Day 23 & the challenge end!

Well what do you know...it's the last day of November. :) It's also day 23 of the 365 picture project.




I took that using MechanizedLife's FilterCam, which you can purchase over on the Rouge sim for $500L [on sale!]. Codie was awesome and had given out some at one of the SL Bloggers meet-ups, but I'm ashamed to say that I couldn't figure it out, so I just tucked it away. After Gabby mentioned it to me in Plurk today, I thought, "You know what? I'm going to learn to use this!"

I can't believe how incredibly easy it is. LOL! I'm going to do a proper blogpost on it later, but seriously, this thing is fantastic.

But as it is the end of November, this puts an end to my self-challenge of blogging every day in November. And hey, you know what? I did it. :) In fact, I did more than just 30 posts. This one will make post 48. It's not the 102 posts of June 2008 [wtf did I even have to talk about?!], but it's still pretty gosh darn good.

Oh, and hey, speaking of previous blogger meet-ups, we're hosting the December meet-up on Bluebonnet on December 13th! I'm WAY excited about it!! Most of the residents of the island are bloggers/creators, so I'm going to force ask them to help out with decorating. :) It's going to be a Winter Festival! I'm so so so excited!! Guenevere DeCuir is supposed to be DJing, so it should be completely awesome!

So with the end of November, that means I'm not obligated to post everyday anymore [except for the 365 day thing]. But you know, doing this has really reconnected me with my blog, and with writing, so I think I'll probably find the time to write more often, especially if I'm posting a photo anyway.

My final thanks for November... Thank you to those of you who have bothered to read me. If it weren't for you guys...I dunno, I guess I'd just be talking to myself. LOL!

Day 22/365

It's getting harder thinking of ideas of cool pics for this. Pretty soon, you're going to just see me standing on a posestand. LOL But this one was taken tonight while I was DJing at the shoe expo. Thank goodness for random events.

Day 21/365

Yes, every day

This is probably going to be one of those rambling, thinking, opinionated posts, so if you already have your panties in a wad, you might want to just skip on by. :)

Almost every day, I hear someone say "I'm not happy with Second Life anymore!" Usually they do something different to change their situation. In rare instances, that person stops logging in on a regular basis. In even rarer instances, that person leaves altogether. And I mean, actually LEAVES, as in SL is off their computer, good bye, see ya later, never log in ever again.

I've been in Second Life a while now. I've had good times, and I've had some really terrible times too. But I still love it. I log in every day excited to see what is going on.

It kind of reminds me of something Charlotte said in the Sex & The City movie regarding being happy in her relationship. "Well, not all day every day. But yes, every day."

That's how I feel. I'm not happy with it all day every day, but yes...happy every day. There are things I'm not always happy with in SL. There are things I would change if I could. But I keep coming back because I love it.

So that brings me to the more opinionated part of my post. If you DON'T enjoy it, why are you still logging in? What makes you keep coming back to something you don't care about? Why are you lagging us down with your presence when you don't even care to be there? People say, "Oh, I come back to talk to friends." But if your friends are still happy in SL, do you think it does them any good to hear you whine and complain about how over SL you are? There are lots of email and IM services you could use to keep up with people.

I'm fairly fortunate to have people around me that love it as much as I do. If you're unhappy with it, maybe it's time to change your situation. After all, no one says you have to be here.

Day 20 & I'm a model!

What a day! That was me, earlier, standing around in my messy bedroom wondering what I was going to wear to the Musashi-Do 5th anniversary fashion show. I got to DJ the show, which was really different and very cool! And I DJed the afterparty too! It was all really fun and the show went REALLY well, I thought. And guess what? After the party...I signed on with the SilverStar Modeling Agency! I KNOW!!! I'm really excited. :) I thought they did a REALLY professional job at the show [believe me, I've seen some terrible shows!], and in the end that's what really decided me on it. So whenever I walk my first show with them, I'll be squealing and crazy in here. :)

Speaking of crazy, I've been feeling a little on edge today, so I'm going to wrap this up.

Day 19 & some DJ stuff

Wow, day 19 already!




I hope everyone had a good holiday, or just a good day. :)

I'm really excited because tomorrow at 7pm, I'm DJing my first fashion show! I'm not speaking during it [this time] but I'm happy. :) It's the Musashi-Do 5th anniversary fashion show and it starts at 7pm. And after THAT, I'm DJing his big anniversary party! If you don't make it to the fashion show, definitely swing by for the party. It should be fun. :) Not to mention there's a 50% sale all day and at 12pm Lollo String will be performing live. It's a BIG day!

And and and...I'm DJing on Sunday at 6pm out at the Shoe Expo again. Rez races, anyone? LOL Nah, the lag shouldn't be QUITE as bad this time around. But there is also a fashion show earlier that day there at 2pm.

I'm so drained. I think tonight will be an early night for me. Maybe. Fifty Linden Black Friday does start at midnight...

Episode 1064: The One Where She Gets Mushy

Um. I just realized I passed the 1000 post mark a while back. Damn, I was going to actually do a big post for that. *sighs*

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the US, and everywhere else too because giving thanks is definitely something all of us should do every morning we wake up. :) No, not in a religious way if that's not the way you swing, but just in a "Yes! I get to be alive and kicking one more day!!"

