(For the reader who is not familiar with Second Life jargon “inworld”, means within the Second Life universe.) The other folks are beginning to approach me now. Perhaps as my tastes in avatar couture so not stray into the outlandish, I might seem more approachable than others. Who knows.
The other day, after getting up from a lazy snooze in the hammock under the Tiki Bar boardwalk, I encountered a little girl. Gee, I can’t remember her name. She got separated from her mom, and wanted help. I am still an SL dunce when it comes to an awful lot of things, and I still had yet to learn how to search for specific people. Poor thing had to suffer through my stupid attempt to search my contacts for her mom – of course I found no one. All the Halloween spiders and bats did not help either. I can’t wait for tomorrow when our Tiki Bar sandbox will be less overrun with the critters and back to its more mundane ambiance. Anyway, I finally figured out how to search for this kid’s Mom by her first name, and as I’m doggedly IMing all the Shaylas in SL one by one, the little one remembers her ex-stepfather’s name, and bingo. Lo and behold there is a Shayla with the same last name, who IS online, and IS the missing Mom.
I sent her a teleport to join us, but somehow she got distracted by the shopping. It was then I felt true thanks for the “walk as a couple” options. I could then walk the kid down Postoffice street without having to worry about her dashing off. We met her Mom walking down to meet us. I was so relieved, I escaped as soon as was polite and went beachside for some quiet. And the Mom sent me $5L before I could tell her it really wasn’t necessary. The kid was very polite, but sure cried a lot. I couldn’t blame her though. This big SL world is very confusing.
At that time I was camping out on the Galveston beach, and it seemed perfectly fine. When I realized it could take weeks to snag one of the Tiki Huts for myself, I began to wonder what a great idea that was. it would make me a vulture skulking around the Tiki Bar beach, waiting to swoop down when one of my neighbors is a little forgetfu. How good would that be for getting to know folks?
After two weeks of being essentially ignored by others, folks are beginning to talk to me, but I seem to hold back. I will talk, be helpful as is my nature, but as soon as it seems that the conversation might evolve into even a casual acquaintance, I skedaddle. EllCee and Independence … I am so focused on my design goals I don’t want to hurt anybody by getting to know them, and then never wanting to “come out and play”.
And in the last two days, I have gotten hit on twice. As if there wasnt enough of that in RL. One of the campers on the Tiki Bar beach and a guy at Club Zazza in Ciudad Mexico. Well in the club, what did I expect. I was in there salsa-ing away in my clown costume… which is clown couture cum Hot Topic – and I was wearing the coquettish ponytail hair. It is my only hair that looks good in the clown hat. The overall effect was quite kittenish, especially since my only footwear that works are the big fluffy Pikachu pokemon slippers. I have decided that I will have dogs that are hungry all the time …. whenever I need an escape. I was not able to recall some of the phrases I sought, and lets be HONEST. No one ever taught me in any Spanish class, how to turn a guy down – gently or otherwise. Hey – his group affiliation was ‘El Mundo de Extasia” or something like that. Doesn’t sound like a place I want to go with a guy I just met. However, if he had invited me for a waltz at Rowallan Castle…. well. I was thrown for a loop when he took me for Mexican or Dominican … His Colombian Spanish was curious to me. But I would never figure I wouldn’t give myself away as una gringa. But of course I was flattered, but NOT enough to tango of to El Mundo Whatever.
