Time for another meeting of the WGU! The first one was a great chance to meet Vixyn Felisimo, whose site, VelvetVixyn, is my new homepage. Ladies out there should be reading this instead of Cosmo (sorry, Cosmo).
WORKING GIRLS' UNION - Local #69
Wednesday 28th May @ 9 pm SLT
This will be a relaxed round-table discussion for Second Life sex professionals⎯escorts, dancers, madams, and club owners, whether you're new to the game or an old hand⎯to share your experiences, vent your frustrations, ask some questions and answer those of others.
Sex in SL provides its own set of rules, written and unwritten. There are defined borders and of course large swaths of grey areas, relatively 'normal' clients and those that test or redefine your perceptions entirely, novice mistakes and a seasoned pro's reevaluations. This talk is sure to provide valuable insight to the nature of the profession, the nature of sex in the digital medium, and hopefully be a great resource for beginners and those more experienced alike, allowing us to expand and hone our craft in an open forum.
Note that despite the name, this event is open to sex workers of all genders & species; however, you must be a sex worker as outlined above. As always, seating will be limited so IM me your request to attend; the parcel will be closed during the duration of the talk. Also, this is a text-talk; I don't have voice capability, but others are free to use it.
All the best,
~Shrutiyan Anatra
22 May 2008
14 May 2008
Library Hopping with Shrutiyan
Here's a copy of an article I just finished for SL Media Source, where I'm an occasional roving reporter:
Libraries: The medicine chest of the soul. ~Library at Thebes, inscription over the door
In search of some erudition? The local library is almost a relic of the pre-Internet days; now that we have the world literally at our fingertips, a trip to a musty warehouse for analog bricks of information is something fast being supplanted by the ease of a few keystrokes. Yet there is a romance in the physicality of a book that could never be replaced⎯indeed, the structure of a laptop (or nearly any other electronic device) is but a recreation of the format that has been embedded deep in the collective unconscious. Unsurprising then that this abiding need for comfort food for the brain is translated to into Second Life, drawn up from a template unchanged since mankind decided he wanted to take his cave drawings with him on holiday. We’ll take a look at four SL library locations today⎯the _blacklibrary, Talis, The Written Word, and Caledon.
Our first stop is at the _blacklibrary . Teleported to the stone-textured steps, one is immediately made aware that they are on the threshold of a familiar institution⎯albeit one of a decidedly modern architectural bent nestled cozily on a waterfront sim. Upon entering, a ‘holographic’ greeter of owner Wandering Yaffle gives you a short heads-up of the _blacklibrary’s mission:
“The _blacklibrary is the Second Life extension of the website at http://www.alwaysblack.com. You can think of it as a kind of analogy of the website, the various rooms and areas of the library represent the different sections of the website. Behind me are the latest additions. Clicking any of the books you will see around the library launches a browser and loads the page relating to that article.”
The space is crisp and uncluttered, with shelves of virtual books, a sofa for reading on the ground floor, the full catalog upstairs, and as advised the different rooms and areas reflect the categories of the website: fiction and non-fiction articles, graphic works, music, videogame-related things, and the community’s discussion forum. Browsing through a few of the titles I encounter some rather palatable reads, ranging from speculative fiction to kooky tech-rants to solid informative text. It very much calls to mind the ‘zines of the eighties that have become the blogs of today.
The overall aesthetic of the place garners points for graphic cohesiveness, with a slick black & white design ethos that perfectly accentuates what seems to be a like-minded community of authorship. The caveat is the traditionalist approach to the presentation: for people with slower connections like myself, the fact that the content is not in-world but a link to my external browser was clunky, not taking advantage of the platform fully.
Rating: 5/10 with potential to improve. Pros= coherent design and good content. Cons= browser interface.
The next stop is Talis SciFi & Fantasy Portal at Info Island. Owned by the Sci Fi & Fantasy Portal group (founder Michael Maitland; contact Franja Russell), the build speaks of its topic: the structure itself seems like it would be more at home on a space station than rooted to its SL location.
