HI! challenge, day 17

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 17. This fyi will appear at the top of each post. All photos and names of strangers are used with permission, except this time. Because I think explaining what I was trying to do would have been too confusing. Mostly for me. Names of established friends are used willy nilly!!! :-D

Ariel saw me in action tonight. We were at Atmosphere Works looking at furniture when I saw someone tp in with a cute name. It went something like this:

[09:27 PM]  Owly Indigo: hi mew ;-)
[09:27 PM]  mew Pinion: hi
[09:27 PM]  Owly Indigo: some great furniture here ;-D
[09:27 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: hi mew
[09:27 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: :)
[09:28 PM]  mew Pinion: hi!
[09:28 PM]  mew's translator: hi!
[09:28 PM]  mew Pinion: ここには初めて来たよ
[09:28 PM]  mew's translator: I first came here
[09:28 PM]  Owly Indigo: oh! my first time too ;-)
[09:29 PM]  mew Pinion: ここは素晴らしいですね
[09:29 PM]  mew's translator: This sounds great
[09:29 PM]  mew Pinion: おしゃれな家具があります
[09:29 PM]  mew's translator: There are tastefully furnished
[09:29 PM]  Owly Indigo: yes! beautiful ... and fairly low prim
[09:29 PM]  mew Pinion: はい
[09:29 PM]  mew's translator: Yes


And that's as far as we got. Small talk. From her profile:

Hi,My name is mew Pinion.
mew is my cat's name.
I hope make friends from around the world.
Thanks.

Aw!

Plus she is adorable:

Ok, see the tables in the background? The vendor sign just above them says at the bottom: "it's a simple table." I find this really really funny. Like, did I say I had higher expectations of this table!?

Here's what I learned: Oh yeah, back to learning stuff. Well ...I've never had much luck with translators in SL, you really can't get much beyond very simple small talk in my limited experience. Sigh. Sadly, for me "friends from around the world" can be in English only. :-(

HI! challenge ... am I back? (day 16)

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 16. 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

Ummmmmmmm. Did it have to be 30 consecutive days? I wasn't living up the HI! challenge, and I needed a small break, so I took one. Guess what, the world did not end! Hooray for that.

You know how when people talk about introverts and extroverts, and how it's not about friendliness but about how being around other people energizes or exhausts a person? Like an introvert is energized by being alone and an extrovert is energized by being around people? I always end up 50/50 on introvert/extrovert. And oddly, I ran out of stream half way through the challenge. spooOOOoooky

Anyhoot, I went to book club dressed as a sheep, and when I logged in today, I was still a sheep. So I went over to Cupcakes to unsubscribe from their subscribo (another challenge - unsubscribe to one subscribo each day!).

And you know me, I don't give a damn, I was just sheeping all around when I get this:

[05:08 PM]  N***** T********: Oh owly
[05:08 PM]  N***** T********: I thought you were a pet
[05:08 PM]  N***** T********: thats cute
[05:08 PM]  Owly Indigo: hahaha ;-D
[05:08 PM]  Owly Indigo: baaaa
[05:09 PM]  N***** T********: I thought you were just a prim set to wander around :)
[05:09 PM]  Owly Indigo: oh how funny ... no ... I am a person! in sheep's clothing
[05:09 PM]  Owly Indigo: I'm usually human, but there was a ... well, it's hard to explain




At this point I attempted to explain.

[05:10 PM]  N***** T********: hehe

And then she tp'd away.

hahahahahahaha

Ok, so once again, technically, she said hi first. Actually, she didn't even say hi. BUT I talked to a stranger, and dammit I am counting this one.

League of Extraordinary Dorks Meets Again: Schlepping through the Alps

Another starry night at the home sim... what's happening at the Albatross?

Let's go in and see.   It's a meeting of the League of Extraordinary Dorks Book Club!

This month, Catalina Mistwallow selected the book for discussion.

SCHLEPPING THROUGH THE ALPS: MY SEARCH FOR AUSTRIA'S JEWISH PAST WITH ITS LAST WANDERING SHEPHERD BY SAM APPLE

The book is Sam Apple's account of his own search to understand his Jewish identity as he journeys' with  Hans Breur, a Yiddish Folk Singer and wandering shepherd leading hundreds of sheep through the Austrian Alps.  This was an enjoyable book for me.  Sort of a travelogue, memoir, a bit of a history lesson, and wrapped up in a comedic style of writing that had me laughing to the point of snorting at times.  I liked this book, it kept my attention to the end.  This was the first non-fiction book for the group.  This is not something I would have picked up on my own, but I am really glad that it was recommended for the club.

Of course, according to the custom, the League of Extraordinary dorks mostly came dressed up as a character from the book.

We had Sam dressed as Hans Breuer's mom, Coyote, Owly,and Cat all came dressed in sheep's clothing.  Chatty arrived as a wolf (or a fox.. I was not sure about this, but she was eyeing the sheep most of the evening).  Also in attendance, Colt and Mouse, and a new sim resident, Lullabye. I attended as my favorite vowel, the letter "E."  (it is a character from the book...one of many!)

Cat led us through a fabulous discussion of the book, dressed as a little sheep. After it was all over, she showed us her little sheep tricks.  First, the "I've fallen and I can't get up!" pose.

Next, she showed us her dance skills...

Finally, she showed how she could "cry wolf"

Then she "poofed" before Chatty could eat her.

Here are the details of the League of Extraordinary Dorks Book Club for October. I hope you will join us, it looks like a fun read (with a lot of costume possibilities).


