Wakefulness Corinda (third person)

...As the sleepy fog cleared from her eyes, she found herself in a glade surrounded by the beautiful faces and auras of glamour that only the nymphs could possess and see.  She was certain, that this had to be a dream, she'd seen so few nymphs since she returned home to the Seven Isles.  But it was the sweet smell of (blossoms) that filled her mind, and stirred her to accept the reality.

Even though her drowsy mind could not accept how, or why she woke up in a place different to where she fell to sleep, in the heavy arms of her barrel chested-larger than life beloved, but she knew where she was; Kýpros.

With one of the maps she made herself, and a pocket full of gold from his father. Avry had paid his way back to the island where his father was born,  where nymphs were plentiful, and their lore of plants and minerals and their healing properties were rich.  It was the nymphs that nursed her out of her coma, and restored glamour inside of her that returned the bark-like patterns to her skin, and the branch like kinks and twists to her hair that had fallen flat over the years.

She knew in her heart that Eacen --more than anyone-- would love to see Kýpros again, so there must have been a good reason for him not to accompany her himself.  Of course, he had a sister, and a daughter too small for travel to care for.  There was a community, he felt a part of and could not abandon.

Kýpros may have been Eacen's home, but Corinda realized that the land she ran to looking for fellow nymphs, and fell in love with the man she would start her family with; it was her home too.  The proof was in the fact that much like being away from Seven Isles weakened due to the distance from her tree, and her family.

But she had clearly been defenseless from the changing of seasons, and the lack of presence of nymphs.  The temperate climate and special magic of the island held some form of renewal for her, too.  And she wondered, at times, if this was where her father was from, and if he had the restless traveling spirit that she and Avry possessed.  Maybe her link to Kýpros was more than just one of romance, and sisterhood.

In any event, it did not matter now.  She was awake, and invigorated and it was time to go where her heart was, to her family she had missed, even as she slept.  It would be hard to leave the now serene lands of Kýpros, but it was harder, to be away from her home, it was her Alpha and Omega.

This is how I started my morning.

Dear Customer:

                            At HP our products are designed, manufactured and serviced, to meet our high standards.  

We apologize for the possible delay in delivery of your service; however, we are diligently working on expediting your order.

We are striving to meet our estimated delivery date; in case where this is not met due to various reasons, an HP representative will attempt to contact you to communicate a new date and/or discuss possible alternative support solutions that could better meet your needs.  

Please paste the link below into your browser to get shipment status updates and contact information:

https://warp1.external.hp.com/cso_status/order_lookup.asp

Or contact 1-800-HPINVENT, where we are always ready to serve you.

Please do not reply to this email message, it was sent from an address that is not monitored.

Sincerely,

HP Americas Consumer Support

Date: 1/24/2010

Screw you guys! (at HP)

These are a few of the things that I miss (Pictures)

(Most of them older since I can't log in.  But memory lane is kind of the point.

Hanging out with my friends.
(not all of whom are pictured. You should know who you are.  And that I can't log in to fetch more snapshots)

Click here for more

Getting to Work and play at the same time

Being short.


Sillyness with Chern


Chivalry


Spanking Centaurs for their lack of Chivalry


Giving Chivalry Lessons


Chivarly lessons learned



Cerberus


Getting to meet Yip Yips (Childhood dream!) It's always nice when a celebrity lets you snap a picture!

Also:

• Naked people and wardrobe malfunctions in public.


• My spinning leek.


• Doing Flips


• Shopping


• Adult interaction (not of the porny kind.)


• My laptop and missing phone.

Things I don't miss:

THIS SKIN

Or the tattoo. Or the house.

Getting Kicked


Seeing this everytime I try and log in

.... and another thing

Odd how a crucial part of what you want to say can be completely left out once the momentum of words and typing picks up.  There is something small I meant to say all along in my post from yesterday, about alts.  It was only when I read comments (Mwah!) and re-read the post that I realized I left out something small I meant to say.

"And if I walked around saying "Psst... it's me,  Corinda! lolz" I would be taking away from my own experience. :)  This defeats the purpose.  My closest friends are also on both of my friend's lists, so I can always be reached if I need to be."

I also meant to say that while I do not go around advertising one of my avatar's connection to the other in world, I don't hide it either. :p  Obviously, by talking about it here, and having pictures from both SLs in my flickr.  I probably didn't need to state that, but decided to anyway.

I also forgot to include an alt that is *sort* of an alt for me, but really more like an accessory, and not exactly *my* Alt.  Avry Taurus, was created at a time when we thought it was pretty unrealistic for us to find a possitive parenting situation in Second Life.  Had we known Neria, (the ideal child, really.) was coming along he never would have been made.  Avry, is not always me or Eacen though...  I have a Real life child to whom he really belongs.  But RL kids lose interest in things quickly. Thus, Avry is used when he is needed by who is available.  So for me he doesn't count as an "alt" as such in my opinion.  But even if he did, who cares? It doesn't hurt anyone and it is all in good fun.