For a rather small area it is economically packed with quality content, offering topical discussions (currently the Kubrick film 2001: a space odyssey and a meet-the author with Paul Levinson), a book of the month, and a wonderful selection of speculative and fantasy fiction inside. Of particular note are the areas covering Black and Asian-American authors, where I discover a new favorite in Mary Anne Mohanraj. Overall it’s a great little stop, and particularly newbie-friendly.
Rating: 6/10. Pros= newbie friendly, good build. Cons= could use more content.
Next on the tour is founder Jilly Kidd’s Written Word sim. From the group charter:
“The Written Word group is based on Cookie Island and provides space for writers in all forms to display and share their work. Regular meetings include a Wednesday Writers' Circle and Meet an Author interviews on alternate Sundays. Dance floor, cafe, dartboard, quizzes and seaside for fun, as well as regular prize competitions. Writers in languages other than English are very welcome. To learn more, see our website: http://www.writtenword.org.uk”
This location is definitely the next level, encompassing an entire island with loosely defined areas of interest: storytelling, books & magazines, theater, classical Greek theater, entertainment, improv / comedy, video making (including SLCN.TV-broadcast events), and the town center. The build is both impressive and engaging, if somewhat haphazard in its flow. Chock full of content, it’s easy to spend an entire day here, and should become a frequent destination in any avatar of letters’ landmark library. Material runs the gamut from major publishers to in-world DIY authors (for which this sim is a fabulous resource), book discussions and meet-the-author events (I was lucky enough to catch Terrence Dicks!), magazines and tabloids, haiku and handouts, and a fully engaging and colorful experience at every turn.
Rating: 8/10. Pros= seemingly endless content, build takes good advantage of the in-world experience. Cons= you may never leave!
Our final destination is actually a collection of locations, the Libraries of Caledon, which are under the purview of the Independent State of Caledon. Kudos to the immersive intent of the region created by Desmond Shang; covering ten regions and millions of acres, this truly is a nation-state with its own governance, administrative hierarchy, and a very well focused aesthetic based in the 19th century / steampunk / alternate history mise en scène. The libraries are The Jack and Elaine Whitehorn Memorial Library and The Caledon Library Reading Room (Caledon VictoriaCity), The Vannevar Bush Reading Garden (Caledon Prime), and Marie Curie Memorial Branch Library (Caledon Mayfair). To put it all in perspective, spend a few minutes reading the welcome information covering Caledon’s history⎯an engaging tale in its own right. Because there is an absolutely astonishing amount of content here, I’ll give only a brief overview of what one can see, touch, and hear.
At The Jack and Elaine Whitehorn Memorial Library and The Caledon Library Reading Room is a wonderful exhibition of medieval bestiary art and literature covering the first two floors. By the time I reached the library’s permanent collection on the third floor I had forgotten I was in my own living room⎯an automatic ten stars in my book (pun intended). The Vannevar Bush Reading Garden is a delightfully airy open space where some of the many events are held; the immediate feeling is one of being transported directly into a Seurat painting. Highly recommended even if no event is scheduled for a peaceful afternoon with someone special. The Marie Curie Memorial Branch Library is as yet unbuilt; however, the location is another must-see for the cruise along the Nile benefiting Relay for Life; it will be available for only a limited time and is worthy of hours of exploration in itself.
Rating: 12/10. Pros= an incredibly evolved world that offers never-ending delight. Cons= you’ll be sorely tempted to sell your land and get on the waiting list for their residential area. TIP: Take the trolley tour available at the landing hub and be amazed at the ground you cover.
