Double Entendre

Edited post, formerly -Group Gown.

Thank You Lady Kouse of Kouse’s Sanctum for the Crystal Gown (right) that I received this week as a gift for being a member of the group. The hair is from Panache and can be found at Free Dove for no charge as well.  I have a couple of purchased gowns from Kouse’s Sanctum, please take a stroll through the store.

The gown on the left is from the Tuli update group. See Fabulously Free in SL and Detachable Penis for more pics and instructions getting your gown. The necklace/tatoo is from Shiny Things and I picked it up from the Gnubie store. The rest of the avatar are my purchases. Watch out! Your bloomers show under your skirt when you move! I wanted to show the corset because I like the detail.

I’m spending too much money in Second Life. I didn’t realize how much my small purchases were adding up until I forced myself to add them up today. I’m not exactly going broke over it, but I do need to one or all of four things:

1) Take more advantage of the free “stuff” available.

There is a lot of good quality free content in Second Life, but I get lazy about wading through it. There is more free stuff that just isn’t worth keeping in inventory. It can take quite a bit of time to wade through two or three boxes of free items to find one item I might actually want to keep. I have been stalking Myg’s blog “M is for Myg” who recently modeled some free skins. It was a great help to see pictures of skins that were no cost or low cost before taking the time to find them, then trying out each and every one. I could see from the great pictures she posted if there was one that really tempted me enough to go get it. There are a few blogs that are dedicated to reviewing free fashion finds, here are a few of them; Fabulously Free in SL, SL Freestyle, SL Style Guide, Second Life Shopping Sherpa, and Detachable Penis. There is no end to the amount of free furniture and other objects to be found. My favorite free items come from the groups I belong to because they are made by my favorite builders/designers.  I constantly use the picture frame in the Library folder that I can pop a texture into and a couple of other cool little objects.

2) I could actually take advantage of the building skills I’ve acquired.

I do know just enough about building and texturing that I could make some simple items for the ugly low prim shack.  The ugly low prim shack itself can be copied and modified so that I could re-texture it in a manner that is more appealing to me. There are enough free textures available to boggle the mind, so my inferior hardware/software issue is a non-issue. The house is scripted to lock down, close shutters and notify me if anyone tries to enter it, which are the things that I have not learned to do myself.  It is also perfectly designed for Second Life, meaning, that I can camera around in it easily without running my camera into a low ceiling or wall.  I need to stop complaining and redecorate! It just needs a few pieces of furniture (low prim, of course) and I need to practice the building skills that I intended when I bought the little 512 sqm plot to begin with.

3) I could actually stick to the budget I originally set.

Software to play an MMORPG can range anywhere from $30USD to $150USD once expansion packs are added, and then the monthly subscription fee can cost around $15USD per month.  I decided that I would apply these amounts to my Second Life, since I don’t play online games anymore or even keep up with hosting and domain fees for a website any longer. My two premium accounts equal the software costs and then my $15USD per month and allowance.  Really, it should be enough.  I do keep an additional rented house where the prim allowance is more generous than my own tiny plot.  I also love dressing up my pixel dolls and playing with scripted weapons.  I recently decided to play with character and bought an ’80’s Madonna style black lace outfit and purple boots, then wanted tattoos that didn’t already adorn the skin I had in inventory (I didn’t buy anymore). Did that really do anything to enhance or improve my Second Life?  Umm, nah - it was just fun to play dolls.

 4) I could actually do something that would earn a few $L.

I have had opportunities do so some writing that may earn a $L or two. I have seen notices for other opportunities that I could seek out.  It seems like it would be fun and really add to the experience - before I start thinking.  Thinking really gets me into trouble.  I think about the responsibility to be online at certain times or to meet specific deadlines and the idea gets cold in my mind.  Real life is just too volatile for me to expect to be that dependable in Second Life.  Let’s face it; the Second Life is the completely dispensable one. I can decide exactly when I want to log on (if there are no log on issues), and what I want to do when I am in-world.  I don’t disappoint anyone or slack on a responsibility if I don’t log on or have a change of heart about what I choose to do when I get there.  That being said, I still don’t want to rule out the possibility of earning in SL.  It’s just a matter of figuring out terms that are acceptable to all involved. 

I have to stick to my budget for now.  I will choose the new items I add to my inventory carefully, create more of my own items and, finally, decide how I will earn extra to play with.  Geesh, this is beginning to imitate real life.