Altruism Pays Off

Several weeks ago I was shopping with a friend. She’d not been inworld in quite a bit and we were cruising steampunk locations to see what was new since her last go-round. We found ourselves at L+N Signature Designs admiring the fantastic vehicles as well as the clothing. She admired the way-cool Steampunk Giro-cycle but it didn’t appear to be for sale. I sent an IM to the builder, brgn.halberstam. I got a lovely reply, explaining that the Giro-cycle was not for sale because it had been created for the Steam the Hunt 8 hunt taking place March 1-31. I made a note of that, thinking that we could do the hunt in an effort to get the Giro-cycle.

I started off on the hunt last night. I’m on vacation this week. My original plans were changed and I found myself with lots of free time. Wow. I don’t remember the last time I had unscheduled days. I thought that I might try to do the hunt. I’m usually abysmal at these hunts. If I didn’t have a friend along with me to help me find the clues and the prizes, I’d never move past the first stop. This time, however, I began to get a feel for why hunts are so popular. As usual the first location was making me feel stupid, with a seeing disorder. But after finally stumbling on the prize, the whole hint concept began to feel clearer. I had my camera range waaaaaay long, something I’d never done in the past. I would cam all the way out, and see the general area. It’s taken me years to learn to use my camera more efficiently (yes, literally years). I started to have success. It was – fun. Imagine that. Fun. I came back in this morning and continued the same way. Ultimately I hit a location where no matter what I tried, I could not find the item. I thought “so what”. What I’d never realized before was that the hunts publish a list of SLURLS for people like me – so even if we can’t find the prize with the next location, we can jump to the next location anyway. We don’t have to drop out because of one unfound prize.

Since I was by myself, and had no time restrictions, I took the time to do what the hunts intend – look around the stores and perhaps shop. I nearly bought a steampunk throne/chair but decided it was a bit too large for someone hoping to down-size her property prims. I did get a VERY nifty pair of red boots and had a lovely chat with the store owner. Be sure to head over to -BHD-/Duquesa Designs and check out the -BHD- Aliz boots and chat with Renata Constantine (renate.marchionne) of Duquesa Designs.

I picked up some new deck chairs as well – I’ve had the old ones for several years now. I loved the rose pattern on Emma’s 1-prim Lush Roses Deck Chair at Emma’s @ Blue Moose. And along the way I picked up a sundress at CERO Style. That was a difficult purchase because I wanted SEVERAL dresses there. I finally decided on the ;;;Helene;;;; in cream.

By the time I made it over to L+N Signature Design, Oura had joined me. We were there for over an hour, admiring the creations, the elevator the clothes, the ambiance, the hair. We did indeed find the Giro-cycle. *grin* We both bought new steampunk outfits (check them out in the pictures above). We got the gift hair, Duality, as well. Flush with all our new goodies, we headed home to change and take the cycles out for a spin. *laughing* Okay – although it was fun, it was NOT easy. We both crashed at sim crossings and had to reboot. We ended up in my neighbor’s house and got invited to join the land group. We got the hang of it, though, and headed down the road. I was feeling quite confident by the time I added the HUD and started firing my machine gun. Well. Who KNEW that I could set fire to the berm? /me looks about guiltily, but with my hand still on the trigger. Once the smoke cleared, we headed off to hunt again!

All of these goodies for ME! Just because I wanted to buy a present for a friend.

Cutting Loose on a Weeknight

shhhh. Don’t tell anyone. I slipped inworld, met a friend, and spent the night dancing. Ahhhhh. That felt GOOD. We were listening to Taunter rock Key West.

Mr. Telling’s Office

Well, I think my first full day on the job went okay. I had a lot of coaching from Emspar. (Thanks for the inside scoops!) And Lalo was understanding about my gaffes, especially the one with the faucet. I think he rather enjoyed that one. See – these new fangled faucets don’t have knobs, they have sensors. I got caught several times yesterday. First I moved a tray from one side of the sink to the other and – splash! – yes, I filled the tray with water. *grin* Then I reached across the sink to get something and drip drip drip – that’s my sleeve. But I was told I’d still get my holiday bonus, so I guess the mood is still upbeat.

Sunday was a quiet restful day. Shortly after the Rabbi left, Emspar arrived and we talked and talked. Lalo woke and we all had some conversation, talked about all the incoming messages, about you all, about the weather. It was a very rainy dark day outside. Definitely the kind of day that inspires naps and doing a lot of nothing. So that’s what we did – afternoon naps. It’s what our cats have taught us. We lit the 2nd candle, sang some psalms, and then napped.

