Saturday, September 15, 2012

Now We Are Six


"Six" spelled out in Morse Code - a gift from a friend.

Can it be only six years?  It seems like a lifetime.  Surely that was at least 15 years ago I signed up for Second Life and spent forever just trying to find a name to go with one from the list of "family" names.  Info Island was still growing.  I wandered all over, desperate for someone to talk "library" with.  Then I gave up for a short while.

It wasn't until two social sites, LibraryThing and Bookmooch claimed a presence on the grid that I came back.  Maybe there was someone to talk about books with!  Bookmooch had a corner carved out of the Magnatune land and there were some spots that were no man's land where I could rez a box, open it, and hide behind some shrubbery to change.  There was also a garden behind a building near the library where I could change clothes in relative privacy.  And there were the weekly meetings!  I made good friends and, at the same time, I was making inroads at the library as well.

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

My avatar morphed over time - she was made shorter to fit into a space capsule and then never grew up.  I had tried to make her reflect me in the beginning, but was unable to show just a touch of grey, so I went full grey or white.  Eventually I thinned her down a bit, probably to fit into prim clothes better, although her butt still stuck out of some of them.

Then one day, a miracle happened - a chance freebie of a greenish zombie skin turned up and I had finally found the "look" I was searching for.  The skin maker eventually upgraded the skin, with my humble input, and named it after my avatar.  Although sleek (like a seal, not like some bony model) and cuddly, the skin and subsequent zombie persona rigged out in nice clothes acts as an on-going joke: the tension between attractive and repulsive in the same package.

Zombie Glamor

Now, however, I only see how cute and cuddly she is - and the green skin with the pinkish tinge looks normal, if not actually beautiful.  I have created other avatars, Kathy in particular is a regular (created to show that I actually could do straight attractive ... and also to give me a chance to show off outfits that didn't work on the shorter, stockier Lludmila), but I will always go back to the perky little zombie.

It's all just ephemeral code that could totally disappear tomorrow, but the friends I have made here are real -  I've actually met some of them in RL(tm)* - and as frustrating as technology can sometimes be, this has been a really enjoyable experience.

Now, go to my Marketplace shop and "buy" some poses/gestures I've made as a thank you to all who participate in SL and an homage to all the folks who have provided me with freebies over the many ... er ... couple ... well, six years!

Earliest known photo

*London, Columbia, Greenwood

4 comments:

SpaceCase said...

Happy happy Rezday!!!

marfita said...

Thanks, Spacecase!

Kghia Gherardi said...

I am so, so happy I had the opportunity to meet you at Bookmooch. You have made my life richer. Happy Rez-day!

marfita said...

You're one of the best things about SL, Kghia!