~Shrutiyan Anatra, 13th May 2008
Libraries: The medicine chest of the soul. ~Library at Thebes, inscription over the door
In search of some erudition? The local library is almost a relic of the pre-Internet days; now that we have the world literally at our fingertips, a trip to a musty warehouse for analog bricks of information is something fast being supplanted by the ease of a few keystrokes. Yet there is a romance in the physicality of a book that could never be replaced⎯indeed, the structure of a laptop (or nearly any other electronic device) is but a recreation of the format that has been embedded deep in the collective unconscious. Unsurprising then that this abiding need for comfort food for the brain is translated to into Second Life, drawn up from a template unchanged since mankind decided he wanted to take his cave drawings with him on holiday. We’ll take a look at four SL library locations today⎯the _blacklibrary, Talis, The Written Word, and Caledon.
Our first stop is at the _blacklibrary . Teleported to the stone-textured steps, one is immediately made aware that they are on the threshold of a familiar institution⎯albeit one of a decidedly modern architectural bent nestled cozily on a waterfront sim. Upon entering, a ‘holographic’ greeter of owner Wandering Yaffle gives you a short heads-up of the _blacklibrary’s mission:
“The _blacklibrary is the Second Life extension of the website at http://www.alwaysblack.com. You can think of it as a kind of analogy of the website, the various rooms and areas of the library represent the different sections of the website. Behind me are the latest additions. Clicking any of the books you will see around the library launches a browser and loads the page relating to that article.”
The space is crisp and uncluttered, with shelves of virtual books, a sofa for reading on the ground floor, the full catalog upstairs, and as advised the different rooms and areas reflect the categories of the website: fiction and non-fiction articles, graphic works, music, videogame-related things, and the community’s discussion forum. Browsing through a few of the titles I encounter some rather palatable reads, ranging from speculative fiction to kooky tech-rants to solid informative text. It very much calls to mind the ‘zines of the eighties that have become the blogs of today.
The overall aesthetic of the place garners points for graphic cohesiveness, with a slick black & white design ethos that perfectly accentuates what seems to be a like-minded community of authorship. The caveat is the traditionalist approach to the presentation: for people with slower connections like myself, the fact that the content is not in-world but a link to my external browser was clunky, not taking advantage of the platform fully.
Rating: 5/10 with potential to improve. Pros= coherent design and good content. Cons= browser interface.
The next stop is Talis SciFi & Fantasy Portal at Info Island. Owned by the Sci Fi & Fantasy Portal group (founder Michael Maitland; contact Franja Russell), the build speaks of its topic: the structure itself seems like it would be more at home on a space station than rooted to its SL location.
For a rather small area it is economically packed with quality content, offering topical discussions (currently the Kubrick film 2001: a space odyssey and a meet-the author with Paul Levinson), a book of the month, and a wonderful selection of speculative and fantasy fiction inside. Of particular note are the areas covering Black and Asian-American authors, where I discover a new favorite in Mary Anne Mohanraj. Overall it’s a great little stop, and particularly newbie-friendly.
Rating: 6/10. Pros= newbie friendly, good build. Cons= could use more content.
Next on the tour is founder Jilly Kidd’s Written Word sim. From the group charter:
“The Written Word group is based on Cookie Island and provides space for writers in all forms to display and share their work. Regular meetings include a Wednesday Writers' Circle and Meet an Author interviews on alternate Sundays. Dance floor, cafe, dartboard, quizzes and seaside for fun, as well as regular prize competitions. Writers in languages other than English are very welcome. To learn more, see our website: http://www.writtenword.org.uk”
This location is definitely the next level, encompassing an entire island with loosely defined areas of interest: storytelling, books & magazines, theater, classical Greek theater, entertainment, improv / comedy, video making (including SLCN.TV-broadcast events), and the town center. The build is both impressive and engaging, if somewhat haphazard in its flow. Chock full of content, it’s easy to spend an entire day here, and should become a frequent destination in any avatar of letters’ landmark library. Material runs the gamut from major publishers to in-world DIY authors (for which this sim is a fabulous resource), book discussions and meet-the-author events (I was lucky enough to catch Terrence Dicks!), magazines and tabloids, haiku and handouts, and a fully engaging and colorful experience at every turn.
