Jan 10 2023

OOPS I’VE DONE IT AGAIN

Yep, it’s been almost six months since I last wrote in this blog. But… I do have justification… smiles sadly. As many of you know me and my rl situation, my beloved Duderz passed away Oct 1st… 2022. He was my rock, my foundation, my soulmate and I had a real tough time holding it together. We all knew it was coming, and he surpassed the doctors timeline for him by two years, those were bonus years I am grateful for, even though he suffered more and more each month. He was such a trooper and still made jokes and made those around him laugh and look at life in his silly way of accepting God’s will. I am happy he no longer suffers and is in supposedly a pain free zone… and I like to think he watches over me still as I continue this journey we call ‘real life’.

I’ve tried to do things that should help me through the process, sometimes when I think about it I say “OMG it’s only been a little over three months since he’s been gone”. Other times it feels like a lifetime of sorrow and grief and I wish it would end! I started a new blog about how to become an elderly widow… especially for those that were together with their loves more than fifty years. I redid the living room, the front porch and am working on the spare bedroom. I colored my grey to a beautiful brown with highlights and got a hair cut. I took a Road Trip and drove over 3,000K miles alone and proved to myself I am self sufficient. I spent Thanksgiving with my daughter and grandchildren and then spent Christmas alone with my memories and love of Jim to keep me warm.

Now what! HOPE! I am planning some fun times in the future… to go and meet friends I’ve had in SL for over 15 years and to see some of our beautiful USA countryside. Maybe do a couple cruises ? and the biggie… visit Europe, mainly Scotland and Ireland where my ancestors come from.

I have eased back into to my Virtual Lives… and am enjoying the escape that Second Life and Open Sim offers. But this time I am trying to keep a good balance between the two Real Life and Virtual Life. I watched ‘Ready Player One’ again the other night and the last words were exactly what I needed to not fall off this Earth and become…. a stat.

“…the OASIS will be completely shut down on Tuesdays and Thursdays, allowing folks to connect with one another in the real world.” Ready Player One… yes I am Ready! Are YOU?

Step in Sunshine!

Come Sail Away With Me!

Jul 26 2022

WE’RE HAVING A HEAT WAVE

The temperatures rising and the world is hotter than ever! Earth’s temperature has risen by 0.14° Fahrenheit (0.08° Celsius) per decade since 1880, but the rate of warming since 1981 is more than twice that: 0.32° F (0.18° C) per decade. The nine years from 2013 through 2021 rank among the 10 warmest years on record.

What climate is the hottest? Death Valley holds the record for the highest air temperature on the planet: On 10 July 1913, temperatures at the aptly named Furnace Creek area in the California desert reached a blistering 56.7°C (134.1°F). Average summer temperatures, meanwhile, often rise above 45°C (113°F).

Though the summer season of 2022 is young, parts of the nation already have experienced punishingly high temperatures, extreme drought, wildfires, severe storms, flooding or some combination. Projections from federal agencies suggest more abnormally hot weather, an expansion of drought and well above average wildfire and hurricane activity in the months ahead.

How best to cool off? Why not visit ‘Winter’ sims/regions in your favorite virtual world! Immerse yourself in a cooler environment, take a sleigh ride or ski the virtual slopes of snow packed resorts? Relax by the fireplace and sip on a cup of Hot Chocolate. Winter in July!! Let’s do this!!!

Apr 19 2022

What to do ….

in SL… Second Life. Second Life has become my ‘go to place’ when I feel I can no longer endure the reality of my daily life situation, my true life! After a few moments in world, time seems to stop… when time starts again, I come up from being in sort of a trance and I find that time has not stopped at all. Time has lost it’s meaning speeding up to a warp speed, faster-than-light travel and I am truly shocked. Now one could argue that’s not a good thing to advance time. On the other hand, filling a few hours that seem to pass in the blink of eye could be brain soothing.

