Category: Uncategorized

I’ll Tell You a Riddle…

On By AlexaIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

… “You’re waiting for a train, a train that will take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take you, but you don’t know for sure. But it doesn’t matter. How can it not matter to you where that train will take you?”  This quote was from the movie, “Inception”, aired in 2010.

Snapshot_004

Lately I have felt like I’ve been in a mode of waiting and quite literally I am waiting for things to happen that I have no control over.  I could probably write a whole chapter or even a book ranting about what I’m having to wait for, approval on this or that, such and such to get back to me, etc. You get the drift.

Today I was in a bit of  a funky mood and it really started the previous night.   You know that feeling of not able to really focus on anything, more than a thread of restlessness.  So I opted to have an early night and sleep claimed me almost immediately.  This morning I felt the same effects of gloominess and was quite tired by midday even if I had not really expended any energy, doing much of nothing in all reality.

Then while waiting on someone I was rummaging through my purse when I saw the book that had been given to me as a gift.  I had not paid much attention when I had opened the envelope, but had laid it aside and then later stuffed inside my handbag.  So I pulled it out and read the title, “use ALL the Crayons“, and then read the back of the book to see what it was about.

The author speaks of how he likes to consult with a five-year-old anytime he needs a reminder as to what is important in life.  Further down, he describes like a box of crayons, we are all born with an astounding range of color options, and making every day as vivacious as the brightest crayon in the box.  The book doesn’t profess to make you happy, though it guides you to find simple ideas for living a more colorful life.

Flipping through a few pages I read one idea that had me giggling and thought hmm it has potential. The idea of super-gluing a quarter to the sidewalk outside of a busy downtown office building, then packing a lunch and spending the noon hour watching frustrated executives try to pick the quarter up.  Now tell me that wouldn’t be funny?   I then thought of how high the humidity is where I live at and it’s not likely to happen.  Maybe come winter.

In the space of reading those few pages my spirit was uplifted and I had a brighter outlook.   There will be times in life when you’re in a mode of waiting, so you might as well color your world with the brightest of crayons.

Snapshot_007

My dog Hank sure loves to sleep.

Credits:

Lipstick – BlackLiquid – Black Cherry Gloss
Top – The Secret Store – 3D Rose Sweater Mint
Pants – Kaithleen’s – ¾ Trousers Black @ Acid Lilly
Shoes – Similar – Palermo Rigged Leather in Black
Glasses – Muschi Mesh – Gold Bee Eyewear Glasses
Watch/Bangles – Lasciva – Datejust Raw Gold Bracelet Emerald

Props:

Trunk with Wheels & Duffel Bag – House of Fox – Vintage (December Arcade now at store gatcha)
Suitcase – Magnifique Poses – Rez Pose 6 of Journey Home Set
Dog – Bio Breeds – Pug Brown

Location: Primitiv

Tax Break

On By AlexaIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

According to the Internal Revenue Service 25% of people wait until the last two weeks to file their tax return. Normally I’m not in that percentile, though this year I just couldn’t get motivated to get started even if I had all my paperwork in a stack sitting near my computer.

Now the clock is ticking with only hours before the big day. I settled into this comfortable chair to get mine completed. It didn’t take me that long, an hour if that. Though it’s one of those things that you really don’t want to do, especially if you’re in that percentile that has to mail in a check.

Snapshot_005

Up until now I have not put any credits on the items that I show in my pictures. Though after a bit of a chat with my sister this morning, she made a good point about not knowing where an item came from that you saw on a blog.

So here are the credits to what is shown on my avatar and decor:

Tank – Tee*fy –Skyla Ruffle Sleeve Tank Chilli (Fifty Linden Fridays)
Pants – Tres Blah – Juju Jeans Light Wash (three in one – wearing the rolled up)
Jewelry – Finesmith – Mango Set (April group gift)
Hair – Dura – Boys&Girls*42 Black
Nails – Pulcino – Prim Nail “Granite” White
Eyelashes – Redgrave – 39 Luscious
Lipstick – BlackLiquid– African Dream Gloss
Eyeliner – BlackLiquid – Needle Black Liner
Shoes – Leverocci – Cadenza Wedge Flash (store currently closed for construction)

Chair – We’re CLOSED – Flower Power
Flowers – Lilith Heart – Meadow Flowers Fairy Wands Pink
Background Trees Etc. – 3D Trees – Forest Accessories Packs I & II

Picture location is my private home

SL Firsts

On By AlexaIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

The latest meme by Strawberry Singh is certainly a path down memory lane.  I have only had one shape and skin prior to the one I’m using now; not including the newbie shape and skin we were born into when we joined.  This  is it here, acquired from a stranger at a store when I complimented her on the outfit she was wearing.

