Gone fishing

Due to an RL injury certain events are out for me at the moment, so I am looking at new ways to fill my time.

Much as I’d love to go to the trivia events for the fun of it, I know I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from talking part, and that would just prolong the agony. So I’ve taken to entering fishing contests. These contest are pure luck, and some of the contests are nail biting affairs. I just came 3rd in one which could have gone to anyone. These are not only fun but, as I wander round the different areas, it once again shows the imagination of the people on here, as no 2 are alike. These are just some of the ones I have found.

One of the first fishing places I found was a place called Hedonism. This has regular fishing contests and as far as I can tell there are always people down there fishing by the sea. The fishing area itself is set up along the seafront, but right next to it is a dance floor, and they have a trivia ball rolling 24/7 too. What makes this stand out for me, is that they’ve built the area at the bottom of a live volcano. This has a constant stream of lava and every know and then it has a full eruption too. The atmosphere is very friendly, and relaxing, and it’s a nice place to visit.

The fishing area at Hedonism

The volcano which sits quietly in the background

I’ve also been to a couple of contests at a place called Seagull. This is smaller than hedonism, and although by the sea, it’s set back slightly, and the fishing are itself is a big pool. This contest gets a lot of people to it, and it’s not surprising when you can sit and relax next to waves crashing against the rocks.

The wave crashing on the rocks behind the fishing area at Seagull

One of the weirdest fishing areas I’ve found, and also one of the nicest is a space one. It’s 1200m in the air at a place called The Lunareactor. The first time I went to it, I thought I was in the wrong place. I was obviously looking for sea, and I ended up in space. Once I’d fully rezzed, I realised I was on a fishing planet, with comets or asteroids floating around the pool. Everyone sits in the air to fish. The customs here are pretty neat too, as you can see from this space age man I caught.

The fishing planet of Lunareactor

One of the great customs you can catch there

While some of you may not be the slightest bit interested in fishing, these places do highlight the imagination of the people on SL and the different landscapes you can encounter. All these places serve the same function, yet the styles vary considerably.
So the next few weeks I’ll be drifting around SL more, looking for new things. If you see me at a trivia event - then that’s my one treat of the day. And make the most of the peace and quiet while you can!

Madness and Mayhem at Demented

Every Sunday we go to a fancy dress / trivia evening at demented isle. This is a great place, and you’re really made to feel welcome. I started going when I met Mael, and now the Sunday fancy dress has become part of the routine. We also go along to enjoy the trivia, but we usually have a pretty good laugh with everyone there too. It's a fun way to finish off the week.

In the last few weeks we’ve dressed up as everything from a porn star to a goth. I don't usually go to win the fancy dress - everyone's does so well it's very hard to pick a winner so it's a lovely surprise if I do win - and this week I did.

This week it was one of the hosts birthday’s so we had a party. The theme was ‘her fantasy’ which didn’t help, so basically anything went. I dressed up as a present, and when I got there someone else was an ice cream and later we had a bar of chocolate arrive. Although we act like kids, it is a mature atmosphere, and one of the men was persuaded (bet that took a lot of doing ) to be the stripper for the night as well. During the course of the evening the birthday girl also turned in to a banana eating monkey. This is pretty normal for Demented, and fun is gnerally had by all.

The trivia was based on ‘old farts’ trivia and I’m happy to say it actually made me feel young for a change. Apart from that, I was too busy enjoying the 'floor show'. When I came second in the fancy dress (The ice cream took it) I was over the moon and it finished off my weekend a treat.

Last week the theme was bling. My tiny hamster av had a princess outfit which she'd never worn, so I decided to give that an airing, along with some free blingy earrings she’d picked up somewhere too. Mael dressed as his tiny polar bear (MJ) and we looked the part if nothing else. Everyone else was blinged up as well, and yet again a fun time was had by everyone there. Tiny Cully pulled it off and I won first prize this time. This is the first time it’s happened so I was really pleased with that.

Just to give you an idea - here are a few of the other themes we've had in the last few weeks.

