Here I am, playing some sort of gamelan (described as an “elven samong” or some such) in a little pavilion in an area called.. “Qoheloth.” It’s a pretty place where people have set up pavilions with information about world religions, and there’s an entire mosque with a Stargate on top – that works, because I saw someone come through it. But unless you’re flying when you come through, you fall from the roof to the ground in front of the door, which is an ungraceful way to arrive for Friday prayers. In the same area are smaller pavilions for Jainism, Hindusm, Christianity, Shinto, Buddhism (several kinds) and other world pavilions. After wandering around the pavilions and some places that are set up for large meetings or possibly group therapy (I kid you not) I got into this little Japanese-like building that had a photo of a woman and her birth and death dates… and inside, were these beautiful instruments that you could play.

It amazes me what some people have been able to create “here.”

I’ve befriended several people, David included, and I’ve already determined that I like it better than he does… because I’m more open to interacting and playing here. I’m undecided whether I want to start an entire new categoryfor Second Life, or keep this somewhere between geeking out and traveling. In a way, it’s both.

I found my way to this area because a woman I met by chance mentioned that there was a scavenger hunt for penguins, with a prize. So what the heck, I started from the beginning (it’s spread across three “worlds” or lands or islands or whatever, which seemed to be sort of vacation-land residential. It starts at a place called “The Cove” which seems to be a beach-party type bar, and continues into the other areas. All of which are pretty interesting to explore. And the penguins! They’re well hidden! Sometimes… underwater.

Then a friend I met at the Anglican Cathedral offered to teleport me somewhere… looked like a lingerie shop, but whatever, and we chatted and went someplace else, and met the owner of a shopping mall thing…. who demonstrated how things work and how to create simple objects. He had a steampunk kind of look and the most clever animation – when “inworld” typing in a chat box, your avatar figure stands there typing away in empty air. This guy had a little old fashioned typewriter that popped up whenever he typed, and a cane… and he hadn’t bothered to make himself young and perfect (or bizarrely fantastical). He was portly, had a white goatee, and looked like a very cool cyberdude. And he offers this thing called… “camping.” For some reason, in some locations, if you sit or pose in a special chair or location, you get paid “play money” called “Lindens” for 15 minutes or so of sitting. I guess they like their areas to look populated? It’s odd.. currently I’m holding a broom and “sweeping.”

But I’m done with that now… and I has 12 fake moneys to prove it.

UPDATE:More wandering around. This time, I made a clay pot and went parachuting at “Newbie Doo,” a nice place to pick up free stuff. Caution, there’s a nightclub nearby with some adult “pose ball” animations. It looked like a fun haunted house until I spotted an X-rated pose out in front, so Gawd only knows what was inside the nightclub.

All of this sounds incredibly sad and pointless, but when you’re “inworld,” it’s not. Aside from the crap and crass $$$ money stuff, it’s very absorbing looking around and talking to people. And some of the things I’ve seen are beautiful.