So far, this entry utterly lacks grace and is not much more than clumsy explanations.  While Master Teleny made an excellent entry in his own blog about Alts, more specifically, when Gender changes.  You can check it out here (and should! Do eeet now!)

I have my own thoughts to ramble about one day, about genders and avatars, alts or otherwise.  But I am having a hard time putting it into words. (Not that it is a delicate issue for me... I'm all for it. I guess I want to find the right ways to say Male or Female, Real Life or Second Life matters not, as long as you aren't hurting anyone, and being respectful.  More on that another time when I can wax properly.)

"Every human being has hundreds of separate people living under his skin"

I never really blog or post anything on the very public internet that I intend to be profound.  When I do, I am usually just waxing about whatever I happen to be thinking about at that moment in time.

To begin with a quote, of one of the most brilliant people in the universe:

“Every human being has hundreds of separate people living under his skin."*.

Alts have been talked to death, haven't they?  And as far as I can tell, there is never going to be an agreement on the "ethics" surrounding them.  Which is why it surprises me, that some people still find the idea of having an alt so offensive.  Let me note,  no specific incident has sparked this thought process, it's just something that vexes me from time to time.

Because let's face it, whether you have an Alt, or you don't, most people on Second Life have at least one. Some people have Alts for business, it's cheaper than paying models when your business is just starting out, for instance, and the use of Alts in business and creation extend well beyond that one example...

Then there are the recreational uses of having an Alt. It seems to me a lot of people believe this is only used when one is being malicous. It has been my experience that the majority of people with an Alt aren't really about having an alternate "Trust me!" mask for when they want to behave like a douche.  I don't think that most Alts are created to spy on anyone, or entrap them, and in the cases when they *are* made for those purposes, that person is toxic in their "main" identity too, and bullshit is going to come out of them sooner or later anyway.  I am even sympathetic to people who have a moment of weakness to the temptation in order to do things they might not otherwise do.

There are merits to having an Alt for recreational purposes that do not involve manipulation of anyone.  Someone might be trying to have a fresh start after their other Second Life left a bad taste in their mouths, or someone was harassing them.  Someone might want to have the presence of an idealized partner, child, etc to match their avatar's personality, without getting involved with an online relationship.  This really doesn't hurt anyone.  Some people just see the opportunity to be more than one person or thing,

I am one of those people. I do have an alt who is quite a bit different to my Main Avatar Corinda.  where Corinda allows me to frolic in my love for ancient mythology, Haru is my gaming nerd outlet for my love of Forgotten Realms, and -- to be bold-- a little bit of expression of my Bisexuality.  Corinda is mostly straight. Haruko, is not. at all.

I know some people feel as if the identity of an alt must be disclosed in order for anyone to truly trust the motives.  I can see the Merit in that,  but doing that also has a way of blending what might be two distinct personalities, and taking the fun out of it.  I have a few friends, for instance, that are so good at knowing their different alt, their whole way of speaking, even out of character changes, and it is truly like speaking to another.

Should I feel deceived?  No. Even if I did not know who else they are? No.  If this game was about being real all of the time, My character would not do flips, and would sometimes walk with a cane when I am having a bad flare.  It's a different reality for me, often times when I am having a terrible day, when I am asked, I can genuinely respond through Corinda as having a good one.  Just because her typist is not having the best day, doesn't mean she is!

I don't know if I achieve that with others, but I do know I feel like a different person from one Alt to another, and I enjoy that feeling.  And if I walked around saying "Psst... it's me,  Corinda! lolz" I would be taking away from my own experience. :)  This defeats the purpose.  My closest friends are also on both of my friend's lists, so I can always be reached if I need to be.

Like I said,  nothing profound to say.  Just waxing on my thoughts when it comes to folks in general getting into a kerfuffle over Alts.  When bad things do go come of it, look at it as another example of bad behavior and not a damning indictment on alts as a whole.  And think about creating one yourself to understand the merits of the experience!

* The rest of the quote which I also love: "..The talent of a writer is his ability to give them their separate names, identities, personalities and have them relate to other characters living with him" - Mel Brooks

Bard and Drum Circles (OoC)

This morning at 10am SLT and again at 7pm SLT, Eacen is doing Drum circle.  Just click here, and follow the mini map dots!

In the near future (i.e. when I get back in world) Eacen and I are thinking of adding something to Drum circle to give it a little something more. That is, cultural-instrumental ambient music that compliments the drumming. Maybe something different each week. We will see how that works out.

There has recently been a redistribution of old and new additions to our activity lists, as we have had some people step forward to offer their help. I really hope some folks start taking advantage of that soon. The more the merrier!

I'm not just family-biased when I say that my Sister-in-law Lady Hawks Bard circle was really, really nice. I cried, actually. She has a good eye for stories that fit in our theme very comfortably, is a good storyteller, and it was nice to see a few new members bring their own contributions. I really think this is an event we have needed for a long time. Very suitable for our RP setting (whether you RP or not.) She is so awesome for doing it!

speaking of RP, I want to make a little commentary on it. So many people are so intimidated by it. So many people think it is all about politics and combat. I know we have been making an effort to make sure that is not at all the case, since these things clash with our setting quite a bit. I see people all the time who say they don't want to RP, or don't think they can, when they already are.