I woke up pretty early today to cook because I'm heading over to my parents' house for lunch, and although they have the "main" portion of our meal over there, I wanted to bring a couple of things too. While I was smashing sweet potatoes, I was thinking about how different my life has been over the past couple of years. [It's my rezday, although I don't actively celebrate it.]

A couple of years ago, I was a mess. If you're close to me, you know the story already, and if you're don't...well, you probably don't really need to. lol But I was a huge mess. A lot of it had to do with just never getting over my oldest sister's death back in 1999. I probably should have had counseling back then, but I'd chosen to just drug myself up and go about my business. But the problem was, I wasn't really going about MY business. I was trying to be everything that everyone wanted me to be and when I started to realize that I couldn't do it, I started to crack. Drugs weren't enough anymore. I was numb and I was scared and I thank God that I had someone who picked me up off the floor. I certainly couldn't have done it myself at that moment.

In the past 2 years, I have changed, and grown, and I am more myself now than I have been since before 1999. I honestly LIKE who I am for the first time in probably 12 years. And in liking who I am, I find that I have more to give to people now. But the funny thing? The people I surround myself now don't expect me to give them anything. When I find myself slipping back into the "What can I do for you today?" type thing with my friends, their answer is always "Nothing. We just want you." And that is something that I am exceptionally grateful for, and I give thanks every single day for it. If my old friends were like that too, it is my fault for never seeing it, and I will admit that.

So what am I grateful for this Thanksgiving? Almost too many things to mention, so we'll just go with the [mostly] SL things. I'm grateful for the wonderful people of the Ch'Know group, both past and present members. What started out as just a way for me to change my tag blossomed into some of the most amazing friendships I could have ever asked for. I'm grateful for my Sophia. Yes, she is loud, and she is bossy, and she is one of the strongest personalities I've ever known. But someone like me needs someone like her, and I'm grateful each and every day that I have her in my life. I'm grateful for the people that took me in when I was first starting out here, even if I don't see or talk to them much [or at all] anymore. Cen, Sam, Rick, the whole Viper Pit family. They taught me what it meant to just have fun again, to let my guard down and just be me, because that's all they ever asked of me. I'm grateful for the readers of this blog. You all have warmed my heart so many times with comments, IMs, or notecards telling me this or that. You all have pushed me to become a better blogger, a stronger writer, and a more active participant of Second Life. Even when I think that I'm finished, that I have nothing more to say, someone reminds me that I'm not done.

I've cried about 4 times now while writing this. I am such a sap!! LOL!

Have a wonderful holiday if you celebrate it, or just a wonderful Thursday if you don't. I'll be back later tonight so you all can tease me about crying during a blogpost. :)

Day 18 & losing prims

Yep, combining again.




SL has been doing a really weird thing with me lately. I'll crash or log out, and when I log back in, I'm missing a prim. Not that I just can't see it. I mean, it's completely taken off. Today I logged back in and I was missing the invisiprim that goes to the bottom of my boot, and so my shoe based crazy looking foot was bursting through the boot. That is so unattractive.

Thank goodness I wasn't wearing that crazy Chiki Chiki prim shirt from Sweetest Goodbye. I've already flashed enough people with that.

I've got cooking and stuff to do tonight, so I'm cutting this short. :)

Ali's thanks of the day: I'm thankful this month is almost over! LOL!!

Day 17 & Holiday Crazy

Yes yes, shoot me. I'm combining again. LOL

Day 17's picture...




I was unpacking more boxes of stuff to blog and trying things on and then...I lost my feet.

Actually, that's one of my big pet peeves, as I've mentioned here before. I hate the new trend of putting a shoe on the lower leg and then an invisiprim on the foot. I've heard WHY it's done, I just don't believe it really HAS to be done. But then, I'm not a shoe designer, so what do I know.

Thanksgiving is coming up on Thursday here in the US, and that marks the official start of the holiday season. However, I think people are putting their Holiday Crazy Hats on already. Today I went to the grocery store to get a few last minute things. If the grocery store was a sim? It would have crashed. People were bumping into each other, smacking carts into other carts to get them out of the way, and at one point this crazy woman tried to convert me to her belief that we're being programmed to buy generic food instead of brand name and she was highly mad that she had to buy generic sage. The reason she actually had to buy generic sage? She was too lazy to walk her ass down the spice aisle and was instead just making the rounds of the endcaps and small displays. I know. I checked. They had 5 different kinds of sage. I don't exactly know what would be brand name sage...but I'm pretty sure one of those would have worked.

To say that I'm going to try my hardest to stay out of the grocery store for the rest of the week would be an understatement.

I'm trying to unpack things and get things organized, but honestly? Until Thanksgiving is over, I just don't think I'll be able to get my head on straight.

Cheating on day 16

Ok, I admit it, I'm doing 2 posts together today just because I'm exceptionally tired today. Three hours of sleep, a full day of shopping with my mom, and a smallish workout and my body is aching for bed. But's not even 9pm yet. How lame would it be if I went to bed now?

Pretty darn lame.

Unfortunately, I'm so tired, I really can't seem to work up the energy to do anything in SL. So here I'll lay, in front of my fire, probably until I log off.

But you know what? That's just fine.

Ali's thanks of the day: I'm thankful I'm getting one more Thanksgiving with my parents.