Rating: 8/10. Pros= seemingly endless content, build takes good advantage of the in-world experience. Cons= you may never leave!
Our final destination is actually a collection of locations, the Libraries of Caledon, which are under the purview of the Independent State of Caledon. Kudos to the immersive intent of the region created by Desmond Shang; covering ten regions and millions of acres, this truly is a nation-state with its own governance, administrative hierarchy, and a very well focused aesthetic based in the 19th century / steampunk / alternate history mise en scène. The libraries are The Jack and Elaine Whitehorn Memorial Library and The Caledon Library Reading Room (Caledon VictoriaCity), The Vannevar Bush Reading Garden (Caledon Prime), and Marie Curie Memorial Branch Library (Caledon Mayfair). To put it all in perspective, spend a few minutes reading the welcome information covering Caledon’s history⎯an engaging tale in its own right. Because there is an absolutely astonishing amount of content here, I’ll give only a brief overview of what one can see, touch, and hear.
At The Jack and Elaine Whitehorn Memorial Library and The Caledon Library Reading Room is a wonderful exhibition of medieval bestiary art and literature covering the first two floors. By the time I reached the library’s permanent collection on the third floor I had forgotten I was in my own living room⎯an automatic ten stars in my book (pun intended). The Vannevar Bush Reading Garden is a delightfully airy open space where some of the many events are held; the immediate feeling is one of being transported directly into a Seurat painting. Highly recommended even if no event is scheduled for a peaceful afternoon with someone special. The Marie Curie Memorial Branch Library is as yet unbuilt; however, the location is another must-see for the cruise along the Nile benefiting Relay for Life; it will be available for only a limited time and is worthy of hours of exploration in itself.
Rating: 12/10. Pros= an incredibly evolved world that offers never-ending delight. Cons= you’ll be sorely tempted to sell your land and get on the waiting list for their residential area. TIP: Take the trolley tour available at the landing hub and be amazed at the ground you cover.
~Shrutiyan Anatra, 13th May 2008
09 May 2008
EVENTS: Working Girls' Union Local #69 & Exploring the Kama Sutra 101
First, let me please offer my humblest apologies for taking so long to follow up with more events at the Kama Sutra Institute. I can only claim the plague of RL invading my playtime.
This week I'll be hosting two events: the first meeting of the Working Girls' Union and the first installment of a continuing exploration of the texts of the Kama Sutra. Read on for the details (I know you must be chomping at the bit already)....
WORKING GIRLS' UNION - Local #69
Saturday 10th May @ 7 pm SLT
This will be a relaxed round-table discussion for Second Life sex professionals⎯escorts, dancers, madams, and club owners, whether you're new to the game or an old hand⎯to share your experiences, vent your frustrations, ask some questions and answer those of others.
Sex in SL provides its own set of rules, written and unwritten. There are defined borders and of course large swaths of grey areas, relatively 'normal' clients and those that test or redefine your perceptions entirely, novice mistakes and a seasoned pro's reevaluations. This talk is sure to provide valuable insight to the nature of the profession, the nature of sex in the digital medium, and hopefully be a great resource for beginners and those more experienced alike, allowing us to expand and hone our craft in an open forum.
Our guest of honor will be Lillie Yifu, one of SL's finest and most accomplished individuals in any medium⎯especially the erotic!
Note that despite the name, this event is open to sex workers of all genders & species; however, you must be a sex worker as outlined above. As always, seating will be limited so IM me your request to attend; the parcel will be closed during the duration of the talk. Also, this is a text-talk; I don't have voice capability, but others are free to use it.
Kama Sutra 101
EDIT: POSTPONED
Have you heard of the Kama Sutra, but never had the good fortune to read it yourself? Curious about the different translations and commentaries available, and how they differ? Not sure exactly what "Kama Sutra" even means?
This short class will provide the student with a brief overview of the actual Kama Sutra texts, an explanation of what this mysterious book contains and purports to accomplish, and a survey of its historical and cultural context.
