So, the second topic in the BBBC is what is the perfect day in SL.  This is a tough one because I think I’ve already had the perfect day in SL.  It was the day I married Ioh.  I’ll refrain from being all sappy about it but it really was the most perfect day.

For those of you familiar with Midian City and it’s lag and mandatory crashes you’ll understand this next part.  Actually, most of you should.

The wedding went from start to finish with NO ONE crashing.  Not a soul in the wedding crashed.  We had a full Catholic service/wedding in Midian City on a Sunday night of a holiday weekend and it went without a hitch.  Is there anything more perfect than that?  I don’t think so!

Father Eamon Cale presided over the service and it was beautiful.  Elise Capalini gave the Bride away and Bailey Dazy was Maid of Honor.  The girls decorated the church for me and Ioh and it was beautiful.  I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful service.

The whole thing was part of RP but Ioh and I are a couple outside of the RP as well and it was wonderful to see Ryker at the wedding.  I love her to death.

The whole day was spent with friends and family and the man I love.  I couldn’t have asked for a better day and can’t imagine any day being more perfect than that one.

There are pictures from the wedding up on my Flickr for anyone who is interested.  If you want to come to Midian and see what it’s all about, give me a shout and I’ll show you around.

Phew, so now I’m caught up on the BBBC, until tomorrow at least!! LOL

Yeah I know, the title itself suggests drama.  No drama here but I do want to talk about conflict.  Nothing in particular but how we handle conflict.  What we do when we’re confronted by it what makes some of us gravitate to it and the rest run screaming away.  I’m in the later category if you were wondering.

Ok so we all deal with conflict differently.  There are the "fixers" who can’t stand the idea of those close to them not getting along and try to make the situation better for everyone.  Usually to the detriment of the person trying to fix it as many times they are seen as meddling.

There is the debater who it seems will argue just to do it.  They’ll take a contrary position and keep the conflict going for as long as anyone will let them.  The natural reaction to these folks, drop an anvil on their heads.

Then there is the bully who is in the conflict because they enjoy it.  They get a thrill over the heated exchange and potential for violence.  These folks are in it for the long haul and have no intention of letting anyone off easy.  If you find yourself in a situation with one of these, then tread carefully but get yourself out as soon as you can.

Then there is the liar.  This person will say whatever they want in order to win the argument or to ensure you don’t.  The truth is not in their bag of tricks though they may throw it out now and then.

Every conflict will have one of these individuals in it.  It’s how we deal with the conflict and them that’s important.  Now I will say straight out, I hate conflict.  I will run as far away as I can get from it.  When fleeing is not an option however I turn into ms fixit.  My job in all conflicts is to fix it.  Doesn’t matter what it is, or whether I can do anything about it, I will try to fix it.   When all else fails…. I flee.

Flee or fight.  The 2 basic instincts in all of us.  Depending on the threat one or the other is usually the best choice.  In Midian, you see one of the ‘Shadows’ with their rotating orbs of ocularity(or whatever they call them these days) you run.  Plain and simple.  Me, I see a Wolf in the middle of the street and I walk right up to it.  Silly I know but I still have all of my limbs thank you very much.

I’ve seen a number of ‘conflicts’ in Midian.  Some IC and others OOC.  Most of the OOC stems from IC stuff that someone was unhappy about.  Well, you know what…. It’s not a nice city.  Bad things happen to good people.  And even, sometimes, it’s…. a … suprise!  Yes things do happen that aren’t scripted.  If you want to attack me in Midian, then just do it.  If I don’t have time to RP, I’ll RP out of it.  If you want to know how far you can go with the beating me up, IM me.  I have limits as does everyone else.  I think we need more conflict in Midian that isn’t preplanned for months ahead of time.  That kinda of thing is fine when a lot of people are involved but geez…. can’t we have a bit of surprise?

As I mentioned in a previous post, I want to be more assertive.  Being more assertive will mean more conflicts.  More conflict means I can’t keep ‘fleeing’.  …

I promised I would write here more often so here I am.  I’ve got a few things to talk about today.