RP characters can be anything from a vast variation of yourself... (say a *centaur* for example) or just another facet of ourselves. Since so many of us take advantage of the opportunities SL holds to be something or someone else, we are by default, playing a role.

Even our tendencies as people to read books, watch television or see movies, can be looked upon as a vicarious form of Roleplaying. You are interacting with other people, a different world, and different stories through the format of the film, book or show. All Roleplaying is, is more interactive, more creative, and closer to your heart.

“Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless.” - Jamie Paolinetti

The Smiths Tale (IC)

For many years we have got by without the winter snows Slowing her. But this year the snows Piled deep over the land the rivers are frozen hard enough that we have had to cut though the ice in the harbour to allow the Merfolk access to the surface and she fell asleep.

Into a sleep that we could not awaken her from. So I sent my son with her supine form to find warmer shores where she can winter with out harm. I miss her. I miss her so much and i know Neria Does. But we survive. That is all we can do in these circumstances.

I certainl;y hope my Plum come home soon.

Snippet of an unfolding tale (Third Person IC == Corinda)

...It didn’t happen every year, but in the harsh winters, sometimes, mother would not wake, even as her breath rose and fell in a steady but slow rhythm. There was no sign, no warning, least of all for the Meliad who simply thought herself to be lying down for the night.

Some seasons, she avoided the long slow sleep, by taking on the Centaur form her sister blessed her with, but by the time she did so this year, the color of her skin shouldhave hinted, that it might have been too late.

But of all things this family had, the most abundant thing they had was hope in all things. In this case, there was hope they caught it in time.

The next morning, the father looked at his son, and they knew what must be done. So the budding young sailor Avry took his mother Corinda to a special place to hibernate. Where her sleep would be hastened by warmer winds, and left his father behind with his sister, knowing the two of them could look after one another, even if one may still be too small to understand...

... and the story goes on.

(The less fictional explaination can befound one post below, or here.)

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

... And what became of the Dryad. [thank you!] == (OoC)

The Dryad was not mistaken when she trusted in the piper. When the warm days came again he went to the oak-tree to let her out. But, to his sorrow and surprise, he found the great tree lying upon the ground. A winter storm had blown it down, and it lay with its trunk shattered and split. And what became of the Dryad, no one ever knew. – Frank R. Stockton’s “Old Pipes and the Dryad”

So I am pushing a month since I have been in world. My laptop has been having some serious issues. Motherboard issues that have manifested first in the destruction of my heatsink fan, and sound card. No matter how much you want to, you just can’t baby a computer having that kind of a problem, so off to the big manufacturer for fixing it went, which means six of the days it has been gone has been lost in shipping, and two more of those days were lost in a weekend when no repairs are done.

More...




This process has been rather agonizing for me. Being separated from my laptop is like being separated from a limb. Without it, I just can’t seem to do the things I want or need to do, and swiftly a sort of depression sets in. I know, that for people waiting on things from me that things have been more inconvenient. It’s been hard on me too.

So, if I am starting this blog while I am out of world, I may as well take a post out to tell my family in Second Life Thank you for the support, and patience, and understanding.

Much to my frustration, I was crestfallen and heartbroken, when my computer that I had anxiously tracked it’s FedEx return itinerary, came back in the exact same condition I sent it away in. Exact same. They didn’t even touch it. They didn’t read the notes. They put it back in a box and mailed it back out to me. It may have been a shipping and handling error. I keep my Laptop in pristine condition, it doesn’t look like it is almost a year old, and is used for most of every day of the year.

Whatever happened, I am in the same situation I was in when this all started at the end of the year. And, due to a weekend and a lost day trying to deal with customer service, my laptop has not even gone out for re-repair. Hopefully the labels for the expedited overnight FedEx shipping will come tomorrow…. Hopefully.

In the meantime, what I *am* using is an old Frankenstein’s bride made of used parts long left in a closet, just gagging for a sequel, running on an unregistered version on Windows XP. It is a miracle the thing meets system requirements for Second Life. (and it does, just barely) but system reqs met or not, this is what I get when I try and log in.

(and this is when I can get it to open at all, Emerald crashes too.)

Believe it or not, living in a household with 6 computers total (including my dead one. One computer per person) does not make it easier to get in world. Getting comfortable physically and mentally in my kid’s room in order to be in Second Life for hour increments is just not possible. My Husband is more than willing to lend me his computer, but when only one of us can be on, a lot of things seem to get very complicated. Even though it is hard for me to be out-of-world, this is the easiest way for us to deal with it.

So, to be dryadic in my frame of reference (you know, just to be different), you could say that in order to endure the cold hard months, I’ve gone into hibernation, and if Frank Stockton’s story hold’s any truth for Corinda, perhaps she should have seen this coming.

“I shall not have to go back till winter has come, and the air grows cold.”

And so… for official RP purposes, and our unfolding story Corinda has been hibernating with me. Unlike old Pipe’s Dryad, our story still goes on. The Waiting is the hard part.