Second Life

Posted on February 17, 2012 | 15 comments

Have you heard about Second Life before? If not, Google it and you will be amazed how much information is available about this game called Second Life. 

Basically it is an online virtual world where you can create your avatar, meet other avatars and interact with them. Also you can do anything in this virtual life that you can do in your real life. So you can eat, sleep, work, go shopping, throw a party, buy a house and much more. It’s like, if you want to be someone else, this game will allow you to be them. 

I think the reason people are so addicted to this is because you can pick how you look, what you wear and what you want to be called. It is normal for everyone to want to be more beautiful and handsome than they are so this game will allow people to go to the next level. 

This game is similar to the Sim City PC game but in a more personal level. 

From their website, they describe themselves as: 

“Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by a total of 4,315,826 people from around the globe.”

I have never played it but as far as I know it is free to create your second life account but it is very basic avatar. It is really limited as well so if you want to continue, they sell Premium membership which will cost you US$9.95/month, US$22.50 quarterly, or US$72/year. So yes you have to pay to be someone else. 

But the most important part to remember in this game is that you need to spend your hard earned money to buy virtual cash which they called Linden Dollars. So if people are addicted, they tend to spend not only lots of time but lots of their hard earned money to be in this game. The shopping you are doing for your virtual avatar, the car you bought or house you are planning to buy all need Linden Dollars. 

Simple changes in your avatar like having a pigtails costs 200 Lindens and glittery clogs is 400 Lindens. If you buy an island it costs you $1300 in real money and on top of that $195 upkeep charge monthly. Now you can do the maths on how much people are spending to be a part of this virtual world. 

I am not sure how people can justify spending so much money to live a virtual life. I do understand small sums spent for entertainment but you can spend all your savings in this game if you become too addicted and want everything for your avatar. 

Because of all these games out there, people are becoming less social in real life and also more obese as they sit in their chair the whole day making sure their avatar looks good and happy while the real person is not getting any exercise or meeting any people. 

The most amazing thing for me about Second Life is how people have time to manage it as I  know it takes quiet a lot of time to make sure your avatar is managed well and is socialised properly. I am struggling to even manage my time in this real life; I can’t imagine having two lives to manage. It is definitely not for me. 

To have an account in this game is not bad but to make this game your life is a very stupid thing in my opinion. Seriously, live your real life happily than trying to find happiness in a virtual life. 

Read some of the story on what happens in Second life.

Avatars and Second Life adultery: A tale of online cheating and real-world heartbreak .

Do you have a Second Life? Why do you play it?

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The V day

Posted on February 16, 2012 | 16 comments

Did I tell you that I am hopelessly romantic? 🙂 

This is our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple. Everyone told me that all romance dies off after a while once you get married and I am here to prove them wrong. This is what I have planned for our old age (Hope my husband reads this.)

I want to be an 80 years old grandmother with a romantic husband who comes home with roses for me on Valentine’s Day with a box of chocolates or a cake 🙂 . Judging by what he did the day before, I am sure it will happen in the future. 

Anyway the day before was Valentine’s Day if any of you missed that. It is still not too late to buy a rose for you partner yet. It was our second Valentine’s Day together as I mentioned in my previous post (Click here if you missed that). But it was our first as husband and wife (I feel so old when I remember that I am a married woman now). So when I opened my eyes in the morning, I hugged him and wished him a very happy Valentine’s day. It felt so nice to have him next to me.  I feel so lucky to be blessed with such happiness. 

So as usual, I woke up and was ready to go to the shower when he asked me to go to the kitchen and make some breakfast. Normally, our breakfast is cereal and boiled egg during weekdays so I was not in a hurry to make it. I told him I will do it after the shower and went to brush and have shower. Once I got out, again he asked me to go to the kitchen, I was planning to get ready and then I would go to the kitchen. I was a bit annoyed that he kept insisting for me to go to make breakfast but I thought I better do it. 

