Two Year Reflections.....

It was two years ago that Crighton Johin first rezzed his noobie ass in SL.

Jenda and I joined about the same time, and as noobs, we wandered aimlessly, fascinated by SL and what we found. We were both looking for things that interested us, both together and on our own. I found the live music scene and AA and was hooked. This is particularly amusing considering when I joined it was only for Jen to get a referral fee reward. Honestly, I was getting bored, but after finding the music and AA, I realized that SL was much more than I bargained for.

After a long time as wandering around as a newbie, I eventually succumbed to the lure of a nice skin and my appearance evolved over the months to something a bit more handsome. I fell in love and was amazed at the bond that we could make in SL. I also found out first hand that the pains of relationships in SL are just as real as in RL. My love of music and my frustration at finding decent internet radio stations led me to the art of SL DJing, thanks to friends who pushed and mentored me. (hugs to Jocelyn) This led to a new level of socializing, that in RL was unheard of for me. I settled into my life as a SL DJ and loved it. Not only did I have the awesome privilege of playing music I actually liked (I was horrified at the thought of playing pop music,) but I actually made some decent money doing so. Getting paid for doing something I love? This was definitely better than RL!

Along the way, my life got busy and complicated and being a solitary person, I was having a hard time dealing with the rigors of being *gasps* somewhat popular, so I decided to create an alt. By this time, I had become quite curious about the female avatar and decided to create an alt that was female. Thus, Aeryn was born. Quite quickly, she became a relatively big part of my SL. She spent my money and eventually became my favorite avatar to use during free time. I'm sure much speculation ensued about me and my Aeryn *grins* but there was really nothing perverted or nefarious about her. She shopped and danced and eventually opened up her own shape shop. Yes, I found out that I had an eye for proportion that some don't have, and tried to capitalize on that. I ran out of gas on that venture, but still have the shop open and may do something with it in the future. Most of my friends now know about Aeryn and I think they humor me and my double life and I love them for it.

Last year, Bill Mondegreen and I talked about jazz and opening up a jazz club. Bill built and and was instrumental in it's opening. I merely showed up and spun jazz on a regular basis. I was amazed that we actually garnered a following that grew steadily. Bill eventually had some RL issues to deal with and the management of the club fell on me. We steadily added more gigs, blues and jazz. We added a couple fabulous female live vocalists to sing and our traffic grew. I can now say, without hesitation, that the Savoy is a success and is, in my opinion, the best jazz and blues club in SL. I am honored to be working with the DJs, hosts, and performers we have at the Savoy. And is it really working if I have a blast?

Next up on my thrilling ride through SL fun and insanity was Aeryn's turn to the dark side. Yes, she became a vampire. As if I needed something else to occupy my time, while looking innocently for a nice pair of fangs, Aeryn was seduced to the dark side by a handsome Frenchman with pointy teeth. No, there was no funny business, just some neck biting....lol. Immersing myself into Bloodlines with Aeryn pushed me to a whole new level of socializing and I found myself having fun helping.....newbies? Yes, that's right. A vampire with a heart of gold. :-) Don't get me wrong, she still wants your soul, but I found that through BL, I ran into more newbies than every before, and used the opportunity for good, rather than collecting souls. Don't forget though, Aeryn still wants your soul.

Next on the winding road that is SL, Marco Island was dropped in my lap. Yes, I now own a sim, which brings with it a whole new set of responsibilities and pressures, not the least of which is real life money. Things have been good so far and I think I've done well with it. I try to keep a healthy balance between being fair to my fellow Islanders and being smart with rent so I'm not left owing money. We haven't changed much, but we're looking at improvements and ways to help us all in our endeavors.

So last night, we had a two year rez day party for me. Kimala did such a good job setting it up and I had a blast. I let my ego run wild and played some of my favorite rock music, and I hope I didn't run anyone off. ;-) And through all this post, I have not even talked about the most important aspect of SL, at least for me. Friends. That will be my next blog entry, as I've already gone on and on here. But I've been so fortunate in my SL to have found the absolute best bunch of people that I call friends. Second Life has had a set of pitfalls that I've stepped in, including my obsessive/addictive nature. I've also been struggling with the whole concept of doing something I love in RL, rather than just in SL. It has shown me how dissatisfied I am in my RL career, or lack thereof. But that is something I will have to deal with.

In the mean time, I love Second Life and my friends there. Considering that I was there only temporarily, it's turned out to be quite some trip....dare I say a long strange trip?

Milestones

No, this is not about the classic Miles Davis album. Maybe next week....

I'm a firm believer in the concept that one day is really not any more important than another. But, being human, I need sign posts along the way to help me appreciate things. Birthdays and anniversaries are definitely such sign posts, and I've had a couple of these in the last two days.

Yesterday, was the Rez Day of two of my favorite SL friends. Kimala and bigd both joined the festival of fun and insanity that is Second Life a year ago yesterday, and we had a big party to celebrate. I had the honor of spinning the tunes and I really enjoyed it. I remember last summer, when I first started DJing my second regular gig was at One World. Very shortly after starting there I met bigd and Kimala. They were both very friendly and always had great requests. Kimala turned me on to The Cult and bigd reminded me of how good Johnny Winter and The Doors are, among others. Both very generous and smart and funny. Life is better with them in it and I'm grateful to be considered a friend.

Today, a very very good friend of mine has a special anniversary. Joonie is 17 years clean and sober today!! I'm so proud of her and so happy that I know her. We're kind of kindred spirits in a sense, as my 17th anniversary in AA is coming up in just over a month. Our recent paths are somewhat similar in that SL AA has kind of been our path back into AA. So, Happy Birthday Joonie and keep coming back!! You've been there when I've needed you and I hope I can return the favor!! While I do believe that today is just another day for Joonie, and July 2nd will be just another day for me, it is special in the sense that it gives is a moment to reflect on where we are, where we came from and how damn far we've come.