When: Mon, October 11, 9:00 PM SL Time
Where: SL Albatross Coffee House 2nd floor
Book: THE TOWER, THE ZOO, AND THE TORTOISE by Julia Stuart! (Ariel's pick) 

HI! challenge, day 16, 17, and probably 18 too

Well ... what the hell? I made it halfway through, then ran out of steam? It looks like it. :-( RL has taken over, and I haven't had as much SL time the last few days. When I was in on day 16, we got busy making the homage to Mark Ryden (photo to come later). Today ... was just not the day. Actually somebody said hi to me during FLF at Cluster, made some crack about the bird on my head, and I was like ... yeah, haha, bird head ... I just couldn't do it. Tomorrow's not lookin' so great either! I am sorry Ariel ... I will make it up somehow! I am going through a resistant phase, but I am sure I will get back on the horse eventually. ;-)

and now you know!

By Popular Demand....Super Star BUTT Shades

There was some chatter on plurk today amongst my friends, discussing the appearance of certain butts in this blog.

plurk excerpt used with permission...

That got me thinking...sometimes a butt just doesn't want to appear on a blog.  Or maybe is so famous it just needs a disguise... OR maybe the butt just wants to look COOL.

It's not easy to hide your butt when a home sim blogger is around.

Introducing... the latest in Home Sim Fashion...and FUNCTION...

 SUPER STAR BUTT SHADES

Super Star BUTT Shades.  Because sometimes a butt doesn't want to appear on a blog.

Available at Fire GOOD!!! on the Home Sim.  They don't do anything special, they just make your butt look COOL!

Enjoy.

Home Sim Girls (Naked?) Hair Fair Field Trip

Cat sent me this excited message while I was offline..yesterday  - "YOU HAVE TO GET THE GIFT FROM FRI.DAY at HAIR FAIR...it's worth braving the lag"

So when I logged in late last night - instantly ... I am tp'd to Cat and Angie's place where the girls are hanging out.  Cat suggests "we need to go to hair fair now!"  Well that has the makings of a FIELD TRIP!

BUT...ewww lag...SO we decided to ditch the clothes and show up in our hot inventory sorting challenge skins.  We were without clothing.... but not really naked.

It worked...I really didn't have much of a problem with lag at all and it wasn't like hair fair was empty...

Here we are getting ready.   Owly declared that she had to re-inflate her butt!  So this is the before shot:

After Butt Inflation:

We arrived at Fri.Day booth at Hair Fair.  Cat found the object of our mission...the Fri.Day gift box!  YAY!

So we got that...and then bought HAIR... at Fri.Day...Cat, Angie, and Molly had to leave to get some sleep..so we continued our hair quest.

Here Owly does a little zombie reach for the hair...."HAAAIIIIR"  Check out her super star shades.  Now that Owly is famous (she was featured in this awesome blog post - check it out) she wears her gigantic psychotic battle owl glasses of DOOM everywhere.

We also went to the LAMB booth.  I got this awesome hair.  I don't remember what it is called but you can get it here.

Further got this awesome hair at the same place.

So i think I was on for an hour or so, but it was jam packed FUN!  COOL!


After all that - this is all the great stuff that was in the Fri.Day Gift Box!  Multiple Hair Styles, Jeans, a SWEET green Hoodie, and Tank Top.  

Mission Accomplished :) 

Critters on the Home Sim and Adventures in Space

So last night was strangely SL busy -  I was all over the place taking care of sim business, store business, here and there and everywhere, and in the midst of it found some time to goof off... because that is what makes SL fun!

FIRST... a photo shoot with a Home Sim Homie - Dorian and the Giant Flying Chipmunk. Hehehehe... cute!

Next... some Fire GOOD!!! Stuff...I am working on staging a new shop so I was showing off the cool build in the sky to Cat and Wai.  I had to tp away to take care of some biz in another location momentarily and I come back to this..."CHICKEN DANCE"

TP'd away again to meet someone on a different sim.  I was TP'd back to this...
They tell me..."We took the chicken dance on tour"

Looks to me like they took it to cat's skybox hahah!

Cat left, eventually we ended up flinging a chipmunk around the sim for a while.  Cy, Wai, and PT joined in.
Note: at the beginning of this post, the giant flying chipmunk of the Home Sim was nameless.

Owly joined us, it was about this time that I seriously began practicing my arm farting skills.  You know - it's hard for me to choose which is my favorite toy, the Chipmunk or the Arm Farter.  Since I couldn't choose I decided to play with both at the same time!

So later the chipmunk landed, and Foxie showed up, and we all went on a field trip to Inspire Space Park to support Owly and her mission.

We were greeted by a sweet little alien.

Then Foxie morphed into Tentacle Man.   Here's a scene from: Princess Bun Head Vs. Tentacle Man....

So yeah... stuff happens - we play with critters, turn into critters, visit outer space... goof off a bit...and then sleep, and then laugh about it in plurk the next day.

Good News!  I think that the giant flying chipmunk now has a name.
Thanks to my plurky friends his name is "Chimichanga"

"Chimi" for short; pronounced "CHEEMEE"
alternate nickname  "Chimi Cheeks"
unless he's in trouble...then it's chimichanga burrito taquito mosquito the third!  (I hope this chipmunk never gets in trouble because that name will be hard to remember).

