What happens when?

In here? Try everywhere.

Welcome to *our* world. ;p (I'm assuming you are RL male since "eye opener" denotes surprise.)

(Preemptive Pepstrike: We said SOME guys - some.)

Ok, I snorted soda on that one lmao...

It is not my store that is my work in SL
I work for a company that has a sim, (Avatar Island) I mentioned it before on here

I am a CS for them, and I deal with people who are not sure how to use the system they have for the face on the avatar as well as custom work from time to time.

So taking a break from SL or the computer is not an option.

And my job (being in SL to do it) is not what is making me feel this way, I have had this job over a year, but only started feeling this way around Dec or so.

I am not sure what it is...

It is nice to know though that I am not the only one who experiences it.

Ah well, I guess I just continue on, log in, do my job, log out, go on a blood rampage on wow.

I started back on my RL hobby as well, and found myself sitting at the kitchen table today for 4 straight house, something I have not done in about 8 years (the last time I did anything with my RL hobby).

It was a nice feeling, and can't wait to do some more on it tomorrow!



(It is also fun knowing that people in my RL are waiting to see the finished result hehe)

I think Weston hit on part of it when he said this...
"Sometimes I look at SL as one big way for all of us to step out, strut our stuff -- stuff many of us never had in real life, and also to show off our taste and creativity. The sad thing is, everyone's so busy doing that, no one is beholding or admiring all the strutting and the creativity."

We all love what we do, and it makes it even more fun when others love to see/use what we do.

Rha, sounds like you are perfectly normal...

Very few people have jobs they love so much that they want to stay there after 5pm. If being in SL is your JOB, then no wonder you don't want to do it in your off time!

People also can burn out on things they enjoy in RL after a period of time, particularly if said activity takes a lot of energy (mental or physical).

My suggestion would be to "leave work" (step away from the computer) when you are done working for the day, and find some RL things you enjoy, like the hobby you mentioned, a good book, quality time with your sweetie, going outside for a walk, take a yoga class, etc. A little RL can be a good thing.

Also, if you visit SL when NOT working, make sure you have a clear boundary, so that job time is job time and personal time is personal time.

LOL
now there is a sentence you won't see very often

(thank you though, this thread has helped me put it into perspective and I hope it has helped others too)

Actually I have been doing that (stepping away, only coming to the PC to check email or play wow, and I have been getting back into reading books more. (plus I have had an eye infection for a little over 2 weeks so prolonged periods at the PC were a strain)

And I am very much excited about being able to get back to my hobby, so excited I am finding it hard to sleep LOL
(for those who do not know, my hobby is Egg Art (decorating, painting, carving, etc with real (empty) eggs)
I am currently working with an ostrich egg (and my stupid tool that I use to cut the egg died today, had to go get a dremel, I think I will be happier with the dremel)

The cutting is the scary part as I do not want to break or crack it, then comes the fun part, decorating it with the beads and paint, and "findings" and all kinds of gem stones, etc.

has been preoccupied 'pg-ifying' my shtuff a bit, with that coming down... having had a lengthy time-off to do th'olde annual backup and rebuild, and taking advantage of it to 'rebalance' a little bit... weather's still not good enough everyday though to take a walk, but it's getting there.

otherwise am lately able to work a lot more on shtuff offline; programming and playing with painting experiments, and watching shtuff checked out from the county library... :0 (think i'll start a 'mooveez' page soon a lot of good watches)...

re-focusing in and out of second life isn't something to be afraid of. it ain't goin' anywhere... ;0 be sure to take care of what you need and the rest will follow.

Linden Lab have helped you here: they've just announced an in-world egg-decorating contest on the blog!

Edit: A thought on the above. Have you thought about starting a blog to show off your creations? Do you sell them at craft fairs or somewhere like etsy.com?

I agree that taking time out of SL and doing some RL stuff is good. I love reading, going for walks (I sometimes combine those into a trip to the local libary, which also involves taking photos of the fluffy ducklings currently paddling around after their mums in the river that runs through my hometown) and doing those big 'Colossus' crossword puzzles with about a million clues. Anything that exercises my brain and senses in the real world.

Having said that, one thing that could be fun is to give yourself a challenge. Create a new avatar (create two if you like: one male, one female) and set goals like I did. Use money trees to get as much L$ as you can for their first 30 days, then hunt around the grid and outfit them for free, put together themed looks for them (eg: goth, medieval, urban etc), maybe even start a blog about your efforts. You could use other freebie blogs to help you do this, or go it alone and dig out the freebie gems yourself. I found it to be a lot of fun when I tried it. I've only been here a year and a bit, but my blog is what keeps me logging in, because I still love finding things, sharing things I've learned, and putting together looks around my finds. Everyone's idea of enjoyment is different, of course, but I know the challenge of this is something that I like.

I'm not sure whether avatar customisation is something you do as part of your job (as in, whether you take newbie avatars around SL to get them fitted up, or whether you show them the basics, such as how to work the sliders) but it might be something to consider.

Whatever you do, I hope you rediscover the fun that SL once held for you

/me reads Mariel's tagline

I love your blog!