So I just went to kitchen to boil some eggs and there it was on our dining table, a roses and a card. That’s when I got why he was asking me to go to the kitchen so early in the morning. I was really touched so I went back to the bedroom to thank him. He had this big grin on his face (like a satisfied lion) happy that he was able to surprise me.  The card read, 

For my Wife M

On valentine day

I lose my socks

I lose my head

Sometimes I lose my ways…

I’d like to lose a kilo or two (but they seem here to stay)

I lose my drive to get things done

Sometimes my temper too…

But there’s one thing

I‘ll never lose,

And that’s my love for you

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Love

A (with smiley).

Every word in that card was just so true and felt like every word described our relationship so well.  It made my day. The smell of the flowers was so sweet and I couldn’t stop smiling the whole day. 

Last year we exchanged our gifts after work so I was thinking to do the same this year. I wasn’t prepared in the morning and I felt bad. I knew what I was going to do but I couldn’t risk of him finding out a day in advance. Also I have no idea how he pulled it off but I had no clue that he had bought flowers already the day before. When I asked him where he hid the flowers, he said that he can’t tell otherwise he won’t be able to do it again. 

Just to be in the spirit of Valentine’s Day I wore a red dress to work that day and it was nice to see some of my work mates doing the same. 

I had already bought perfume for him but it was at work. I went and bought a heart-shaped cake from the bakery. They sell amazing delicious cakes so I was sure that one will be great as well. 

When I gave him his gifts, he guessed it was a cake, how disappointing. Anyway he loved his cake and perfume. 

It is funny that we didn’t go and watch the Vow as it was the Valentine movie this year. Instead we went and watched The Safe House. It was an ok movie for me as there is too much gun fight but AS loved it. 

After that we went for dinner. The restaurant was full with lots of couples. To start with we had chicken and corn soup, followed by roast and seafood. They have lots of choices for salads as well. Then for desert we had chocolate mousse, cheese with crackers and fruits. Finally we had tea/coffee to wrap up our dinner. Once dinner was over, they had Vegas Spectacular show on the stage. It was just amazing with Brazilian music with show girls and guys performing. They had great audience participation and the MC was so funny. It was total entertainment. I just loved the whole act and the girls were just amazing. 

After the show we danced to a few songs and it was over for the evening. As both of us were working the next day, it was time to go home to our warm bed. Overall, it was an awesome Valentine’s Day with my husband. Just loving him more 🙂 

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Share the love…

Posted on February 13, 2012 | 15 comments

It is February and month of love. If you haven’t notice I have even changed the banner in my blog since the first of February to celebrate Valentine’s Day. I am a hopelessly romantic person and I have always wished that men were more romantic than they are. Anyway I can’t change that but at least my husband understands that romance is very important to me so he always makes sure that we have a great time during special occasions. Valentine’s is one of them. 

I know Valentine’s days has become so commercialised that it seems like buying the most expensive gift is the best way to express love to your loved ones but I am not in that bandwagon. For me the thought counts more, so no matter what he buys me, if he has put some thought into buying the gift, that is the best gift ever. 

I read somewhere that Valentine’s Day is a complete hype created by the candy companies, card companies and flower mongers to capitalise and make money on something that comes from the heart. I agree with that but then you can always be creative and not spend all that money anyway. 

I know all the advertisement on TV and papers are about making us spend lots of money on their products but believe in me, most women (I am saying most because I am sure some women have a different idea) will love a small gift like a box of chocolate or flowers for Valentine’s day just so you let her know how much you love her. I even told my husband that I don’t need a big bouquet of red roses as they are triple the price on Valentine’s Day than any other day. He can always buy me that bouquet on some others days when it is not as expensive. 

I think the best gift for your partner can be something you can make with lots of love. I made a scrap book with photos and memories of our time together one time. It was very personal and it didn’t cost me much but I spent lots of time making sure that every page reflected our happiness. Another thing I have done is made heaps of small cards with message which can be used later. Like a card said “Today is the time for you to get a massage. Exchange this coupon for a kiss and massage”. It was really fun as I gave this to him last valentine. Also Valentine ’s Day cupcake is awesome idea too which I did last year. It was cheap and personal as I put his name in the cupcake  🙂

I know not everyone is lucky to have their Valentine close to them so make sure if you are planning to send something, do in time so it reaches your loved one for the day. We have been through that. Our first ever Valentine’s days as a couple, we spent apart. But I remember it being on a weekend so we spent the whole day Skyping. I wanted to surprise him so I sent him a cake and flower through an online store. So he got that while we were online. I loved the expression on his face. 