For some odd reason we had a Village People theme. Not too easy when you're a girl, but it included a couple of kinky looking coppers, a builder with a chainsaw fetish, and 2 Indians arguing over who had the biggest feathers. Thanks to Gareth, we all had the YMCA dance to do as well. It's very hard trying to answer trivia questions with all this going on:)

Cops and Robbers night resulted in lots of assorted coppers and a few nasty robbers as well. We chose to go as our tiny av's and apparently we were like a mini version of the keystone cops. They had a cage rezzed, but the bars were too big to hold tiny Cully. Madness and mayhem as always.

We've also had a Porn night - though a couple mis heard it and thought it was prawn night! Now a pole dancing prawn is definitely something you should all see. Anyone who's not been along to Demented should definitely come along one night.

Bucc Bowl

Saturday 16th May, and time for the Buccaneer Bowl again. For anyone who may not know, this is a team trivia event, and it's definitely not for the faint hearted.

It consists of teams of 3-4 players competing against each other, and is run by Lette, Thorn and Lillian. It attracts the best trivia players on Second Life, and people like me too.

My team is called Trumpton Trivia, and consists of myself, Mael, Ana, and Stiggs. We got the name because originally we were 3 Brits, and we wanted something to reflect that. When Stiggs joined us for the 2nd Bucc Bowl, he had to go and find out why he had a group tag calling him fireman Cuthbert.

Trumpton trivia getting ready for the May challenge

For once I was the first person from my team on the boat, and there then followed several minutes of panic before Mael logged on, folllowed a few minutes later by Ana. Thankfully I wasn't alone - the other team captains were all there worrrying where their team mates were too. The only team member missing was Stiggs, and all I could do was sent a frantic im in the hope it went through to his e mail. By the time we got to 10am we were frantically deciding whether or not to replace Stiggs, when he suddenly logged on. Unfortunately there then followed a few more frantic moments because the sim was full and we couldn't tp him on board. Huge sigh of relief when I got a message from him saying 'I'm on the ship!'


Now I don't put myself in the upper league of trivia. I'm more sort of way down the middle. I'm not intellectual, so I'm not going to be able to answer quite a few questions, and my knowledge is 'general' to say the least. So I know I'm never going to be 'up there' in the Bucc Bowl. It was clear from the start though that I was going to struggle on this one.

The first few questions left me staring at the screen. I just didn't have a clue. The questions I did know, all appeared on my screen at the same time as 10 other answers, so there didn't seem much point in adding my answer. I figured then that if I managed to get top 3 on anything I'd be doing well. I've always know I don't have the fastest fingers, but based on this, I certainly don't have a particularly quick broadband speed either.

By round 4 we'd accumulated, well, nothing. I think I'd managed to get a 2nd or 3rd for a well mashed 'Fonda' which I copied from someone and I think we all thought we'd be going home empty handed.


Then we seemed to pick up speed. In the next 2 rounds, we pulled together as a team and we all got a top 3 answer in. The one I'm most proud of is my first place on the British Prime Ministers question! I never expect, hope, or imagine that I am quick enough to get 1st, so I'm over the moon at this. After these rounds we did thankfully manage to go home with some money, and came home in 6th place.

The Triviators held on to their crown again. They are a good team, but they also have some of the quickest fingers, and I rather suspect some of the quickest internet connections too. I know my connection speed isn't fantastic, but it was clear from saturday that my internet, my brain and my fingers leave a lot to be desired!


As always this was a well planned event, and thanks go to the organisers for it. It can be somewhat disheartening not to be able to even have an educated guess sometimes, and even more so when you don't even get the chance to type an answer because 10 people got there at the same time as the question, but for me little victories like my first place make it all worth while. I knew a few others too, but until my fingers get faster or my town gets faster internet speeds, then I will have to content myself with reading everyone elses answers. But then - there's always next month.................

land and building

When I first started on SL I was, like most, a 'tourist'. I often thought about buying land, but I could never see the sense or justify the cost. Since I met Mael - all this has changed. I've bought a few bits of land already, and he's getting me into building on it too.

