CVL Travelogue #3 Roleplays in 1920's Berlin

CVL Travelogue members and guests met their tour leader at the Teleportplatz

As I've written in two other articles, the CVL Travelogue group continues its tours with #3 on September 18 to 1920's Berlin.  The 1920's Berlin Project tour was conducted by Rosemary Thyme who met our group and visitors at the Berlin Teleportplatz where freebie period clothing was available for those who needed them.  Although we were told that the Berlin Project is not a strict role-play sim, it's best to look and act the part as much as possible. 

The train ride into Berlin was fast.

The group's favorite spot, the library

Outside the Club Eldorado

From the Teleportplatz, we took the train into Berlin.  After disembarking, Rosemary gave us the history of the sim and some interesting tidbits of information as we visited such places as Der Keller (a backstreet where you can dance and listen to 1920's music); Alexanderplatz (where the municipal building, stores, and residential areas are found); Club Eldorado (open every Saturday for Cabaret/burlesque shows and concerts); Magdalenenkirche (the church where services are held each week); the library (our favorite spot); the museum (which is closed now but offers exhibits occasionally); the Odeon theater (that features concerts and performances regularly); the Unter den Linden (famous square in Berlin); Adlon (a luxury hotel that is almost always booked to capacity and where the second anniversary ball recently took place); the school Hindenburg schule (the only place on the sim that allows voice chatting and where language classes are given); the police station; and the final stop, the night club der Keller, where Rosemary told us there is a "happy hour" every night.

The Church

 

The luxurious Adlon Hotel

 

The language school

 

The Unter den Linden with blimp above

Second CVL Travelogue Tour Visits the Past

In a previous blog, I wrote about the fun and entertainment sims that the CVL Travelogue featured on their first tour. On July 17, the CVL Travelolgue group conducted a second tour of historical sims. The places visited included the First World War Poetry Digital Archive, Virtual Harlem, and Virtual Montmarte. The First Wold War Poetry Digital Archive tour was led by Csteph Submariner and the Virtual Harlem and Virtual Montmarte tours were led by Bryan Mnemonic.

The CVL Travelogue Group and guests at the
 WWI Poetry Digital Archives

Touring the Trenches

The first stop on the historical tour was the World War I Poetry Digital Archive where the group and guests, led by Csteph Submariner (Christopher Stephens in RL) of the University of Oxford, visited the camp and trenches.  Since time was limited and there is a vast amount of very detailed historical information to see and learn about, it was suggested that participants visit again on their own.  A free HUD is available to teleport between sites.  Videos and notecards highlight the immersive historical experience.  At the campsite, there are realistic illustrations of wartime living conditions on the front down to scary, animated rats. The group and visitors agreed that this is an important and very well-created build.  We later learned that funding for this project was discontinued in 2009 and that Submarinar is in need of keeping it going.  He wrote an email to the head of the CVL Travelogue group asking her help in sending an email in support of the WWI Poetry Arachive to

stuart....@oucs.ox.ac.uk -- Director: computing Services
katharine.lind...@oucs.ox.ac.uk -- Project manager: WWI Poetry Digital
Archive

CVL Travelogue tour group at the Cotton Club

The Virtual Harlem tour led by Bryan Mnemonic (Bryan Carter in RL), Associate Professor of  English at the University of Central Missouri, began at the Dark Tower mansion, the office of Dr. Menemonic.  After a brief introduction, Menemonic gave a tour of several sites in 1920's Virtual Harlem, the famous Cotton Club jazz club and two locations that featured student art exhibits.  Afterwards, he led everyone across the bridge to France where we visited Virtual Montmarte, a very authentic-looking French village with some nice shops and sites. 

Virtual Montmarte

A slightly larger number of people joined us for the history tour, and we hope that more will come to the next one which may possibly focus on roleplay sims.  There are so many places to visit in SL, and the CVL Travelogue is a great way to learn of them and become introduced to the different location themes.  The group is always in need of volunteers and has its own Google as well as SL group to communicate its meetings and events.

Pets are the Best Friends in RL and SL

I am amazed at the number and variety of Second Life pets. After purchasing two Amaretto horses last year, I recently picked up two Kittycats that were being given away free in honor of SL8B.  As a cat lover in RL and one who even created a SL pet memorial center (Rainbow Gardens Pet Memorial Center) when my own cat died last year, I found that one can really form an attachment to virtual pets.  I nearly lost my boy cat, Magic, to a SL inventory glitch but was relieved when the great folks at Kittycats were able to retrieve him for me in less than 24 hours.