It’s getting quiet in Midian.  I would imagine it’s the same all over the grid.  Summer comes and it gets quiet on the grid.  More and more folks are out enjoying the fresh air and sunshine.   Then there are all the college kids who go home and have to get jobs to support their next year of school.  I’ve been in SL for over 2 years and I see the same thing every year.  And every year someone comes out and starts talking about how SL is dying because concurrency is down etc etc.  There is a cycle, this happens every year.  I personally plan to enjoy the fact their are fewer people on the grid.  I plan to enjoy being able to walk through Midian without the rubber band lag effect.

I’m sure there are dozens of things I could write about that are of some importance to those of you  that read these words but I’ve decided to take a different route.  I’m going to write about …. well… me.  Duh, it’s my blog.

I’m not… assertive.  No really I’m not.  Most of you who know me know that I’m not.  Ioh and I have talked about it in relation to some RP in Midian and for whatever reason, I’m just not very assertive.  I should be though.  I want to be. The questions is, can I be?   In RL as well as SL I’m a bit shy really.  Stop laughing, I am. 

I don’t really like crowds, I’ve never liked the bar scene and to be honest, I prefer to be home.  I hate trying to have a conversation in a crowd or even trying to keep up with group chat.  Home is comfortable, it’s mine and I work damn hard to have the money to pay for it.  I should use it!  And so I do.  However, that doesn’t help me be more assertive.  I don’t mean Super Bitch assertive either.  I’m talking about being the girl who is taken seriously when she speaks.  I’m talking about being the girl that others trust enough to follow.  I’m talking about being the girl who stands up front and says, "We go this way" and everyone follows her.

I know it won’t be easy.  It means stepping out of what’s easy and comfortable for me.  I enjoy a challenge though.  This will be one that’s for sure.  In any event, I think it’ll be good for me.

So I’m off on a journey this summer to find  the other me, the stronger one, the more assertive one.  The one who will probably be on a belltower in Midian…. watching.

Ok, I know I know.  Bad Blogger.  Haven’t written a word here in far too long.  Well, I’ve been busy and blogging frankly was the last thing on my mind.  So, now that things are settling back down I swear I’ll blog more regularly.  So what has kept me so busy you ask…

Building… I built a new house for Angel Square and I’m going to do all the furniture for it as well.  I’ve quite a bit of it done as well as the animations/poses in some of the furniture.  Not done yet but getting there.  The plan is to put it up on Xstreet when it’s done.  I’ll take some pics and put them in here when I have a couple of mins.

I’m also working on an urban skybox/shop space.  Right now it’s looking more like a shop.  Maybe 2 versions…..

I think I’ve gotten the structure of the tail down that I want to do.  Now it’s time to work on texturing and accessories.  The plan is to do custom orders for accessories/colors.  I’ll do ears to match as well.  If you’ve got an idea in mind for a tail you’ve always wanted but couldn’t exactly find, let me know.  If you don’t mind being a tester you’ll get a free tail at the end of this custom made to your request.

And the really big news….

Ioh and I got married last weekend.  The ceremony was beautiful, the church looked amazing, Ioh was incredibly handsome and both Dazy and Elise looked beautiful. 

It was a small service, just friends and family Sunday night at St Michaels in Midian.  The girls all waited at the den while I dressed and got ready(ie rezzed lol) while the boys were over at the church waiting for us.  I have to say my breath caught when the doors to the church opened and Elise and I walked in.  It was just beautiful.  The flowers Bianca had made lined the aisle and candles were every where. 

Having Elise ‘give me away’ just seemed so right and she was perfect.  I didn’t really know Elise prior to coming to Midian and joining the Catwalkers.  She has come to be such a close friend, she’s family.  So I had my Sister Dazy standing with me.  Dazy and I have been through so much.  She means the world to me.