But for him everything didn’t go as planned. He ordered a teddy bear and flower for me online. He didn’t tell me because he wanted to make sure it was a surprise. Unfortunately the company didn’t delivery it on that day. So he had to tell me and I had to follow up with the company. They messed it all up (never apologized) and delivered it two days later. I was really angry with the company as they charge arms and legs on Valentine’s Day for those items. But I was really happy just to know that my then fiancé had put an effort to make sure our first Valentine’s was special. 

I know some people may argue against celebrating Valentine’s Day. If I love my partner 365 days of the year and buy flowers occasionally then why do I have to show it only on that date. My answer to them is, as a gift given to any person on March can’t be considered a Christmas gift or having a turkey in June doesn’t make it Thanksgiving, in the same way Valentine’s Day is in February even though you like it or not. You can argue all you like but I am sure your partner may not have the same idea as you do. You can surprise the one you love with a romantic gesture on some other day throughout the year but do it on this day as well if that makes a difference to your partner. If you both agree not to celebrate, then that is a different story. 

Last year we celebrated our first Valentine’s day together. It was really a treat as it felt so good to wake up in the morning and wish him Happy Valentine than waiting for him to wake up and Skyping with all the time difference. Anyway we went to Sydney tower for dinner and I couldn’t ask for more. He bought me flowers and made me smile the whole day. A perfect day. 

Also last year he uploaded this special photo on his profile in Facebook and I couldn’t believe my eyes. The photo was taken when we were mocking around during our photo shoot. I just loved it and that is the most romantic gesture ever. Normally he doesn’t like pubic display of affections unlike me but he just melted my heart with this photo.

This year, we are planning to go out for dinner as well. Will update with more details later. Let me know what you are planning for Valentine ’s Day. Also if you have some great gift ideas, do share. 

Hope this Valentine ’s Day is the best you ever had!!!

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Hoina, timi haru duii jana ko job nai ghumna ho ki ke ho? I envy…

Posted on February 12, 2012 | 10 comments

That was the comment one of our friends left on Facebook in one of our albums. It translates to “Is travelling around the job for the both of you?  I envy…”

Normally whenever we go out, I try to capture the day in photos. I believe they are the best memories I can have (I love taking photos). Normally, I upload those photos in Facebook especially for my family and AS’s family to see. One of the regular people on our Facebook is my MIL and my dad. They just love to look at our photos which assure them that we are happy and healthy in Australia. Also those photos are viewed by only a selected group of my and AS’s friends.

Anyway the above comments make me wonder if Facebook really portrays real life ? Because I believe most of us post only happy photos or events of our life in Facebook which doesn’t mean that we don’t have any sad or bad days. But still when people look at our Facebook, especially with the new timeline features, all they see is our holidays pics, going out pics and happy pics which makes them think that our life is all happiness and joy.

If you follow my posts, you know that I normally try to do something on the weekends so I have lots of photos of weekends in my Facebook. So if you view my timeline, it looks like all I have been doing in my life is travelling. So I do understand why our friend left that comment. I have had similar comments before.

“You are so lucky. You always seem to have time for holidays and that’s how ones life should be.”

“I want to holiday with you, take me in your suitcase.”

I even have people asking for holiday advice and suggestions when they are planning their holidays.

I don’t mind these comments and I am happy to help anyone with ideas when I can.

But then there are these people who think my life is all gold and glitters. That is what I don’t like. Like everyone around me, I work very hard and try to save money to fulfil my dream which is to travel and see the world. Most of my friends have different dreams than I have i.e. all Australians dream about owning their own house and they are working towards it.