HI! challenge, day 15

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 15. This fyi will appear at the top of each post. All photos and names of strangers are used with permission - except this time, I don't think the conversation we had in local warrants a "May I?" this time. Names of established friends are used willy nilly!!! :-D

Eeeeesh. Well, today's adventure was kinda scary. Following Sam's advice, cammed out on the map and picked a random sim that had people on it. I landed on a sim called "Dim Alley" and was greeted with the following:

04:55 PM]  IM: The Sweatshop Syndicate Greeter: Welcome to The Sweatshop Syndicate!
[04:55 PM]  IM: Super Greeter 5.6: Owly Indigo ,you've been riding the subway a little longer than usual on your way home after a long busy day at work. It finally stops but in a different and unusual part of town...you look out and it seems a little frightening...but your curiosity gets the better of you and you decide to step out....Welcome to Chinatown!!

Hm, RP sim? A guy tp's in on top of my head. Here's my chance!

[04:56 PM]  Owly Indigo: hey there
[04:56 PM]  Owly Indigo: is this a RP sim?

Durrrrr yes Owly, it probably is, but that's the first thing that popped into my head. The guy ignores me - he's moving around though, he must've "heard" me. So I go exploring. It looks like I am in a really dingy subway. I find stairs and head up. I'm in an alley. There is a dumpster and a garbage truck ahead. They uhhhhh have poseballs that say really nasty icky creepy things on them. Like, violence against women type things. EEK!

I find a cafe, go inside, and sit down so I can cam around a bit. Other green dots are nearby, so I think ... maybe someone will come by that I can talk with. As I cam, I notice an av who appears to be in a booth and is ... ummmmm ... well. There is a similar stool nearby. The words above the stool say "wank." This is creepy.

I completed my mission. I did say hello to a stranger. It's probably a good thing he didn't say hi back. I read his profile and it made me go like this: O.O. I'm glad I didn't engage with the other guy either - he was kinda busy, though. Blah. I'll probably try this map-dots-click strategy again, and hopefully get a clue a bit quicker the next time!

Here's what I learned: OH YEAH not all sims are nice and friendly sims with nice and friendly people. BTW, these ending thingies ... I just want to clarify that I don't think I'm saying anything new or original here, it's just a reflection on what I'm getting out of the encounter. :-)

HI! challenge, day 14

I confess to almighty God, and to you my brothers and sisters, that I was NOT into doing the challenge last night. But get done it did, thanks to the pushiness of my friends! PT, Wai, Cyrus, and Ariel were riding around the Home Sim on a giant chipmunk whilst doing chicken dances and/or armpit farting. This log is heavily edited, but probably still confusing:

[09:23 PM]  Owly Indigo: oh, btw, I have met no strangers today ;-(
[09:23 PM]  Owly Indigo: I tried
[09:23 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: oh no
[09:23 PM]  Owly Indigo: but it just wasn't happening
[09:23 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: did you meet anyone on plurk?
[09:23 PM]  Cyrus000 Vollmar: why are you trying to meet strangers?
[09:24 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: owly is trying to meet strangers cy
[09:24 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: because i challenged her to blog about it for 30 days
[09:24 PM]  Owly Indigo: and failing today!
[09:24 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: cause she was all excited one night
[09:24 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: about being friendly
[09:24 PM]  PT Beardmore: noooo, you must meet a stranger!
[09:25 PM]  Cyrus000 Vollmar: like in sl?
[09:25 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: yeah
[09:25 PM]  Cyrus000 Vollmar: lol
[09:25 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: maybe tonight
[09:25 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: your lesson can be
[09:25 PM]  Cyrus000 Vollmar: i meet strangers all the time
[09:25 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: SOMETIMES you just need to hang out
[09:25 PM]  Cyrus000 Vollmar: go to space park
[09:25 PM]  Owly Indigo: yesss god I don't want to talk to RL pepole
[09:25 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: with old friends and fly around on giant rodents
[09:25 PM]  Owly Indigo: yessss I like that
[09:25 PM]  PT Beardmore: no, she needs to meet a stranger
[09:25 PM]  PT Beardmore: we can all go
[09:25 PM]  Owly Indigo: I will try harder anothter night
[09:25 PM]  PT Beardmore: could be marvelously creepy
[09:25 PM]  Owly Indigo: srsly I am racing against the clock here
[09:26 PM]  Owly Indigo: not gonna make it
[09:26 PM]  Long Range: Foxie Moxie [68m]
[09:26 PM]  Owly Indigo: so
[09:26 PM]  Owly Indigo: let's just arm fart and wing flap hahaha
[09:26 PM]  PT Beardmore: don't make me bring a stranger to you!

[09:26 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: we could
[09:26 PM]  Owly Indigo: oh foxie's here, he's strange
[09:26 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: take the chicken dance on tour
[09:26 PM]  PT Beardmore: yep
[09:26 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: YES
[09:26 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: lets
[09:26 PM]  PT Beardmore: let's do it
[09:26 PM]  Owly Indigo shouts: FOXIE
[09:26 PM]  PT Beardmore: ok, where can we find a stranger?
[09:26 PM]  Chat Range: Foxie Moxie [2m]
[09:26 PM]  Owly Indigo shouts: SCREAMS!

But of course, Foxie didn't count. I mean ... I've met him in RL!

[09:27 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: FOXIE check out my awesome arm farting skills
[09:28 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: space parkkkkkkk
[09:28 PM]  Owly Indigo: nooooooo space park?
[09:28 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: that is a good place to explore
[09:28 PM]  Owly Indigo: it's like
[09:28 PM]  Foxie Moxie: I was already being inflicte--- checking them out
[09:28 PM]  Owly Indigo: spacey
[09:28 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: i have princess bun head hair
[09:28 PM]  PT Beardmore: I'm good for where ever

 

As you can see, we went to space park. There are tai chi balls there. Have you ever done tai chi in RL? I have. It's bores the living hell out of me.

