Ignorance is Bliss...

Unless you are already ignorant, then the whole happy principle negates itself, you don't know you why you are happy, since you don't know to be living in ignorance, but sometimes information can truly rain on your parade and there are some things that -at least in my particular case- I am happy not knowing.

Both my sons are sexually active, I know this to be true and I rather not know the details, only thing that matters is the sound knowledge that they are being responsible while doing so; now when it comes to relationships there are things that are rather not shared with your other half -those that look best under a veil of mystery-, even if communication is THE KEY for any romantic relationship to work, some information is better not said or shared -this is where trust comes into play-.

But what happens to those who think they know -and are in fact under the wrong belief they hold the absolute truth-, when they truly don't know half the story? Is it your unspoken duty to ruin the mirage of truth they have built around themselves?, my take on this would be that if it doesn't directly affect you, it'd be best to let them live in that fantasy they enjoy so much, because unless you are frontally asked to reveal the truth to them, you'll come as the bad guy -he who destroyed that marvelous fantasy world it had taken them so long to build-

Second life is no different to life itself, even more so because no matter how real it may seem to some long term users and how intense your feelings for your lover, SL family and so on, it is based on a virtual reality we create ourselves and for ourselves.

So keep it real, and if you don't want to know the truth, don't ask.

https://www.facebook.com/spikecls

Life... meet second Life

As I was making my way to the city center the other day, I stumbled upon somthing that both made me chuckle and surprised me, and that is a housing complex built by none other than a company called Linden Homes -yes, for real, the picture has not been photoshopped-

This made me wonder on that very thin line that seems to divide for some those two realities and I asked myself if it is really there; how many of us have not crossed it at one point or another? how many times have you found yourself hitting the backshift key when you sign an e-mail with your second life name?, or you find yourself standing in queue and inadvertently copying your avatar's AO idle moves.

Whether we like it or not and as much as we try to negate the fact that both our realities are nothing but one, life always seems to remind us that every day of our lives, as we get invested in this adventure that got started for one reason or another, the person behind the keyboard is no one but ourselves, and there's no anonymity or division that will ever be able to alter that fact.

https://www.facebook.com/spikecls

The Move (2) Reunited...

There are many choices that must be faced when moving abroad and most of the time they differ from those made around planning a holiday. When we are vacationing our mind and entire psychology is focused on just having fun and most likely limited to a budget we can get creative with; so as long as we stick to it we should be fine and can afford spending a little extra on being pampered. Moving however is an entirely different process, you also have a budget but unless you are moving with a job already lined up and a place to stay, your overall funds and expenses have to be taken into consideration until a new source of income arrives.

So when faced with airline choices and fares, I obviously went for the cheapest one I could find -and if you have flown you already know what an incredible ordeal low-cost airlines can turn out to be-. I had heard all sorts of stories about Ryan Air, so when facing the trip and my luggage I was a bit defensive but trying to keep an open mind about it.

I was taking my desktop with me, to which I refer as "Spikey" -screen and the whole shebang, neatly tucked in my bags- and I was almost convinced that I'd have some overweight, but I didn't worry about it too much as I had been able to squeeze a few kilos through check in just batting my eyelashes and throwing some charm, but this is not how things work with this airline, so in order to be able to get "Spikey" through customs I had to leave my shoes and some of my clothes with my friend who was seeing me off.

I won't be the whining type and go into a full description about the trip, but I knew it'd be all worthy as soon as I got to be with my RL brother again. We have entertained the little things that you cannot partake with in RL due to geographical distance, no matter how accurate such as shopping together or having a few beers. As blogging and photography goes, he's one of my most well kept secrets, one that I am willing to share with you.

So go check out his blog and flickr page, he has some interesting stuff posted although he's not as prolific as I am.

Is good to be back, SL, RL and blog wise.

http://www.facebook.com/spikecls

SECOND LIFE TIME

Writing about time and how it is relative and moves differently when in SL, got me wondering on the amount of hours spent by each user in this virtual platform and how it seems to increase as our “second lives” get busier. I know that many of us have venues, projects, shops and so on to worry about and some require careful supervision; a few lucky ones have even managed to make of second life and their in-world business their sole source of income.

But then I ask myself, is it healthy to spend most of your free time in front of a computer screen? and I ask myself this question very often. I reflect carefully on what my life was like before second life came along and yes, even though I was missing out on an incredible amount of things that as of today I just love doing  -those I have found fulfilling and worth spending time at- I have to admit my free time was truly free time and felt like it. I’d just kick back and read a book, do some exercise or just sit in the couch watching a movie I liked.

