First Post!

Well. Here I am. Giving this blog thing a try.

And for SL to be the main focus? Well.... I guess I've been inspired by other excellent blog writers online, like Cheyenne Palisades. Her blog is a favorite of mine. She writes very well.

So...I guess the first order of business... why start a SL blog so late? After all...my rez day was a long time ago. Feb 2007.

True. And I had the standard noob experiences. Falling into a welcome area surrounded by grey non-rezzed avatars...lag,lag,lag...then when trying out how teleporting works...find myself plopped somewhere in SL with no idea how to get back to the designated noob zone. Stuck in the middle of an industrially ugly post-apocalyptic abortion (must have been somewhere on the Mainland)...I learned to fly.

I spent a LOT of time hiding on rooftops after I figured out flying. I firmly believe female members of SL have a homing device imbedded in their avatar's shape somewhere. Because at first, everywhere I wound up,there would be guys walking, climbing, and flying to wherever I was...to ask for cybersex. And I could not figure out why they wanted cybersex from a goth-tech geisha with android seamed skin (my first avatar). I
actually *thought* they cared about appearance! LOL! Yeah....I was a noob.

One would assume my being on a roof four stories from the pavement would be a hint that I'm not socializing (took me a while to find 'Busy' but that wasn't any guarantee). You know how it is...you are figuring out how the search menu works, and finally figuring out how to teleport ON PURPOSE...or you are learning how to adjust your appearance...and all of a sudden...*ding ding* "Hello".

You have to close all the menus (thus interrupting and ending what you were working on) just to see whoever has climbed to the top of Mount Nosebleed to speak to you. And there he stands. Wearing blingy chains and a fully erect happystick jutting out of his pants.

Yeah. Your intellectual understanding of SL has been disrupted by THAT GUY.....AGAIN!!!

And then...if you are lucky...someone you know or maybe that awesome stranger finds you. He or she is NEVER prancing about naked. They take you under their wing. They let you crash at their SL home for a few days (or weeks). They give you your first L$s. Maybe take you out to buy new skin, and help you make adjustments to your shape. They give you landmarks for Help Island and Orientation Stations.

Without them...you would have given up on SL entirely after a few days trying to find an appropriate place just to attempt changing clothes! You would have bailed in frustration trying to chart the course of YOUR Second Life around the obstacles screaming for your attention and acting for all the world as though they are ALL SL was about.

Many of us have been there. On some levels...I am still there because though my rez day was long ago...after a couple months in SL I too bailed for a year (more on why later). I've been back in SL for maybe a month now.

So I thought maybe I'd take a stab at sharing my experiences this time around. I am WhiteRaven Slade, and I hope you enjoy my blog.