[09:34 PM]  PT Beardmore: this is very relaxing indeed
[09:34 PM]  Foxie Moxie: I am totally breaking somebody's neck in slow motion!

[09:34 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: i don't see owly or foxie yet

[09:35 PM]  Owly Indigo: I am here
[09:35 PM]  Owly Indigo: are you gonna make me tai chi too!?
[09:35 PM]  PT Beardmore: yep
[09:35 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: do tai chi
[09:35 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: take a walk on the wild side

Appropos of nothing: [09:37 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: am i still farting?

[09:42 PM]  Cyrus000 Vollmar: space park is really quiet tonight
[09:42 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: probably because i turned off my farter

Ok, sorry, I got carried away with all that. I did talk to a stranger at space park after all. Granted, he IM'd me first, but there were way too many distractions for me to be the initiator, so I'm gonna say it counts anyway! Oh, but first ...

[09:44 PM]  PT Beardmore: I am waiting for Owly to meet someone new
[09:45 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: i love how PT is the enforcer
[09:45 PM]  Cyrus000 Vollmar: work your magic
[09:45 PM]  Owly Indigo: I told you I did already! lol
[09:45 PM]  PT Beardmore: lol
[09:45 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: he's like a trainer
[09:45 PM]  Owly Indigo: he totally is
[09:45 PM]  PT Beardmore: who?
[09:45 PM]  PT Beardmore: who did you meet?
[09:45 PM]  Owly Indigo: he's like ... a lot of things
[09:45 PM]  Owly Indigo: Mr. Asbrink over there ...
[09:46 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: kewl
[09:46 PM]  PT Beardmore: did he respond?
[09:46 PM]  Owly Indigo: yes! 

[09:46 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: oh
[09:46 PM]  PT Beardmore: did you learn anything?
[09:46 PM]  Owly Indigo: LOL
[09:46 PM]  Owly Indigo: I always do!
[09:46 PM]  Ariel Wingtips: hahaha
[09:46 PM]  PT Beardmore: ok, I suppose it is good...you know...if you want to skate by on this one.
[09:47 PM]  PT Beardmore: *dies laughing

I did not skate by! Allow me to introduce Mr. Blackout Asbrink ...

 

Sadly, I totally screwed up when I went to save our IMs! GAAAAHHHHHH! So the details of our conversation are gone. As I recall, he opened with some compliments, which is his way, from what I read in his profile. We discovered we are just a few days apart in SL age. He enjoys entering random words in search and then visiting whatever LM comes up - which sounds fun to me too! When he cammed on me, he thought something was wrong with his viewer, but then realized no, dang, she really is that pale! Ummmm ... there was other stuff I forget, as I was distracted by Foxie's tentacles. (Dang, that doesn't sound right, does it?) He was very kind and granted permission for a photo and the use of his name ... I just wish I had saved the conversation like I had meant to. I did enjoy talking with him. :-)

Here's what I learned: My friends are insane. OH wait, I knew that already. But also ... going to a populated and popular place like space park is a good way to meet people, whether or not you initiate the IM. And reading profiles can help break the ice.

Critters on the Home Sim - the Dance Floor has gone to the dogs

this stuff just happens...it can never be planned - i showed up at the Albatross and found PT & Owly dancing...Owly was wearing some scare hare and a bird cage and they were working on perfecting some dance moves that I THINK they learned by watching many episodes of The Brady Bunch.

Reminds me of this..."Sunshine Day" Dance
So I joined in and worked on some salsa moves with my dog buddy.

Then Niko showed up as a foxy fox!  he has skills...

Begging Skills...

Looking CUTE and CURIOUS skills...

Shake a Paw Skills

Scratch the itch Skills

magical..."awwwwe" cute thing skills

hehehehehe

HI! challenge, day 13

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 13. This fyi will appear at the top of each post. All photos and names of strangers are used with permission - except this time, I don't think the conversation we had in local warrants a "May I?" this time. Names of established friends are used willy nilly!!! :-D

Today I got a notecard from Perky that was titled, "Brian shouts OWLY!" On the card it said, "I can't help myself! I see these things and my brain goes OWLY! OWLY! OWLY! I thought you might get a kick out of this..." and included an ad for a recent release from Donna Flora and a LM. That cracked me up, and what I saw in that ad made me just completely freak out. I think the word "omgomgomgomgomgomogmogmoogogmogogmoomog" was involved somehow in my response to Perky. I tp'd the hell on over and found ...

Yeah this! CAGE dress! There have been cage dresses in SL before, and there will be more again, but this one just sang to me. As did pretty much everything else in the store. There were soooo many gorgeous vintagey outfits, I kept wondering where I could find an firt-half-of-the-twentieth-century sim where I could RP ... or at least hang out on. The CAGE dress comes with an alpha layer thingy to hide one's thighs and pelvis (Marian? Are you paying attention? This is certainly an interesting crotch!) And then there is this beautifully made cage skirt with birdies floating all around inside! And? Also? Furthermore? Comes with the crazy poofy hair and some rather amazing shoes!

