoken to for ages. I've had drama from those who say "why did you do this, take me off your list!" - when I was silly enough to add them after.... their RFRs!!!

Reasons for being in Second Life?

People have many reasons for getting into the Virtual World of Second Life, and many other reasons for staying there, and draws that keep them coming back.

For me it was curiosity back in 2007, then I took a break, and returned late in 2008 for other reasons, mainly a 'distraction', and found myself getting into it much more "deeply" than I did during my first "taste". Learning to explore more selectively, meeting fascinating friends, evolved to setting up dwellings in-world, avatar-enhancement, photography/image editing, buying and earning L$, even serious in-world relationships! In fact caring for others in Second Life has been my primary motivation for learning and trying new things. Now I seem to get distracted gathering L$ or chasing fantasies sometimes, but the old motivations of exploring and chatting to interesting people have prevailed.

"Real Life" always comes first. I can remember meeting someone late in 2008 who really needed encouragement, support, upliftng *because* her RL was such a mess and SL became something she needed to get her through, distract and re-focus her. I always sense my part in this was accidental and temporary, but perhaps it went on too long! Yet now I see her RL back on course and can see I was right - some people are down and *needy* when they enter SL, and come away more able to cope with RL circumstances. This is why I find the "RL is RL, SL is SL" dictum a bit simplistic. Maybe people add this to their profile because they have had a bad experience of being stalked, harassed in SL/RL, or have become addicted and needed to re-assess their approach to SL. But people are always people, entire in the way they act in RL and in Virtual Worlds, even if they see themselves as SL "roleplayers". Those who distance their SL and RL selves tend to be very clinically adept at treating it as a "game" and, sometimes, making Linden$, but not in caring for the feelings of others or developing relationships, and that's usually ok with them!

After photography, and gathering L$ to help others... what keeps me interested in SL? Not too much, I think I should take a break soon and maybe come back refreshed, or not at all!!

Exploring and full of wonder...

The wonderful Sollie - bright, cute, smart and with such a great sense of humour!

It's wonderful when you meet someone amazing, and enjoying learning new things from them, and likewise enjoy showing them places they may not have seen before - basically enjoying their company. This kind of interaction makes SL come alive and enriches every moment.

Have taken on exploring and shopping anew, and cashed out over 11K of hard earned L$ - beginning earning with a clean slate and being determined to be more frugal in future! There's so much fun to be had exploring and seeking good bargains, in a free and nomadic way, no rents, tiers, L$ commitments - just careful earning and enjoying what you have!

Maia - beautiful name, heart and Avatar

Catching up with one of my oldest SL friends is always a welcome experience. A calm and gracious person with a good sense of balance between RL and SL, loyalty to friends and self-possession, Maia enjoys the beauty in SL and the fun of style and getting dressed up elegantly.

Beauty - more than pixel-deep!

Playing with photography in SL I certainly see many "beautiful" places and Avatars, and love playing with Photoshop for editing. The "magic" of getting an Avatar's image just right, where the eyes seem almost to convey expression, carries with it an amazing sense of wonder - is it art? Or just luck?

But beauty of character, mind and heart, is far more prized. Photography always works well when you have a rapport with your subject, which is why I like to take the time to get to know anyone I photograph. It's funny but a few *stunning* avatars I have met - maybe their eyes or skin amazed me for a time and I thought they would be awesome to photograph regularly, soon showed such blandness of manner, even rudeness and lack of gratitude, that I realised their *beauty* was just pixel deep - I could have more fun making images of an Alt I made to order - that made me laugh a bit - because interaction and textual intimacy is part of what I also like about SL - but such is the way some people behave!

Beautiful eyes!

I have old friends I regularly see and photograph, others it's just once, a chance meeting that results in them getting a lovely profile image, or even help with buying a new skin or outfit, and the discovery that they had little beauty beyond the pixels in the way they communicate with and brush off the photographer! However, even short-term encounters can be inspiring, when a really fascinating mind is met even for a while, and the rapport helps create a more deeply artistic and expressive image, such as below:

Still one of my favourite image edits - where my work was greatly appreciated.