Anyway back to Facebook, I have read lots of surveys that say that people are depressed more these days looking at the happy life of their friends and family in Facebook. Also here is an article  on how other people’s happy statues are affecting people and making them miserable.

I find it a bit stupid, since you should know better if you are a Facebook user. Do you really share all the misery in Facebook? (I know there are some exceptions). If your answer is NO then you should never be upset with what you read and see in Facebook. Everyone has their share of happiness and sadness since no one’s life is perfect. That is what you have to always remember . People are always living their life as they want for a long time, it is just that Facebook is making it easier to share and show the photos of your special moments. For some reason if it does bother you, the best thing to do is to stop looking at that particular person’s profile. There are lots of settings in Facebook which will allow you to hide the profile and activity of a person you don’t want to know about.

I, for one am an active user of Facebook and post photos there but I have never been depressed looking at the photos of my friends and family. I actually get inspired by them, for example I have wanted to go Sky diving for a long time but haven’t booked yet. Now I can see so many of my friends are doing it and looking at those photos really helped me to make my decision on doing it for sure, and soon. Also I know lots of new information from these photos like people getting married and having babies so I am happy to see all these.

And it is so true “Absurd as it may sound, the friends whom you envy may be envying you just as much!”

The study by Cyber psychology, Behavior and Social Networking found that people who spent less time socializing with friends in cyberspace and more time socializing with them in real life were less likely to report they were unhappy. So go out and have real good time with your real friends.

If you have any story to share regarding how Facebook affects people or you, please let me know.

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Do women have it better?

Posted on February 10, 2012 | 20 comments

I am all for women’s rights and everything that goes with that. Then sometimes, things happen in my life, I wonder if that is true that women have it better. 

This morning I went to a service station because my car’s tyres needed some air. Normally I put the air myself as most service stations have a machine where you can enter the tire pressure and off you go. But this particular service station had an old style air pump which I didn’t know how to use. I parked the car and I was just looking at how to use the machine. I must have looked dumb and confused so out of nowhere this guy came and asked me if I needed help. I definitely did, so I said yes. He was kind enough to help me and fill air in all the four tyres.  I thanked him and drove off. I was glad there was someone to help me otherwise I would have spent a while on working out how the machine worked.

 This situation made me think, if I was a guy trying to work out that machine in the service station, would I still have been offered help? 

Because I remember a conversation with my friends (guys) about how people are so nice on the road these days that they give you way when you are trying to change lanes or slow down when you are trying to overtake. And they told me it doesn’t happen to them and I am getting those purely because I am a woman. I disagreed with them then but now it makes me wonder if they were right. In their words “Women are nice to women and men are nice to women so either way, women win”. 

So here are the 10 things I get during my day-to-day life which I am not too sure I get it because I am woman. Please let me know if it is normal or I am getting that because I am a woman. 

  1. Most of the time people smile at me, both men/women when our eyes meet while walking on the street.
  2. Strangers offers me a drink when I go out for a night out. If it is a club, guys come and dance with me and compliments your dress, hair etc. (I think I know the answer already).
  3. Once on a rainy day, this guy came from a shop with an umbrella and helped me cross the road even though he was not walking in the same direction as I was.
  4. A cab driver didn’t take money from me because I was nice to him. All I did was have a conversation during the ride. I insisted on paying but he insisted on not taking the money.
  5. When shopping, the cashier lets me get off with a few cents and says “its ok, don’t worry” while I am digging in your bag for change.
  6. When I am cold at work, everyone was happy to lend me their jumper (guys and gals).
  7. It’s easy to ask for direction when I get lost as everyone seems to be willing to help. I even have some people who walked with me to my destination even if they were walking towards the opposite direction. I couldn’t thank him enough.
  8. Many strangers request me to be their friend in Facebook. 
  9. When I was single, I felt that even my good/close friends were trying to hit on me even though I made it clear to them that I wasn’t looking for a relationship anytime soon.
  10. When we (friends) go out for lunch or dinner, guys in the group offer to pay for my share. I make sure the next time I pay for the meal but the guys insist on paying most of the times.

Tell me your opinion.

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