Here, more photos for you:

What has this got to do with my challenge? I was standing around in the courtyard of the store, when the designer, Squinternet Larnia, tp'd in. Somewhat to my embarassment, the following happened:

[05:04 PM]  Owly Indigo: oh hello there!
[05:05 PM]  Squinternet Larnia: hello
[05:05 PM]  Owly Indigo: I just got "cage" - I love it!
[05:05 PM]  Squinternet Larnia: eheh thanks
[05:06 PM]  Perky Button is Online
[05:06 PM]  Owly Indigo: a friend of mine sent me here ... and ... wow I am fangirling haha - just wanted to say thank you - your work is gorgeous ! ;-)
[05:06 PM]  Squinternet Larnia: im glad you like it

She then proceeded to fiddle around with her subscribo or something, I'm not sure exactly what device she was working on, but she had definitely moved on. I recognize I was being kind of goofy, but I was still in the throes of the bird dress excitement. I mean look at it! I cannot help but squee. Squee! See? Sigh. Oh yeah, I was wearing it at the time, too. Perky tp'd over (she'd been with me before) and proceeded to show me where the freebs are located omg they rule everyone needs the pumpkin hair so go get it! *ahem* Got a little excited again.

Anyway, I figured Miss Squinternet counted as a stranger, and I could therefore report on the interaction for my challenge. Also, I figure I can cross-post this with the bird blog, yes? Yes.

Here's what I learned: Or rather, what I knew and was reminded of: People who make and sell stuff in SL have to talk to a lot of lunatics, like me, and while they probably like hearing how great their stuff is, they are busy. So if you see a SL creator that you don't really know but would like say hi to and to compliment, do it briefly and sincerely, without expectation of an extensive conversation. They might have time to talk, but they might not, and in general it's a good policy to respect people's time in SL.

HI! challenge, day 12

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 12. 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

 

Opportunities to talk with new people come when you least expect them. Today I had seen this on the feeds. Do I need a cute little tree avatar? Hell yes I do! So I wandered over to Fallen Gods to hunt for the little blue star. I don't know if it was me, or SL, or FG, or what ... but it was super laggy there. Lots of people were around. I decided to hang out by the lucky chairs to wait for things to rez, hoping for my letter to be called in the meantime.

There is also a lucky fortune teller thingy there. You know, where two people sit down and the fortune teller thingy gives one of you a "fortune" and then "tests" your "compatibility." Wow, lotsa quotation marks in that previous sentence. Anyhoot, if you get 100%, you get the prize in the machine. Otherwise, try again with another person. Or with the same person. Because, you know, it's not really compatibility but the statistical stuff in the machine.

Rez rez rez ... there is a man standing next to me, facing the fortune teller thingy.

[15:14]  Jaysen Silvercloud: wanna try Owly?
[15:14]  Owly Indigo: sure ;-D

Normally I would have been overcome with shyness and tp'd the hell out. But I thought, why not? I didn't know what the prize was, but if it helps someone out, well, sure.


[15:14]  Lucky Fortune Teller whispers: But wait! The spirits wish to test for an astral connection!
[15:14]  Lucky Fortune Teller whispers: Jaysen Silvercloud and Owly Indigo have a mystic connection of 100%
[15:14]  Owly Indigo: no
[15:14]  Owly Indigo: way
[15:14]  Owly Indigo: hahahahaha
[15:15]  Lucky Fortune Teller whispers: Congratulations, the prize is yours!
[15:15]  Jaysen Silvercloud: OMG
[15:15]  Lucky Fortune Teller owned by Alia Baroque gave you 'ARBOREAL fortunes +Fallen Gods Inc.+ (boxed)'  ( http://slurl.com/secondlife/Selidor/194/115/24 ).
[15:15]  Owly Indigo: YAY!!!!
[15:15]  Jaysen Silvercloud: dang
[15:15]  Jaysen Silvercloud: lol
[15:15]  Owly Indigo: that NEVER works for me!
[15:15]  Jaysen Silvercloud: lol crazy
[15:15]  Owly Indigo: wow ... what did we get!?

Dude. DUDE. WE GOT TREE AVS!!!

Amazing, yeah? Also, please note he said "dang" which automatically makes him superawsum. We were marvelling over our surprising luck when his brother came by, and he asked me to try the mystic connection with him too, but ...

[15:16]  Fallen Gods Inc. Fate Chair: This prize wasn't claimed... so let's try a new magic letter.
[15:16]  Fallen Gods Inc. Fate Chair: Next Prize: +Fallen Gods Inc.+ Elemental Choker and Necklace
[15:16]  Fallen Gods Inc. Fate Chair: Looking for a winner whose name begins with.... O.

WHAAAAA? Yeah, it was my lucky day! I got a feather necklace! Wheeeeee! The brother had to wait while I got my lucky chair thing, lol. I did not have a mystic connection with the brother however. Nor with any of the other people I sat on the fortune thing with, alas. We talked a bit more about the avs, he pointed out my shoes were still on, we exclaimed over the flower-filled holes in the chest. He bemoaned the lack of elf ear availability, and I noted that although there are many twig/vine attachments, there appeared to be one missing for his av. *ahem* He predicted FG would come out with one eventually! I found the perfect hair to go with my av too ... the Miasnow Partridge in a Hair Tree one. Then I told him about this challenge, and he was very gracious about taking the photo, cycling through a number of hairs to find his perfect one! Eventually something came up for me so I tp'd away, but not without thanking him for his kind invitation to test our mystical connection.

lol


Here's what I learned: Talking with strangers can be lucky! ;-)

HI! challenge, day 11

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 11. 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

 

It is late. I have been offline most of the day, and I didn't think I would be able to complete the challenge for day 11. I was kind of moping about this to PT, and he said something along the lines of noooooooooooooooo let's go meet someone right now! LOL. I was tired and unwilling, but he was encouraging.