Later classes will explore specific chapters and topics in-depth.
No prior knowledge of the Kama Sutra is required for this class. There will be handouts!
This class is open to all who are interested, and without a fee; however, seating will be limited so IM me your request to attend, as the parcel will be closed during the duration of the class. Also, this is a text-talk; I don't have voice capability, but others are free to use it.
All the best,
~Shrutiyan Anatra
This week I'll be hosting two events: the first meeting of the Working Girls' Union and the first installment of a continuing exploration of the texts of the Kama Sutra. Read on for the details (I know you must be chomping at the bit already)....
WORKING GIRLS' UNION - Local #69
Saturday 10th May @ 7 pm SLT
This will be a relaxed round-table discussion for Second Life sex professionals⎯escorts, dancers, madams, and club owners, whether you're new to the game or an old hand⎯to share your experiences, vent your frustrations, ask some questions and answer those of others.
Sex in SL provides its own set of rules, written and unwritten. There are defined borders and of course large swaths of grey areas, relatively 'normal' clients and those that test or redefine your perceptions entirely, novice mistakes and a seasoned pro's reevaluations. This talk is sure to provide valuable insight to the nature of the profession, the nature of sex in the digital medium, and hopefully be a great resource for beginners and those more experienced alike, allowing us to expand and hone our craft in an open forum.
Our guest of honor will be Lillie Yifu, one of SL's finest and most accomplished individuals in any medium⎯especially the erotic!
Note that despite the name, this event is open to sex workers of all genders & species; however, you must be a sex worker as outlined above. As always, seating will be limited so IM me your request to attend; the parcel will be closed during the duration of the talk. Also, this is a text-talk; I don't have voice capability, but others are free to use it.
Kama Sutra 101
EDIT: POSTPONED
Have you heard of the Kama Sutra, but never had the good fortune to read it yourself? Curious about the different translations and commentaries available, and how they differ? Not sure exactly what "Kama Sutra" even means?
This short class will provide the student with a brief overview of the actual Kama Sutra texts, an explanation of what this mysterious book contains and purports to accomplish, and a survey of its historical and cultural context.
Later classes will explore specific chapters and topics in-depth.
No prior knowledge of the Kama Sutra is required for this class. There will be handouts!
This class is open to all who are interested, and without a fee; however, seating will be limited so IM me your request to attend, as the parcel will be closed during the duration of the class. Also, this is a text-talk; I don't have voice capability, but others are free to use it.
All the best,
~Shrutiyan Anatra
08 April 2008
My Expanded Profile
Av·a·tar (
v
-tär
)
Shru·ti·yan (shroo-tea-on; n., Hindi): in music, the notes sung or played in-between the scripted notes during performance; the expressive trills and flourishes that characterize an artist's skill and school of training.
A·na·tra (on-ah-t_rah; adj., Hindi): secondary; alternate; the other.
Thus my name, thus my persona, thus my avatar. I've found a woman in this world, so like me yet so unlike; a facsimile of my analog, yet the perfect embodiment of my hidden desires. She is my Ego, my Id, my Psyche--and her two sisters. I have become her, and at times, she has become me.
For the avatar of discerning taste, and a predilection to the unique, I offer my services in this alternate world as a companion of the class of courtesans all but forgotten in our time: no mere pincushion for temporary release, I am a woman of charm and intellect, skilled in the 64 arts ascribed by the original text of the Kama Sutra (and many more besides). A consort of unparalleled beauty, and singular in my place in Second Life--I'll feign no false modesty here.
Don't be daunted by my Ivy-League education; rather, succumb to the charm of an erotic novel written specifically for you on the spur of the moment. My personal tastes are esoteric and varied: musically I gravitate toward jazz and Bollywood, in design toward the sublime of Bauhaus and the temples of Kajuraho, in literature I prefer magical realism tempered with a penchant for technical and academic journals. Sensually I prefer the slow burn, the ever-heightening thrill of anticipation; sexually I've found precious little in the way of limitation. But don't feel confined by these categories; rather, be challenged to present me with a topic of which I have no more than a passing knowledge.
