Not so wintery today!

It is winter here in Australia and simply too chilly and windy for the beach. So what to do, why head to a second life beach instead! After buying an attractive one-piece suit I made my way to Mojo Beach, recommended by the destination guide in game and fell in love with the place. Everyone knows us Aussies love the beach, but if this is what it always looked like I'd never leave!

As soon as I saw the surfboard on the sand I knew I had to give it a try. It was easy to control the board and for a while I was satisfied just bobbing in the water looking out at the waves breaking in the distance.

Finally I had enough of relaxing and decided to give it a try. To be honest it took me a little bit to get the hang of it but it was so much fun! Nothing like the rush you get from real surfing, but it was so nice feeling like I was at the beach again playing in the surf. As proof I took a pic that showed I managed to stand up on my board ^_^




Once I had enough of the water I decided to have a look around what else the beautiful island had to offer. To be honest I was suprised that there was no one else around, does SL have so many fantastic beaches that ones like these can go empty? It seems bizarre but to be honest I didn't mind it too much as I felt lucky to be able to explore without seeing high heeled 'bling' glittering women that would have spoiled the mood (I'm not sure what the term for them is, all I know is that they are annoying)



Walking along the beach I noticed someone had drawn a love heart in the sand, very sweet indeed and it reminded me of being a kid and writing various things in the sand,  or the initals of my latest crush. Further along I came acorss an empty lifeguard stand. Oh I was offended! No lifeguards on duty when I had been surfing, the nerve! Lucky I didn't need rescuing. Still, looking up at the high chair I could help but want to roleplay a bit of baywatch so I climbed up and got comfortable - lucky I didn't get in trouble.

I realised then that the sun had started to set, time had flown by so quickly on my little beach adventure. I decided I would watch in go down in style and found a comfy hammock high upon some palm trees - all that was missing was a fruity cocktail. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mojo%20Beach/139/247/26

Trying to make contact

You know that feeling you get when its your first day at school or university, there is a big crowd of people and you do your best to look friendly and hope you make some friends? That is exactly how I've been feeling in Second Life. I've been visiting many nice sims but most of them have been empty so I decided I better hit one of the 'hot spots' listed in the destination guide to meet some new people.

I choose one of the newbie welcome areas, as after all a newbie is what I am and was teleported to an outdoor courtyard with many people around. At first I just listened to the public chat going on, which proved to be frustrating as some people were discussing how 'evil' rich people were and how business and the government was to blame for the problems in society. I took a deep breath and decided it was not a time to get into a debate, the people discussing it seems rather ignorant and naive and I realised I was there to make friends so there was no point and arguing with those kinds of people would not end well. Luckily just at that moment I received an IM from a friendly stranger who was looking for a chat and we shared our newbie experiences. (I learn't not to accept a script from a stranger..as it can do very bad things lol)

After a while he had to leave and I decided to be proactive about meeting people. So I had a look at the profiles of people around me and IM'ed the ones that struck my interest. Honestly some ignored me, others were short and obviously not in the mood for conversation but I didn't want to give up. After all Second Life is meant to be a social experience. Then I stumbled upon a very nice guy who had completed studies in Anthropology at university..which intrigued me as in today's uni lecture we had an Anthropologist discuss Political Ecology. Turns out he was very nice, intelligent and we had a great chat.

Just as a I was leaving I met one other person who gave me a landmark to a surfing place in Second Life... surfing!! I never knew I could do that in world, not to mention I don't have to worry about great white sharks like I do here in Australia.  So thats the plan for tomorrrow... find a bikini and off to the beach I go ^_^

Stay tuned for my beach adventure!

A trip to Etopia Eco Village

One thing I am passionate about is sustainability. That is the reason I left my comfortable HR job with one of the world's largest mining companies and have gone back to university to complete my Masters in Sustainable Systems. So being in an unfamiliar world, I curiously typed in 'sustainability' in the Second Life search engine to see what would come up.

I found groups that dealt with the issue, one even solely on corporate governance and sustainability which very much appealed to me and then I came across a sim called Etopia Eco Village - an environmental sustainable living community.

I teleported and was delighted but what I found. It was a sim that put a lot of effort into educating people about sustainability issues but in a fun way. The first thing I did was grab the free bike that is offered at the rezzing point (it took me a while how to attach it etc, being a newb and all) and drove around the sim to see what was on offer.


At various posts around the island there is a 'sustainability quiz' marker where when you click on it a question appears upon the board and it tests your knowledge. It is multiple choice and simple, but nevertheless a good way to teach people the basics. There are also helpful markers that outline the bike trail, but there was so much to see I often veered off to explore some random corner off the beaten path. :)

I visited the water aquaculture farm and spent a while inspecting the windfarm, and the best thing was that many of the signs were linked to websites with more information about the issue for those people that were interested. There is also a lot of other fun stuff to do like take the free train around the island, view it from above with the gondolas on a nearby hill or play around with the flying fox. Overall I had a great time and was pleasantly surprised by what I found and it opened my eyes up a bit more of the possibilities of Second Life.

A Second Life.. because one simply isn't enough!

I stumbled upon Second Life when I was searching for a real life designer dress, for some reason or other it bought up a Second Life fashion feed and I was intrigued by this game that allowed it's members so much creativity! I spent a while browsing various Second Life blogs and finally a few days ago took the plunge and downloaded the viewer.

Upon loading I was initially overwhelmed, my walk was awkward at best and my avatar looked far from what I wanted. Still I knew from reading various blogs what I needed - an animation over-rider, a skin, hair and some clothes. It took me 6 hours and $7,000 lindens to get my avatar how I wanted but I knew it was all worth it when someone who noticed how old I was and didn't believe I was new.. kept saying I must be alt. So I figured I must have done something right ;) though really the credit goes out to all those wonderful people with the fashion blogs that helped me find the best shops.

In part that is why I have started this blog, like them, I want to give something back and record my travels along the way. It is not going to be a fashion blog because there are already so many goods ones out there and I'm a student so on a budget linden wise. Rather it will be a  mixture of places I visit, people I meet, random thoughts and musings..and occasionally some fashion. I really don't know what to expect from Second Life, but I sure how it will be one hell of an adventure!

xx