I put the kid to bed, said “see ya” to hubby, put on my headphones, and logged on. Eager to practice my new dancing skills I teleported to the Pier on Pier Island for a bit of nightlife and appeared beside a dance floor packed with avies having a high old time. The dance floor was actually a pier with a stage at one end, extending out over the sea. Stars twinkled overhead. Many hubs in sl are manned with a greeter who welcomes you in, making you feel like an expected guest. This is a real asset in Second Life. With so much stumbling around it’s nice to know that there’s a friendly face on hand to help you out and answer your questions. An indie-looking avie in mini kilt, t-shirt and what looked like doc marten shoes, told me to click on the disco ball over the stage if I wanted to dance. I threw myself onto the dance floor and went for it.
I have no problem dancing by myself and do it as much as possible in rl – when I ride my bike or walk to work with my headphones on I’m like one of those ipod silhouettes, singing aloud like a dork. But I’ve been told that when I dance I flap my arms like “the stubby wings of a chicken”. (This was alarming to hear ‘cuz I actually made money as a go-go dancer – the non-stripping kind. What the hell were people thinking when I was up on my box?!). So anyway, it was great to go on the floor where everyone looked goofy. There was a lot of chat, about the music, about rl…one avie had some trouble on the floor and lost his hair – the sign of a rocking good time. The dj took requests and within ten minutes I heard mine ("Downtown" by Peaches http://www.peachesrocks.com/). How cool is that?
I teleported my friend Nellie to the club. She arrived on the dance floor, totally disoriented, then, once she realized where she was she began changing her clothes frantically, seeking dance-wear. She mooned me a few times and then settled on a corset and poofy skirt over jeans. After a time, Nellie suggested we find a campfire, to mellow out a bit. We teleported to a quiet forested island. The mini-map told us that we were alone in the environment, which was great because we both arrived dancing our asses off, unable to stop the gestures animating us from the Pier. We tapped /99stop into the chat bar and finally calmed down enough to exploring. What a blast to check this place out with a friend. Nellie, who’s as impulsive as I am, immediately tried to break into a cabin nearby. I tried to ride/steal a bike (notices flash up that tell you that you’re fiddling with someone else’s property). I lost Nellie in the woods at one point, when she finally hollered to me (you can shout your text via the chat bar) “I’m in a bi-plane!”…I flew up over the trees to locate her but ran into some mid-air sculptures which were wonderful – wonderful because I don’t yet have the skills to create something like that and amazing to imagine floating sculptures in real life. Like the art in White Cube, the sculptures were based on the most accessible shapes and tools available to sculptors/builders in sl. The shapes hovered over the trees and blinked red, yellow, green, or blew gently on the wind…a relaxing site.
I wandered around until of course I found my way to a bar where four avies were dancing some kind of accelerated hustle, laughing and poking each other with gestures. I told them I’d lost a friend. “She’s in plane? And she’s new? Uh oh.”
“Shh, don’t scare her,” One of the others whispered. Suddenly I heard from Nellie. “I’ve crashed into a tree! I’ve ruined someone’s lawn!” She abandoned the plane, leaving a burning hole in someone’s back garden and ran for it, not knowing how to leave a note behind…
We found our way to a swing and rested there for the rest of the evening…when I spoke to Nellie in rl yesterday she told me she missed me last log-on. She had spent her session as a triceratops.
Next stop…Cybrary on Info Island, to participate in some librarian action.
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