HI! challenge, day 09

FYI: Ariel challenged me to say hi and attempt conversation with one stranger a day in SL for 30 days and blog about it. Today is day 09. This fyi will appear at the top of each post. All photos and names of strangers are used with permission. Names of established friends are used willy nilly!!! :-D

 

I am coming to terms with the idea that not all of these interactions are going to be winners, no matter how well-meaning my approach. I was at the Project Donate sim, methodically flying through every single aisle. I am organized that way. There was a guy in a suit standing at the end of one of the aisle. When I got to where he was, I noticed he was editing appearance. I said, "hi there ;-)." He stopped editing and tp'd away. I looked at his profile. It was empty except for his name and rez date, which was 9/9/2010. 

Some newbs just aren't ready to talk, I guess? Maybe he just wanted to work on adjusting his avatar in peace. Maybe he was an already-jaded alt who didn't feel the need to respond to a random stranger. I'm trying to remember what being a newb was like, those first few chats and IMs. I must've been nervous, scared, unsure of what to say. I didn't want to be clingy, and I didn't want to be standoffish. I had no idea how to be graceful in my interactions ... not that I think I've mastered it now! But I suppose one's comfort level grows with each conversation. Also ... I need to bear in mind, some people just aren't here to make friends. That's ok too.

In RL, I'm one of those people "not here to make friends." I actively avoid people I know, and I discourage new people from getting too close. Yet, here I am in SL, doing my best to be friendly and welcoming, actively seeking out new people. Pardon my language, but what the fuck is up with that? I sometimes joke that I RP a friendly person in SL, but that isn't so far from the truth. Ok, that's all the introspection I feel like for now. I wonder if I need to replay some form of this challenge in RL.

Once again I don't have any pictures sooo ... you get to see this one of me in the 99L OMG Mynerva skin. I like it, but it makes me look too sad! I wonder if I goofed around with my eyebrows it would help ...