Then there was Eamon.  He wrote the most beautiful service for us.  I couldn’t have asked for anything  lovelier.  He’s become a part of the family.  I couldn’t have imagined taking that step in front of anyone but him.

Ioh and I wrote our own vows and I couldn’t have been prouder to stand with him at the altar, say those vows and become his  Wife.

It’s been almost a week now and I couldn’t be happier.  Go check out my Flickr for pics of the wedding.  We’ll try and have a party for everyone soon as schedules allow.  Maybe something small at home.  

I’ve got loads of other news and stuff to stay tuned for some additional newness on the blog.

Promise not to disappear again for so long…

The past couple of days have not been the best.  Ioh and I were supposed to get married this Sunday.  However technology has intervened and the wedding has to be postponed.  Ioh’s laptop died.  He’s taken it in for service but while he waits, he has no internet.  No SL.  No email.  No IM.  Nada.  He could be offline for up to 2 weeks too.  He borrows pcs when he can to email me but when you are used to seeing and talking to someone every day, when your life has become tied to theirs, you miss them when you can’t be with them or see them.  I really miss him and it’s only been a couple of days.

Last night though…. last night was awesome.  I had sooo much fun.  Doing what you ask?  Well the girls in the Pride threw me a bridal shower.  Elise asked me to meet her at the church, she wanted to talk to about Rena.  Well we did, for a few minutes but then she told me about some mysterious package left for me at the den.  What a surprise to walk in the den and see them all dressed up, big spread of food, the Congratulations banner.  To say I was choked up is an understatement. 

There was much laughter, LOTS of champagne, cupcakes and chocolate and of course the stripper.

A big Thank You to MJ for taking one for the team and getting his groove on.  Seeing your blueness shaking itself all over the den brought tears to many eyes.  No really, it did.

It was a fun wonderful evening.  So thank you ladies(and gents cause Arre was there as well) for everything.  You all mean the world to me. 

The pictures will be up on flickr later today.

It’s that time of year again… the Relay for Life Kiosks are up, events are starting to be advertised and the teams are plotting and planning for the big Walk in July.

This is my second year participating in RFL.  Last year the Crown had a team of it’s own.  We started way late into the process and I had NO clue what I was doing.  Between Prad and I though we got stuff built(Ok he built, I watched and ran around getting stuff to be raffled off) and got people from the Crown involved.  We didn’t do too badly all things considered.  We raised money for a good cause, that’s what matters.

I don’t know too many people who haven’t been touched by Cancer.  I know my family has.  It’s an awful disease but we keep raising money and we keep fighting for a cure.

This year Dazy decided to get a team together in Midian.  Midian as a city has never participated before, at least not that I’m aware of.   Well, she got it together and created a team that I think represents all the factions in Midian.  At the end of the day, Midian is RP and IC drama should stay separate from OOC(I say should but that is another post).  Well we had our first event on the sim a week or two ago, and wow it was a success.  We raised over $100,000 lindens.  Not sure what that is in dollars but it’s a decent effort for only a few hours of time.  We crashed the sim, not hard to do in Midian and had a lot of really good, fun roleplay as well.  The best part, was seeing all the "citizens" of Midian getting in on it.  No one but the sim admins and team/participants knew about this and everyone got into it.  It was loads of fun!

There are more events planned, I’m not going to say what or when, cause that wouldn’t be fare.  Just hang around Midian, you’ll find out. 

There is a store on Angel Square selling RFL items made by members of the team.  Pretty cool stuff too so come down and take a look.  There’s a kiosk to donate too as well if your so inclined.

The team had a meeting last night.  We’ve raised a lot of money for a first year team.  Dazy is doing an amazing job!  Stay tuned for updates here and hopefully look forward to a Catwalker blog coming soon.