One of my favorite things about virtual worlds is that there is always something to do. Always! Alone or if you’re lucky enough to meet some great on-line friends that you can spend time with in world, you can always be entertained. I really like spending time alone in virtual worlds. You can try on all sorts of new hair-dos, and clothes and costumes and for the ladies make up and the gents facial hair or just lay on a beach lounge chair sipping mint juleps and do nothing at all. Just enjoy the views, hear wave sounds, set the sun to sunrise or sunset… beautiful to see, a powerful force, one capable of imparting its warmth on the most hardened of souls.

Seems the most popularity activity in virtual worlds in going dancing at a club (venue). Every kind of music you love is offered by Dj’s spinning the tunes or a live singer crooning your favorite songs. Going to a club is like being in a Cheers episode on TV… where you arrive everyone says “Hello or Welcome” and immediately know your name. We have name tags that reveal our Second Life names when they hover their cursor on an avatar.

♫ Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name
And they’re always glad you came ♪

You can explore the sims and admire the creativity and builds of lush gardens or a busy city. You can learn to build yourself and make your own garden of Eden. You can ride in hot air balloons with out fear of falling or you can paddle a surfboard over virtual waves without getting sand in your pants. You can fly an airplane or drive a motorcycle or ride a horse (or elephant) around. You can have races with your online friends, and even enjoy some combat fighting with a variety of weapons. You can roller skate, go bowling, play board game with friends, the possibilities are endless.

… and with that sentence I will end this blog and wish you much joy in all of your lives!

Thanks for reading my beloved friends, step in sunshine!

Mar 6 2022

Image

PRAY for UKRAINE!!!

Aug 15 2021

nDn Myths and Legends

Every other Sunday, around Noon SLT (Second Life Time) I conduct an event at my Native American role play sims, BL Borderlands. It is the highlight of my existence inworld. Being part Choctaw Indian in real life it means the world to me to carry on the tradition of “Story Telling”. For Native Americans, the telling of stories passed down from generation to generation remained their primary form of wisdom communication even after the written word had spread across the globe. Native American oral storytelling traditions allowed tribes to transmit their mythological, spiritual and historical understandings of themselves and the worlds they inhabited to their children and their children’s children. This all but guaranteed that members of each individual nation would never forget their roots or lose sight of important knowledge that would allow them to continue to exist in harmony and cooperation with the natural world.

In order to make this critical information memorable, Native Americans translated practical prescriptions along with subtle and sophisticated ideas about the Great Mystery of life and existence into allegories filled with heroes and villains, comedic twists and dramatic encounters and lessons learned the hard way through suffering and eventual transcendence.

I research online and find different subjects to discuss and then find different stories that go with the subject to tell the tribal members and friends of the tribe that attend. I do not just tell of one tribe’s myth or legend but include all tribes (there are over 550 Indigenous Nations currently in the United States) that seem pertinent to my chosen subject. It’s amazing to me how many stories are similar coming from the different tribes but also so very different. One thing they all have in common is they leave you with a moral lesson to ponder for days on end.

Through storytelling, Native American tribes shared, preserved, and paid tribute to their early beginnings, so future generations could continue their legacy. With so many viewpoints and creative ideals from the varied tribes, the unique facets of these people are shared and explored by listening to their stories. By exploring these stories, we are able to glimpse into the past, while carrying the ideals, thoughts and beliefs of a nation into the future.

May your life be like a wildflower, growing freely in the beauty and joy of each day. Step in Sunbeams!

Jul 18 2021

LAG oh LAG

I’ve been a virtual world participant for about 15 years now. I love the feeling of operating my avatars as they roam around the fantastic world on pixels and viewing the most interesting unique environments. Fantasy, history, modern, futuristic worlds of every imagination brought to pixel life. But the best part… (to me) is meeting other avatars! From all around the globe. It makes me feel like a ‘international jet set’ person!

I have virtual friends in so many different countries, like the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, India, Canada, and from almost every state of the USA. Most speak English, or text English, and if they don’t we have this handy little gadget called a ‘translator’ that will automatically translate any language into English. OMG… sometimes the translations are so funny! and not even close to what we were trying to say to each other, but all in all we can communicate.

