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Ivanova Shostakovich

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Posts posted by Ivanova Shostakovich

    Do fancy nails matter?

    in Your Avatar

    Posted

       I like a variety of colors on my SL nails, often coordinating with my outfit(s). I find many of the available patterns appealing, but some themes are not for me. I'll nearly always check out nail shops I haven't yet visited to see what they have. I need to check and see if there's a template for the Maitreya nails. I've been thinking of making my own.

       To answer the question in the thread's title: As with so many other things, it's going to depend on the individual and who will be looking at interacting with their hands.

    • Like 1

    Do fancy nails matter?

    in Your Avatar

    Posted

    34 minutes ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

    When I bought my first new car, a strawberry red 1991 Ford Escort station wagon, it came with a little bottle of touch-up lacquer. I opened it and was instantly hit with the unmistakable aroma of acetone, the patron solvent of fingernail polish. I painted a stripe on my nail and was smitten. Strawberry red became my default color (on those rare days I painted up). When I replaced the Escort with my second new car, a grey 2007 wagon, I got another little bottle and that became my default color. That's the closest I've come to Goth. Then I got a used fire engine red 99 Miata and started painting my nails in both colors, sometimes red with grey stripes, grey with red stripes or whatever mix makes me smile.

    I love buying "nail polish" at NAPA Auto Parts.

    I hate choosing colors, so I amortize the decision cost of picking a car color over years of painting my nails to match.

       Are you for real?

    • Like 1

    It's not real. Are you real? Is it real? Are you for real?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

       I call where I am sitting real space because the distinction of 'Real Life' has never felt accurate to me. We're real. Every person sitting at their computer, piloting their avatar around and interacting with others, is real.

       I grant that many people come here to pretend, to regularly assume a role other than who they really are. And some may find it much easier to connect to others here; they may suffer from extreme social anxiety, or a crippling introversion. When they come here, what they are leaving behind, even if only partially, is a cage. But I think a lot of people who come here, do so to escape a pretense, to leave behind the mask they show everyone in real space. For good or for ill, they are showing us, here, their true selves.

       My reasons for being here have changed over the years. At first it was a simple fascination with virtual worlds, to inhabit a place that didn't physically exist, and to see things in it, to see how far you could go and what you could find. I fell in love with the learning I felt myself doing here. As time passed, my connection to SL changed from one of spatial exploration, learning and creativity, to an exploration of myself and how far, and in what directions, I could go, personally. Throughout it all, I have been me, extended from my real space into this beautiful world.

    • Like 9

    How are you feeling today?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

    I visited my emergency backup mom the day after Thanksgiving. She chided me, as she has for more than thirty years, for not wearing a dress, and for not padding my bra enough. Since she moved to assisted living, many of my visits have included doing pirouettes (often in front of her friends) while she noted how trim I am and how bigger boobs would be just the ticket (to what event, I don't know). The things I do to keep people happy.

    She was injured in a fall over the weekend. Surgery was ruled out and she was scheduled for hospice care. I called around to that part of her circle of friends that wasn't well known to her son, while he made calls to the family, encouraging everyone to visit while they could.

    I visited in the evening, wearing a dress, heels, a strand of pearls and my most padded bra. She was unresponsive until I leaned over, grabbed her hand, and told her I was wearing a dress. She opened her eyes. I did a pirouette, then grabbed her hand again and leaned in. She looked at me and said "You're a good girl." I pointed to her son, who was standing across the room and said "You've got a good boy, too." She rolled her eyes and looked away.

    She passed away in her sleep overnight. It seems her last words were "You're a good girl" and her last conscious act was to roll her eyes at her own kid (27 years my senior). She was quintessentially herself in that one brief moment.

    Though I'm not particularly fond of her son, he did say he'd like to keep in touch. I explained that would mean enduring my endless retelling of her last words and actions.

    "I can live with that".

    So can I.

       /me hugs you all up, for as long as you need.

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 1

    Is a discussion better in SL or the forums?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted · Edited by Ivanova Shostakovich
    to fix something I'd thought already fixed.

       For me, and my own needs, it depends on the context and the number of people in the discussion.

       Here in the forum(s) I can read posts one at a time, consider what to say, consider if I have anything valuable to add, or consider whether there's anything deserving of a reply in the first place. It's like a learn at your own pace thing. AND I can appear to be witty. If I see someone cover a base on which I was thinking of commenting, I dust off my hands and call it done, feeling no need to say anything.