Late in the afternoon some friends dropped by to visit. We talked about the local football game, about growing up, the weather, the do’s and don’ts of lighting Chanukah candles and, of course, SL. We shared pictures of many of you and tried to explain SL and virtual worlds. Lalo’s explanation, and I’m paraphrasing here (because I don’t remember exactly and what I DO remember will lose my PG blog rating), was “Either you GET it or you think What the heck”. *grin* I had to agree, don’t you? I mean – we all GOT it and still HAVE it. We aren’t the ones who said “Huh???” We talked about music in SL: the places we love to come and hear music, the DJs we know and love, the live musicians. We didn’t try to explain pose balls this time around. *grin* We dealt with basic avatar issues and prims.

It was a lovely visit and it was great seeing everyone but after that we were pretty tuckered out, so it was lights out time.

From the Desk of Lalo Telling

Wheeee! Lalo has hired me as administrative assistant! I’m very excited to have my first writing assignment on his behalf. He wanted to let you all know how much he appreciates your tweets and notes and posts. Last night he spent a good bit of time reading tweets, laughing, commenting on them, opening pictures. He was in good spirits and we had a lot of fun. We lit the Chanukiah here in the room. Emspar found a beautiful electric Chanukiah. At candle lighting time Mary, one of the nurses here, joined us. Lalo, being Lalo, explained the ritual to her. He said the blessings and we joined in for the Amen. It was a truly special moment for us all. This morning Mary mentioned it again so I wrote out the blessings for her. (last night she used my iPad).

After that we looked at a bunch of pics from SL and talked about what had been going on when the pics were taken. We had some great memories of the Bay City parade and celebration. Soon after that it was time for lights out and some rest.

This morning found Lalo checking out the radar (it’s raining) and reading all the tweets from last night. I passed on all the hugs, hand squeezes and smooches you all sent. *grin* One of the perks of this job. . We’ve decorated the room with blue and silver bows to complement Emspar’s Chanukiah and Gelt. (it’s the gold foil milk chocolate gelt, for those of you who want to know ).

We’d just finished with the decorations when we had a visit from the Rabbi. Talk about small world syndrome. Not only did this rabbi know Lalo’s rabbi, he knows MINE as well!!!!! Considering we live I don’t know how many states apart, that’s pretty amusing. It was a lovely visit. Lalo has been having a bit of difficulty hearing in the last few days. He apologized for that to the Rabbi and then said “worst thing for a rabbi, no?”. We all burst out laughing and agreed with him. *laughing*.

After that Lalo read tweets a bit more. Mary the nurse was back. She likes hanging out with us. The nurses love Lalo and are convinced his FL job is as a stand up comedian. He does tire easily, especially his eyes. Right now he is napping so I took he opportunity to let you all know he’s thinking of you loving you and appreciating the constant support and love you are sending him.

Checkers

I have stated many times that I don’t play games. That’s not completely accurate of course – there are SOME games I enjoy. Spider Solitaire, for instance. But mostly I mean competitive games, or role-playing games, or even card games. I’ve never learned to play chess or checkers. I did learn to play Bridge and Go!, but not to any degree of proficiency. So imagine my surprise last night when I found myself playing checkers.

Lalo wanted to investigate Wild West Town. I think he plans to post about that. It was a historical treasure. *smile* I offered to keep him company while he explored and took pictures. As usual my attention wandered. A friend I’d not seen in months (maybe years) logged in and I tp’d her over to chat. I rode my horse up and down the street. Finally I wandered into the general store, hoping for a nosh. There wasn’t much in the way of food but there was a gleaming checkers board. Now while I don’t PLAY checkers, I did indeed create my own checker board and pieces. I never scripted it to control movement or to account for kings. I was relying on the players to edit the pieces.

This board was scripted. It prompted each player in turn. When you selected the piece to move, it showed you the possible moves. Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t all that swift at figuring out what “forward right”, “backward left”, etc. meant. I think I only messed up twice. Anyway, I sat myself down at the board and Lalo joined me. I did warn him that not only had I never played checkers, but that I wasn’t really a very good sport (illustration: right hand).

I had beginner’s luck and took the first piece, but Lalo quickly retaliated. Even when I seemed to be ahead at one moment, it was becoming clear that only one of us really had an idea of how to play and that one wasn’t me. *grin* I thought that perhaps Lalo needed a more visible reminder of how I’m really not a good sport (illustration: left arm).

I did try unfair tactics, trying different levels of distraction and pressure (illustration: c’mon, no one could miss this one). Good thing I still had my armament from my foray into Insilico. But to his credit, Lalo was unfazed. We did finally reach a point where we both had kings. We discussed the potential future moves and mostly it looked like chasing about the board.

Lalo proposed a deal. I offered a counter-proposal, which was accepted.

Lalo Telling: I say we call this a stalemate and be done :-\
Ahuva Heliosense: *grin*
Ahuva Heliosense: how about if we say i won and be done? *grin*
Lalo Telling: OK, I’ll accept that
Ahuva Heliosense laughs and kicks over the checkerboard

*grin* Lalo is a very wise man. I crowned myself Queen of the Checker Board and Lalo headed back out to take more pictures. We did try to catch a show at the theater, but apparently it was an off night.