It takes a certain personality to learn the ends and outs of a virtual world. How to operate your avatar, how to dress your avatar, how to get from one place to another, how to dance, how to voice and if you are into a more ‘gaming’ like experience, how to operate the combat tools and vehicles available to use. We all like to joke too about how you have got to be “a little bit crazy” to immerse yourself in these virtual worlds. Recently one of my friends said “Lol… they are all fucking crazy!” when we were discussing a recent drama story boiling over and each drama Queen was trying to explain their action and words to us (Admins of the sim).

To me the one biggest drawback in virtual worlds is the LAG. Sometimes when you try to move you freeze up, then a second later you are across the sim not even close to where you wanted to go or you might find yourself in the virtual void tumbling over and over as you fall to nowheres-ville. Sometimes your screen will turn completely black and you see nothing, hear nothing, and can do nothing! It can get quite frustrating especially if you are in the middle of roleplay storyline and others are counting on you.

All in all these worlds still amaze me that they work as well as they do considering there are millions of avatars running around and enjoying their virtual lives. I believe I’ve made lifelong friends and each morning when I awake I wonder what and who I will see that day. I have a warm fuzzy feeling and can hardly wait to jump out of bed and see what’s going on in my virtual worlds and with my virtual friends. Lag or no lag… I’m logging in!

Jun 19 2021

A SIMPLE LIFE

… is hard to maintain and find. Life has its own rules, it’s complicated and not the same for everyone. Being human we are so very complex and complicated. Each human is unique and looks at their world at a slightly different angle than their fellow humans. Some try very hard to understand the other’s point of view, but deep down they truly do not. What is a simple life, appreciating the little things and practicing gratitude. …embracing the white space. Does kindness play a part in a simple life? Can you enjoy a simple life and have interaction with other humans simultaneously?

In the virtual world called Second Life, relationships form more quickly, feelings seem more intense, life looks beautiful there, but not all is glitter and beauty. Drama rears it’s ugly head and grows as big as a Dragon with just one word or look. You can step into drama and not even know it is stuck on your shoe like stepping on a piece of chewing gum on the sidewalk. You didn’t even see it! You continue walking through your life with gum on your shoe.

Often, a ‘simple life’ refers to a manner of living in which a person does not own many things or use many modern machines and usually lives in the countryside: He lives in a small cabin and enjoys the simple life. In Second Life, one can own a million items and gadgets, one uses all the modern techniques they can operate and one can live in luxury and beauty with whatever environment they choose, a beach, a forest, a mountain top or on the moon or under the sea.

Life is not easy for anyone. Sometimes you don’t see the challenges on the outside, but every single one of us has those and everything that goes on inside as well. I have come to the conclusion, that in Second Life one can not enjoy the simple life if they also want to have friends and lovers. Nothing is simple in Second Life!

May 26 2021

TEDDY BEAR HUGS

We hug others when we’re excited, happy, sad, or trying to comfort. Hugging, it seems, is universally comforting. It makes us feel good. And it turns out that hugging is proven to make us healthier and happier. (Healthline Info)

I’m a hugger! are you? In Virtual Worlds they are many ways to hug: there is the friendly hug, a jump in your arms hug, a pounce on you and lay you out on the ground hug, and the sensual hug for lovers. Some folks shy away from hugs but if they knew how they help relieve stress and boost your heart health, wouldn’t more give and accept the hug?

The reason hugs feel so good has to do with our sense of touch. According to scientists, it’s an extremely important sense which allows us not only to physically explore the world around us, but also to communicate with others by creating and maintaining social bonds. But… I contemplate this… since we really don’t feel the touch of another human in Virtual Worlds, are we still receiving the same benefits that hugging and touch give to us in the Real Life world?

According to Medicinet – “Oxytocin: It is the love hormone that relieves stress and boosts heart health. It also helps in losing weight, lowers blood pressure, fights diseases, increases libido, reduces stress, and gives us a feeling of comfort. A 10-second hug helps the body fight infections, eases depression, and lessens tiredness.” Just what we need in Virtual Worlds, a higher libido LOL

Anyway I will close this blog post saying that I love a hug, vw or rl… if you see me HUG me, a hug touches the soul. As Mimi said ” “Laughter with those that understand us is music for the soul. A hug at the right moment and a kind shoulder to lean on, Is the sprinkle of magic that keeps us walking towards hope.” – Mimi Novic

Step in Sunbeams and Give someone a HUG today!

