Sunday, May 24, 2009

Opal Flu

He said that my eroticism is dangerous, because it is infectious. :D Nobody has ever said that to me before. And he said it very gravely. I'm talking about the Captain, btw.

It's strange that after I met the new guy (I'll call him "Punny" because of his puns), I appreciate the Captain even more. And it's not just because Punny makes me groan, instead of moan. (Ha!) It's that the Captain treats me like a queen. He always has, since I met him.

Even with the language difficulty, he still finds the right words and says the most heartwarming things. He is gentlemanly to the point of being chivalrous; I wouldn't be surprised if he donned an armor and challenged someone to a joust to defend my honor. He prepares for our private roleplays carefully and meticulously as though he were preparing a feast for esteemed guests.

Lora says I'm spoiled... She has no idea....

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Avatar lookalikes

Almost two years ago, I had this conversation with Lora (I was wearing one of my mermaid tails.):
[2007/08/29 20:44] Lora Chadbourne: I saw a woman at the store today who looks like your avie :)
[2007/08/29 20:44] Lora Chadbourne: with legs
[2007/08/29 20:45] Opal Lei: What's the name.
[2007/08/29 20:45] Lora Chadbourne: RL honey
[2007/08/29 20:45] Opal Lei: Oh. :D
[2007/08/29 20:45] Opal Lei: lol
[2007/08/29 20:45] Lora Chadbourne: I did a double take
[2007/08/29 20:45] Opal Lei: You mean she didn't have a tag over her head? lol
[2007/08/29 20:45] Lora Chadbourne: it was like, there's Opal! :)
[2007/08/29 20:45] Lora Chadbourne: lol
[2007/08/29 20:45] Opal Lei: lol

Yesterday, the Captain said he saw a young woman (probably in her mid-twenties) who looked just like my RP alt, with the same face, the same hair, and the same "hippy skirt" as he calls it. He didn't get a very good look because he saw her for only about a minute. He said she must have felt uncomfortable and so turned away from him.

What's with these real life people imitating my avatars?!? ;)

The Captain said he would let me know if he sees a RL woman who looks like my sex alt. :D I said he wouldn't. Because his heart is bound to my RP alt, not to my sex alt.

He had been away for the whole week, popping in briefly once on Thursday. He was so busy, he didn't even have time to RP via email with me. And when I talked to him via Skype yesterday, he was sniffling; he has a cold. Poor baby.

And to top all that, I had to give him some news -- that I met someone.

The Captain took the news calmly as I knew he would. He wanted me to promise him I would be happy. I said I couldn't promise that, but I promised I would try. His generosity of spirit still overwhelms me.

I don't know how serious this new affair would be and it wouldn't change things much yet, except that I may not be as available to the Captain. Right now, the only reason I'm entertaining this new affair is that this new guy is unattached irl -- a widower. So I won't have to deal with the cricket there.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Look into my eyes...



You are getting veeeeeeerrrryyyy sleeeeeeeppppyyyy ....

I got tired of ordinary eyes. I think I'll wear this for a while and see how many people I can hypnotize.

(There's a processed version of this photo on Flickr.)

Monday, May 11, 2009

Psyche messages

I read somewhere that we get a lot of messages from our psyche about what we need to know. And these are very subtle messages, like dreams.

Sometimes, the messages come in a song that comes into your head out of the blue. Sometimes, it's a picture that mesmerizes you. And, sometimes, it's something that someone said. It may be mundane to them, but it strikes a chord in you.

That happened today.


Realize - Colbie Caillat

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Pretty prim prosthetics

Today, I bought feet. The sculpty kind.

The first time I saw prim toes, Lora was wearing peep-toe pumps. It looked cool and it was very well done.

Then I saw the strappy sandals with the whole foot as a sculpty on one of the MODA models. It looked like she was wearing prosthetics. Someone else said it was because of my viewer, and she sent me a picture showing that the prim shade matched the skin shade. I didn't think it was my viewer but I wasn't going to argue with a photo. Since I started creating mermaid tails, I knew that SL rendered the shading on prims differently than on system clothing. Well, in the recording of the show, her prim feet looked just like I saw them, like prosthetics.

Well, a few weeks ago, I found the same strappy sandals with prim feet on SLX on sale for 99L for a megapack. Who's gonna say no to a price like that? :D Well, I never wore them. LOL

Today, I was styling an outfit for Monday's show and was chatting with Lovis about having a hard time deciding what shoes to wear with one of the outfits. I joked that I'd just go barefoot, and Lovis suggested Slink, which had prim bare feet. So, 500L later and some tweaking of colors and options, it still looks like prosthetics. And it would have looked worse if I followed the instructions that came with it.

So, here's what it looks like in the Windlight settings that the feet creator recommended when adjusting the skin tone.

See how flat the Windlight settings makes everything look?

Now, here's what it looks like with the "Midday 1" setting.

You see that my right foot is already showing a discrepancy in skin tone, but the left foot is still okay.

And finally, here's what it looks like with the "Fine Day" setting and scene gamma set to 10.

See the difference between the lighted side of the foot and the same side of the leg?

Even when you cover up the seam between the leg and the foot (as I did on the left foot), it will still look odd. So I'm thinking these prim feet only look good on one side. Whichever side you match the color on, that's where it'll look good.

I guess it's a matter of choosing which ugliness you can live with -- prosthetics or fused toes.

But for tomorrow's show, I'm wearing prosthetics. :D

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

I hope you're smilin'

I discovered this song through my YouTube subscriptions. I'm linking to the original by "krabbers" and covers by my two favorite uke players.

"... a chapter has to end before another chapter can begin ..."







PS: I'm helping lisaxy come into SL to perform when she gets the time. We need uke players in SL. :D

Monday, May 04, 2009

A spiritual moment in SL

I went to the Basilica Cardinale Cathedral to take some on-location pictures of the bridal gown from the WedEx'09 fashion show.

When I got there, there was a sermon going on. I wasn't sure if it was for real, or if it was roleplay. The priest is Recaredo Zebendein. At first I wondered if he was a bot, then he stood up from the pulpit, went up to the altar, then back to the pulpit. Then I looked up his profile and it said that he's "a friar of the dominican order". If it were roleplay, he would not specify the order he belongs to. In a roleplay, that detail doesn't matter.

One other person knelt in the front, wearing a brown monk's robe and holding a rosary. He was listening to the sermon.

There was something about the scene, that made me pause. In fact, it gave me a slight shiver. It wasn't the visual aspect of the cathedral; I've been there before. It was a certain ambience, for lack of a better word. A certain energy around the two men. There was a solemnness that I hadn't witnessed in SL before.

The friar was typing in Spanish, but he had a translator on. He was speaking about the work of paradise.

In the end, he gave us a verse to reflect on and it was about the tree of knowledge of good and evil which Adam and Eve were not supposed to eat from.

Then something clicked, like a synapses forming between two concepts. The knowledge of good and evil is the Buddhist concept of duality. That is the "original sin" -- duality.

You know that sense that there's a message in circumstances around you? The tingly feeling when synchronicity was at work? I had that feeling. And I have a feeling that there's a deeper message behind that "duality" click. A more personal message. I just haven't figured it out yet.

It's just strange. I've experienced spiritual moments like this in real life, but this is the first time I've felt it in SL.

I think my SL just crossed another threshold.

I am seventeen, going on ...

In the past, August would bring a significant change in my life. This year, my real life changed in January when I started chemo treatment f...