15/365

Got this one in under the wire!!

Don't take my pics!!!!!!

I would just like to say that my photos that appeared in this post on the Herald were not approved by me for use. I was not asked if they could use them, and if someone else hadn't told me they were there, I probably wouldn't have seen them because I don't read the Herald unless someone points me over there to see something. If you want to use my photos, the least you can do is give me credit for them, even if they're just plain snapshots.

Anyway...

I've got so much I should be doing right now. lol

And hey! Did you know the Shoe Expo is going on? :) I'm doing a 2 hour set out there at 3pm SLT, if you feel like coming out to look at shoes and/or want to hang out with me.

Oh. It's 2:30. I guess I should get my ass in gear.

Lazy

If you didn't know, I'm one of the official Shoe Expo bloggers for this year. It was a REAL honor to be asked. It's even a bigger honor that I get to DJ for a couple of hours tomorrow during opening day!! I'll be out at the expo from 3-5pm SLT if you're interested in coming out to hang with me. :)

But in being one of the expo bloggers, I've also gotten more review packs dropped on me in the past 24 hours than I'm used to in a week. LOL! I know, cry for me. :-p So my big thing tonight is to start getting the shoes and poses I've so generously been given photographed and blogged.

The problem?

I'm lazy tonight. Utterly lazy.

So Sophia came to be lazy with me for a bit. And at some point, that big shoe and the awesome heels I'm wearing will be blogged.

At some point.



Ali's Thanks of the Day: I'm a continually grateful for the generosity of designers in SL. They give so much in so many ways.

14/365

I'm not one to ever ever complain about free swag... but I think I need to hire a maid, because I'm horrible about picking up my boxes.

13/365

It's almost over!

I just realized November is almost over. Not this Monday, but the next is the last day of my self blogging challenge. I don't believe I've missed a day so far. Even when I didn't have much to say, I managed to say something. One of the best things that's happened through this is that I'm coming out of my comfort zone a little more. I talk to people more, I don't make up excuses constantly on why I just can't go somewhere when I'm asked. Even if I don't stay very long, I still go. And my friends GET it. They don't take it personally if I leave early because they know that it's not anything against them at all. Years and years ago, when I was on other blogging sites [or journaling, as we called it then, since "blog" was still an odd word], we used to say that writing was the best therapy. The simple act of getting it out there was so helpful. And yes, sometimes you get bad comments for something that you feel, but that pretty much helps you grow too. [Or you can sink into a funk for a couple of days like I did, dust yourself off, and get over it. Either way works.] But really, the best thing to come out of this is that I've gained some new friends, and reconnected with some old ones. It's very wonderful. :)

I won't be sorry to see November gone. And it'll kind of be nice to not have to force myself to write everyday. But truthfully? I'll miss doing it each and every day. Although, with the 365 Day picture thing, I'll still be posting something, but you know, it's not the same.

So more work was done to my new place today. I am so so happy with the outside! The biggest problem is that I don't have a wall to sit on anymore, though. LOL! I need to dig through all my furniture and see what I have as far as couches and chairs go. Adorable Wilma came over and she made Christmas explode on my front lawn, so now I have even more decorations! However, I need a really pretty indoor Christmas tree. Does anyone know where I can find one? I would kind of prefer a sculpted one or a well made prim one. But mostly I want it pretty.

I also spent some time fixing up the little holiday area. Please feel free to come by Bluebonnet and skate on the pond or sit on Santa's lap. He's in the gingerbread house. I even have a little train you can ride around a tree, but it's not very pretty, so I'm going to get another one I saw somewhere...if I can remember where I saw it.

And hey, you can even skate with a snowman. :)




Ali's Thanks of the Day: Good or bad, I'm thankful for this blog. It's helped me through a LOT of stuff.

12/365

Finally!

Well, miracle of miracles. I found a house. :-p If you follow me on Plurk, you've been with me pretty much step by step of the Great House Search of 2009. [Thanks for not defriending me over that, btw.] The funny part? I was on page 300something of the residential structures listings on XStreet when my friend Chase told me that his house was from O-Magine and if I liked it, maybe I could IM the owner to see if I could buy it, since the store is not currently in-world. I turned to Xstreet and looked, and sure enough, you can still find O-Magine houses there. I saw a couple that I liked, but then a lightbulb went off in my head. I have a couple of O-Magine houses! I had totally forgotten all about them!

So I ran in-world and sure enough, one of the houses that I had seen listed that I liked was one that I had. What are the odds?




It's the Homestead house. It's a little primmy, and I was really hoping for a 2 story house with more rooms [this one only had 2 big rooms], but the style is what I wanted and I kind of love it. :)

I will admit picking up the old house made me a little sad. We'd set it down and I'd decorated it with high hopes...but stuff happens, so I can't moan about it anymore.

While I was starting to set it down, Lolita told me that there was a naked Santa at Shiryu's RezDay party. I had planned on stopping in at the party anyway, so that was as good a time as any!

Unfortunately, I missed the naked Santa, but I did have a chance to go snow tubing and sledding with Lolita and Boss before heading over to the dance floor. Naked Santa managed to turn himself into ... I don't know. The Silver Surfer? With cornrows? Yeah, I don't know. But he had started the Intan and was dancing alone, so I hopped up on the pink ball. [He may or may not have offered money for anyone willing to dance with him, but I never saw a $L. LOL!] Everyone was a bit quiet, so talking to him was kind of fun, up until I crashed out.




