Xmas Time Of Year

I was super excited to see December creeping up on us because I actually have a real home land on Second Life where I can create a better xmas this year. I went all out and spent about a month searching Marketplace for new xmas decorations. You can't believe how many things are on the Marketplace just for xmas time but they don't have one thing which is the cartoon version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It is like my all-time favorite xmas movie that I have to see every year at least once. The only thing close to it was this sculpted reindeer that has a red nose so I bought it and placed it out in front of my sky house. I was ecstatic when I could finally buy that prim snow at Botanical since I have been eying it since last xmas. It amazes me how much it looks like real life snow but with this snow you don't get cold from it ever. I rezzed a couple of the snowflake making balls to make it look like it really is snowing outside when particles are on. A fireplace was my newest addition to the holiday theme inside of the house but it doesn't look right unless you have animated textures on. The flames flicker where it makes you feel all cozy sitting on this beanbag like chair that I have near it. I hung two stockings around it to make it look all festive. I decided to stay with the xmas tree that I used last year because it brings me such joyous memories of my first xmas on Second Life. I got it from MC Designs for a not too bad price considering how well made it is and it animates. I had to take the animation out of the reindeer since it made it go all distorted whenever it animated which ain't a good thing. I placed two pointsettia plants on the steps from the porch leading to the snowy yard of my sky house. It wouldn't be complete without the twinkling snowy pine tree that I bought from Botanical last year as well. I even made rugs and flags with textures that I designed myself for everyone I know this year. It adds a personal touch to my xmas decor also. My virtual daughter absolutely loves our home looking all festive.

A Lesson In Shapes

 

It came to my attention that people have a lot of difficulty finding nice shapes for their avatars in Second Life. I know all too well how that is since when I finally shed my newbie shape that I ended up spending like L$1000 on my first ever shape. You shouldn't have to spend an astronomical amount of Lindens just to get a shape. The fun part about creating an avatar that is your style is that you get to tweak it a bunch of times until it looks perfect on your screen to you. I found a great shape place about a year ago that they only sell their shapes for L$50 each plus you can try all the demo shapes in one folder. The shape I purchased looked fantastic as is but it took me a few months to get it tweaked to exactly the way I wanted it. If you have already practiced with tweaking shapes then you can make any of the shapes at Cupcakes into skinny, average, full figured, and such. I went for the skinny look with bigger than average breasts and a fairly flat butt. However, my shape is far from a clone of everyone else on Second Life since I added unique touches to it outside of the shape. I used to be taller than everyone I knew but now it seems I have gotten to be shorter than them which my shape is now at 5'8" in height (the same as my real life height measurements). There are times when I still tweak my shape because I think the shoulders look too odd or my face isn't like I would want it to be. My plan when I began tweaking my shape is to have my avatar's face look a lot like mine in real life but it definitely is not as easy as one would think. I still struggle to get it to look like the real me in face only. Let's face it, you are the one who will be staring at your avatar more than anyone else through the years so you may as well tweak it to your liking. I'm not a fan of the shapes that have wide hips and huge lips since I find it looks disgusting with a lot of skins. Of course it is a good shape if you are heavily into like elven roleplay but for everyday I don't think it is a good choice. You are just out for a frustrating journey in shape tweaking when you buy a shape that is like that. Any shape you can widen the hips, add body fat, shorten or heighten, make lips big or small, change the nose to unique or realistic, and so on. Also if you become pregnant on Second Life then you can easily tweak your current shape into a pregnant shape because why would you want to spend extra Lindens on a specially made pregnant shape for like only 9 months. That is just silly if you ask me. Remember the key rule that I learned when I purchased my first shape which is to make one or two copies of the original shape before you even start tweaking. After all, you don't want to go out socializing with your shape in the middle of tweaking so with the copying you are able to just change into the untweaked shape while you go out to socialize. I doubt though that once when you start tweaking the shape for the first time that you will even allow yourself to go out in public until it looks perfect. You will tweak it a lot since from experience I have tweaked my shape about 20 times in the past year. Good luck in your shape tweaking endeavors. Please know that even though I have provided the slurl to where I bought my shape that it doesn't give you permission to copycat my looks. If I see a copycat then I will just find a new shape and tweak it to death. I am unique in every way in both worlds so I would like my shape to remain just as unique.

A Trip to Low Cost Clothing

We start our journey to the store of AdN that is known for their grunge type clothing that looks great on any avatar shape. The designer likes to show a little skin with some of her clothing which who can honestly say that they don't like to show off as much skin as they can on their avatars. Plenty of lucky chairs can be found here for those who can't afford any Lindens. The pant outfits are to die for with the way they seem to hug to your avatar's body and they come in so many styles that your head may end up spinning. They have a fairy outfit that is a good choice for those who like the fantasy side of Second Life avatars. There is nothing in this store that cost more than L$99 so what you waiting for.

Another store on our journey is one of my newest favorites which is Enelya's Passion or better known as EC. It is also a clothing store that the outfits cost no more than L$99 and her clothing is phenomenal. I do have to warn you that some of her dresses are ones that have no glitch pants so you'll need to add your own pair of panties if you go to places that people may by chance see up your skirt. Don't let that deter you though because her clothing is so worth the going commando. From mini dresses to pant outfits to bodysuits within this store to purchase. The dresses will make you catch the eye of those men or gals that you want to notice you. Whether you looking for a mini dress to shake your butt while dancing or a pant set to relax in around friends then you will find it here. Join her group so you can try your luck at the Midnite Mania boards and lucky chairs too.