In hat_001
First official avatar look

The meme is titled “My 10 SL Firsts”.  

Meme instructions: Copy and paste the 10 questions and answers into your post. Since I didn’t include all the questions, please refer to the original meme instructions at Strawberry.Singh’s blog.   

  1. First SL Friend: Zolandra. I met her on my first day of joining SL at help island. She helped me a lot in understanding how to maneuver around SL and introduced me to the retired shape maker who created my shape and also helped me select the skin I wear today.
  2. Questions 2-4 are N/A as some things in my SL will remain private. I know I’m boring like that.
  3. First SL Job: Never had a job and probably never will.  That old adage of… I work too hard in real life to work in Secondlife.  Though if a job opened up that would pay for my spending habits then I may reconsider.
  4. First SL Creation: I made a bookcase to go into this small closet space and then I made some chaise loungers. I’m still quite proud of both creations having been so new to SL.
  5. First Encounter with a Linden: It was in 2011 during the festivities celebrating SL and I was at one of the music events and met Zed Linden. He was pretty cool chatting with and even danced with us.
  7. First Encounter with a SLebrity: I was exploring and did a search for country clubs. I got the Grove County Club so I teleported there and went into one of the rooms and there was a woman there in a wedding dress. She was friendly and invited me to stay for the wedding.  At the time I was still fairly new at about two months in and was still learning about life in SL and my thoughts were ohh ok… this should be an experience.  So I changed into a gown (right side fourth row the redhead in the yellow gown is me) and sat down and witnessed the wedding.  The person officiating the wedding I thought was a bit eccentric in a white feathery robe and some kind of angelic head piece.  I had no clue who they were and had no knowledge of how big the fashion industry was in SL.  That person was Frolic Mills (CEO of Best of SecondLife) and the bride was Anna Sapphire (top fashion model).  I must confess that I was giggling the whole time I was there.  I know, shoot me.  It wasn’t that I was laughing at anyone; just laughing at the whole idea of weddings here.  I have since acquired a whole different perspective.  Outside of my misgivings at the idea of getting married in this world – I did think there were some fine looking men there and at the end I was highly impressed at how organized the wedding was, moving from the wedding ceremony to the reception to the fireworks display. If you plan to crash a wedding, make sure it’s a high society wedding.  Then you’re guaranteed the best pixel food.
  8. First SL Sim you fell in love with: There are two sims I actually fell in love with and both are gone.  The first is the Ponderosa and it is what prompted me into looking for cowboy boots.  The second place was a sim called Red Desert.  They were both fantastic and I loved spending time at each.
  9. First SL Blog Post: Technically this is my second blog about SL.  The first one I began and then things shifted for me and I didn’t have time to post so I deleted it and I don’t recall my first blog.  So I’ll have to say that it would be the first on this current blog.
Red Desert
The Red Desert Sim

It’s been nice to look at the old photos and see how far I’ve come along in this SL journey.

Snapshot_026-1
The Ponderosa Ranch

I dream of shoes

On By AlexaIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Snapshot_006

No, I really don’t dream of shoes.  That would be a nightmare!  There was a time that I owned a tremendous amount of shoes outside my virtual world. I’ve since outgrown that bit of glitz and glamour in my life.  The last time I dared to wear a pair of stilettos for the day I found myself with these painful cramps in my calf by mid afternoon.  That was a quick cure to reverting back to flats.  So I’m not sure if I find it comical that I own quite a bit of shoes here or that it’s a silent tugging that I miss wearing stilettos.  I need to wean myself slowly out of my flat season, because I’ve gotten quite comfortable in it.

You’ve heard all the reasons why women like wearing heels?  The usual they make us look taller, they make us look sexy and don’t make us look fat.    I have to admit it does give my avatar some oomph and lift when I wear stilettos.

There is no contending they lift my spirits up.    Even if they give me a charley horse every once in a while.

Snapshot_007

 

Musing on a puzzle

On By AlexaIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Amidst all the beauty of cocktail dresses and fashionable gowns I am most comfortable in my jeans and boots.

My Favorite Boots

Last night I went to a formal and was faced with what several people wrote about being their pet peeves.  I’m referring to face lights and bling.   The room had a nice warm atmosphere that went well with the decor and the ambiance of the evening events.  I was busy tinkering in my inventory like I normally do when suddenly I noticed out of the corner of my eye the room had brightened up considerably.  I thought please someone turn the lights back off!   Though my head went back into the inventory box and I forgot about it.