After I got back in world, I decided not to return to the party and instead go back to my house. I got it settled down, and did a little bit of terraforming, and modded the house a bit to fix the windows. Not that the windows were bad, but the placement wasn't working for me. I decorated the inside a bit, but it still needs quite a bit of work. I'm looking for a really great indoor Christmas tree now. But what I'm MOST proud of at the moment is how the outside turned out.




Isn't it just so pretty? The gorgeous lights are by my friend Aisuru and you can buy them at her shop, Beloved Custom Designs for the low low low price of $75L. Actually, there's 3 different kind of lights in the pack, so it's a great deal. They are the perfect lights for the picture I had in my head of what I wanted. And if you notice, even though it's a little dark, I'm sitting in a sleigh. It's so cute! My friend Layne Jewell made it, along with those candy canes. She doesn't have a shop, but sometimes she drops pretty things on me that she's been making. I think it's fab! I am just so so pleased with how the outside of the house turned out. I am not very good at decorating, so when I get something that works, I'm just thrilled.

But, again, I've stayed up way too late working on this, so it's most definitely bedtime!

Ali's Thanks of the Day: I'm thankful it's a heck of a lot easier to decorate for Christmas in SL than it is in RL! LOL!

11/365

In the south, we go viz'tin. So I went viz'tin over to Ms. Wilma's last night.

Houses, houses, everywhere...

Just as an FYI, I've turned off anonymous comments. :)

So, as into buying prefabs as I am, I find myself in the position of not having much that works down on the ground. I'm really more into buying skyboxes, I guess. I want a pretty house, that has nice textures, doesn't have a lot of alpha glitches [or texture glitches, for that matter], that is spacious and open, but with defined rooms, and preferably with a porch and hopefully doesn't cost half a month's tier, since I do change houses on a regular basis. You'd think with so many builders in SL, I'd be able to find something decent. I have been scouring the XStreet listings for 2 days. Everytime I see something I might like, I check and see if they have a demo rezzed anywhere at their store. I have been to SO many prefab shops tonight! For people who think that listing their products on XStreet doesn't work...let me tell you, it does. Without it, I never would have found even HALF the stores I went to tonight.

I don't know, I think I might just be OVERLY picky. I've gotten a load of freebie/cheapie houses just to check out layouts and styles.

I kind of like this vintage/coastal style.





But of course, I also love a good southern style too, with a big porch.




I've seen good houses, I've seen really horrible houses. I've seen houses that were barely textured, and I've seen them textured within an inch of their lives. [Hey, not every prim needs a different floral/striped/polka dot texture.] I've seen some cute and very inexpensive houses, and I've seen some where you really wonder if the creator honestly thinks that their library textured box with a door cut into it is worth $5000L.

But what I haven't seen is MY house. My perfect house that would make me happy to decorate and stay in. I'm home 95% of the time, my house must be somewhere I feel comfortable in. And yes, I still have my gorgeous house Noel built for me and Sophia decorated for me. But that is my private space in the air. I need a home for the ground and so far, I just haven't found the right one.

I think I know what this means...





I may actually have to build my own. :(

This...is not going to be pretty.

10/365

Who has time to be sad when there are snow angels to be made??

Hypocrite

Do you laugh at People of Walmart? How about Look At This Fucking Hipster or Look At This Douchebag? Have you laughed and pointed at the poorly made stuff on Regretsy? Do you look and think "What an idiot!" on Fail Blog and There, I Fixed It? And lets not forget the fabulous celebrity fashion disasters over at Go Fug Yourself! Or hey, what about the original? The SL Fashion Police?

I do get what you guys are saying. It's a little hypocritical of me to be kind of sad that people won't talk to me based on having a "normal" avatar [as if there was such a thing!] when I'm part of a team of writers that show blinging butt-baring bad fashion on WTFug. My posts are growing less and less frequent, as are most of the others, just because our interests and schedules vary greatly. The majority of our posts at this point are reader submissions. Oh yes, your friends are taking your picture and sending it in. But I guess we're all a little hypocritical because there's probably not anyone who hasn't giggled a little at at least one of those sites I listed above, or even just when you're out and about and you see someone looking odd.

We do want to do more tutorials, but they tend to be a little time intensive. Lash fitting was one that was brought up earlier today in Plurk, which I am more than happy to do once I get a chance. If there are any others you guys would like to see, please let us know. We also wanted to do some on crazy buildings & landscaping. At one point I wanted to do one on crazy Xstreet listings, but someone else appears to have beat us to the punch.

[Why it's ok to post a creation that someone put their time and effort into, but not ok to do the same to an avatar, which is also basically a walking creation, I have no idea.]

I guess the main thing is this: If you don't like it, don't look at it. There are many blogs out there I don't read for one reason or another. I don't go to their blogs and comment to call them names, or IM them to berate them. Now THAT would truly make me a bitch. If I don't look at the blog, it doesn't bother me. As my adorable Aisuru reminded me, the internet is not SRS BZNS, no matter how badly you'd like it to be. Even if you don't find it funny, someone else does, and that's just life, first or second. For every IM I've gotten threatening me, telling me they're going to call their e-lawyer on me for showing them in orange skin, or calling me names, I get one from someone who tells me I brightened up their day or made them laugh out loud at work. Those are the ones that keep me blogging, no matter which blog I'm on.