The first region I lived in was called Fairchang. This is a vast area which is broken down in to numerous sims, but all called Fairchang. Fairchang land consists of islands of different sizes, and I immediately fell in love becasue I was right by sea. I live in the middle of the country in RL so I don't get to see the sea very often. I started with a small island, and then moved up to a slightly larger one. I never really used the land part though. I spent most of my time 300m in the air in my skybox. As with most plots of land, once you start looking at houses and furniture, your prim allowance soon goes.

My first little plot of land in Fairchang

Mael also had an island at Fairchang, but we were looking for some mainland where we could set up home together. I didn't really understand buying land so I left it to him to find us somewhere. I logged on to my emails one day to find a message telling me he'd reserved some land in my name, and I couldn't wait to log on to see it. The first thing we did was buy a house, which was quickly adapted as it didn't quite fit how we wanted. The next thing we did was buy a garage, and it's amazing how quickly we filled this up with bits and pieces. Everything except cars.

Our first home

Of course, this land wasn't enough and we soon expanded it to the other side of the road. If you've read the earlier part of this blog, then you'll know I have a balloon for exploring SL. Well strange though it may seem, this didn't fit in the garage. So Mael set about building a house which could be used as a balloon store / landing pad, and also as an area to chill. Originally he put a pool in it, but it's since been altered so we have somewhere to sit and relax, and we have photographs of all the different places that we go.

The 'round house' as well call it - designed and built by Mael as a place to keep the balloon

Then of course we missed the sea. We'd been looking at some land by the sea, but the cost of this was extortionate. We found one bit of 1024 sq m, which was selling for over 100,000L! Then one day, Mael found a lovely little seaside plot, right by plenty of linden sea squares, and well within balloon distance of home. The price, although not cheap, was well under half the price of any other sea land that we'd seen, so we snapped it up. Mael then disappeared for a few more days to design and build the house we needed for here too. This is a chill / boat house and it has the most amazing view over the sea. (And a balloon landing pad on the top) We then added 7 seas fishing, and we now have a lovely little seaside retreat whenever we want it.

Our seaside retreat - before the house was cut down to 'prim' size

The house has altered a bit since this photo was taken. Yet again we ran short of prims, so the house shrunk to allow us to use our jetkis and other sea side toys.

I now have plans to rebuild the main house we originally bought, but as I simply cannot draw, this will take me some time. If it looks any good when I've finished it then I'll post it here.

I can understand why people don't want to start buying land, but for me it's so nice being able to have not one, but 2 places I can call home, and we like nothing more than simply going 'home' at the end of the day to discuss this, that and whatever else:)

Lemming Fever

Just when you're feeling down and blue, Second Life has a way of pulling you back up.


I host on a Wednesday night and I was feeling particulary down and miserable. I went along determined to put a smile on my face, and make the best of it. People started to arrive, and immediately the atmosphere was set. The first topic of converstaion was - er - sex aids. Lette started it all off and soon the puns were flowing.


From there we went to Lemmings. Thorn has a new idea for his Saturday trivia, where he pays the person who gets the answer wrong, but who everybody copies. This is called a lemming. I innocently said the I wanted to get a lemming, and then the puns started flowing.

Well then we had puns all round

Thornton Writer: <--- waiting for a history question on the Battle of Lemmingrad

Thornton Writer: when life hands you a lemming, make lemmingade

Lou Netizen: The Taming of the Lemming
Pro Core: 007 nlicence to jump off cliffs

Lette Ponnier: coriolemming

Karmel Kips: alas poor lemming, i followed him well

Mark007 Bloobury: i come her today to praise the lemming not to throw him off a cliff

Maelstrom Janus: invented by sir alexander lemming




This is why I love Double Standards - once they start - they just don't stop. It's not the first time they've had me giggling while I've been hosting, and it's what makes it all worth while. They hadn't finished yet though.

I then wondered why Cinna and Devin were wandering around. I soon found out when Luci pointed out they were on stage. I must be the only person to host with 2 boogying, lifesize lemmings on stage with them

Devin Lemming on the left, Cinna Lemming on the right:)

Second Life can bring us down - but it can also raise us back up again. Thanks to all of you for making this such a fun night, and for making smart ass trivia what it is.