I found a cute milk carton house for my kitties and then added some other virtual pets -- a bunny, free Fourth of July Biobreeds Beagle, a blue jay (I keep in a cage), and an aquarium.  Not all of these pets need to be fed and most are relatively low prim, but, as in real life, there is still a cost to keeping them (but no vet bills except the fee for some medicine if they do get sick).  The best thing, of course, is that they don't die.  However, Amarettos can be sent to "Horse Haven," and Kittycats can go to "Happily Forever," if you don't want to sell them or keep them for some reason. 

I have to say I enjoy my SL pets, and they are somewhat easier to care for than RL pets.  I'm glad SL offers this option for pet lovers.

Time Flies When You're Busy

Okay, so I just realized I haven't written for this blog since April.  I simply haven't had the time.  Between working full-time at the library, taking care of my six- year old daughter (I can't believe she's going into second grade already in the fall), and keeping up with my Second Life, it isn't easy.  Yes, I know, if I cut my online time, I'd have a lot more time to do things (but writing this blog, of course, wouldn't be one of them).  So what would I do if I had the time?  I gave this some consideration and came up with a theme for this post.  It's not a bucket list or a list of resolutions.  It's simply stuff I'd do if I had some extra hours in the day.  And btw this is not in any order of priority because I had no time to do that -- lol.

1.  Get more sleep (I know that's not being productive, but after learning that not getting 8 hours of sleep a night can put on weight, it makes me wonder what I'm missing).

2.  Get more excercise (I still can't seem to find the time to work out too often and this also goes along with #1 as far as weight loss).

3.  Read more books (I used to read so much more before I had a child or started SL.  Both of these take a toll on that, although I have read a lot more kids books and  notecards -- lol).

4.  Write another novel  (I miss writing but never seem to get back to it).

5.  Write to sell (maybe getting back to article writing would be more worthwhile and pay more).

6.  Take a class (I enjoy learning and wouldn't mind taking a class to learn something new, but I'd probably gravitate toward a computer class while an excercise one might be more helpful.)

7.  See my family more (it seems I hear less and less from my relatives, and some of us only communicate on Facebook).

8.  Buy more stuff for myself (not online).  I'm not much of a shopper but, besides buying online in rl or SL, I hardly shop in stores anymore and when I do, I end up buying stuff for my daughter.

9.  Travel (of course this takes money, too)

10.  Clean (this is a big one.  I tried the little by little approach in my house organizing my desk and closets, and it takes forever.  If I had a chunk of time, I could really do it justice).

11.  Go to the doctors and dentist (I hate taking time off from work or vacation to do this, but the longer you put appointments off, the worse it gets).

12.  Spend more time in Second Life (oh, no.  Sad but true).

Hoppy Easter

My daughter is very excited about Easter which is natural at her age (6), but her excitement was dampened by a case of strep throat recently.  Hopefully, she will be all better by Easter and, since she is in Catholic school, she has the week after Easter off and should definitely be recovered by then.  I'm planning our annual Easter Egg hunt where I hide eggs filled with toys and candy around the house on Easter morning (I won't hide any real eggs, although we will color them.  The plastic eggs are safer to hide in case some are not discovered (when real ones go bad, they tend to smell).  We will also be spending time with family, and she will not doubt get lots of baskets, candy, and small Easter toys. 

Dulcie in her bunny outfit at Rainbow Gardens

In Second Life, I've already hosted two Easter parties -- one for my Rainbow Gardens Pet Memorial Center and one for my neighbors on Seahorse Isle.  It was nice to interchange decorations and dance balls, althoughI had enough room to set up an egg hunt on Seahorse and enough prims for a 10-person bunny hunt line dance.  Most people came with ears and tails, and we even had one avatar bunny.  It was a lot of fun. 

Dulcie in the SING party bunny  hop line

Throughout the month, I've also participated in SL egg hunts sponsored by some shops and enjoyed visiting Easter Town where I  had the chance to race on the back of a Peep and float in an Easter eggshell (where else but in SL could you do that?) and also hunt eggs and bunny hop.

Dulcie in an Easter eggshell at Easter Town

Whatever you do in rl or sl to celebrate Easter, have a "Hoppy" one!