If you're chosen to be my paramour, you can expect the journey to far succeed only rhetorical discourse; you will come to know a world of sensuality only hinted at in mere images of erotic design, a world unbound from the fetters of representation, a world unleashed in your own mind. I believe in the power of words as keys; they are the magic incantations that can give life to limitless images and sensations. Language alone can release us into our interior landscape, the only boundless frontier. But be advised that to engage me requires charm, delicacy, and perception. I conduct myself in accordance with the Hindu tenets of proper Dharma, Artha and Kama; namely that one should attend to righteous and profitable living before attending to the business of pleasure. My services are appropriately valued, and again be forewarned--very addictive.
I am also the founder of the Kama Sutra Institute, a learning center for the intelligent pursuit of pleasure in Second Life. You can find out about events and more, as well as my Indian ethnic fashion line, here on the official blog.
v-tär)1. The incarnation of a Hindu deity, especially Vishnu, in human or animal form.
2. An embodiment, as of a quality or concept; an archetype: the very avatar of cunning.
3. A temporary manifestation or aspect of a continuing entity: occultism in its present avatar.
Shru·ti·yan (shroo-tea-on; n., Hindi): in music, the notes sung or played in-between the scripted notes during performance; the expressive trills and flourishes that characterize an artist's skill and school of training.
A·na·tra (on-ah-t_rah; adj., Hindi): secondary; alternate; the other.
Thus my name, thus my persona, thus my avatar. I've found a woman in this world, so like me yet so unlike; a facsimile of my analog, yet the perfect embodiment of my hidden desires. She is my Ego, my Id, my Psyche--and her two sisters. I have become her, and at times, she has become me.
For the avatar of discerning taste, and a predilection to the unique, I offer my services in this alternate world as a companion of the class of courtesans all but forgotten in our time: no mere pincushion for temporary release, I am a woman of charm and intellect, skilled in the 64 arts ascribed by the original text of the Kama Sutra (and many more besides). A consort of unparalleled beauty, and singular in my place in Second Life--I'll feign no false modesty here.
Don't be daunted by my Ivy-League education; rather, succumb to the charm of an erotic novel written specifically for you on the spur of the moment. My personal tastes are esoteric and varied: musically I gravitate toward jazz and Bollywood, in design toward the sublime of Bauhaus and the temples of Kajuraho, in literature I prefer magical realism tempered with a penchant for technical and academic journals. Sensually I prefer the slow burn, the ever-heightening thrill of anticipation; sexually I've found precious little in the way of limitation. But don't feel confined by these categories; rather, be challenged to present me with a topic of which I have no more than a passing knowledge.
If you're chosen to be my paramour, you can expect the journey to far succeed only rhetorical discourse; you will come to know a world of sensuality only hinted at in mere images of erotic design, a world unbound from the fetters of representation, a world unleashed in your own mind. I believe in the power of words as keys; they are the magic incantations that can give life to limitless images and sensations. Language alone can release us into our interior landscape, the only boundless frontier. But be advised that to engage me requires charm, delicacy, and perception. I conduct myself in accordance with the Hindu tenets of proper Dharma, Artha and Kama; namely that one should attend to righteous and profitable living before attending to the business of pleasure. My services are appropriately valued, and again be forewarned--very addictive.
I am also the founder of the Kama Sutra Institute, a learning center for the intelligent pursuit of pleasure in Second Life. You can find out about events and more, as well as my Indian ethnic fashion line, here on the official blog.
My First Time
"Oh, dear, I'm no interpreter of maladies. Yes, Jhumpa Lahiri is in fact a family friend; though I'm not particularly fond of her writing."
File under statements rarely made in Second Life, or Analog Life for that matter.