The Just Plain odd!!

Second Life throws the occasional spanner in the works, we all know that. But every now and again it does something to you that makes you look twice. We’re all used to walking through floors and walls when we get to a sim boundary, but there are some other very odd things that can happen to you as well.

This is what happened to me when Mael was putting the finishing touches to the outside of our house. I didn't walk in to this like you do at sim boundaries, I actually walked across this - and then I sank!

On another occasion I went to see Moysie for one of our regular chats. He was just reorganising the place for the trivia events, and at the same time he had a couple of new machines. We discussed the best place to put these so that they would be out of the way, and I just told him to leave them in the middle, I'd sit on them to host. So, what do you do if someone mentions sitting on something? You sit on it. And he did - or at least that's what he tried to do.

It's also apparently, quite hazardous to simply change your clothes. We all know the dangers of trying to do this in public anyway. I'm sure most of us have accidentally ended up naked because we hit the wrong button, or SL refused to rez our clothes. Well this photo shows what can happen if you simply try to change your boots. By the way, if anyone finds a foot - it's mine!

This one isn't of me, but it also shows the dangers of laughing on Second Life. Apparently it really is possible to laugh your head off.

And finally, at least for now, this has to be my favourite. This has happened to me once before but I didn't get a chance to take a photo. All I can say is thank goodness this is a virtual World - not the real one!

These are the kind if things that make me laugh no matter what mood I'm in. I'm quite sure I'll be posting more of these photos soon:)

So what to do........

There are so many different events and things to do in Second Life, it's no wonder so many of us are addicted to it. If you check out the different events which are listed every day, I can't imagine anyone being able to get bored.

My favourite events are the trivia ones. This is basically a quiz where we all gather together to test our brains. All questions are asked in open chat and the first correct answer on screen wins. Unless SL is being it's usual helpful self, in which case chat lag dictates which answers get seen at all, and which order they come out. I went to some trivia this afternoon, and the question appeared in the middle of a load of answers.

Being in the UK there are quite a few trivia events I've never been able to go to because of the time difference. There are still plenty of others to choose from though, my favourites being Double Standards, Moysies, Lillys, and Demented Souls. Sharons Diner also holds regular events, but I can't always get to them.

The trivia crowd are a great bunch. They always congratulate each other when they get questions right, and any rivalry that exists is very friendly. I feel privileged to spend so much of my time with such intelligent and witty people.

Revenge of the stripy T-shirts at Double Standards trivia

Double Standards is a nightly event and one of my homes. I host here twice a week (Sunday and Wednesday) and other nights you can find me there in the crowd. This is the only place I know that allows smart ass answers. You'll get paid for being first with the correct answer, but if all else fails think of something witty and you may just get the smart ass. It's also the home if the bad pun these days. For some reason everyone tries to out pun each other, and you just can't help laughing. This makes it an interesting event, and if the right people are there an extremely humorous one too.

Moysies games is one which I set up at my friends place, with the help of Ana. It's not been going very long, but we get a good crowd and we have a lot of fun. Ana and I take it in turns to co host, and we recently did our first combined event. We call it Silly/ Sensible. We think of a silly topic and one of us will ask questions on that subject, and the other asks questions which relate to those answers. The first one we did was Monty Python. Lots of trivia players have been asking for Monty Python and we provided. Needless to say they didn't (or couldn't) turn up on the night, and I think everyone else had good fun trying to get the answers. Next time I'm having a stab at being sensible, and Ana will be silly. Hopefully it will be another good night.

Lillys is held twice a week, and is hosted by Lotus and Nelly - or Nellotus as Mael calls them. They are total opposites, and they work very well together. Lotus provides the intellectual questions (on such topics as fillums, telly and booze:) while Nelly provides more sensible subjects, such as simpsons, Johnny depp and the inevitable Canada. You always get a good crowd with plenty of chat.

