SLUniverse Forums

Delicious Demar

I'm just coming out of a wicked one. Last year, i was all gung ho, building up a business, having a blast - building things, making skins, trying to make clothes (which all suck, unfortunately...). I dabble in the land biz, and I was really intent on GROWING last year - but my favorite part was always getting to know all of the people that used my land - spending some time with them, becoming friends.

After a while, it became just too much - too many renters to really give them the kind of attention that I wanted to. Then some shit happened with people in the "financial sector" (snort), that left me somewhat disillusioned about the whole thing. I tend to take getting screwed (and not in the nice way) too personally, and eventually, all of the fun was sucked out of SL and it had become nothing more than a big chore. I had to spend all my time dealing with the business side - just so I didn't lose my shirt - never had time any more to just relax and enjoy SL like I used to - hang out - create things.

It got to the point where I couldn't log in without capped messages and a bunch waiting in email to be dealt with, even if it had only been a few hours. And the IM's just kept flying when i was inworld. A lot from friends just wanting to say Hi - that I didn't have time to talk to. Made me feel bad. I had incurred responsibilities to the people that were renting my land, and I couldn't just ignore them. But, it certainly had stopped being fun. It got to the point where I would cringe when I looked at the SL icon on my puter, and just avoided logging on as much as I could.

But in the last couple of weeks, I have rediscovered some joy in SL - I have been logging in more and more, spending time with friends that I have neglected, selling off some land to make things more manageable, actually accepting help from people that have offered.

It helped to go on a good shopping spree - several in fact. And it helped to get back to actually making things - building a new house, working on the skins that have been sitting untouched for months. I have promised myself that I will always do something fun every time i log onto SL - even if i have a shitload to do, I just make the time to check out a club, or just drop in on someone and have a chat. It's been pretty good.

So we'll see... I hope I can get back to feeling the way I did the first year or so in SL - full of awe and wonder, full of ideas, and horny as hell.

dd

whyroc

That's awesome! my rut is over now too at least temporarily thanks to some new stuff I found out how to do in Blender for sculpties.

Do you guys ever get that "SL Magic" feeling? it's strange but sometimes amidst all the grumbling and complaining I and my friends do about the system/performance etc.. I get this feeling like SL actually means something and what I am doing is very cool and fun.

I remeber several distinct times when I have felt the magic, usually related to creating things for me, or the heady periods when a new idea or project is forming..That is the hook i guess. In that way SL is like something i heard someone say about Poker..it's 'Hours of boredom followed by moments of sheer terror.'
-why

__________________
Sculpties Galore 100's of full perm sculpt maps

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Learning%20Pond/183/14/251

bilbo99 emu

I heard an airline pilot describe his job like that. I think that SL magic you mention has always been there for me. With meeting newbies almost everyday, it's easy to feel the electricity of their enthusiasm too. My tiny, tiny plot of land is for fiancee and I to try outfits and stuff. Group owned so tier free, my only outlay is when the annual premium renewal is up. OK, I buy some L$ from time to time when the L$700 a week doesn't cover the clothing bills
I did think about getting into scripting or trying Photoshop. If SL had found me sooner I might well have got sucked into creation but I'm naturally slowing down so just enjoying the ride.
Not ready for a zimmer frame in-world mind!

__________________
"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people
very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
- Douglas Adams

Walker Moore

I've been in an SL rut since early 2007.

There was a time when I logged into SL during every free hour, but a combination of things stopped that. Partly my relationship and work situation in RL, but also getting continually pissed with people trying to relieve me of my mainland parcels by carving the adjoining parcels into ads, or surrounding me with megaprim structures. Although I was barely logging in until December 2007, I almost stopped altogether for six months from that date because yet another megaprim structure went up on three sides right after I'd spent weeks building and texturing a project I was passionate about.

That's changing now though.

ArchTx Edo

A friend I really admired in RL owned a marina and sold sailboats. I'm a sailor and thought this must be a wonderful way to make a living. When I confided this to him, he advised, "the best way to ruin a hobby that you love is to do it for a living".

It can get like that in SL after awhile if you keep having to log in to do work and business rather then just have fun. My business even came between my partner and I, and it played a roll in our break up. Its really hard to ignore customers who are IM'ng you and want help NOW! And they expect it NOW because they spent a whole US$2.00 with you.

Its also hard to focus on business, building new stuff, if you have lots of friends who want you to come out and play.

I guess a smart person would keep one avatar strictly for business (with no friends cards) and another for play.

P.S. Let me add, unless you rely on SL for a significant amount of your income, its probably very healthy for you to be giving RL situations priority over anything that happens in SL.