Monday 29 April 2019

A Roller Coaster Week


I thought I'd do something different with this week's blog post, and chart my adventures in a diary style, explaining day by day where I went and what I did. 

I've had a weird week again in RL (I promise I'll explain all in due course) but I'm thankful, yet again! that Second Life has been a place I could retreat to and has proven itself to be the tonic I've needed and given me the opportunity to explore places I've never been to.

So here goes! The original plan (as I started the week) was to visit a different European city each night but, as you'll see from the pics, I got a little distracted ;-) 

Monday ...
I finally figured out how to make 'low poly' and in turn low land impact decorations! So the frames I've made will need to be updated, but hey, it's a win-win day! (I promise I'll add in pics of my creations soon but for now, I'm keeping things secret for a little bit longer ;-))
To celebrate I thought I'd head back to where you can swim with dolphins 'Coeur D'Azur' and instead of just staying by the beach, which is really secluded and full of lovely little spots to sunbathe and cuddle ;-) I took the bike I bought on Fifty Linden Friday - by Dust Bunny - and headed up the hill to the houses and had a ride around shops. I bought a little painting from a RL artist there, which now has wall space in my SL home and the views were really nice to just spend a quiet moment admiring. Highly recommend this sim ;-)

Slurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Coeur%20d%20Azur/132/141/22


Coeur D'Azur

Coeur D'Azur

Coeur D'Azur
From here, I found a place called 'Amsterdam at Midnight':
I realised quite quickly it was 'Adult' sim, but it was set out quite nicely and I found some lovely little places to stop and rest the bike for a while...



Tuesday ...
I've always wanted to go to Italy in RL, I love the sound of the language and I could eat pizza and pasta all day every day! so, continuing on with my European tour I searched Italy and found 'Mystical Tuscany'. 
And I have to say, I completely fell in love with this sim!
Visiting a pet shop in Tuscany

I could have been really creative here and had a before and after pic ;-) but never mind...
...I took this instead in the photo booth next to the phonebox...




Ice-cream anyone? 

Wonder if they need staff? ;-)

I could happily settle down in SL here ...

Taking photos in the balloon above the sim ...

And, well, it would have been rude not to have a glass of the bubbly stuff if it's offered, right? ;-)

Resting after the tour in a roadside cafe...
 Wednesday ...

I searched for Sweden, no idea why, but I have RL friends who live over there (I'm in the UK) and I thought I'd see if I could find a Second Life version. I sadly didn't find anywhere to go, so I had a look through the editor's pics in destinations (European tour distraction one!) and ended up in the 'Isle of Ice'.
Slurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Aerodyne/20/138/22





It looks as though there's some sort of Second Life quest or hunt there but I couldn't quite get it to work and to be completely honest I like exploring, not a huge fan of hunting for things, so I left the headquarters, put on the ski's and mooched around for a while. 
It's certainly fun to have a nosy around, highly recommend it if you want to practice your slalom skills as it was pretty much empty, but I didn't stay for very long, as another place caught my eye during my earlier search, and as I already had my ski suit on I thought I'd give it a go and tp'd over to 'The day after tomorrow'.
Slurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dolcenotte/31/222/24


 Not a huge place but it looks great! If you love the film, go check it out, it's great for pics! (Just a shame Dennis Quaid wasn't there to rescue me ;-))

Thursday ...

I saw a notice for the 'Fantasy Faire' pop up in my notifications and as I'm such a huge fan of anything to do with Fantasy (no shit Sherlock!) I hopped over with a friend. There's a huge amount to see there, I think we only managed to get around 2 of the 16 sims before I grew too tired and had to log off but I do intend to go back to explore it all, thinking that might be this week's challenge (unless I get distracted again that is!) ....
Link to the blog about the Faire:
Slurl: 
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Fairelands%20Junction/123/160/110





 Friday ...

I was honestly going to get back on track with my European tour on Friday, I searched, Greece, and a few places came up that looked interesting, but I sadly couldn't TP to any of them. I'm really hoping they're not gone and it was just a glitch so I'll try again this week, but in the absence of anywhere I fancied going to in the normal search I checked out the editor's pics again and thought the 'Goodnights Amusement Park' looked like fun so I went ;-)
Slurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Goodnights/80/216/24






And I'm so glad I did! This sim, along with the Tuscany sim, were by far my favourite places of the week. The park is heaps of FUN! There's loads to do there, tons of rides and places to chill. I just wish some friends had been online to share it with! I'd definitely go back again and I don't often like to revisit places once I've explored them.  

Saturday ...

I'd given up on the European tour by Saturday and decided to go check out a few shopping events that I hadn't been to yet. The first two on the list were Flourish and Salon 52. The hair event (Salon 52) wasn't open, I think it's just bi-monthly? and doesn't stay open between event dates, which was a shame, but Flourish (on the same sim) was, and I ended up spending quite a few lindens buying new clothes! 
Surprisingly (as most events are usually in boxed off areas), the sim itself was really interesting to explore too, with an abandoned wild west feel to it. 



Luckily (for me), a very good friend logged in as I was there and I rounded off the week having a dance surrounded by cacti and desert sand ;-) ... Bliss ...