[22:33]  PT Beardmore: can you try?
[22:33]  Owly Indigo: someone is on the sim
[22:33]  Owly Indigo: we could try that person?
[22:34]  PT Beardmore: ok!
[22:34]  PT Beardmore: you gotta say hi first for it to count

He meant he couldn't say hi first, I had to be the initiator. I agreed! We found there was someone floating over by Sweet Antidote. She was either a shopper or a hunter, but either way, I was going to attempt contact. She appeared to be some sort of dark fairy, with all sorts of things strapped to her legs and arms. Her AO was adorable; she was floating and cycling through cute poses. Anyway, I said hello to her, and PT did too. I commented on her AO. PT said some stuff. I said more stuff. And uhhhhhh ... she didn't say anything.

lol

Ok, so I didn't get permission for this photo, but her face is not really visible, and I wanted to show you the heart attached to her arm. She is wearing her heart on her sleeve! Or arm. Or something. Awwwwww ... creepy!

Here's what I learned: Sometimes people are just afk. Also, good friends are good motivators when you are ready to just go to bed instead of staying committed to a challenge. :-)

HI! challenge, day 10

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 10. 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

 

So who did Owly meet today!? PT and I were standing around the Home Sim market, just cracking each other up, when Spock Jupiter tp'd in. He had rented an office on our sim a while back, and we hadn't seen him in a while. It was nice to catch up! He mentioned he had a new girlfriend whom he had brought to the sim earlier, and lo, she came online and he tp'd her over.

We were having a lovely conversation when PT reminded me ...

[10:55]  PT Beardmore: Natalie counts as a new person!

HA! Of course! I nearly forgot! So I asked her if she would be my stranger of the day, and she agreed. We friended each other, we chit chatted some more, I found out she works in a club, and hopefully she and Spock will be regulars around the Home Sim as well. ;-)

Here's what I learned: Friends of friends are a great way to meet new people.

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 ...

HI! challenge, day 08

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 08. 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 indiscriminately!!! :-D

Awwww, I met a newb today! And no, ChatBrat, I wasn't preying on newbs in a welcome area. ;-P I was at Designers United 4, of all places. How does a 1-day newb find DU4? This wasn't a fake newb on an alt, this person really seemed new.

Let me just say up front there are no names or pictures this time because the person got freaked out and logged before I could ask. LOL!

So there I am at DU4. I am waiting for the lovely dresses and whatnot of loveliness to rez, because I cannot buy you, lovely pixel thing, if I cannot see you. I am totally not looking at people, I am waiting for the rez. Then I see this in local:

[02:17 PM]  ..::STOP CLICKIN ME SYSTEM::..V3.0: Why u tryna b me!!, Owly Indigo.

omggggggggggg I did ctrl alt t and sure enough there is somebody with a big red ball around them. Erm ... yeah, I'm tryna b u. God, I wish I had thought to take a picture of that person, because she had an av as ugly as her g-dropping stop clickin me system. I was sooooooooooo tempted to click this person repeatedly. So tempted. It was a huge struggle not to. Sigh.

Anyway ... I also see in local that there is a person (I never did discover if it was male, female, other) trying to say hi and chat with people in local. And someone says to this person ...

 im lagging, not a good place to chit chat, sorry.

Seriously? That's how you brush someone off, "I'm laggy"? Though I have to admit, finding a one-day newb at DU4 was weird, and people at sales events like DU4 are focused. The poor newb said:

[02:23 PM]  newb: sorry but i'm new here
[02:23 PM]  newb: and i didn't know
[02:24 PM]  newb: ok bye

/me cries. I'll talk to you lil newbie friend!

[02:24 PM]  Owly Indigo: hi [name removed] welcome to second life ;-)
[02:25 PM]  newb: hi
[02:25 PM]  newb: thnx
[02:26 PM]  newb: this is my first day here
[02:26 PM]  newb: how are you?
[02:26 PM]  Owly Indigo: I saw that in yoru profile!
[02:26 PM]  Owly Indigo: your*
[02:27 PM]  Owly Indigo: what made you sign up?
[02:27 PM]  newb: i didn't know anything here
[02:27 PM]  newb: imvu is so easy
[02:28 PM]  newb: oh yes, there is a HUGE learning curve with SL
[02:28 PM]  Owly Indigo: and I have to say ... people at this event are pretty focused and probably not so into chatting right now lol
[02:28 PM]  Owly Indigo: but ... if you have any questions, I'd be glad to help if I can ;-)
[02:28 PM]  Owly Indigo: and I have a LM to a newb-friendly sim you could explore
[02:28 PM]  newb: thnx you are so nice
[02:29 PM]  Inventory item offered
[02:29 PM]  Owly Indigo: that is a landmark to my sim ... there is a coffee shop there, and some stores, and parks
[02:29 PM]  newb: ok but i must leave now
[02:30 PM]  Owly Indigo: ok! hope you enjoy playing in SL! ;-D
[02:30 PM]  Owly Indigo: see you later ...
[02:30 PM]  newb: i will  talk later

Yay! Ok, sure, I came on a little strong and made the person go ohokIgottagonowbye (which of course I totally did myself when people talked to me when I was a newb), but at least now this person knows not everyone in SL is a stuck up heartless too-busy-to-talk-to-you jerk. I may never see him/her/it again, but I do hope he/she/it has fun exploring SL.

And then I shopped some more! (dance)

HI! challenge, day 07

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 07. This fyi will appear at the top of each post. All photos and chat are used with permission.

 

Holy moly, I'm really slipping now. Yesterday I didn't come inworld at all, and today ... well. I was inworld. I wanted to meet two new people today, to make up for yesterday's failure. Ummmmm. I was at the Albatross, people were there, two of whom I wasn't that familiar with. I might have met one before, but neither of us were sure. I was distracted by several different issues, there was lots going on, and I failed to get clearance to post chat and photos. So. Yeah. One of them, the one I'm pretty sure I had not met before, I friended on plurk, so that will certainly be an opportunity for us to learn more about each other later. ;-) Hopefully I will suck less tomorow. But ... uh ... don't hold your breath.