Oh, but please don't be scared to talk to me in world. I think THAT is what has made me more blue than anything else. The "omg, you're such a bitch" thing, I can take. Trust me, I've been called worse in my life and someone on the internet doing it now doesn't really bug me that much. But someone being scared of me? That makes me really sad. Usually when someone I don't know talks to me, I'm a little bit like a deer in the headlights!

Of course, that's a blog post for another day.

*sighs* I suck.

Ali's Thanks of the Day: A HUGE thank you for my Plurk friends who made me feel so much better earlier. They are the most incredible support system I have ever had.

I get bugged

So, there are two things that have been bugging me lately in SL. Not huge bugs, but little bugs.

I'm probably the queen of "Don't want to bother anyone." SL or RL, I don't want to bother anyone even if I'm sick, if I'm upset, if I need help, etc. I won't IM anyone or call them. But more and more I'm hearing people spending almost all their SL nights alone, no one to talk to, because they're like me. We are not talking to each other because we all think we're all busy! When did THIS happen?

I'll admit that sometimes I am busy. Sometimes I am doing photos, or I'm writing, or I'm....ahem...farming. :-p But I am almost never too busy to IM. I'm not the best conversationalist, but if you talk to me, I will usually talk back.

It makes me wonder how many people on my friends list are sitting there wondering if it's ok to IM me to just chat, and not just to ask me a question, which is what most of my IMs are. Unless it's Sophia, who is almost always in my IM box while we just talk about random stuff. She's almost the only person I do this with. Maybe my new challenge will be to just IM random people on my list to say hi.

Now, the second thing that really bugs me is something we seem to go through every year. What's with the pretty avatar hate?! I have friends of different shapes and sizes, although they're all pretty proportionate by choice. But when I read comments, such as the ones in this New World Notes post about how people just flat out won't talk to the "Barbie" style avatars...well, doesn't that make them just as much of a bitch as they perceive the pretty avatars to be? I'm more about proportion than I am looks. If you want to have your boobs to 100 and your hips to 10, uh, yeah...I might think that you need some help. But I wouldn't just NOT talk to someone because of their shape. I have a pretty avatar. I have worked hard to make my avatar into something I find pretty. Does it mean that someone might not talk to me because I'm slim and blonde? What kind of crap is that? In the physical world, I'm overweight and brunette. I am the girl who is overlooked at clubs, who has eaten lunch alone, who doesn't instantly attract people. But according to some of what I hear...in SL because I'm pretty, I'll be the girl who is passed over in clubs, who sits alone on her wall, who doesn't get the attention. But someone who looks different, in a bigger avatar, or a over-sexualized one, who is more of an "individual," [I freaking hate that. We're all different.] will get all the congratulations for not being a "Barbie."

If you won't talk to someone just based on them being what YOU term "Barbie," then you're just as horrible as you think the "model" type avatars are. Because guess what? We're all just people sitting at computers, usually in our pajamas or sweatpants, snorting with laughter over something stupid someone said. If there's anything I've learned in the past few months, it's that. :)

Speaking of pajamas, I just bought new stuff at Bath & Body Works today, so I think I'm going to take a shower and get into my PJs so I can go back to snorting at silly things in SL.

Ali's Thanks of the Day: I'm thankful for beauty in SL, but also for the incredibly silly people who are just like me - nerding out in front of the computer in our pajamas. ;)

9/365

Luckily ice cream in SL contains no sugar. I've been completely off of refined sugar, and most starches, for over a week now!

8/365

Art Walk & some other thoughts

First of all, I want to thank you guys for your prayers and good wishes for my daddy. My mom called this morning and he is doing MUCH better. I feel like I can breathe again for the first time in days. I never never could have gotten through this weekend without my SL friends. You all are a wonderful support system. Although I have a few local friends, I am basically dealing with all of this on my own, so just knowing that you guys are there makes all the difference in the world to me.

-------------

Yesterday my friend Gwendolyn asked if I could fill in as a DJ for an hour at the Hallelujah Azul Art Walk. Of course I agreed, especially since I had a chance to pull out the jazz music that I so rarely get to play during a regular party.

Of course, it started off with Tymmerie throwing me off the balcony. But you can read about that on her blog. ;)

It was a lovely hour and afterwards I had a chance to walk around and check out the art exhibits.



I even ran into Bon out there! If you like art, be sure to head over and check it out before the end of the month. :)

After that, I spent most of the evening pulling out prefabs and looking at them. Snow is expected to fall on Bluebonnet almost any day now, and I will need a new house. And yes, let's face it. I always want a new house after a break up. lol While I was doing that, an old friend of mine asked if I wanted to get off the island for a bit and go dancing. I rarely get to talk to him since he's not in SL very much, so I agreed right away. Plus, I really really wanted to get off the island and it's been ages since anyone has taken me dancing. We had a really good chat, as he has almost the same issues I have with my parents [aging parents, being the only one to take care of them, etc.] And he reminded me that I really am a catch in SL. I have to admit, it made me feel a lot less blue. :)

But back to my house issue... I admit that I have more prefabs than should be allowed. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find the RIGHT one. If anyone can point me out to some new prefab shops, it would be much appreciated. I've pretty much exhausted all the places I know, and the XStreet listings.

