Month of Liquidation

Reducing my Mainland footprint has gone well, with the bulk of available land waiting a couple more days for the longtime skybox rental to check in (they moved in RL).  I may have to try the new one if I don't hear back. After that it's parcel splitting and abandon as an absolute last resort. Update: She's taking some of my land. So far so good!

Everything else is to plan, with the Nova Albion parcel having sold quickly and an odd piece east of the diner going to LDPW as part of Bridge Road.

Working on the replacement build for St John, which will make its debut in less than a week.  I'll miss having an attic to crash in town; in its place will be a speakeasy for monthly swing.  Still working out some aesthetics.  A texture shop northeast of Hydrangea had exactly what I needed for the speakeasy walls, with a little something from me and antique clip art as well (and subject to change on a whim).

The manifestation of a Cartoon World shop remains a mystery.  I'm not inspired by atomic age or cottage style.  Would like round and whimsical mesh but only see it in my imagnation.  The recent Funny Puppet Fair town was close but the creator had nothing inworld or on the marketplace.

Funny Puppet Fair

Also I'm more game to take on a ground or sky shop with multiple quota to set some items out.

Is it the End of an Era?

The Starship Diner Fishing area was taken down Monday night.

I cannot afford to live on Mainland. Not as much as I have been. Work had too many wage freezes since the fall of 2008 and everything goes up.  Health insurance are crooks and joined the club of taking from the middle so now I have a co-pay PLUS deductible or percentage.  $40 per month just isn't feasible.  Then there's Linden Labs' shadow of a moderation team to protect its premium residents and allowing prims and particles to rain down for days.

I was thinking of going back to Bay City, but my final meeting with the BC Alliance reminded me why I'd left.  Had composed a detailed notecard to read about most things which forced me out and pondering whether it was time to return, but it wasn't to be.  I never got to read it.  It was an interesting hour of observation.

Goodbye, Bay City.


And Goodbye Nova Albion once my parcel sells (I've undercut everyone and with luck some landflipper will bite).  I'll be there for your special events and anniversaries.

The gallery is gone. I'll have exhibits around the grid at some point, but the Cartoon World shop will focus on salable art. It's crowding the ground level so I'll see about a sky shop or private estate rental. I'm quite sure I can unload any land Toryn doesn't need.

Meanwhile look for more activity in St John very soon, RL permitting.

Recovering... Recovering...

Ever have one of those days when you're done wearing purple but forgot how to wear anything else?  On the Monday after I honestly didn't know what to change into post-Relay Weekend.

Message to self: arrange group shot of team.

Holocluck Snurky Toryn Lemondrop Sev Seven BB Grey
(Lemondrop was invited for pic as nearby designer & friend)

 I woke up to a Toontown Rewritten session under way by ten minutes. Red bunny finally completed Toontown Central tasks.  They've added more servers and brought down the wait time.  The sessions have been far more stable. Pretty soon Seven and I will be able to coordinate playtime sessions.  A small cog invasion for part of it gave bunny a nice boost in gags.  Big question is who among my three docks-worthy toons gets to progress?

Penny Pincher on Seaweed Street

I rescued Tindy from rising waters to hang out at the Telethon Studios. We have to perfect our silliness; it went better last year.  I blame the high seats at the news desk.

Eve of Relay

Another year and another Relay Weekend.

This year I dominated the campsite build

Flashback 2012: someone on the team accused me of being a control freak when the rest of us were compelled to make a snap decision after she walked out on us during the eleventh hour. We returned everything and in the end, everyone together made a very appealing campsite within a day.

This year I asserted myself as "official control freak" and came up with Amethyst City.  Oz would never leave my mind, not since last August when the 2014 theme Journey of Hope was first announced. 

My generation in the USA can recite most of the movie, irregardless of cultural background, preferences, class, with the possible exception of the Amish.