Here's what I learned: Sometimes you might meet someone you met before, so just go with it. Also, well, this I didn't learn so much as know - plurk is a great way to get to know, I mean REALLY get to know, people that you know (or don't know) inworld.

wow, I suck today

HI! challenge, day 06

I has RATHER A SAD. I have not been inworld at all today, and won't make it in before midnight. Therefore, I will be unable to talk with a stranger in SL and blog it. Hopefully I can meet TWO new people tomorrow! We'll see how it goes.

What can one do? RL comes first.

HI! challenge, day 05

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 05. This fyi will appear at the top of each post. And starting from this point, all photos and chat are used with permission.

So how did I meet a stranger today? I was hanging around my yard this afternoon, looking at the bunnies and thinking I needed to buy more food, when I noticed a couple of avs rez into FireGOOD!!! and start fishing off the back dock. I thought about saying hello to them, but then I thought, well, bunnies have been neglected and need to eat now. LOL. I got my bunny food off xstreet (omg, so much easier than fighting the lag on the Ozimals sim), and when I returned to SL, the fishers were gone (already!?). But there was someone walking toward the aviary ...

This is Atticus Fang. I said hello and apologized for the unfinished state of the aviary. (When am I going to finish it, anyway!?) He said he thought the owl was watching him, and he asked if this was my build. From there we talked about birds and birding and aviaries and peoplewatching. He found our sim by searching for coffee shops. We also talked about living in a deconsecrated church building, the earthquake in Assisi, the well-deserved popularity of Florence, and Italy in general. I gave him the bookclub notecard, we talked about books and reading, and then ...

[18:16]  Atticus Fang: i am finding that many of the books i dreaded reading as a kid
[18:16]  Atticus Fang: are turning out to be my favorites as an adult
[18:17]  Owly Indigo: oh! like which ones ... ?
[18:18]  Atticus Fang: this conversation just got personal. revealing your favourite books is sort of like baring your soul
[18:18]  Atticus Fang: lol
[18:18]  Owly Indigo: eep, I'm sorry ;-)
[18:18]  Owly Indigo: I got a little enthusiastic
[18:18]  Atticus Fang: no no no its great
[18:19]  Atticus Fang: its not often that i get to have these conversations here

Well, that's gonna change, because he joined book club! Hooray! We had such a nice, though brief, conversation, I felt emboldened to tell him about my challenge and ask ...


[18:20]  Owly Indigo: would you be ok with being my stranger for the day? ;-D
[18:20]  Atticus Fang: heck yeah!

I also felt emboldened to add him to my friends list. !!!! This is the first time during this challenge that I've felt comfortable enough with someone to ask.

[18:24]  Atticus Fang: See ya soon bird lady!

Awwwwwww. :-D


Here's what I've learned: It is amazing how you find common ground when you just start talking! I mean, he had been to my most favorite city in the world (Assisi), how cool is that? That is not something you learn from a profile, it's something you learn through conversing. Atticus, I look forward to talking with you more!

HI! challenge, day 04

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 04. This fyi will appear at the top of each post. 

 

This has not been a very SLful day for me ... nonetheless I remain committed to the challenge. I did talk to a stranger today: I got an offline IM that a shop on the sim had been rented, so I sent a welcoming IM and a group invite to the renter. She was offline at the time, and later when I was offline, she sent me an IM that said thank you, and that she had gotten the group invite. That was all. Hopefully we'll get a chance to have a real conversation soon - I'm excited she's joined us! Obviously I did not mention the challenge or the blog, so no chat log or photo.

Here's what I learned: Sometimes it's just all business ...

HI! challenge, day 03

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 03. This fyi will appear at the top of each post.

Yesterday, something Sam said (dang, what was it?) gave me the idea to try saying hello to someone based purely on what their avatar looked like, without any profile perving to give me a conversation opener. I planned to do this after I did Fifty Linden Friday, since I figured anyone doing FLF would be FOCUSED and unwilling to converse.

But surprise!!!

[10:12]  Beth Innovia: tag you're it
[10:12]  Beth Innovia: :]
[10:13]  Owly Indigo: I'm it?
[10:13]  Beth Innovia: yup
[10:14]  Owly Indigo: oh! erm ... what's the game? lol
[10:14]  Beth Innovia: tag!

durrr ... I was being very silly. I really didn't realize she was talking to me at first. But it was true, we were kind of chasing each other from one FLF location to the next.

[10:14]  Owly Indigo: OH! I saw you at the other store! haha I remember the cute dress ;-D
[10:14]  Beth Innovia: hehe yeah i think i'm following you :]
[10:14]  Beth Innovia: and thank you
[10:14]  Owly Indigo: but now I'm it! hehe

I can't help but wonder if this is "fair" for the challenge - because I did not initiate the conversation. Nonetheless, it was a conversation with a stranger. I will wait for Ariel to rule on that, and just go with it this time!

So what happened? We talked about FLF and shopping ... she sent me the notecard for "omg that's adorable." It was really pleasant to have someone to talk to while FLFing, rather than just the rapid tp in, rez, buy (or not), tp to the next that I'm used to.