Demented Souls had just started it's regular weekly trivia again. This is on a Thursday and it's slightly different. They pay for the first 3 answers so you get lots of frantic copying. Needless to say this can provide a lot of fun, especially as I think we all copy anything without thinking about it. They pay out at the end of each half, and it's nice to find out at the end how well you've done.

There are also 2 other events which started recently. One is the Buccaneer Bowl. As far as I know this was the first team trivia event, and it's now held once a month. It attracts all the best trivvers, and even though they pay for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places, getting in the top 10 is quite an achievement. My team, The Trumpton Trivias, somehow managed to win the first one, and we came 3rd in the next 2 as well. We won't mention the last one - we'll just look forward to the next.

Trumpton Trivia showing what we're made of at the Bucc Bowl.

My team consists of myself, Mael, Ana and Stiggs. We have to keep our ARC down to decrease the lag, so Stiggs goes bald, while Ana and I both have nasty cheap hair. Mael manages to keep a low ARC anyway the lucky thing. We have team Shirts designed by Stiggs and Ana made a team tattoo too. We certainly look the part - we'll have to wait until May16th to see if our brains can act the part.

The event is run by Thornton (aka Captain Stripey), Lette and Lillian. Not only do they put a lot of time into this event, but they also put their own trivia winnings up as prize money. These are 3 of the nicest people you could meet, and the Bucc Bowl has certainly put a new slant on the trivia events. In between events there's a lot of friendly rivalry among the teams, and even though we all want to win, we're always pleased for the team that wins on the day.

The other new event is Smartasstermind. This was run for the first time over the Easter weekend, and proved so popular it is being repeated at the end of the month. This follows the format of Mastermind, where contestants answer 10 questions on a specialist subject of their choice, and then 10 general knowledge questions. The audience also get a share of the trivia, getting the chance to answer any questions that the contestants get wrong.

Me hosting at Smartasstermind

This was held at Double Standards so I was one of the hosts, and I know how nerve racking it was for the contestants who took part. They all did extremely well, and they gained a lot of respect for getting on stage and taking part. Mael won the first one with his Dr Who knowledge, and he also had an extremely good general knowledge round too. We had a good crowd throughout the day and everyone supported each other. The hosts were there offering support to each other and the competitors too, and I think everyone enjoyed the day. As an experiment this certainly worked, and now people are talking about this as well as the Bucc Bowl. I've entered the coming Smartasstermind. I don't suppose I'll win, but I know it will be fun taking part.

As well as trivia, I've now discovered fishing. The most popular seems to be 7 seas fishing, where you actually 'catch' proper fish, which you can then put in an aquarium. I did this with some of mine, except I didn't know you were supposed to go and feed them. Mael got home one day to find all my fish floating at the top of the tank. Oops! Now I know I've set the automatic fish feeder. You can also 'wear' them, and you can always tell when somebodys been fishing because they usually have some sort of fish floating around their head. You also win other little goodies. The most common is bikini tops and bottoms. I think most women now have enough free bikinis to fill a shop. I have also fished up a mermaid and merman, a bicycle pump and tire, a boat and a fishing hat. Some of the things you catch count as salvage, which go towards more valuable items. At the time of writing this I have an inventory full of salvage which I haven't even looked at. When I do, I'll see if there's anything interesting enough to add to this blog.

Me, wearing some of the fish I caught

I'm still quite new to fishing, but Humm is starting to hold fishing events at Double Standards, so I hope one day to get in the top 3, or at least get out of the bottom 3. This is held immediately after I host trivia on a Sunday, and it attracts a good crowd. Needless to say we all have a lof of fun with this too.

It is also possible to build things as well. I had never built anything until I met Mael, and I've now built a house for our tiny av's. It's very basic compared to some of the things he builds, but as I've never designed or built anything in my life, I'm quite proud of it. I can't draw to save my life, so trying to design something is nigh on impossible. I have to build based on what I see in my head - which isn't easy. I was doing really well, or so I thought, until Mael decided to tell me that nothing was lined up properly, the floor was crooked and the list went on. After nearly killing him, I knuckled down and put it right. Don't tell him, but it's only because of the help and advice that he gave me, that I was able to finish it at all. I still need to work on the textures, but I think it looks pretty good for my first time.

