I had already taken off all attachments (because I wanted to also see the body that came with the Lelutka demo), when I saw a familiar name in my radar.
Elliott Eldrich: entered the region (673.71 m).
Not long before that, I noticed an acquaintance log in. I met him in 2007 and I don't remember having talked to him since. But I didn't get a chance to say hi before he logged back out.
So, when I saw Elliott in my radar, I wondered if the planets were just exactly aligned that I'm encountering all these oldbies from my distant past.
Anyway, I IMd Elliott and reminded him how we met. I didn't think he'd remember me. Or maybe he just pretended that he did. ;)
Elliott is (at least, he was then) one of the well-known personalities in SL. I hardly know Elliott personally, but he's significant in my SL. He's one of the first few people that I met in SL. And I even talked about our first encounter in my book! Here's the excerpt (which I also sent to him in a notecard afterwards):
I continued exploring the world on my own when Soren wasn’t logged in. In one store, I discovered “freebies” (items given away for free), via a sign with a picture of a bee and the name “Free-Dee-Bee.” The sign gave me a folder with clothing, shoes, animations, and other things. I decided to try them out right there.
I was watching my avatar do a funky dance when a chat bubble appeared, asking if I found everything I needed. My avatar would have blushed if she could. I was embarrassed to be caught dancing by myself in the middle of a store –- and without music even! It took me a few seconds to stop the dance animation and turn around to look at the polite speaker.
What I saw seemed to be an anthropomorphous large cat standing on his hind legs like a human. He was well-dressed in a gentleman’s suit, complete with a pocket watch. I thought I had walked into a fairy tale.
I learned that he owned the store, so I thanked him for the freebies. He said it was his partner’s idea to have the freebie “vendor” there. Then there was a lull in the conversation. I mean, what do you say to a cat? “So, did you trade in your boots?” Or, “How’s Grizabella doing these days?” Or, “Awimbawe, awimbawe, …” He must have noticed that I was unsure what to say next, so he excused himself to leave me to my new acquisitions. Then, he elegantly walked out of the door on the other side of the store, just like a real gentleman from the 1800s.
Tesoro, Lea. Love, Like Dim Sum (Kindle Locations 456-471). VirtuaSapient / Eleanor R Tesoro (Lea Tesoro). Kindle Edition.
That cat was Elliott. I didn't use his name in the book because I couldn't reach him before I published the book.
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| Elliott in 2007 (Photo by Elliott Eldrich) |
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| Elliott in 2016 (Photo by Elliott Eldrich) |
Thankfully, I saved my outfit before taking things off, so I just took a few seconds to find the folder in my inventory and put the outfit back on. He TP'd me to the nearby train station, which I remembered he built. He said he was just checking on his build; that was why he was in the sim.
We had a lovely satisfying conversation, the kind that you can have only with someone who has been in SL as long as he has.
So, we had an impromptu reunion. After more than 10 years! I love coincidences like that. :D
At least, this time, I wasn't doing a funky dance in public without music. ;D
And, for a full hour, the cat didn't get my tongue. ;P
Awimbawe, awimbawe, ...
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