Last time, I felt a little uncomfortable not mentioning the blog, so this time, I decided nothing but full disclosure would do, if I was going to post here about it.*

[10:34]  Owly Indigo: beth, thanks again for the omg adorable notecard ... and may I ask you a question?
[10:35]  Owly Indigo: I am working on a blogging project where I talk to one stranger a day in SL - would it be ok if you were my stranger for today? lol ...
[10:35]  Owly Indigo: I'm basically asking to use your name and a photo of you ... it's totally ok if not
[10:35]  Owly Indigo: it's nice to meet someone friendly in SL ;-)







Ten minutes go by, and I think, "OH GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE!?" but then ...

[10:46]  Beth Innovia: oh yeah definitely :D
[10:46]  Beth Innovia: sorry, had to run afk hehe
[10:46]  Owly Indigo: yay thanks! haha ... it's np, I took a photo before I tp'd away, just in case you said yes!
[10:46]  Beth Innovia: woot!
[10:46]  Beth Innovia: :]
[10:47]  Owly Indigo: my challenge was to say hi to a stranger actually ... but you contacted me first! yay
[10:47]  Beth Innovia: hehe
[10:47]  Beth Innovia: its bad enough we go by our daily real lives without a word to other people, in SL there are no excuses :]

In SL there are no excuses. How amazing a viewpoint is that!? We talked a little more about where we are from, and then I crashed. Hopefully we'll play FLF tag again sometime. Here's the photo I took of her really quickly, she's wearing that cute leafy dress from Miel:

See? CUTE!

Here's what I learned: Sometimes, you don't have to be the first one to say hello. Also, if you are on a hunt or doing something that involves tp'ing from place to place, and you keep seeing the same person over and over ... well, you have at least one thing in common - the hunt or FLF or whatever - so why not acknowledge each other and work on it together? "In SL there are no excuses!"

*OH BY THE WAY I had already decided to do full disclosure with the subsequent people I would talk to before some self-righteous, self-satisfied, shit-stirring and self-appointed interwebs police decided to call me unprofessional, uncredible, rude, and uncool (did I ever set myself up as someone who is professional, credible, polite, or cool? NO) for doing this challenge, without even reading my posts. Aw, see what I did there? I went and judged some people based on very little information. That's no good is it? Think of the children!

HI! challenge, day 02

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 02. This fyi will appear at the top of each post. 

When I logged in, I found myself on Tableau, in Wrigglesworth, where the old people av stuff is at. (Yeah, I just said "is at.") And what ... WHAT did I immediately find on my radar but someone with an AWSUM NAME! Moldy Tangerine! I thought, here is the person I don't know that I want to talk to today! Because how great is that name!?

I felt a little shifty though ... she was walking away, and I didn't want to chase her down. That would be creepy. She went into Paper Couture. Oh hey, I had a reason to go there, I needed a slurl. And look, there's a bird ring, I don't have that, I should buy it. Dang, it's cute. And also ... OH HI there is that person with the great name, in the same shop, imagine that, I'm gonna say HI!!!!

[09:05 AM]  Owly Indigo: LOL ... you probably get this a lot but ... I love your name! ;-D

[09:06 AM]  Moldy Tangerine: ha, thanks, was about to say the same to you !

Wheeeeee! And it was a lovely conversation ... she doesn't like dirt, I don't like dirt, etc. She looked at my profile and asked me about the Home Sim and book club ... I gave her a LM and the book club notecard.

So we're talking about this and that, and I get an IM from ChatBrat:

[09:17 AM]  ChatBrat Pippita: Hi Stranger! I wonder if you would like to chat with me and form a community? (PEBD)

[09:17 AM]  Owly Indigo: cb! heheheheheheh

[09:17 AM]  Owly Indigo: I am talking with someone noooooowwwwww

[09:17 AM]  ChatBrat Pippita: w00t

[09:17 AM]  ChatBrat Pippita: preying on n00bs is cheating

[09:17 AM]  Owly Indigo: tsk

[09:18 AM]  Owly Indigo: her rez date is 2006

[09:18 AM]  Owly Indigo: neener!

So CB tp's over and says hi too, we talk about book club, and it sounds like Moldy will come if she can and might bring her sister along. This is like, the fantasy encounter of the project, and it's only day 2. I should also mention that the following was said:

[09:19 AM]  Moldy Tangerine: ah thanks you have restored my faith in people today....it was fading a little today

[09:19 AM]  Owly Indigo: aw! I'm so glad to hear that!

Which made me feel a little guilty. I felt the need to disclose the challenge.

[09:21 AM]  Owly Indigo: well ... I need to be honest with you in that case ... I am on a mission to talk to one stranger a day in SL ...

[09:21 AM]  Owly Indigo: and your name encouraged me to say hi ... and I'm so glad I did!

But I did not go so far as to disclose the blog. And I feel a little bad about that, because I don't want anyone to feel like this challenge is the ONLY reason I am saying hi. I really do want to meet more people, that was the impetus of the challenge. Also, the blog aspect of the project brings up some ethical issues: should I be copy/pasting conversations? Should I be using real names? Should I post pictures?

This time, I decided to go with no pictures. I just don't feel comfortable using a photo without someone's permission. I've used her real name, because the name is what made me think, "she seems cool, I want to say hi." Also, it was a positive interaction. If I have a negative one during this project, maybe I won't use names. I don't know - we'll just have to see how it goes.

Here, have a not-so-great photo of the ring I found:

Here's what I learned: Having a clever name is a great conversation-starter, as there is a good chance the person might be as interesting and clever as the name. Also, it's good to put interesting details in your profile if you want to meet people, as that helps break the ice. I mean, I read hers and commented on it, but she also read and commented on mine. Two-way street, my friends! Furthermore, I learned that I need to be sensitive to how the people I say hello to might feel about appearing in these posts. I suppose I will take that on a case-by-case basis.