The tiny house that I built

My piece de resistance though were my windmills. This was built with a skybox in mind, so I had to find a way of keeping it in the air. I decided that windmills would look good on a tiny house, but they were very difficult to find. So I built them! Although Mael pointed me in the right direction, this was the first scripted thing I had made, and they actually work. This has whetted my appetite to build more bits and pieces, so I have a feeling I'll be spending even more time on Second Life than I do now.

These are only a few of the things there are to do on Second Life, Whatver you're interested in there will be someone who arranges it for you, and you can be pretty sure you'll meet a nice group of people if you go.

my favourite places

Like most people when I started on Second Life I had no idea what I wanted to do or where to go. I started off hanging around newbie places and free games places, before finding certain areas where I like to spend my time.


One is Moysies games. This is run by my mate Moysie – it’s basically a games / camping place, but it’s a great place to just go to chill too. He doesn’t get some of the idiots that a lot of places get, so you can sit and chill in comfort. He also does trivia there too now, so there’s another reason to spend even more time there. You quite often see him there, watching over things, and he's always looking at ways to make it a better place to be.




The other place I go is Double Standards. This is a very relaxing place to go and sit around the fire in peace. The owner, Hummingbird, has created a lovely scenic area for anyone to go and enjoy. There's also trivia there every night, and as it’s the home of the smart ass, you’re always guaranteed a good laugh. I usually go there for trivia when I'm not hosting there, and the people who go here are part of my extended SL family. This photo was taken at New Year. For me it was the only place to go and celebrate.

The way to travel

One of the best things about Second Life is being able to do things we can’t do in the real world. This involves different methods of travel.
No traffic jams, no traffic lights, no rules of the road - just go. There are a few land boundaries that send you off in all directions, but that's about the most hazardous thing you'll encounter.
Whether you want a big sports car or your own personal jet, you can find and own whatever you want.
Apart from the good old teleport, I have 3 other ways of travelling. First - my little car.


I do have a car in my real life, but I love my little Second Life 2CV. I found this when my boyfriend was looking at different vehicles, and I fell in love with it. It’s not the big, swanky, sporty type of thing most people would go for, but to me it’s really cute and it’s much more in keeping with my character. The only problem with SL is land boundaries. If you hit a rough boundary in a car then you end up in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and inevitably end up stuck in the air. If you’re very lucky you will eventually come back down to earth and carry on – until you hit the next boundary. If you're unlucky - you just keep on flying until you log off and start again.

One day I went out for a little drive, and hit the boundary at the next sim. I took off and ended up just sitting in the air without the car. I logged off and on again and my little car had not been returned to me. I’ve often wondered where these things go when this happens. Anyway, later on I decided to have a nose around the area and went for a little walk. I found a lounge in the middle of a field, and then stopped and looked at a house in the distance. There was a blue car in the wall with the engine running. Yes – my 2CV had apparently crash landed in the wall of their house, and was just sitting there waiting, presumably, for the land owners to return it to me. Needless to say I hopped in and drove it home.
It does answer one question though. The sim we live in is littered with cars in the sky. I’ve often thought it was griefers trying to be a nuisance. Now I know it’s poor car drivers who’ve crashed at a land boundary and lost their car!



The other vehicle I have is a raptor, which is a powerful hoverbike. Again I found this when my boyfriend went to look at boystoys at Abbots Aerodrome. I originally found a smaller hover bike which I took for a test drive. I was doing OK until- you guessed- I hit a land boundary and crashed in a forest. He was stuck in a sitting position and couldn’t move so he had to relog and start again. He, however, fell in love with this bike and decided to get me one for my birthday. (Now how many people can say that their boyfriend bought them a car, a hoverbike and an expensive outfit as a present.) I’m not terribly good on fast vehicles, and this has a real kick, but as long as you pray when you get to a land boundary, and don’t hit any full parcels of land, then it’s a pretty cool ride.