Not my usual musical Friday night, but a lot of fun! Check out the Wild West. It has some very neat builds and humor. Especially in the school room. And vandals have not yet broken the lovely stained glass windows in the General Store.

Relaxing in the Night

It’s been a very long week. Many celebrations, fun things, challenges, travel, and things awaiting resolution. I usually cram my Friday evening full of music. But tonight I needed more gentle sounds. So Bamboo and I headed down to spend some time with the ducks, listening to the waves lap on the shore, the occasional seagull flying by light of the moon, and the crackle of the fire on the sand. Resting and energizing for Friday at Tribeca. Don’t forget to wake me, Bamboo!

I’m BACK!!!!!

I hope I stay….. *grin*

Erev New Year’s Eve

Following Samoa’s lead, Calli’s Friday Night TriBeCa Blues Regulars did away with December 30th and jumped right to December 31st. We had decided last week that we wished to spend New Year’s Eve together, but that other commitments would make that difficult. So we agreed to celebrate New Year’s Eve early, a practice run as it were. Or, in the Jewish tradition of holidays beginning at sundown the night before, we would celebrate Erev New Year’s Eve. /me grins. See – slowly, Lalo and I are turning you to our path…. *giggle*

Friday nights at Tribeca may be my favorite time in SL. Calli is a fantastic DJ. When she is at TriBeCa she spins an eclectic set of vocal jazz, although that’s mostly a starting point. We have ranged far and wide from that jump-off. The other wonderful thing about Friday nights at Tribeca is that Calli can’t tell time. *grin* So although she is booked from 7-9pm SLT, we have NEVER EVER stopped at 9pm. Oh fine, maybe once. But I don’t actually REMEMBER that. I’m merely conceding that it is possible. Last night her sense of time was even more dilute than usual, which is as it should be for a celebration.

We did miss some of our regulars (and you KNOW who you are and you KNOW that I will scold you) but there were many new folk who joined in. Conversation is usually lively and interesting. Like the music, we head down some interesting side roads. Eva Cassidy’s “Over The Rainbow” had finished playing and Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” began. Tor Karlsvalt commented that it was a really good song for SL. Then he added: should be an anthem. I think that’s brilliant. In so many ways, this song sums up what SL is for me – a wonderful world.

It was a wonderful, magical, lovely evening. For those of you who weren’t there, please come and join us some Friday at TriBeCa Blues. For those of you who were there – thank you thank you thank you. Wishing you and yours a happy healthy new year to come, filled with joy and success.

What A Wonderful World
Writer: GEORGE DAVID WEISS, GEORGE DOUGLAS, BOB THIELE

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They’re really saying I love you.

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.

Chanukah 5772

Yesterday was the 24th of Kislev, which means CHANUKAH!!!! I managed Happy Hour with my coworkers (but had to skip the fried food, as it was oysters *grin*). Got home and lit the chanukiah with my family. Got inworld a bit later than expected since an automatic update messed up my bios (why oh why does that happen?). So I arrived at Edloe just as they were finishing the Shehecheyanu. I couldn’t figure out how to work the voice toggle in Firestorm, so my “amen” went unheard. But I was not the only late arrival. So we went through the blessings AGAIN!

Then Lalo and I headed off to light the Chanukiot at our homes. First stop was his home. Note the lovely Shabbos candlesticks and wine cup! I have to get him a Havdalah set.

Then we head to my place so Bamboo could light OUR Chanukiah. I remembered to set the sky to midnight so that the flames show. The beautiful Chanukiah was made by Lalo. We will be celebrating the Festival of Lights for another 7 days! I need to find a dreidel for ‘Boo, and some dark chocolate gelt for me!!

My sister sent me this link on how Christmas would be celebrated if it were a JEWISH holiday. *grin* If you have ever studied Talmud, you will appreciate this post and recognize the style. If you have not studied Talmud, this may give you some insight into how the Rabbis really HAVE decreed every little blink of an eyelash for observing Jewish life. My personal favorite is the stricture that allows you to have a miniature tree but ONLY IF you also put toy people around it so that the tree appears tall. *grin* Keep in mind folks, should you follow this link, that it is intended in good humor and gentle fun and no disrespect intended.

Happy Holidays!

Rez Day Bookends

Started the week with a rezday (Lalo’s) and ended the week with a rezday – Marx’s. They both turned FOUR. Wow. *grin* Sooooo much older than I. Marx spun the tunes for us and we all gathered at The Listening Room, now in its new location in Edloe. Besides the fun of the tunes Marx played and the good-natured and, occasionally, erudite, banter, I got to see some friends I’ve not seen in AGES. Had a nice long chat with someone, which is always good for the soul.