Allie Jurassic, may you always feel the universal joy around you

The title of this post comes from the (and I'm not making this up) Font of Eternal Remembrance, which, when your avatar "touches" it, dispenses fortunes.

Now that was a real adventure. Star Journey had a strong "place feeling"--mysterious and romantic. If only I had a Second Life boyfriend to share the experience with! Alas, I think my First Life boyfriend might object.

The first thing I noticed when I teleported there was the strong ties to Relay for Life. There were donation stations all around. I think it's cool that real money for a good cause can come out of a virtual world. It's proof that technologies that seem like games are becoming more and more relevant in non-traditional capacities.




This is how you get around in Star Journey: riding on a star. Duh, I guess. I think I was supposed to sit down first.









I found a desk to write at. Every English teacher's dream.









Then I started wandering around the romantic island and found a ducky float ride to chill in for a while. It seemed to me that the best way to use this day (since I was alone, not on a date) was to find the silliest things to do and take pictures of myself doing them. Then, when my students are assigned the "day in the life" writing piece I've been thinking about, they can take captures of their own avatars doing silly things like mine, which will make for interesting writing for them. There are no limits to what you can do in Second Life, as long as you know how to find it! (And in some cases, you have to be willing to pay for it, which I do not plan on doing.)

Then I found a "flower dome" with a leaf in it. You're supposed to chill out with your honey. You can even change the colors and amounts of the flowers surrounding you.

I think the cowboy hat adds a certain something to my relaxed nature.




This is the Lightning Cave. Very cool, it's animated and everything. There was a warning sign outside the cave saying not to go in if you're sensitive to flashes of light.








Then I took a heart-shaped flying saucer to the Ballroom, where I downloaded a free ballgown for myself and danced alone (pity party). That blue spot left of my head is where my partner is supposed to be dancing.






In the end, though, it was a highly satisfying adventure. I even found this free necklace! You can't tell in this picture, but I'm wearing my jeans and sneakers under my ballgown. I'm reluctant to part with them after I worked so long to understand how to wear them.





I learned a few important things today. One: let other people tell you fun places to go, because they definitely know better. Two: stick with something long enough to figure out how to use it well--i.e. Star Island--there were a LOT of directions to read before I understood how to teleport around--but it was worth it.

Three: Posting lots of pictures in a single blog entry is possible, but annoyingly complicated.
Four: Every avatar in Second Life has a profile that anyone can search for and read about. I filled in some information about myself. I think this will be a very useful tool in our characterization project--what will you choose to say in your profile to give people an impression of your character? That's the essence of characterization in real writing too, so we're learning it on a micro scale through Second Life. Excellent.