Then while casually glancing around the room a little more into the evening, a woman rezzed in close to me and yes, I was momentarily blinded by the bling radiating form her jewels and her matching shoes.  I giggled of course as I thought of the comments made in regards to this very thing.  It has to be kind of funny for those who have been here a long time.  With so much of it going around it had to be the most fashionable thing during its time.  I could have moved or even gone as far as derending though it wasn’t like I was taking pictures.   Out of curiosity I did read her profile and I must confess that I am not a big profile reader.  While it can serve many purposes my experience has always been that you usually know a person by what comes out of their mouth not necessarily what they put in their profile.  So I’m always open to people who say hello.

The woman has been here for three years and had no payment information on file.  I pondered on this for a while and searched in my tired brain for some words in which I could use to ask her some questions without offending her.  Finding none I went back to my inventory.  Is it really a puzzle of why people who have been here longer than a year or more don’t make an effort to improve their avatar?  Some of the most interesting people I’ve met have not sported the best looking fashions or changed their appearance even knowing about group items or hunts.  They simply find those things immaterial to meeting and getting to know people who are real and not so caught up in themselves.  I sit somewhere in the middle as my avatar likes to look great and buying things makes me feel I am contributing to the growth of the world we play in.

That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

 

Friday Ramblings

On By AlexaIn Uncategorized1 Comment

I can see how easily it would be for a blog about your SL to turn into a fashion blog.  When mesh first came out I was one of those that balked at the idea of having to adjust my shape to fit into clothes.  Now I’m practically oohing and ahhing every time something new comes out.  That’s exactly how I felt when I saw this dress.   Even if I have a folder of several mesh sizes, because standard sizing is really not sized equal for every designer.

Snapshot_003
“Listen here to the song in my heart a melody I start but can’t complete… “

Lately, it seems that relationship issues seem to be plaguing a lot of people in and out of SL.  They can be the most beautiful thing when everything is going well or they can be the death of you when things are not hunky-dory.   I don’t have a lot of experiences with that all consuming love between man and woman, the forever kind, once in a lifetime love.  Though I’ve seen and heard enough that it scares me to want to make the wrong decision that ultimately leads to fighting who keeps the sugar bowl that somehow didn’t permeate the relationship with sweetness of longevity.  I remember once reading an article that touched on having a realistic view on love to have a successful relationship.  Unfortunately, the quandary is quite often that the realistic expectations one might have are not always the same of the other party.   Relationships are hard enough in the real world, but perhaps even doubly hard in a virtual world where there is so much more room for duplicity.

However, not being the type to shroud myself into negativity for long I will steer away from this topic.  I’m resigned to just living each day as best as I can with my heart and eyes open.

 

The Journey

On By AlexaIn Uncategorized1 Comment

Life is pure adventure, and the sooner we realize that, the sooner we will be able to treat life as art.
~ Maya Angelou

As I continue to evolve I am constantly reminded that life is what you make of it. I want to continue to make my Second Life memorable. The creation of this blog for me is not only to share my wonders and experiences in second life. It is also a vehicle to sharpen my creativity with words.

I don’t know where this blog will go or even for how long. I’m just going to enjoy the ride and see where I end up.

For starters I thought that I would do the meme that seems to be circulating about procrastination, because I’m rather procrastinating right now.

1. What is the rez date for your current SL Avatar that you use most often? Spunknbrains was born into SL on January 8, 2011 – it’s amazing that it’s been two years already.

2. Where was the first place you made friends as a newb and got to know people in Second Life? I believe it was the information hub where I landed.

3. Where do you spend most of your SL time now? Mostly on my land, which I am constantly changing. I love decorating, so it seems as soon as I am done with one house I’m ready to tear it down and start another.

4. Who is your closest friend in Second Life? (only pick one) Purplebutterfly, my sister in Second Life.

5. What is the most favorite thing in your inventory? (only pick one) This is tough! My inventory is bulging at 97,400 and I have to pick just one item? I’ll have to go with my black cowboy boots from Hoorenbeek. I absolutely love wearing my boots and going country.

6. The last thing you purchased in Second Life? A 2 prim shotgun from Flecha that stands leaning against the wall as I exit my cabin in the woods.

7. What color clothing does your avatar wear most often? Blue, it seems to bring out the intensity of my eyes that are blue as well.

8. Do you prefer to walk, run or fly? I prefer to walk, though don’t hesitate to fly when I’m rushed or get impatient.

9. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done in SL? I need to work on crazy.. as nothing comes to mind. I tend to live a very quiet second life, at least in comparison to some of the stories I hear.

10. Who would you like to play YOU, in the movie of your SLife? Sandra Bullock.

To see the original posting of the creation of this meme, go to StrawberrySing post.