Spring in SL

I know it snowed here the other day, although it cleared up pretty quickly, but spring is still on its way despite the cold temps.  In Second Life, you can have spring, summer, or any season you want all year round.  But if you prefer to follow the calendar, you can start working on your house and garden to make it ready.



Dulcie on her new patio

Dulcie by her new fountain

 As March came around, I began to think it would be nice to add some outdoor stuff to my SL house.  I "planted" some flowers and added a patio.  I found a nice bistro table and chairs set that coordinated nicely with the wrought iron fence around my house and then bought a fountain from the same shop where I'd found the furniture, B&D Designs.  The price and prims were reasonable, and the arrangement comfortable for spending more time outdoors. 

Another spring project at my house includes breeding my two Amaretto horses, a feat I'm not sure how is accomplished but which should yield some interesting results.  My female horse, Star, actually just became pregnant to my surprise by our male horse, Steam.  I was playing around with the breeding menu, and I guess I did something right.  The little foal is expected on Tuesday.

I'm also planning some Easter parties at home as well as at my pet memorial center.  What is spring without an Easter egg hunt, spring outfit, and bunny hop dances?  In SL, all of these are in abundance. I look forward to the warmer weather in rl but, for now, I am enjoying spring in SL.

First Travelogue Tour

I recently joined the CVL (Community Virtual Library) Travelogue group, a new group that will offer tours of a variety of Second Life places on a quarterly basis.  Our first tour's theme was "Places to Play."  We visited 3 locations: Chelsea's Diner and Bowling Alley; http://slurl.com/secondlife/Vitae/127/162/1503, and the Celestial Game Tower. 



Chelsea's diner and bowling alley
1st stop on Travelogue Tour

 At Chelsea's Diner and Bowling Alley, our guide, Aiyden Crystal, showed us around the diner and bowling alley that also featured a nice game room.  The bowling alley has three lanes that can accomodate groups of 4 per team.  He also showed us a bit of the Butterfly Kisses sim which is PG-rated.  We saw the ice cream shop, and he pointed out some of the clothing and other stores that are on the sim, as well as a mini golf course.  Everyone agreed this is a great place to go with friends.



Bumper Cars next to the Movies @ Vitae
2nd stop on Travelogue Tour

 The next stop on the Travelogue tour was the Movies and bumper cars @ Vitae where I showed the group the theater that features a concession stand with popcorn and other goodies and shows full-length films.  By clicking on the box in front of the screen and adjusting your media settings, you have your choice of shows.  All directions are on a notecard, and you can even sync the movies for your friends to watch the same shows with you.  Next to the theater is the bumper cars which temporarily rez at your command and disappear when you vacate them.  Groups can have a lot of fun playing on these, and our group enjoyed a hands-on demonstration.



Celestial Game Tower
Final stop on Travelogue Tour

 The last location visite was the Celestial Game Tower where owner, Sorina Garrigus, showed us an amazing collection of all types of SL games that can be purchased or played on-site.  She said there are over 300 games on display! 

The next set of tours will be of historical places, and I am looking forward to attending, if not leading the group this time.  There are so many places to see in SL, so a group like the CVL Travelogue is one that can help introduce residents to those they have never visited before and may definitely want to explore further on their own.

My Rockin Rez Day

I just turned 4 in Second Life yesterday, and I celebrated with some friends.  We went to a bowling alley and then to a fifties-themed sim.  We all dressed up in 50's clothes.  It was a real blast. 



Chelsea's Bowling Alley and Diner

The Chelsea's diner and bowling alley is on the Butterfly Kisses sim.  Besides bowling, there are several other things to do both indoors and outdoors including a movie theater and mini golf course.  The building that houses the bowling alley also has an arcade room and diner.  The bowling alley has 3 lanes, and 4 people can be on a team.  It's a little tricky to learn how to maneauver the ball in mouselook, but my friends seemed to catch on pretty quickly.  I still need to practice, but I'd definitely recommend it as a fun night out.


Celebrating my Rerz Day with  Friends at Runaround Sue's

 Runaround Sue's is a great 50's themed sim with a full calendar of DJ music playing terrific oldies.  The dance floor itself has some incredible dances from the twist to line dancing to just great Rock and Roll moves.  There is even dancing inside the ice cream shop/diner that also sells some fifties clothes and hair.  The rest of the sim is quite attractive with a lighthouse, lover's lane, and shops selling a variety of 50's items -- all with a laid-back summer feel.  Posters of popular fifties personalities decorate the main walkway.  It's the kind of place that's fun to visit anytime and is especially fun to go to with friends. 

