Mary Panttaja

So, today I drove into town and bought a sandwich at Starbucks so I could use the network and get into Second Life. (We are working it out with our service provider to see if we can make it function at home.)

Yesterday offered a disparate set of chores. One minute I was researching venture funded companies, the next, the in-memory database market, the next, building a drip system for a new garden bed. But at lunch, I was reduced to trying to figure out how to use the arrow keys to keep my avatar from running into a wall. Don’t get me wrong, it was a little compelling, a bit like learning to paddle a recalcitrant new kayak in a swirling current. (Without the benefit of the actual river.) One that can fly and in which your paddling leverage occurs only at 90 degree angles.

And that was it. In 30 minutes, I got Second Life working and walked and flew around the training area. There were a few other people there, but clearly they were in the same self-conscious state I was and we carefully ignored each other. I found a Buddha-like frog and tried to see if I could elicite any wisdom from him, but to no avail. I managed to wander into the ocean and was assured by some commentary that I wouldn’t drown—not to worry.

In retrospect, I can see that my relationship to this is why I haven’t ever gotten into playing computer games (not that I’m a great games person anyway, to the chagrin of my entire family). I have some trouble measuring the time used against all the other things I want to accomplish. So it will be interesting to see if I can get passed that sort of reticence enough to actually experience what’s going on in Second Life. We’ll see.

I do like my little avatar—a purple and black Manga get up with pigtails. I’ll have to see if I can get a picture of her into the real world. (I mean me, a picture of me.)

PS. Now in First Life, we did find some really cool kayaks last week. Seems that to buy river kayaks, you have to go to the river. A real river, that is.