I’ve not written here in awhile.   In all honesty I’ve debated keeping the blog going at all.   I’ve changed since I started this and in order for the blog to continue to serve a useful purpose it has to change too.   Well, change it will.  Starting today…

Roleplay in SL can be anything from slaying dragons to chasing down a rogue vampire to having a child or even being a child.   If you think for a moment, to some respect we are all roleplaying in SL.   Our avatar is generally much different than we are in RL.   We do things in SL we’d never do in RL.   And before anyone gets in an uproar saying that their avatar and the person behind the keyboard are the same…. When was the last time you flew to the grocery store?   Exactly.  So like I said, in SL we do what we can’t/wouldn’t do in RL.  Some go a step further and roleplay within SL.

I never thought I’d be roleplaying in SL.   I’ve had friends who have been heavily involved in roleplay, Midian specifically for a long time.   They all tried to get me to join them and I was never interested.   I didn’t see the attraction.  Nor did I want to.  Well flash forward 2 years and one of my closest friends is RPing in Midian and asks me to come check it out.   Having reached one of those points in SL where everything seems to bore me I agree.   At the very least I’ll take some pictures.  We’ll I spent about an hour with her that night.  Next day I joined Midian.  I was hooked.  I joined the Catwalkers, went thru training and became a full Catwalker.   I’m sorting out what role I want to play in the Pride.  

In the process of joining the Catwalkers I sold some land to a few fellow Midianites.   Who could know that one of those folks would become someone very very special to me.

Ioh bought the land right next to me.  He was a Catwalker and had a bit of a reputation as a ladies cat lol .   He was nice enough though and I was happy to have him as a neighbor.  How it happened I don’t know.  We ended up roleplaying a bit in Midian together.   I loved every minute of it!

Over the course of the coming days he and I got to know each other.  We talked, we kissed, we ….(I’ll keep this a PG blog ) 

I fell in love with him.  I adore everything about him.   His kindness, warmth, honesty, trust, humor, intelligence are just a few of the many wonderful things about him.  I’ve had relationships in SL before, but none that can even compare to the way I feel about him and the bond he and I share.   He collared me at the end of January.  Huge step for me, to give someone else that kind of control is a big deal and not something I’d do lightly.   We partnered the next day.  We’re getting married at the end of April, in Midian.   It’s been a whirlwind but a wonderful one.  I’ve never been happier.

If it hadn’t been for roleplaying in Midian I’d never have met him or any of wonderful extended family in the Catwalkers.

The next time someone asks if you’ve ever roleplayed or if you want to, instead of saying no right off the bat, go follow them around a little, see what it’s all about.  Afterall, Rrish did and she’s enjoying herself.

So, as you may have guessed, the blog is going to be more focused on what Bails is doing in SL.  Whether it’s role play in Midian or DJing at the Crown. Which I’m doing tonight by the way.

LOL I know, silly title but what else would say it quite so well?  See, nothing so there you go.

As my lovely friends will attest I’ve been suspiciously absent from the Crown and from their IM windows.  I haven’t even bugged them for new Gallery photos although they will get that poke later when I get home.  Hint hint

So, where have I been?   I’ve been roleplaying in Midian  and I’ve been hanging out with a very special neko that I adore and who adores me.  We partnered last weekend and I couldn’t be happier.  We talked that night about having a wedding ceremony, he said he’d do it if I wanted it.  He offered, is this guy great or what….  So, we’ll be having a wedding and a christening at St Michael’s parish in Midian.  Details will be forthcoming when I know what they are – lol.

I know I said I’d never get married again in SL but this is different.  He’s different.  I’ll spare you all the soppy details.  He knows how I feel about him and that’s all that matters.

The Crown and Pearl Charity Auction is this weekend.  We’ve had quite a few people sign up to be auctioned off.  It’s a good cause, Cancer Research so come out on Sunday and bid on someone or just dump some lindens in the donation box.  The Auction itself is Sunday at 1pm SLT at the C2P on Angel Square.  Join the Crown and Pearl group for updates on the auction and all the other great events and DJs.

The Gallery of Light theme should be changing this weekend.  The new theme is Respect.  The artwork I’ve seen so far is amazing.  We have a new addition to the gallery; Elise Capalini.  Welcome Elise, we’re happy to have you join the family.