I guess, with all things in life, plans don't always work out how you want or expect them to. There will always be distractions and events that take you on a sideways path. 
I had it in my mind to get certain things done this week for my store, and they didn't happen. I'm still learning this wonderful world of mesh and there are day's when I find it so hard I want to throw in the towel and give up! 
It really is like being on a roller coaster! 
I'll finally figure something thing out and it takes me back several steps; as I want to improve on things already made, then the next day I master something else that's been foxing me, I have another eureka moment and feel as though I'm moving forward again. There will (I hope, I hope!) be a point in the not too distant future when I'll be able to get off this roller coaster, shake my legs out and take a leisurely stroll. Until then, I'll just have to go along with the constant ups and downs and try to be patient! 

Bye for now.
Huge hugs and much love to you all!
Casey
xxxxx






Friday 19 April 2019

It's not all work, work, work.



I think Second Life is incredible and I've always thought so! from the very first moment I landed in the welcome area, right up to today, and quite honestly it never ceases to amaze me.
There literally is no limit to what you can be or do!
If you want to be a fire breathing dragon, you can, if you want to be a teddy bear, you can, if you want to live in a castle, or underwater, in a skyscraper or a hobbit hole, be a mouse or a tiger, a robot or a Viking warrior, have a flash car, a horse, a helicopter or a sailing boat, you can! 
And, after exploring for a few weeks before I started on my mesh learning journey, I'm now in even more 'awe' at what people have created since the last time I was in-world. 
Everything looks fantastic! From the mesh avatars and clothing to the buildings and furniture and there are some truly spectacular places to visit. 
Still, having said all that, I did feel the need to trawl through the numerous landmarks in my bulging inventory when I returned. I wanted to just to remind myself of what life in Second Life used to be like, and why I originally fell in love with it in the first place. I'm fine now but at first, it was a little overwhelming, everything is so 'new' to me, I wanted to see what, if anything, of the old world was still going and it was amazing to find some of my all time fav places still exist! like the 'Far and Away Dreamworld'  



I truly do love Second Life, it's not all about work for me, I love to explore and I have 'fun' time in-world and I seriously love to shop!
So, what do I do in Second Life when I'm not busy building?
Where do I start??!
I like to dress Casey up, not just in medieval/Gothic clothes, (although that is her main wardrobe!) I love 40's and 50's fashion in real life, so I drop the velvet cloaks, tie up her hair, put on the red lippy and find places to grab a soda or a have a dance!

The Pink Flamingo Diner at the Time Portal - Link at the bottom of the blog

I'm fascinated with space and learning about our universe, and when will I ever, in real life, get the chance to float around amongst the stars?! ...... 


Lundy Art Gallery and Museum - Link at the bottom of the blog

I love hiking and getting lost in forests and although I don't have one in real life, I love horses...


Jousting Set by Jinx - Link at the bottom of the blog
Riding at Templeton Cove Estate - Did I mention there are links down at the bottom of the blog?

I Love Love Love being by the sea in real life but I live quite far from our nearest beach, and although I go as often as I can with my dogs for a stroll by the waves, when I can't get there for real, my options are limitless in-world...


Dancing at a friends house

And unless I win the lottery this would never happen...


Swimming with the Dolphins at Coeur d'Azur - Yup, look down at the bottom ..

Then, of course, there's my inept ability to keep my purse shut! I seriously love shopping, sighs, and finding new stores along the way is always a plus! 
I remember there being the odd shopping event here or there years ago, my store was even involved in a couple, but they were never as big or as plentiful as they are now!
I've actually lost count how many I've visited since the beginning of January, and I daren't even think about the Lindens I've spent, but oh the fun to be had when you loosen the purse strings!
My favourites have to be 'Uber'; for modern clothes, you can find the link down below...




and, 'We love Roleplay'; for all things fantasy, again the link is at the bottom...



Both of these events are huge, but there are more, and some that are even bigger! I found these two watching Cassie Middles Youtube Vlogs, and if you've stayed with me while I've gushed about all the fab things to do in Second Life this far, you'll know you can find a link at the bottom of the blog ;-)

There are many, many reasons why Second Life is so special, the things you can't have, for whatever reason, in real life, you can have in-world. I can have the pretty dresses, the horses and the castles, I can ride around peaceful sims, shop at events or just relax on a beach, and if it's with friends, even better! 
But there's one place that means more to me than the rest...




At the end of each day, no matter what I've been doing, or where I've been, I just have to rest Casey at 'home' and it's by far my most favourite place to be!


Did I mention I liked dancing? ;-)

If you've made it this far, Thank you for reading! Do you have a favourite place or thing to do? Let me know in the comments, I'm always looking for interesting places or events to go to ;-).

I guess that's it for now ;-)
Lots of love and hugs to you all.
Casey
xxxxxx

As promised, here are the links at the 'bottom' of the blog!


The wonderful things you find when you're not even looking!

The Far and Away Dreamworld:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dreamworld%20North/221/123/23

The Pink Flamingo Diner at the Time Portal:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Time%20Portal/138/83/1931

Lundy Art Gallery and Museum
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Brussel/23/130/23

Uber:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Uber/126/130/1201

We Love Roleplay:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Riverhunt/133/124/1504

Waterhorse, Horses:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Water%20Horse/151/147/27

Jinx Jouser Set, Wings and Unicorn Accessories:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sea%20of%20Beckoning/139/73/37

Templeton Cove, Horse Riding estate:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tyme/197/102/25