And now my favourite. I’ve always wanted to go on a balloon flight – and now I can. When we went looking for hoverbikes I saw this and immediately fell in love with it. It’s a great way to travel around, and it’s slow enough that land boundaries aren’t a problem. The only time it crashes are when you hit a full parcel, or if someone has wonderful ban lines set to evict you as soon as you hit them. The first time we flew it we found some amazing scenery, and it’s just as I imagine a balloon ride should be. To me, this is the only way to travel in style.

Mael

When I started on SL I just wanted to make a few friends, chill out, and generally get away from the real World now and then. The last thing I wanted was any kind of relationship. But, when you least expect it, along comes that certain someone.

I first came across Mael at Double Standards. He was generally being a smart ass and my first impressions were not good - I thought he was taking the mickey out of the trivia. I later learned that smart ass was a regular thing there, and he was the resident smart ass. He does have a great sense of humour and he certainly makes me laugh.

Since we got together I've learned a lot more about SL and what it has to offer. He's taught me to build, and we regularly go off exploring new regions, and finding some of the great sights that SL has to offer.

Some people think I'm mad - and they're probably right. I am. He's a loud mouth smart ass and he knows it. But he's also very intelligent, very creative, and caring and considerate too. I always love spending time with him (Unless he's in a bad mood:)), and I feel lucky that I've been able to get to know the man behind the av.

We've got 2 places together as well. A home in the country and a home by the sea. He's designed and built amazing homes for both of them as well.

I wasn't looking - and I found someone really special. At least he is to me. xx

Moysie

Moysie was the first real friend I found on SL.

I used to go to his games place all the time and we met when one of his lucky chairs didn't pay out. We started chatting and hit it off immediately. He's got a silly sense of humour just like mine, and we've spent many hours over the months sitting at his place watching the world go by, and generally chatting about nothing in particular.

Doing pretty much what we do best - just sitting, chilling and chatting.

Despite being an Everton fan, he's a great guy, and he's like family to me. He's the brother I never had in RL. Some of you will have met him now we do trivia at his, and you can see for yourself what a nice guy he is.

He's one of the very few I truly trust, and I value his friendship more than he realises.

My Friends

Some of the best, and worst things on SL are the people.

We all notice the idiots who try to spoil it for us, but thankfully they're in the minority. Since I started I've come across some very nice people, and I feel privileged to call them friends.

Like most I have some friends who are closer than others, and I am lucky to be able to call Lotus, Ana and Humm good friends. They are all intelligent, funny and good fun, and I know I can rely on them if I need a friend - as they can me.

Lotus is on the left and Ana on the right. This was taken while we were chilling after Ana's trivia at Moysies.

Lotus was the first person I met. She was at the first trivia event I went to at Carvers Cove. I was amazed at how quickly she answered the questions, and I was determined to beat her if I could. Somehow I came 2nd and she stopped to chat to me. We then started seeing each other at different trivia events, and still send messages if we're online and we find a new event to go to. I know I can talk to her about anything, and she will always have an honest and impartial opinion. One of the few I respect and trust in World.

I also first met Ana at Carvers Cove. She was new and even from day one she was Queen of trivia. She is extremely intelligent and has some of the fastest fingers I know. We've slowly got to know each other over the months, and when I needed a friend a while ago, she was there for me. She has a very quick, dry sense of humour and is a valued friend as well.

And then there's Humm. I haven't really known her as long as the others, but in the last few weeks I've got to know her better. Again, I first met her at trivia, but this time it was her first hosting event at Double Standards. She runs it, and she always has ideas for new events and things to try. She's a good listener, and someone you can have a good laugh with too.

There are also a lot of other people who I call friends - the people I meet nearly every day at the regular events I go to. I don't know all of you as well as I do others, but it's always nice to see a friendly face when you go somewhere, and I know that during the course of a day, some of us will always end up at the same place at the same time. It's always nice to share a joke and have a chat to people you know, and things just wouldn't be the same without you all. I hope you all know who you are - there are just far too many of you to list. I am privileged, though, to be able to spend part of my day from people from different parts of the Globe, and these people are part of my extended Second Life family. It wouldn't be the same without them.