A Quiet RezDay - 18 Years of Second Life
On February 14th, I celebrated my 18th RezDay in Second Life.
Well, okay, technically, I celebrated the day on February 16th, as I was spending the day with my brother and his family and couldn't get in-world on the day. But, the 14th is the official date.
It's a bit strange to think I first created my account in 2008. I remember having called in sick to work and talking to a friend in my roleplaying group about it. I'm pretty sure the tutorials that became Orientation Island were there in some form, but I don't remember them. What I remember is my friend logging in and showing me around. She took me to Evie's Closet and Panache (after generously gifting me some Linden dollars) to buy some fun clothes and hair that looked better than the default avatar. Then, she gave me a tour of the sim she and her wife were building.
It's been a long path since then. I've been in and out of active periods. I've discovered friends, communities, lost touch...lost people.
And, yet, I felt more introspective and in need of solitary celebration this year.
Perhaps it was the rain. You can see from the picture above that we had some heavy, gloomy weather the day I choose to celebrate. (Don't ask me why, but I love setting my home parcel to the same weather as what's happening in the first world, unless I'm shooting photos for a specific theme.) Rainy weather is my favorite. It begs one to be cozy and quiet, thoughtful, and encourages slow creation.
But, for my RezDay, I wanted to get out of the house and do some solitary exploring.
I decided to head out to the Yosemite sims.
I discovered the Yosemite sims in a round about way. I'd been looking for a good "woodland" table for my home. (I'm trying to decorate in a woodland witchy style.) Looking through the Marketplace, I happened to come across a table I liked at The Nature Store. While exploring the store in world and reading through the notecards included with the table, I came across the links to the Yosemite sims and Yosemite VIP group. But, I haven't been able to visit before until now.
The sims are not an exact recreation of the first world park. But, they are heavily inspired by it. The terrain is lovely, still shrouded by sparkling snow when I visited. Not far from the Visitor's Center is a river with large boulders nearby. I took some time to sit there and paint, enjoy the quiet.
My brain needs the quiet. For the last three-ish years I've been livingon the edge of total burnout due to job stress. But, last November I was let go during the latest round of "restructuring" within the company. And, to be honest, it was likely the best thing for my sanity. I was lucky enough to get a decent severance package that has allowed me to spend the time since just resting and recovering from burnout held at bay (a longer post for another time, honestly). It's allowed me to spend time finding a pathway back to who I used to be, which strangely enough, led me back to Second Life, in a way.
After that, I spent some time at the Visitor's Center with a hot cocoa and a view.
It's been 18 years since that day I was sick in bed letting a friend introduce me to the virtual world. I'm not the same wide-eyed innocent I was then. I've come and gone on the tides of life. But, I always seem to come back. There's something here that fills a hole I'm not sure how to describe.
I think I'll stick around for a bit longer to see if I can find a way to do so, though.
Avatar Credits
- Mesh Body: LaraX from Maitreya
- Mesh Head: Erin from LeLutka
- Shape: Chubby from DeeTalez
- Body Skin: Venus for Maitreya in Icy/Juicy from Velour
- Face Skin: Mischa from Glam Affair
- Eyes: Real Eyes in Golden Green Amacci
Style Credits:
- Hair: Moment from Truth
- Sweater: Jay Off-the-Shoulder Eyelet Sweater from Addams
- Necklace: Magick Pentacle from EarthStones
- Scarf: Bundle Scarf - Holiday from Apple May Designs (store closed)
- Watercolor Set: Winter Watercolor Cards from Sari-Sari