May 6 2021

MAY DAY… MAY DAY HOPE and HAPPINESS

Today is the 5th day of the 5th month… 5, is a prime number. In radio communication, the term ” Five by Five” is used to indicate perfect signal strength and clarity. “Give me five” is a common phrase used preceding a ‘High Five”. The numerology number 5 is a number that expresses its sense of personal freedom. 5 is sensual, sensing life and its various intensities and vibrations as it flows through 5’s essence. 5 experiences by observing and feeling and interacting with full focus. A person with a 5 in a prominent position generally is comfortable interacting with others.

Number 5 represents a composite energy containing the ideas of:

Expression of Personal Freedom
Sensuality
Curiosity
Wit
Adventure

I think I like the number 5!

May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. May acts as the bridge between spring and summer, hinting at warmer weather for those still stuck in spring’s grasp, while heating things up for those already well on their way. April showers bring May flowers, new loves and beautiful weather. The Sun is warming, the birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, and the garden is growing.

The month of May was named for the Greek goddess Maia. She was the goddess of fertility. The Romans had a similar goddess named Bona Dea. In spring, ones’ libido seems to come alive with the new season. May’s birth flowers are the Hawthorn and the Lily-of-the-Valley. The hawthorn means hope, while the lily-of-the-valley symbolizes sweetness or the return of happiness.

I think I like the month of May!

May you find hope and happiness in all that you do each and every day of MAY!!!

Step in Sunbeams

Sunbeam ♥

Apr 18 2021

Stepping BACK Again

Well once again I found myself having to step back from Virtual World fun. Maybe I dove in way too deep, which is my nature, and here almost 10 months later I found myself needing to step back.

In Second Life, the Wild West role play really took a lot of time out of my week, planning for the lessons for the Little Red School two mornings a week two hours long. I also tried to join in the evening Campfire gatherings and tried not to miss the OOC Thursday night dances. And I also tried to attend the Saturday evening Cherokee gathering in our little town of Bear River. After almost a year there I still feel like a stranger. Then there is my Indian maiden/warrior role play. Monday Pow Wows, Wednesday combat training with our friendly tribe brothers, the Osage, Friday combat with the Outlaws and then Sunday morning Storytelling Hour (which I lead) and which took extra time for me to prepare to make sure the topic and stories were interesting and well presented. AND then there is returning to OpenSim and my beloved AAcme City trying to restore it to a more completed and workable city. It is a HUGE project. Plus I started to take a class to learn how to do mesh.

I’ve been doing all of the above trying to escape my Real Life role: being a caretaker for a terminal ill advanced stage IV Cancer patient. It’s taken it’s toll on me watching my husband decline in health and weight and mental capacities (mostly due to the high dosage of morphine he’s given) while still wanting to be a Mother and friend to my grown children, one whom recently took the hardest step of her life, finally leaving an abusive husband and moving half way across the country to get away from him with her four children. I miss her and my Grandchildren so much.

It’s all become so overwhelming to me. I realize my first and top priority is taking care of my husband, still I yearn to jump into that fantasy world of beautiful people and where one can fly and do the impossible.

There is one thing I forgot about in Virtual Worlds in my eagerness to return. The drama, the relationships to juggle and the many personalities one must deal with. Sometimes drama happens to you and you don’t even realize it until you are knee deep in yuck! Sometimes your feelings get away from you and you feel your heart begin to beat to a different drummer. Sometimes you feel so alone and wonder why others seem to be so accepted and loved and always part of the ‘in crowd’ while you watch from the sidelines. Sometimes you feel used and sought after not for your heart but for your abilities. Of course we still are real people with real feelings behind the facade of a beautiful avatar but you wish to think “this is a different fun life”, while you mask your private despair. Self doubt sets in whether it’s reality or virtual. You can not fly away from being a human!