When class ended (Teaching and Learning in Virtual Worlds) last Spring I assumed that was it for the blog… hadn’t even thought of it til now. Esme’s firing up a new TLinVW class and I recalled what an adventure it was starting out in this brave new world and so, I begged her to let me come play. Thoughts have a way of following one to another and I remembered our class blogs. After re-reading posts from classmates and Esme it seemed natural to reflect on the time that’s passed. It was challenging to transition from being a member of a small, supportive community to a more independent existence in SL. I had become very comfortable spending my time on the 250M platform over the MCGC Sandbox. I spent hours there on my little plot – creating things in my handome workshop. with flowers and shrubs proliferating the perimeter – most of which came as standard issue in my inventory, although I did shop for a few essential foundation plants. When class ended I felt completely uprooted – no pun intended, and foundered without a plan for a few weeks. One thing certain was that I would remain a virtual resident in SL – the place had me enthralled. I didn’t really consider remaining homeless – thoughts of building things and learning to build better things was foremost on my mind. I wanted to be able to leave stuff laying about in-process.. to find it waiting for me when next I returned. Without a clear picture in mind I started hunting for an abode. Some days I imagined just a cave or grotto to call home, other days a house on a hill. Good fortune led me to an excellent locale where I’ve learned to be more independent in SL while having multudinous opportunities to engage with the small, active, eco-minded community I live in. I’m still building and leaving stuff about.. my second life is good.