Ali's Thanks of the Day: I am so thankful for my SL friends, plurk friends, and blog readers. You all touch my heart in so many ways.

7/365

I hate November. And Friday the 13th.

I've never made a secret over my hate for November. For the past 10 years, anything bad that was going to happen, happened in November. What's strange is that I have an entire group of friends who feel the same way.

But, I was being optimistic this month. After 10 years, certainly I was due for one good November? And it's been decent so far.

Then Friday the 13th came.

You can insert scary music here.

It started out well enough. No weight lost on the scale, after losing 8 pounds this week, but hey, that's ok. The house is a mess, but that's ok too. Dinner out, a trip to the pet store to see if Holly needs anything, and a trip to the bookstore. While on the way home, my mom called to tell me that my dad was pretty sick. I told her to keep me updated. It's not unusual for my mom to call me with their various aches and pains. It goes with the territory of basically being the last daughter left, and having elderly parents. Of course I was immediately worried, but I probably spend 95% of my life worried about them.

I get home and settle into SL. A friend of mine needed someone to talk to because she was very upset. I knew there wasn't much I could do except listen, so I was more than willing to lend an ear.

In the middle of that, Tyson logged in for the first time in a while. We talked a bit, and decided it was better if we just go our separate ways. No tears, no hard feelings. It was just time, I guess. I adore him still and wish him nothing but the best. And as far as breakups go, this was probably the most peaceful one I've ever had. We even sat around for a bit afterwards and chatted.

About 20 minutes after he logged off, my mom called again, crying and telling me that my dad was getting worse and she didn't know what to do. I told her to hang on, I'd be there as soon as I possibly could. It's about 20 miles to my parents' house, and I think I made it in record time. He was restless, he wanted to walk, he wanted some air. I called 911 because my dad is incredibly stubborn and he didn't want us to take him to the hospital. If you've ever had to call 911 for someone you love, I feel incredibly sorry for you because that may have been the hardest phone call I've ever made in my life. To their credit, the ambulance & police showed up really quickly. To my disbelief, they had the address wrong. We had to wave them down. My parents' tiny room was filled with big, tall men. Did they get him to go to the hospital? Nope. My dad kept insisting that he felt fine except for the sore throat and cough, and whatever he was spitting out. My mom went all telenovela and was shouting "You're lying! He's lying! Tell them the truth!" Finally they had to ask her to go do something else. But they checked him out, did a blood sugar test, even let my mom [who is a retired nurse, specializing mostly in cardiology] listen to his heart and lungs, and she got a chance to yell at them and tell them that they were no good.

I was pretty well freaked by this point, but I got my dad to promise me that in the morning, we'll go to the local clinic so he can have his sore throat looked at and if he has the flu, maybe he can get some meds. My mom kept yelling that he'd never make it through the night. She's ... dramatic.

[This is why the drama queens in SL really don't bother me anymore. I have enough crazy and drama in my RL, so the other stuff is truly a cakewalk at this point.]

I finally made it home after midnight, and it's 3:30am now. I should get in bed because the clinic opens at 8 and I'd like us to get there pretty early. And if you have any to spare, we could use some prayers and good thoughts.

Ali's Thanks of the Day: I'm thankful for friends who give me virtual hugs after a long day. They're felt just as much as a physical hug sometimes.

6/365

Well, at least it's not me sitting on the wall again. :-p

Revisiting

Ok, I admit it. I'm running out of things to talk about. Big time. :-p Well, that's not EXACTLY true. I have a couple of things in my mind, but they're going to require actual research, so I've been putting them off for a bit. Luckily, my friends are pretty smart. Jerremy suggested that I revisit one of the first places I explored when I started blogging. That sounded pretty good to me, but then I discovered a problem. In my early early blogposts? I rarely put SLurls. Oops. Then I thought I'd just look at the earliest landmark I had. Well...at some point I'd boxed up a LOT of of my landmarks. Oops again!

But, I did have one to a place called Thursday's Fictions. I remember it being SO cool the first time I stumbled across it. And it was still kind of cool, I guess. This sign made me laugh.




It's still kind of fun to go through it, if you have a few minutes to kill.

So then I thought I'd go back to my old home from when I started this blog and the $5L A Day Project, the Isabel Infohub.

If you're new to SL or you ever find yourself homeless, you can go to pretty much any of the Infohubs and set it to home, if you didn't know this. The one at Isabel is kind of cool because there's usually a bunch of people out there and I used to have some really good conversations out there. And some pretty dumb ones.

The usual types were out there. Like...

Newbie Guy with Beer




And Badly Dressed Girl Who Isn't QUITE New But Maybe Just Has Bad Taste.




She was nice, though. She IMed me to tell me she liked my sweater. I almost offered to take her for a makeover, but I got scared when they started crowding around me.




Yeah, I totally ran.

I wish I could say I was productive in my little adventure, but I was not. But at least it got me off the wall. :-p

Ali's Thanks of the Day: I'm thankful that I can see where I've been, because it makes me that much more grateful for where I am now.

5/365

I'm just pretending to be boring, really!