Our team logo is that of the Tin Woodman's heart.  A deceptive object, as deceptive as the creature.  How can something empty and hollow be capable of so much generosity?  How can a clockwork heart be responsible for compassion and love?  Maybe something is inside you don't or cannot see... As with the movie, it's been there all along and maybe one just needed a reminder, or maybe for others to see one must wear one's heart on their sleeve.  Or shirt.

London Village was to have their annual festival this weekend, regardless of the name of their sim.  I haven't heard anything since May, not even group notices.  Hmmm...

Anyway there was a point I wanted to make about the campsite...

Oh yes!  It's almost complete with the help of longtime friend Toryn.  And Aley of course.  I have a plaque on a wall thanking Aley for creations, a true godsend for the hopelessly unscriptable. 

So this year I was proactively the control freak. You can call me that this year with regard to the campsite. It's okay because you'd be right.

On the track at RFL - Fight Back sim.

Coasting towards July

I'm glad I haven't had to add money into SL, considering the medical bills and being two months back on rent.  Last week was epic for DJing from Sunday to Sunday.  Can things really be turning around for me for specialty genres and ecclectic segues?  I think I'll just enjoy this for as long as it is and not read too deep into it...

My friends have settled back into the best of both worlds for their homestead: seaside Britannia at ground level and a Classic Doctor Who rpg space station way up.  Not a single TARDIS landed on a fisher during Sunday's contest.

A friend of mine has moved in next door in hydrangea, which is pretty cool.

It Gets Better From Here

The Weekend From Hell is past.

Friends and blog followers know what was planned. I'd like to think in a parallel universe out there the same planner meeting took place and it all worked out. It should have been in this universe, but these are strange times and it spawns people driven by a strange set of values. For those who came to support us, thank you, especially if you enjoyed what little we were permitted to do. A special "thank you" to Gabrielle Riel for hosting the Dark Masquerade Ball, which was amazing and added a touch of elegance to the weekend. Also as captain of Hearts and Souls a big thank you to my team for their efforts, creations, participation inworld and offgrid... everything you do counts!

The weekend ended Monday night with a St John's Eve celebration in New Toulouse Bayou. It was a spiritual cleansing with the Voodoo community, for which I played a set entirely of Cajun, Zydeco, gospel, regional jazz and blues.

Next gigs after Wed fishing are the annual Bay City party on location at SL11B Friday evening and Electro-Swing on the SL11B Cake Stage Sunday morning.

Next project is the campsite for Relay Weekend.

World Cup is Everywhere This Year

In Jackson Heights it is impossible to get away from World Cup Fever. Half the neighborhood sports their country's official football jersey. It's amusing to see entire families in matching tops. 

Restaurants bakeries and bars all have a myriad of flags outside for Colombia Ecuador Brasil and many others. The dominant shirts in order of descending popularity are Colombia, Spain and Mexico. I imagine one sees more for Mexico over on Roosevelt Avenue, but overall it's Colombia worn enmasse.

A mess of flags outside a bakery

I'm sitting in a Colombia bakery for breakfast.  Someone stares at me as though I'm eating my arepa wrong, or possibly because I'm wearing an Old Navy surf tee. Heh.  More colors have since arrived and I have no idea whom they represent (looking them up later on the Adidas site I see they're variations of the top three: home vs away).  I only saw a couple of people wearing the green and yellow for Brasil.

The people I know online get "funny" during football finals, so I keep my distance. I'd prefer to steer clear of their blind, all-or-nothing mindset until the fever passes and someone gets stupid and insults me for no coherent reason other than they don't like my country's football team.  Someone tried to do that shit to me once over American football - I don't know who it was over the Giants or the Jets. IMHO New York State doesn't have a gridiron football team since they're both based in New Jersey.  Anyway I'm staying away from people who are temporarily insane from my perspective until their eyes take on human coloration once again.

Which reminds me... I wonder what this month's theme for Breakfast in Babbage could be?