Not the case any more, second life has become a second set of worries that I embark myself on whenever I am not working in RL (I even have SL on my phone so I can check on my son, the club or ongoing projects while commuting). Funnily enough, I can’t imagine my life now without my daily dose of SL, the person that is Spike is mostly me, carefully divided and set aside from the RL me but obviously still me in 90 % of my general persona (meaning that there are things in that small percentage I don’t mix with my SL)

Then why is it then that as we get more and more invested in SL and our virtual lives, instead of stopping it or cutting down on in-world time we move forward? I was discussing this with one of the few RL friends I ever discuss SL with, and I came to the conclusion that we, as humans do this on pure self motivation and evolution. There comes a point in your second life that your so entangled in so many projects, you just wish to move forward and see them to completion.

In my own personal case, and if you have taken the time to be around me and get to know me, SL is a therapy. I enjoy being busy and my mind is constantly working, so if I didn’t have SL, I’d probably be finding an extra set of worries to busy my head with and fill those dead hours of the day you just didn’t know what to do with before SL came along.

There are days and days, like one on my friends said on Facebook today “It’s a beautiful day, I’ll just sit back and read a book”. If you all excuse me, after having tied all the loose ends on my Second life time of today and after finishing my article. I’ll sit back on my terrace, and read a book until I get sleepy. There are moments and days when a dose of RL time for yourself is needed and good for the soul…

https://www.facebook.com/spikecls

AND DEATH COMETH

One of the most feared things by humans is definitely death, yet it is the most natural thing in the world and happens everyday to thousands of people and not to come off as dark and grim, but it will happen to each and every one of us eventually.

What brought on this dark and obscure topic today? Things happening around me as usual; a couple of really nice people in the SL public eye left us recently, a thing that made me wonder on how avatars, once we leave this earth will possibly stick around on groups and search engines, unless our relatives take the time to cancel our accounts (same applies to facebook, twitter and so on) and tell our in-world friends about our demise.

Then I had this long chat with a really dear friend who is joining the army soon and was being put off the idea with the recurrent topic of, yes, death. He was excited with joining the armed forces until he was told all of these horror stories involving death, dying young and all of those things one expects to be told when embarking on a life altering choice that would define the course of your future and professional career (specially if it involves the army). We all expect to be young, smart, pretty and agile forever, but death creeps up on you slowly and when you least expect it, it’s time to go. Again I insist, I am not being morbid, I just want to point out the fact that I do see death like the most natural thing in the world. I won’t go around tempting fate because I don’t fear death, since life is a precious gift and an experience that has to be enjoyed, but I surely won’t be living a life in fear, specially trying to avoid something that is simply put, inevitable.

A very dear friend of mine has on his 1st life tab this quote from Mark Twain which I have always loved, since in my honest opinion it defines both our views on life and death “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time”. There is this Japanese movie called “Crows Zero”, where one of the main characters has a brain aneurysm and 30 % chance of surviving with surgery, so he says “”If surgery gives me 30 percent, I’ll take life at 100 percent”

I try to live fully, enjoy every second and share every joy and sorrow with my loved ones, living life at 100 % and when it is time to for me to go, I will take my memories with me, hoping that in my own personal way, I have made a difference in SL and RL.

https://www.facebook.com/spikecls

WHAT'S IN A NAME

What’s behind a name? People in Real Life have no choice, but how about SL? What makes people choose their name? Is our name choice in SL proof of what would it be of us if we did get a choice? I have no ground to criticize people, as the name I picked, even thought it has been good to me in SL, came from my recently deceased cat; it was my way of keeping him present and I had no idea of the complexities of SL at the time and what it would be of me.

Now back in the good old days, before last names became heritage people were a bit more selective about their name choices (you did have the last name to match and make you think once or twice)

But then last names were removed, display names appeared and the not-so-loved “Resident” last name came into existence. I have come across what I would call very original ones, that would make the most eccentric individual flinch or even at least make a snide remark about them. Display names fix the issue as now you can rename your original choice, but the username is still there, everywhere as a stigma.

My SL name, much like my SL has its own story behind itself and the display name has given me the chance to not only correct the grammatical flaw on my last name, but also ad my son’s last name to my own. Hello, My name is Spike Clémenceau-Silent and my name is an important part of who I am in SL. Are you happy with yours?

https://www.facebook.com/spikecls