You are most welcome. (((hugs)))

Oooooh, pics please???

an in world egg decorating contest? interesting LOL

I used to sell my stuff (back in the late 90's and 2000, but then I moved and left the supplies behind and only a year ago, got the supplies back.

so now I am getting back into it.

still have a few things I made but most of it was sold (via ebay at the time)

Let me see if I still have them on my website (I made a webpage a long time ago as people wanted to see a sample of what I do, it is by no means a complete collection of what I have done)

http://www.lindensforsale.com/eggs/
(I used the pen name Hunney at the time, but now I will be doing them under my RL name)


as for the make an alt suggestions (been there done that, got bored quickly LOL)
when I say avatar customization what I mean is I will use their photo to create the base skin from the cyber extruder at avatar island, thenI will enhance that in photoshop, sharpen it up, then I create the shape and match it as best as possible via the RL photos they send me

then I do the footwork of finding the clothing stores that would interest them, hair to match theirs etc (of course they would then go shop themselves as I do not know their tastes, but they get a list of lm's from me to start them out)

sometimes they also want custom clothing made which I will do

just read the blog entry on the egg decorating thing... looks interesting but no where near as fun as working with the real thing hehe

but even that doesn't make me want to log in and do it

Is it that you love SL or that you love us? All the people you know and interact with. The people are what keep me here. SL is just the platform to meet them.

well, if you asked me that 3 years ago I would have said the people

however I am not a social person in SL, I go to work and that is about it

I think it is the people that keep me at the forums though, as you are all an interesting group of people, good and bad

love? well I would not go so far as to say I love you all, but I do like some of you

I do love aspects of SL, the ability to create, the diversity of the world, seeing other people's creations. I am just not sure why that no longer has the pull it used to.

*shrug*

Those are pretty nifty. I've always admired the painstaking intricacies of making such creations. I remember seeing some show as a kid where they make those really intricate designs using wax and successive dippings in darker coloured dyes (a Ukranian Easter tradition I think). Another thing I've seen that was cool was cracking semi hard boiled eggs and then dying them, leaving you with a peeled egg with an interesting mottled effect from where the dye seeped through onto the egg whites. Not entirely related to probably what you do but thanks for showing us your creations. Sometimes I think it is healthy to be able to walk away and do something really creative and tactile with a long standing history. Enjoy it!

The worst thing to do is wring your hands over why you don't feel like logging in. Don't worry about it. If you have business obligations, take care of them, log out and enjoy RL is some way. Don't give SL a thought for the time being. You'll probably find yourself wanting to log in "Just Because" eventually.If not, there's nothing wrong with that either. Sometimes we do lose interest in hobbies and activities and never return to them.

joshooah thanks
that cracking an egg then dying sounds really cool (if I remember that, I might try it with the boys this year)
The dyed technique you speak of is psyanki style, mine are done (well some) more in the Faberge style

Although I do also do carving, painting and anything else that pops into my head LOL

it is fun, but it can be frustrating too

for instance I remember carving a small egg (I think there is one pictures, a tiny egg full of holes) the egg is about the size of a grape

well after I did all the carving, I dipped it in bleach to remove the membrane and left it a few seconds too long, and when I pulled it out to rinse it, the egg shattered



but I did another, learned from my mistake and it survived and I still have it to this day (this was back in 2000)


Brenda, you make a good point, and I have no clue why I feel bad because I no longer have an interest in SL like I used to.

oh i found where i saw the egg cracking technique!

http://www.barefootkitchenwitch.com/the_barefoot_kitchen_witc/2009/04/coloring-eggs.html

i guess a somewhat westernized version of chinese tea eggs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_egg

Legend of the Seeker...? Honestly?

God... they butchered that adaptation if you ask me. After sticking around for the first four episodes I couldn't help but think that it was nothing more than Xena/Hercules with different characters.

Maybe it's changed?

I haven't read the books, and I'm not going to nitpick about it. From what I've read from some folks, going through one book faithfully would be terribly boring as a televised series. So I accept that it's just "based on" the series and I get to enjoy it thoroughly.

Model rocketry. Build your own rockets out of cardboard tubes. Remind yourself that you can't just rez balsawood, you have to go down to the hobby store for nosecones and motors.

I was in that situation.

My "migrational sequence" was this:
-SL
-WOW
-SL
-BIOSHOCK
-WOW
-SL
-UNREAL TOURNAMENT
-WOW
-SL

Currently:
- SL & QUAKELIVE blended.

those look so cool

and her comments give a cool idea for potato salad

do the eggs like that, then use them in potato salad and call it easter salad or confetti potato salad LOL

also the deviled eggs sounded like a cool idea

one could also do that for xmas and just use traditional xmas colors


ohhh the ideas hehe

(and yeah, do not soak them in warm water like she said, just use cold, refrigerate it and it will eventually soak in)

Fair enough. My only complaint was it has almost nothing to do with the book. Glad you enjoy it.

Oh, I am so impressed! Those are fabulous, especially the wide range of style. What a talent.

Hey, maybe you could sell those for a ton of money, quit the SL job, and enjoy SL again as a hobby.

thank you for the kind words

LOL I wish
the market for this type of thing is not a very big market

I might (if I had enough premade) be able to sell them at a xmas market or something

and to price one of these according to the work that goes into them, makes them very expensive and with today's economy.... well...