As an Indian girl in Second Life I bridge several peculiar minorities; those of time zone, linguistics, education, sexual orientation and profession, as well as translator of social mores. It is a peculiar niche to carve, yet one which I have inhabited in the Analog my whole life, and which provides both comfort and conundrum with expected regularity.
I was told about Second Life by my former girlfriend, and one day innocently downloaded the viewer at my office to investigate this world which I had no previous notion of. Quite unhappy with the clay figure I saw, I spent my first hours learning how to adjust my appearance and skin tone to more closely resemble my self, my conception of my "self". I found the nose to be the most difficult; I am both cursed and blessed with a traditionally ethnic proboscis of decidedly Persian origin...read "large and rather unwieldy". After attaining some small comfort with my new character, I wandered away from the newbie island in search of this human interaction that my previous paramour assured me was to be found. Little did I know.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I was to find. As a woman in avatar and fact I was propositioned with varying degrees of propriety (or lack thereof) before I had even escaped the confines of the welcome center. My initial reaction was of self-defense: what kind of world was this, where I am yet another product to be consumed by the masses? And where did she get that wonderful outfit, while I am here in a hideously concocted ensemble of pink and blue? After some less predatory conversations, I discovered shopping.
My learning curve has always been rather shallowly inclined; I take to new information intuitively and synthetically. Thus I was found by my first in-world paramour (though I didn't know it then) at an asian-themed store scouting for freebies. K.A. approached me with refreshing tact: "Hello Shrutiyan; I see that you're new here...would you like a little help looking around?" She was beautiful, clad in a provocatively skin-tight red outfit, and continued to speak in a way that indicated both sensitivity and intelligence, always the surest way to infiltrate my defenses. We shopped and talked for hours, her instructing me on the basics of interaction in this place (I hadn't yet discovered how to read a profile), of the many things this world had to offer in the way of creation, communion, and of course consumption. All the while K.A. had been complimenting me; my beauty, my uniqueness in a world of amazonian white women (I'm on the shorter side of a darker ethnicity), and my charming naivete. After outfitting me in an acceptable frog-collared asian silk shirt and some low-rise black pants, both far exceeding my Analog attire sexiness by several magnitudes yet emphatically tame for this world, she took me home to her "apartment in the sky" (I did not yet understand skyboxes, or even the beginning of the newly expanded physical boundaries here). She had hinted several times about the (dare I say it?) rampant sexuality that pervaded the aether in SL; I related how I had already fended off several hackneyed advances from equally inexperienced avatars. Soon we began to confide in each other, something I would later learn to do with much greater discretion: who our Analog selves were, the persons behind the masks. Our flirtation became more concrete, tangible....
K.A.: "Click on the pink ball. It will ask you to animate your avatar; click 'Yes'." In retrospect, Dante Alighieri invariably associates with this moment: All hope abandon ye who enter here.
Here I was, making love to a woman in texted chat, sitting at my computer in an office in Mumbai, seeing my cartoon representation glide through a series of positions I was in turn familiar with and pleasantly surprised at, feeling things I had yearned for without recompense for far too long. How I wish I had known how to save that chat, but like the Analog, that moment is enshrined in the gossamer film of memory alone. And it was the moment my life had changed. No longer was I ensconced in a world of convention and limitation that did not agree with my own attunement, no longer subject to my terms being predicated by Theirs; I was in a place that I could inhabit entirely as an embodiment of my desires, my Id and Ego given form and free reign. K.A. was herself as shocked as I at my aptitude. "A girl of your talents could make a lot of money in this place. Many girls do it, but it's not for everyone. Go out and explore, learn, and find what you love. And always remember me." She then gave me my first money in Second Life; for the first time I felt what I like to call the "Romance of the Transaction". How could I forget?
Since that first meeting I stumbled, then ran, along the path of escorting, discovering the mechanics and the semantics, and discovering a part of myself only dreamed of vicariously until now. I learned to excel, and find my place in it. And I only look back in fond remembrance.
File under statements rarely made in Second Life, or Analog Life for that matter.