The Angel Square market/mall is open and starting to fill in.  If you are looking for store space let me know.  Come down and take a walk through the gallery and the stores opening, there’s some truly cute items there.

So that’s what’s new and notable in my world for now.

Quick update:  I’m 3 days without a single complaint!  Woohoo Go me!

Roleplay is a big deal in SL for many residents.  There are any number of areas you can roleplay in from the many Gorean sims to the medieval Avilion to the urban dark side of Midian and Toxian City.  If you’ve got an interest in roleplay then there is a place out there for you.

Now I’ve already confessed here that I’ve started roleplaying in Midian City and that I’m really enjoying it.  I’ve been a part of this for about a week now and thought I’d share my thoughts about role playing and Midian specifically. 

First, I realize many people look down on avs who roleplay.  Honestly I don’t know why though.  Even before I started I never looked down on anyone for it.  Personally I will never understand the Gor sims but that’s just me.  To each their own and as long as you don’t expect me to "roleplay" on a non-Gor sim, we’re all good.  If I’m on a roleplay sim taking pictures, I wear an observer or OOC(out of character) tag and respect those who are roleplaying.  Out in the rest of the world, I’m just me, no character to play.

I’ve come to learn that roleplay is not as easy as one might think who has never done it.  I would compare it to writing a play as it’s being acted out.  You are reacting to the other characters you encounter and many times you don’t know exactly what they are going to do or how they are going to react. 

I started roleplaying in Midian because several of my friends have and are and it struck me one night that it would be fun.  Since I started I’ve learned quite a bit and not just about roleplaying, about myself too.  See the character I’ve created in Midian has many of the traits I have so playing her isn’t much of a departure from just being myself.  I would think that to be successful in roleplay you need to identify with your character.  Unless you are a really good actor, playing someone contrary to your natural character is going to be difficult.

So now I’m roleplaying.  I’ve lots to learn still but I’m looking forward to the process.  I’m just thankful I managed to jump from roof to roof last night without making a total arse of myself in front of Elise.

I’m certainly not the expert on roleplaying but if you never have and think you want to, I say go for it.  If you want to hang out in Midian and get a feel for things, IM me I can show you around. 

=^.^=

Apparently confessions are good for the soul so I’m going to start this week off with one of my own.  So here it is:  I always thought roleplay in SL was silly and a waste of time.

Why am I blogging this *confession*?  Well, quite  simply because I started roleplaying this weekend.  So here’s what happened…

I have quite a few friends who roleplay.  For the most part, they are all roleplaying in Midian City.  Now I’d been to Midian in the past to take a few pictures but I was always there *out of character*.  Getting involved in roleplay held no interest for me.   Thru conversations they would have I’d hear about what was going on.  I’d see the pictures they would post to their Flickr streams along with the story that went behind it.  To be perfectly honest, I was fascinated.  I’ve been riveted by the stories I’ve seen and heard. 

Now anyone who has seen me lately knows I’m back to being a Neko.  Black fluffy tail, black ears and new tats.  This was going to be the year of taking some risks and stepping out of my comfort zone.  Frankly, I’m enjoying being a cat.  So the other night I popped over to Midian to take a few pictures while my friends were over there.   While I was snapping away a bit of roleplay started and I seemed to have landed in the middle of it.  I was out of character so I just sat and watched and listened and I have to say, totally enjoyed it.    So, when I was asked if I would consider roleplaying in Midian I said sure. 

I spent a good part of the weekend in Midian.  Met quite a few people, did some roleplaying and was given an invite to be a Catwalker Pledge.  And so it begins….  I’m looking forward to this.  It’s new, it’s different and for me, it’s stepping out of that comfort zone that I’ve been way to stuck in.  I know I’ve got a lot to learn when it comes to roleplay but I’m looking forward to it and I’m looking forward to getting to know my new family, the Catwalkers.

So, if you see "Bails" in Midian don’t be too surprised.