I let my post for yesterday kind of do it for the day, because well, it would have seemed cold if I'd put another thanks.

But, truthfully? I have almost nothing to talk about. I haven't done much but sit around and when my SL self is just about as lazy as my RL self is being, that doesn't make for very good blogging.

The funny thing is that I'm talking to and getting to know more people right now than I ever have before. Through the wonderful madness that is Plurk, I've met people that I never really knew before. Through different blogs, I'm getting to know people too. I just...don't see them in world. A lot of that is my fault, I'm sure. But also, a lot of them are busy content creators or busy in relationships, so it makes it harder to hang out. But there is always Plurk, and I'm happy to chat with them there.

One thing that I'm pretty excited about is the upcoming Shoe Expo, for which I am a blogger for. So you know, if you're going to be in the expo this year & have teaser pics, drop them on me! But the best thing? I get in to the expo early. Finally! LOL! I have never been let into an expo or fair early before. I got in early at Winterstock because of a group, but it's not exactly the same thing. I'm not shopping much at all until the expo. I already know which vendors I HAVE to hit up first.

It's almost 4am, so I should go to sleep. I'm going to make a point out of actually doing SOMETHING when I get up. :)

Ali's Thanks of the Day: As much as it sometimes breeds drama & craziness, I'm quite thankful for Plurk, because it's helped me get to know people a little bit better. :)

4/365

Thank you.

Explorations: Cetus

I'll admit it. I'm a lazy blogger today. I am completely backed up on blogs to do for my style blog, and I have a lot of other little things that I should be doing. But I'm not.

Last week, my friend Bon dropped off another LM on me for a kind of funky place on the Cetus sim to explore. A couple of days ago I finally got out there. It was awesome! Because this illustration?




Was brought into SL. You could even jump on the bed!







It was really just the coolest little exhibit. Almost like Greenies in a way! Scottius Polke, the artist behind it, is really talented and I enjoyed myself quite a bit.

But the best thing was that I teleported from that area to an art gallery, and then went outside to walk around. Oh my gosh. It was so beautiful out there!!










I highly highly highly suggest you all check this place out, especially if you're into art. It's just amazing and there's so much more I didn't show. Thanks again for an awesome suggestion, Bon!!

Ali's Thanks of the Day: I'm thankful that every day I'm in SL, it's like being in an incredible work of art.

3/365

2/365

Blah blah

I feel like crap, you guys. No, not Crap, but the other kind. I'm about 36 hours into my new no-sugar life, and it's hell "detoxing." I fully expect I'll start to feel better tomorrow but for right now? Ugh. I even took a nap and I never really take naps. It's been all lean protein and veggies here. Oh, did I mention I'm not having caffeine either? Cold turkey, baby. lol

There's been some skin drama recently. All I have to say is this: If you use outside sources for your creations, don't be surprised if someone else develops something with that same source - and does it better.

It's not just skins. It's everything. Do these jeans look familiar to you?




No? They should. This template [which you can buy here for $2500L] has been used a LOT in the past few months. Can Person 1 DMCA Person 2 for supposedly stealing their "design" When all they basically did was recolor? I think not. However, if Person 1 takes the template and uses parts of it in their own work, and Person 2 comes along and actually DOES rip it? That's when you have a case, in my opinion.

Just my $2L on it.

I really need to get back into planning the Hump Day Parties. We haven't had one in a while and I miss them. Luckily we've had other parties recently, but the HDPs are sometimes the only time that I get to see a lot of my friends.

Btw, I am on Facebook now, so if want to add me there, please feel free. The badge is over on the left. I especially want you if you play Farmville, Diva Life, or Happy Aquarium. :)

1/365

I got this from Tymmerie who got it from Chestnut. One photo of my av every day for one year. I know, I take a lot of pics of myself anyway, but I don't post one every day. We'll see how this goes. :)

Today's photo:

From fingers to houses

I have an oral fixation. Yeah yeah, make your jokes. :-p But honestly, I put a lot of things in my mouth. Sometimes when I'm sitting here reading things, before I know it, I've got my finger in my mouth like this:




It's a bad habit, and one that I really need to break.

A habit I have that I'm giving up is sugar. I'm not a diabetic, but I am insulin resistant. So my doctor has been urging me for ... well, for years, I guess, but especially in the past year, to give up the refined sugars and starches and things of that nature. So...that's what I'm doing. Today's the first day. I expect to get very very crabby and cranky over the next few days. I apologize in advance. However, if you want me to go off on someone or something, tomorrow would probably be the time to suggest it. LOL

So last night, Quaintly asked me if I knew where to get a colorful skybox. That, of course, led me later to Xstreet to see if anything was new. I have a problem, I know! When I pulled up the residential structures, it had them listed from the highest to the lowest price. The first house listed was $30,000L. Holy cow, seriously?! Being nosy as hell, I went out to the store because they said that there were demos you could rez. And sure enough, there were, so I rezzed one out.




Yep, you're looking at $30000L worth of house.

$30000L would pay for half of the island for a month. lol

But anyway, it's... well, the house is PRETTY. I won't say that it's not.





I just don't know if it's $30,000L worth of pretty. I guess if you're into having the most expensive stuff ever, this would be the house for you. But I can think of houses I like better that are cheaper.

It's time to go clean out the kitchen. Pray for me. LOL!