Lastly on our journey is the store of SAKIDE (formerly known as Sassy Kitty Designs) that is not as low priced as the previously mentioned but you can get the highest of quality separates for almost all under L$200. I own a great deal of clothing from this store so I know what I am talking about. Whether it be the adorable Empire Dresses or the low cut shirts or the unique varieties of pants, you will find everything you need to compliment each other. She sells neko gear as well but the clothing far outweighs the neko stuff which a lot of stores seem to be leaning away from neko stuff with their outfits. She likes to make new stuff especially for the holidays such as Halloween and Christmas which you will be running their to go on a mini shopping spree. Also she is known to discount specific colors from time to time so you can buy those colors you might not have tried otherwise. There are lucky letter boards and Midnite Manias here as well which is a way to give you a taste of her wonderful clothes.

Club Exotico

It is no surprise to those who know me that I rarely do the club scene thing now in Second Life. However there is one club that I make sure I go to whether there are events going on or not. It's a club that quickly became a second home for me due to the fact that it is so warm in the way they are to everyone who comes there. You don't see many clubs anymore who give off the vibe of family but this club does. The name of it is Club Exotico and over a year of me going there I have happily called it home. Like any home, you get the feeling that you belong to a part of it and are welcome with open arms no matter how life treats you. It is on an adult sim so you can escape any possibility of dealing with the immaturity of obvious teenagers in Second Life. New residents who come to this club are welcomed as warmly as those who have been going to the club for a long time. The DJs they have on staff are some of the best and bring the fun energy into the club with their conversing with the patrons on their stream as well as in local chat. The strippers employed at the club are sensual and classy which I've not experienced at any other clubs I gone to who have strippers. They always express their appreciation for tips from patrons with unique individual emotes to give you thanks. The hosts and hostesses on staff are known to have the biggest energy that you will ever find in the club scene. They'll make you want to use those gestures that may be collecting some dust because they as well as the patrons love to gesturebate. You won't want to just park your avatar at this club since it is so nice to be around these people that you won't be able to pull yourself away from the crowd for too long. Of course there is nothing wrong with the parking thing due to me being known to do that. I usually do that there when I am preoccupied with design stuff or finding things for my newly established studio. Even then, I always find myself beginning to joke around and being all around naughty around these people. If you are a shy person when it comes to the naughty stuff then this club will turn you into a gutter mind in no time. I got my gutter mind from the club over a year ago and I never looked back because it feels so good to be in-tune with that side of one's personality. I recommend this club 1000% so go check it out. Events usually happen Monday through Friday from 8pm to 10pm SLT. Make sure to join the club's group to know what events are happening. As I write this, they are currently looking for fresh faces to host, dance, or DJ which the more staff they get then the more likely more events will happen.

Here's the slurl to it:   Club Exotico

Peatonville Asylum Hunt

I haven't done many posts about my recommendations for places to see, things to do, and stores to go to so I figured I would try to do that more often. I like to go hunting on Second Life which most of the ones I ever did were for clothes but recently I discovered the fun of themed hunts. The hunt that I am recommended people to go do is the Peatonville Asylum hunt that is hosted by MadPeas gaming. I've heard that they do these type of hunts quite often so once when I finish this one then I look forward to the next one they will have. It opened for all those happy hunters out there on October 28th and closes on January 6th so people have plenty of time to check it out. However, you must know that unlike all those fashion hunts out there that are free is that this hunt costs a small L$100 fee to purchase the HUD. You need the HUD in order to do the hunt since it keeps track of all those 50 journal entries (called staff notes in HUD) and 50 soulstone shards. People are probably thinking how an approximately 3-month hunt game HUD is not worth that price but what you need to realize is that there are like 50 stores/places that have spent a lot of time making items for you to get when you find each soulstone shard. I think they are extremely generous in the prizes you get in this hunt. Of course the prizes are not the main fun part of this hunt because you will go through this eery building that is the asylum itself plus you have the outdoor grounds with 2 more little buildings to search through. I was particularly impressed with the decor they had in there which vary from bloody hospital beds to creepy pictures to some objects seeming to be avatar detecting so they start moving. The journal entries are not the only objects you have to seek in this hunt since you have to find an axe to open 2 doors, a coffee mug to fill with water, and a sledgehammer to break windows. I have to warn you that you will be going around in circles and get extremely frustrated doing this hunt. I know because I am still missing 7 journal entries from my hud so I won't be able to find all 50 soul stone shards that leads to the ultimate reward of a prize. Not to mention that even the shards in the places you have to teleport to are very hard to locate. I feel this is the best hunt for people to do that are as i call it in-between-relationships on Second Life due to the fact that you need to find things to do that will occupy your mind. I've spent almost 4 days on the hunt already and am determined to not stop until I find 50 entries and 50 shards. Did I mention that you will discover new stores and places while you do the soul stone shards hunting? I was totally awestruck when I found this store that has stuff for my new avatar look that I go there even if I not particularly looking for the shard which I've not found in that store yet. I have provided a slurl to the hunt, link to official website mentioning it, and a youtube video link which are below. Hope you all will enjoy this hunt as much as I have been.

Peatonville Asylum Hunt location
MadPeas website
Youtube video