       In-world discussions are completely different. They can be fast paced, crowded affairs, or they can be smaller, slower and more intimate encounters. In large groups of people, anything larger than a typical breakfast club meeting, everyone can be talking about disparate things. Too much of that and I can't cope, having to focus on a few little parts. I have to concentrate on a smaller scope, or I will quickly become overwhelmed.

       Today I had a lovely catch-up chat with my oldest SL friend, with whom I have recently re-connected. She is returning on a part-time limited basis. The discussion was mundane and concerned all the new things in SL she has to learn. But it was like we were picking up right where we left off. It was so much fun. And she was there. That in-world, one and one experience has no equal.

       

    • Like 4

    Our Weirdness

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

       I've been putting up lights in my SL house to combat the darkness of night. Almost everything I buy uses the old point light system and their light shines through anything, walls, floors, ceilings, which bugs me. So I've been going through all of them that I can modify and getting them set up with projector based lights that I can turn on and off when I want. I'm weird that way. I want realism in a place where it's absolutely unnecessary.

    • Like 3

    Who in SL has impacted your RL the most?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted · Edited by Ivanova Shostakovich
    Because single space is tricky to achieve.

       This is a good thread, but Oh... there are so many people who have impacted my SL. As reclusive and introverted as I have sometimes been, they still managed to find me.

       GoSpeed
       Gina
       Peter
       Nissa
       Samba
       Nasty
       Ima
       Maddy
       Tre
       Alicia
       Savannah
       Dirk
       YadNi
       Rika
       Selina
       Trinity
       Aimee
       Hoff

       

       You all taught me about myself. Some of you taught me to be more tolerant than I already was. A few of you taught me that sometimes the best response to something with which I disagree is silence.

       Anyone who sees their name here and doesn't remember why, you probably didn't know, but you helped me.

       If you don't see your name here and you think it should be here... Rest assured, you've impacted my SL, almost certainly in a positive way.
       
       

    • Like 4
    • Thanks 1

    How are you feeling today?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted · Edited by Ivanova Shostakovich
    because I forgot something in my bewilderment.

       I have the same low level of disquiet from which Maddy suffers. It's due to some of the same reasons.

       I'm happy, because it's the holiday season, most everybody in my family is healthy, or, at least, physically stable. My children, although they are experiencing challenges, are happy and enjoying life. They have little stress in their lives, for the moment. And they tell us they believe they have really good parents.

       I'm sad for my sister. She's been through, beginning ten years ago, a grand mal seizure, a brain tumor diagnosis ("benign"), surgeries to remove it, other seizures of various types, and some resultant disabilities. Now she's dealing with new a health issue of a very personal nature which is both devastating, and inconvenient. She is definitely not where she thought she might be at this stage in her life.

       I'm worried about an SL friend who's already let me know he's looking at the tail end of a disease which will claim his life. I see him log in more and more seldom, and make a point of sending a hug each time.

       I've recently been excited and glad at the return of an old SL friend who was actually the very first friend I ever made in SL. When we met she was a mentor and helped me learn all kinds of things here. She was subsequently absent for  several years, seldom logging in and then only briefly. Her return now, though on a limited basis, is going to be fairly regular. And she has so many questions. So now, it seems, our roles are reversed.

       I feel periodically frustrated. Having gained so much knowledge and experience over the years, I feel so much more competent than I used to. I've done my best to follow all the positive role models in my life. I like myself, but... why can't I have both this and youth? I am quite certain that when I am old and creaky, and lying on my death bed, I will look out the window at a Spring day, and want nothing more than to have back all the Mondays I cursed.

       There is more about which to feel unease, happiness, sadness, worry, excitement and frustration. It will always be there, and I'm not the only one.

       Everyone, all of you, please take care of yourselves. You are worth more than you know.

       

    • Like 9

    A Derail Thread

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

       My cat has her first big cold this week. She's five years old, healthy, strong. She went through her first string of 14 sneezes in a row and looked up at me, looking a little confused. "What was that? Nobody told me that was going to happen. When will it stop happening?" she seemed to ask.

    • Like 1
    • Sad 1

    What are your favorite things to do in SL?

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

       I organize occasional merfolk swims, bringing both friends and strangers together for ~30 minute swims through the seas of SL.

       I'm part of a group of friends that meets every Sunday morning to have breakfast together, dance to music, and just chat, visit and laugh.

       I go dancing with my partner certain evenings of the week. Locations and DJs vary, and it's always fun.

       I'm often either building things or thinking about it.

       These are only a few of the may things I really like to do in SL.

       

       

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