I enjoyed my rockin rez day and hope to go back to both places again.

My SL Horses!



Dulcie with Star, a white female Palomino Amaretto

I don't ride horses in real life, but I thought it would be fun to buy some horses in Second Life.  I had no idea the marketplace for them is so big.  Not only can you buy a horses to ride, you can buy ones that breed, too!  It seems horses is a big SL business.  They are sold, auctioned, and housed.  The most popular are the Amarettos. 

I began to shop for just the right horse, but I didn't realize how much was involved.  These horses have stats, information about parentage, eye color, need to be fed, kept happy by riding, and age.  A horse has to be at least 7 days to breed but no older than 120 days.  Afater 120 days, the horse will no longer breed, but you can keep it as a pet. Along with a male and female horse, unless you buy a bundle which looks like a hay bale but turns into a horse in 3 days after it is "born," you also need to buy food and  a barn or stable to keep the horse. Optional purchases include snacks, a salt lick to make it happy, aphrodesiacs if your horses aren't mating as quickly as you'd like, saddles and bridles, etc.  It can be quite costly to keep them.  Male horses are a bit more expensive to buy because there are fewer of them born. 

Now if you really want to get into horsing, there are sims you can ride them, groups you can join, and lots of cowgirl outfits and other western clothing for you to wear.  I took a few shots of myself with one of my horses wearing some of my new cowgirl outfits.  Yeere Hah!

My SL Valentine

I have to admit that I have never been to a SL Valentine's party in the nearly four years I've been a resident.  But this year, some friends and I are having one up on the top level of our new clubhouse/treehouse.  I found some decorations on the Marketplace and in my inventory and helped set up the deck that overlooks our beautiful winter scenery.  The view is nothing short of breathtaking.  I got lucky finding a heart dance floor that also included a set of twinkling red heart lights that I strung all around. 

All that was left before the party was for me to decide what to wear.  Not an easy task in rl or SL!  We had decided that the dress code for the party would be formal, so I went about checking all my red, pink, and purple gowns to see what was suitable.  I also looked in my favorite stores to see what they were offering.  Since SL clothing tends to be a bit revealing, which is often an understatement, I wanted something that was attractive but classy. I narrowed it down to 3 dresses and had to try them on with accessories. My choices were between a pink and purple gown with wide bustle skirt and surprise bustline from Lushish Catz,

a slimline dark gown with high leg slit and ruby heart accents along the shoulder from Dressed by Lexi,

and a simple yet captivating gown from Yess that came with 3 skirt options.

I considered a new hairstyle, but I couldn't find anything I liked better than my current style.  Of course, I had to have a manicure and find the right makeup to go with everything.  It seems that even in SL, women have a harder time getting ready for these things.

So when I finally chose the perfect outfit, and it turned out not to even be one of the above -- lol, I was prepared for the party.  I also ended up changing my hair to show off my jewelry.  I had to say my avatar looked gorgeous, sexy but not slutty, which is what I was striving for.  I am a librarian, after all.

Trying to Lose It!

I think the most popular New Year's resolution is to lose weight, especially since we all overeat during the holidays.  But for those, like myself, who keep procrastinating starting a diet, it can give a nudge for us to begin.  Now I admit that it isn't easy to get started, keep at it, and then maintain any loss you achieve.  That's been my problem over the several diets I've been on in my lifetime.  But, lately, I decided that dieting is not really the answer for people who need to lose. Healthy eating and exercising is more important.

Since I'm a librarian, I am aware of all the weight loss books out there, and any new diets that appear in print. Before Christmas, I read the Mayo Clinic diet and thought it might be good to try because it focused on healthy eating and exercising. I bought myself a copy for Christmas. I still hadn't started dieting until a few days ago because I had to find the right time to start. The ironic thing is that, just before I was ready to begin, I read a Facebook post about a website called "Lose It" where you can calculate your calories and exercises over the internet and also on your iphone. Since it was free, I thought I'd take a look at it.