Ali's Thanks of the Day: I'm thankful that despite how cranky and crabby I'm going to be, I have completely supportive friends who say that it's ok if I yell at them for the next few days.

Work the runway, sweetie!

I'm a huge fan of Second Life fashion, as most everyone knows. However, I'm not a huge fan of SL fashion shows. Even the smallest ones seem to be incredibly laggy and the models almost never rez all the way. It's very rare I attend shows. But, when I found out that my friends SySy and Shiryu were having some of their designs presented in a fashion show, I knew I'd brave just about any amount of lag to go check it out. Because well, I adore them. :)




This show was put on by a modeling school and so of course, the models were students. I have pretty mixed feelings about modeling schools in SL because the best models I know? They didn't go to school for it. They're beautiful women who know how to edit a prim on the fly and can basically walk a straight line or know how to point their eyes at a prim so a photographer can move the eyes where needed. But hey, if someone wants to pay however much it costs to go to modeling school, that's their deal. And if any modeling school staff would like to talk to me or show me what the schools actually do, I'd be more than happy to check it out. :)

These models, bless their hearts, they seemed to need a little more time in the classroom. Luckily SySy and Shiryu are totally easy going because holy cow...parts of this show were just BAD. I seriously couldn't stop laughing at some points! Maybe that's mean, but what they were dealing with was more than just the normal fashion show lag. One model had on the wrong shirt. Another took "runway" too literal and was running in a formal gown from spot to spot. At one point, one of the models either didn't know how, or didn't notice, but his shirt collar was up in his ears. I wish I were kidding. If I could have stopped giggling, I would have gotten a picture. And then, even though there WERE some transparent bumpers around the runway, another model fell off the runway, flew up, hovered for a while, and then crashed.

But, it was fun to spend an hour hanging with a couple of friends I don't really get to see or talk to outside of IMs because they are often busy working. And although I'm quite familiar with their work, it was nice to see it presented. Huge kudos to both SySy & Shiryu for being so incredibly nice, too, because I know some designers would probably have had a fit by the middle of the show.

Weeee....it's 5am. It's SO bedtime.

We are family, I got all my sisters and me!

This is where I spend a great deal of my SL these days.




Yep, just sitting on the wall outside of the house. Sometimes I go sit on the railing on the back deck. But mostly it's here, on the wall. I don't know why. There are places to sit inside. It's just my spot, I guess.

I was picking up a gift at a store earlier and while I was waiting on things to rez, I overheard two girls talking to each other and after a couple of moments, it became clear that they're SL sisters.

I've never actually had "family" in SL in the sense that I actively call anyone my sibling or parent. I've been included in a group that calls themselves a family. I'd certainly consider my Ch'Know group my family. But as far as an actual brother/sister/mom/dad thing...no.

I don't really get into the whole "OMGSPAMSPAMSPAM THAT'S MY SISSY SPAMSPAMSPAMOMG" thing. I don't think anyone over the age of 7 or 8 should use the word "sissy" when talking about another woman. Unless your name is Sissy, and in which case, John Travolta will pick you back up after the convict has slapped you around for throwing a carton of cigarettes at him and then gets his ass kicked after he steals the money he didn't win because John Travolta is a better fake bull rider and then you get your little license plate with your name on it put back up in the window of the truck and you drive off while Johnny Lee sings.

Wait. Where was I?

Oh, yeah.

Anyway, I don't much care for the whole "SISSY!" thing. But sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have an SL family. Not that I'm looking to get a kid or anything like that at all. LOL I'd be a horrible mother in SL. But the other stuff...the family stuff. Hanging out with sisters and brothers, maybe having someone I looked up to as a mother or father figure... Sometimes when I'm spending hours alone in SL, I wonder if I'm not missing out on something.

Do you have family in SL? How did you get into it? Do you find that it enriches your SL experience? I'm honestly curious.

Oh, but if anyone screams "♦♣○♥!♦♥♠SISSY!!!!!11!!•○☺☻♦♣" at me, I'll slap them and run.

Just sayin'.

Edit: Crap, I almost forgot. LOL

Ali's Thanks of the Day: I'm thankful for my close friends who may not have the title of "sister" or "brother" but are no less important to me because of that.

Crashtastic party, but lovely lips!

So in an attempt to be more social yesterday, I went to Ryker's "Check it out, I make pretty skins that you need to buy" party. :)





I actually wasn't going to go. I wanted to, but...you guys know me and crowds. But I was talked into it by Isabeau, who told me if I didn't like it, I didn't have to stay. Oh. LOL Sometimes you just have to be told something that simple for it to click.

It was a VERY fun party, though. However, I was crashtastic everytime I tried to move my cam around. :( Tyson and I went back later after he logged in, but he seemed to be crashtastic too. It was slightly more stable for me in the evening, but not very much.

But, it was fun. :) Annnnnd I had to buy a new skin. I was going to choose an everyday makeup, but this one was just too fun to pass up on. Of course, now I want more more more!

This is Sienna in You Love Me. I love the little heart lippy!




Love love love.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!! :)

Ali's Thanks of the Day: I'm thankful that I'm going back to the gym tonight. Exercise clears my head and makes me feel better and more confident. I'm also thankful for my RL bestie of 14 years who makes it possible for me to go. :)