As an Indian girl in Second Life I bridge several peculiar minorities; those of time zone, linguistics, education, sexual orientation and profession, as well as translator of social mores. It is a peculiar niche to carve, yet one which I have inhabited in the Analog my whole life, and which provides both comfort and conundrum with expected regularity.
I was told about Second Life by my former girlfriend, and one day innocently downloaded the viewer at my office to investigate this world which I had no previous notion of. Quite unhappy with the clay figure I saw, I spent my first hours learning how to adjust my appearance and skin tone to more closely resemble my self, my conception of my "self". I found the nose to be the most difficult; I am both cursed and blessed with a traditionally ethnic proboscis of decidedly Persian origin...read "large and rather unwieldy". After attaining some small comfort with my new character, I wandered away from the newbie island in search of this human interaction that my previous paramour assured me was to be found. Little did I know.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I was to find. As a woman in avatar and fact I was propositioned with varying degrees of propriety (or lack thereof) before I had even escaped the confines of the welcome center. My initial reaction was of self-defense: what kind of world was this, where I am yet another product to be consumed by the masses? And where did she get that wonderful outfit, while I am here in a hideously concocted ensemble of pink and blue? After some less predatory conversations, I discovered shopping.
My learning curve has always been rather shallowly inclined; I take to new information intuitively and synthetically. Thus I was found by my first in-world paramour (though I didn't know it then) at an asian-themed store scouting for freebies. K.A. approached me with refreshing tact: "Hello Shrutiyan; I see that you're new here...would you like a little help looking around?" She was beautiful, clad in a provocatively skin-tight red outfit, and continued to speak in a way that indicated both sensitivity and intelligence, always the surest way to infiltrate my defenses. We shopped and talked for hours, her instructing me on the basics of interaction in this place (I hadn't yet discovered how to read a profile), of the many things this world had to offer in the way of creation, communion, and of course consumption. All the while K.A. had been complimenting me; my beauty, my uniqueness in a world of amazonian white women (I'm on the shorter side of a darker ethnicity), and my charming naivete. After outfitting me in an acceptable frog-collared asian silk shirt and some low-rise black pants, both far exceeding my Analog attire sexiness by several magnitudes yet emphatically tame for this world, she took me home to her "apartment in the sky" (I did not yet understand skyboxes, or even the beginning of the newly expanded physical boundaries here). She had hinted several times about the (dare I say it?) rampant sexuality that pervaded the aether in SL; I related how I had already fended off several hackneyed advances from equally inexperienced avatars. Soon we began to confide in each other, something I would later learn to do with much greater discretion: who our Analog selves were, the persons behind the masks. Our flirtation became more concrete, tangible....
K.A.: "Click on the pink ball. It will ask you to animate your avatar; click 'Yes'." In retrospect, Dante Alighieri invariably associates with this moment: All hope abandon ye who enter here.
Here I was, making love to a woman in texted chat, sitting at my computer in an office in Mumbai, seeing my cartoon representation glide through a series of positions I was in turn familiar with and pleasantly surprised at, feeling things I had yearned for without recompense for far too long. How I wish I had known how to save that chat, but like the Analog, that moment is enshrined in the gossamer film of memory alone. And it was the moment my life had changed. No longer was I ensconced in a world of convention and limitation that did not agree with my own attunement, no longer subject to my terms being predicated by Theirs; I was in a place that I could inhabit entirely as an embodiment of my desires, my Id and Ego given form and free reign. K.A. was herself as shocked as I at my aptitude. "A girl of your talents could make a lot of money in this place. Many girls do it, but it's not for everyone. Go out and explore, learn, and find what you love. And always remember me." She then gave me my first money in Second Life; for the first time I felt what I like to call the "Romance of the Transaction". How could I forget?
Since that first meeting I stumbled, then ran, along the path of escorting, discovering the mechanics and the semantics, and discovering a part of myself only dreamed of vicariously until now. I learned to excel, and find my place in it. And I only look back in fond remembrance.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