Then it is time to remember that it's all about today. I still need to take care of myself today. And today is all we have. Today is all that matters. And tomorrow, it will be the same. The eternal NOW. You want to live forever? Live today...just today. It's all there is.

Random Ramblings....

This is the post with no theme......but who knows. Maybe a theme will appear.

I haven't posted for a long, long time. I haven't done a lot of things in a long time. And the sad thing is, that I haven't got a lot done in SL recently either. Of course, maybe I shouldn't be focussed on what I'm getting done in SL so much. It should be fun, right? Well, lately it hasn't been very fun a lot of the time. I've been DJing a lot which many think is too much work. They forget that I love music so much that it really isn't work for me. It's joy for the most part. I probably have two too many gigs going, but that can change quickly in SL. The nice part is I have a nice mix of different music I play. I do three rock gigs, two blues, two straight ahead jazz and one smooth jazz gig.

I'm trying to take the time to learn to build, but I'm not having much success. Between DJing and playing and spending time with those who matter, it's tough finding time. I'm also starting to put together a Shape Shop that will be run by Aeryn, in her never ending quest to overthrow Crighton as the main, and make him her subservient alt bitch. Ahhh...the inner battles that ensue with alt craziness....I love it!! Anyway, be on the lookout for Lovenkraft Shapes or something similar. I hope to be building soon too. I would love to learn skins too, but that looks hard...lol.

Last week, I was honored to help raise money for two worthy causes, which were both smashing successes. At The Bee Hive, with Kim and Blissie, I worked two nights to raise money for Relay For Life. The Date Auction was a blast, although I got so wound up I couldn't sleep and ended up missing work on Saturday....lol. Saturday night I DJ'd an hour for Blues For Autism, which was also a huge success. I want to thank Magi, Kim and Blissie for asking me to help. Hugs to you all, and I honor the love in your hearts that sparked this amazing week.

Bottom line? I've got some work to do to re-order my life. I've got things to do in RL that have been neglected. Yard work, inner work (meditation and yoga, etc) have taken a back seat and I must bring those back. I've been so unfocused, in RL and SL. Virtually no discipline and it shows. Instead of creating the world I want, I'm reacting to whatever happens. Story of my life. After I realized the possibilities in SL, I decided that I would use it to create, and then try to bring that also in to RL. I was successful for a while I think, but I've got off track recently. I think much of it has to do with stress and stuff that I have been ignoring. Well, I can ignore stuff for so long before it slaps me in the face and that is what happened this weekend.

And then there is the little issue of sleep, or lack thereof. I have got to get on a somewhat normal sleep schedule. Last week was devastating. In bed by midnight and up by 7am is my goal. God I love staying up late though. I think a lot of that has to do with my son being asleep and I can just really be by myself or with Jenda. Very selfish, I know.

Anyhoo, I'm posting a long and rambling blog, which should make Blissie happy...lol. See you laterz!!

You Say It's Your Rez Day......

.....It's My Rez Day Too, Yeah!!

One year ago today I made my first appearance on Second Life. My first exposure to SL was watching my wife have lesbian sex with some unknown avi while some pervert guy watched...lmao. I thought to myself, "This isn't The Sims...." And when she talked me in to joining, it was merely temporary, so she could get her 1000L referral fee. After logging in, I was quickly bored. I visited a sex club, and saw....noobie sex going on, which bored me. I walked around a lot, and was bored. And then I started searching for stuff. Very shortly, I found some live music events that were pretty good. Then I found one, Juel Resistance, that was very good. And on my first Saturday on SL, I found an AA meeting, which blew me away. Not only was it a good meeting, but there were genuinely great people there, which knowing AA's is not surprising. I realized then and there that this was not what I thought it was. I also realized that after toying around with the idea of being a character, that I would be myself.

Since then, I have fallen in love, become a decent DJ, bought land, had my heart broken in tiny pieces, made a ton of outstanding friends, been through a most frustrating experience with another person, been a complete asshole, made amends for that, bought more land, started creating, served in AA in SL,and who knows what is next. I've learned much about myself, good and bad. I've been a complete dick and a saint. I turned into a female avi as a joke and had so much fun that I created an alt who is sexy and beautiful, and no, she does not have sex with boys. That's just too weird for me. :-) And, yes, there will be a post on that "development" coming up. I will introduce you to Aeryn. ;-)

SL has, at times, swallowed up my RL. I am an addict, and I admit that. I'm grateful that I am aware of that and that when I go over the edge, I eventually catch myself and can pull back. I admit that if I could make a living, a RL living, on SL, I would do so in a heartbeat. I would love to own sims and to learn how to create and build and script. I would love to make a decent sex bed with great poses...lol. I would love to get involved in the SL music scene and promote artists who are talented and might not have the opportunity to play in RL.

I see so many possibilities in SL. That is part of what makes it so attractive. Maybe it's because I have become somewhat jaded in RL and I don't see those possibilities in the rush and clatter of everyday RL. And maybe, just maybe, SL can rekindle the co-creator in me that I know exists....that child of God, the "image and likeness" that can create the life in RL that I want. Abundance and love and joy. I get those now and then in RL, but it's not where I live. Maybe SL can help me find that, and if it does, then it is truly a magickal place, and not just an escape from RL. But maybe it can become a catalyst.

I am creating, or re-creating my island to help me in that venture. It is to be a spiritual place, that I will carry with me into RL, and that also comes from RL. Meditation, yoga, tai chi, Magick, love and joy and beauty. And I want to share it with you.

So Happy Rez Day to me.

*wishes and blows out the candles*