Screen from iphone app

I was surprised to find that Lose It, for a free online program with an accompanying app, is so well designed.  I hardly needed to access help to use it.  Another good feature is the forums and friends option so that people using it can support one another.  The weekly reports, goals, and motivators are also nice to use, and the numerous reward badges are fun and inspiring. There is a book that actually was written after the program launched, and I have it on reserve at my library but only out of curiousity, as the program itself is self explanatory.  It can be used with any diet, although it is based on calorie counting.  Although the Mayo Clinic diet doesn't require calorie counting but habit changes, the two of them work well together, at least for the three days I've been on it.  I'm not sure if I've lost anything, but I've been keeping to it and will know on Sunday. 

What I like most about Lose It (and I'm not a rep), is that, for people like me who spend a lot of time on the computer (most of who are overweight btw), it is a convenient way of keeping track of what you are eating which is a very important part of dieting. And, when you are away from the computer, you can track things on your iphone, both sync perfectly.  Of course, the price itself makes it worth it to try.  Trying to Lose It with Lose It makes a hard undertaking a little bit easier.

Snowbound Makes for SL Decorating Fun



 Well, the East got hit again with another snowstorm, and I'm off from work today.  I had some time to play around with my SL house (yes, I know I should've spent that time cleaning my rl house, but this is way more fun).  In any case, I decided to decorate for Valentine's Day, and one thing led to another.  As you can see, I added a beautiful silk-upholstered red couch, chair, and love seat to my living room with gold accent pillows and a heart rug.  The whole set came from ETC., including the vases of roses, candles and endtables.  Actually, there was much more to this set, but I didn't want to use too many prims (although most items in it are quite reasonable).

What you may not notice in my photo is the grouping of Valentine cards on my fireplace mantle shelf.  A low-prim fireplace also comes with this deal, but I decided to keep my own.  If you want to add some pretty boxes of gift-wrapped presents, those are in the set, as well. 

Although this furniture is intended for Valentine's Day, it can be used at other times of the year, too.  I'll probably do something lighter for the spring, but the cost was very reasonable, and so many of the pieces can be interchaged. 

There are some other decorations I added independent from this set, and I haven't included the Valentine gazebo I put on my property either, but let's just say I'm set for February 14.  Decorating in SL can be time consuming, but it's a lot of  fun.  I wish I could buy a living room set like that for $1.13 including delivery.

Winter Wonderings

Snow, Snow, go away. Lately, that's been my refrain. We've had a bad winter so far in the NorthEast, as have other parts of the country. Our first big storm, only a day after Christmas, brought 20 inches to our area. We got about 8 more inches last week, and they are predicting more this weekend, although the last few days have seen rain with warmer temps. I can stand the winter when it's sunny and at least 40 degrees outside, but, otherwise, I can do without it. I know I complain when it's too hot and humid in the summer, but I really love wearing less clothes and enjoying longer days.

So, I wonder, if I'm not a fan of winter in real life, why do I enjoy it so much in Second Life? Why do I find the beauty of our new snow-laden sim so breathtaking? Why have I made friends with penguins and polar bears? Why did I even buy a winter igloo and snowy gazebo for my property? Am I crazy? Well, in SL, you really can't feel the cold. But tell that to all the clothes designers who are selling sweaters and winter coats for the season. The new layer options are really helpful, too. I have to admit I'm dressing warmer in SL myself. In real life, I don't often go ice skating, but I have an ice skating rink right outside my door in Second Life. I also recently found a really fun sled that seats up to 4 people. It can get a little hairy going over mountains at top speed, but it is rather fun. I still have to master SL snowball throwing, but my boots are keeping my feet dry as I walk through prim snow.

When I am sick of outdoor winter activities in SL, I can cozy up in my snow-covered cabin by my fireplace with my kitty cat and drink some hot cocoa that is one of the choices from my bar dispenser. Or, if I am daring, I can teleport to a tropical beach and soak in the sun.

When not in SL, I don't participate in too many winter activities, and I can't take a Florida vacation to escape the cold either. So I spend most of my indoor time when I'm not at work playing board games and, yes, computer games with my daughter, reading; and, when I get especially bored, even cleaning and housework. Recently, I've also started some writing again, not novels or short stories, but blog articles. I joined a blog of two good friends, Verde and Pie, and am now writing for "Eye on the Grind" as well as "Rainbow Notes." It's another way to spend the cold months but something I can do year round, too.