half life

Okay. I had this idea that a preface stating that all of this started because of an article on CNN would somehow not make me look like a total geek (even though I am). In any case, so this afternoon I was reading through the NYT or CNN or something & there was a mention of the first congress hearing in Second Life.

I'll admit that since the episode of The Office where Jim creates a Second Life character to mess with Dwight's Second Life character, I've always been curious to see what the hubbub was all about. So, I had some time at work to spare & I tried it.

I created my avatar (cybergoth, of course!) & started. At first I just stupidly stood there, while a couple other characters walked aimlessly around the orientation island. Then I figured out I could fly. Now, if you can fly, why would you walk? Silly. I rode a segue scooter. Which is hilarious, really. I find them totally hysterical. I would only ride one ironically, though. But is there irony in cyberspace? Is it all irony?

To be honest, it quickly became sort of boring. I've had a similar experience after realizing that I was lucid dreaming & could do anything. Suddenly it all seemed a bit uninteresting.

I did have a strange reaction to the other characters in the game--I DID NOT want to talk to them. They kind of made me nervous, like at a party with drunk strangers, who at any moment might accost you & closetalk you into the corner. But then again, I've never been interested in this kind of online transaction--I don't even like IMing. I know almost all of my MySpace friends. I've never online dated. The only thing that is close to this kind of thing is being on the Indiebride message boards. But, actually I'm not trying to be friends with the IBs IRL ("in real life") so it doesn't bring up that same feeling.

I never left orientation island, so I can't say I saw or did much more than fly & ride the segue. There are "events" like parties & shows & clubs & I guess congressional hearings. I did have the fleeting thought we should try to get a SL reading together. At least once. BC has already made fun of me for this thought. But wouldn't it be great--we could all sit at home in our pajamas? Maybe we should just wear our pajamas to readings & be done with it.

I am not sure when I became suddenly interested in all this geeky stuff. Can I blame it on Lost? It did become sort of large in my mind after watching Darkon, a doc about a live-action role-playing club in Baltimore. They seem so INTO their alter-egos that I'll bet some of those live-action role-playing peeps have SL characters, which would mean that their 2nd lives have 2nd lives. It could get really confusing.

After we watched Darkon, we had David Brazil to dinner & discussed live-action role-playing games. Turns out he was really into them when he was younger. He described a vampire one they'd hold in a hotel, after one of the players had rented a room. Then he told us about the best thing ever: in the game, if you cross your arms across your chest, it signals that you are invisible ("to obfuscate") & all the other players have to go along as if they didn't see you. I really wish this worked IRL. [Side note: in the terrible, terrible Jane Austen Book Club one of the characters tries to talk to a punky goth girl whose arms are crossed in a hotel elevator. The girl ignores her & she's told by her future love interest that the girl is playing a Buffy game & that she's invisible!] So, of course we started talking about D&D, which I never played & never knew anyone who did. My parents are born-again Christians & believed it was satanic, so I wouldn't have been allowed near it anyway. Anyway, BC had played some as a kid & DB had been a dungeon master (I think) when he was younger. To demonstrate what it was like they played it out a bit--it seemed like a very detailed, live choose your own adventure story. Then they admitted that the most fun was in the beginning when you get to go shopping for weapons & supplies. I found that pretty funny.

I am going to reserve judgment towards the SL thing, though I can't say that I find it normal. I mean, why have a 2nd life when you could just have a 1st one. You know, walk out your door without the use of arrow buttons & get yourself a coffee with real moolah. Maybe if you were bed-ridden? I am sure there are much deeper levels to it, delving into identity, community, & so on. I was interested to see that you can change the avatar's body shape from hotty slim, and maybe somewhere out there are some chubby avatars. But that would require more investigation & I'm not sure I'm up to that challenge.

In any case, towards the end of my little SL stint, I found there was a quick way to take off all your clothes. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to get the clothes back on, which explains why my avatar is naked...