Last night was Fantasy night at Lounge of Dreams, and while the crowd was a little small, the fun was huge as usual. Cam and Rocky brought out a variety of Final Fantasy avatars, which were a real trip down memory lane, and at one time or another, we had demons, mermen, vampires, dragons, and pixies. I went as the “Brandy likes fantasy too much to pick one thing” choice of neko drow fairy snow princess, and then Lico bit me to make me a vampire neko drow fairy snow princess. Can you tell we get a little silly?

All those people I bugged to come party with us last night are in big trouble by the way! I guess you’ll have to make it up to me by coming to 80s night tonight from 6pm-midnight SLT. If you won’t come for me or for the great music, then come for Kere Delcon’s yummy New Zealand accent. By the way, I took over 200 photos last night, and a few of those are up on my Flickr account now. To see other photos of the fun you’ve been missing visit the Lounge of Dreams Flickr group. Do you really want to miss any more?

I was born in 1976, so it might seem a little odd for me to say that I feel like I grew up with the Vietnam War all around me. My dad and two of his friends ran down to enlist in the Army when they turned 18, but my dad was refused due to his flat feet and high blood pressure. One friend died in Vietnam, and the other, my dad’s best friend to this day, came back without his legs.

One of my uncles came back from Vietnam and hid in his room for weeks without speaking a word to anyone. He will not stay in the room if anyone brings up the military, Vietnam, or war in general, and to my knowledge, he has never talked about what he experienced during that time. Another uncle saw two of his friends die in Vietnam and eventually named his sons, two of my closest cousins, after them. Although we never met my uncle’s friends, their stories have become part of our family too, and my cousins’ mom is the Burmese bride my uncle brought back with him after his tour of duty.

Maybe that helps to explain why no matter how many times I visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, I still get choked up. I now know exactly where to go to see each of these names that have been spoken around me throughout my life, and I still leave a flag or rose, and I still cry. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went to the SL replica of the wall, but it hit me the same way. I walked on the pathways almost in a trance before reaching the wall and finding the names for the first time again. I even left some roses.

I’m having a hard time getting back into the swing of things for some reason. Nothing feels quite right yet, and I seem to always be missing my friends and events I want to attend. Even shopping doesn’t seem as much fun, but Tuli releasing the Veronica outfit did get me to run out with wallet in hand while still bald because none of my hair would rez. That’s just how much I wanted the outfit.

I was cautious and bought just the aubergine color even though I wanted the fat pack because I wasn’t sure how the whole outfit (sweater, skirt, capris, and tights) would work on my shape. I’m happy to say that the sweater fit without any modding other than moving the neck around just a tiny little bit. Yeah, let me say that again. I bought a sweater with prim neck and wrist attachments, and I barely needed to adjust anything! /me faints. The sweater texture is so lush and fits me really well.

As expected, there is some distortion of the plaid pattern on my shape, but the skirt being in three pieces allowed me to get a good fit with that as well. After stretching and adjusting those prims, I don’t notice the texture stretching as much. The pose I used to show the skirt here has an issue with my leg sticking through, but that’s just the pose, and I think you can still see that the plaid lines up nicely across the prims of the skirt.

All the Halloween hunts have been fun as well because they’re available whenever I am even when it’s the middle of the day and because freebies are always music to this bargain shopper’s ear. My favorites of the hunts have probably been the DG Innovations and Deviant Kitties ones because of the mix and quality of the items. I found myself enjoying a little different look for myself with the Deviant Kitties items as you can see in these photos. I liked pairing them with the Halloween freebie skins from Minnu Models.

I also have to say that I was surprised by how easily I was able to fit this orange skirt from Deviant Kitties. I almost didn’t even try because I have had no luck with similar skirts from other shops. I just stretched it out quite a bit and then moved it over and up a little, and it fit! I’m guessing my waist-to-hip ratio is similar to Helyanwe’s shape, which is a theory I’ll be testing out in the future by buying more skirts!

It’s been another week where I haven’t been in world very much. I’m working on a project that is only being done to use up some grant money that would otherwise disappear if not used by the end of the month. The work feels a little useless with that in mind even though I’m getting a decent paycheck from it. I guess I shouldn’t complain, but it’s hard to focus on finishing something that doesn’t seem to serve a purpose and will probably never be used. It’s off my desk after this week as long as I dig in and get things done, so that’s my focus at the moment.

I have been able to do a little retail therapy in SL the last few days though, and my closet is packed with t-shirts from Boing Fromage thanks to the half-off sale at the Nakama store. I’ve had a Gizmo shirt from there for ages, and there were others I wanted but never got around to buying. For a half-off sale, I can definitely get there with wallet in hand! Dove Swanson of Long Awkward Pose is also selling all her poses for half-off. She’s closing up shop sadly, but for one more day, you can still pick up some great poses that are just 25 lindens each.

My friend Zin met a couple of sisters new to SL the other day, and we’ve (mostly Zin) been taking them around to the good freebies and showing them how to use the newbie vouchers for some of the hair shops and for free shoes from Adam n Eve. (A free pair of shoes – excluding all boots – from Adam n Eve if you’re less than 30 days old!) They’re less than a week old, and they’re looking great! I don’t think they’ve spent more than 10 lindens each, and that was mainly just trying on demos and buying the awesome Phoebe hair at ETD for 1 linden. Seriously, if you’re a female avie, and you haven’t bought the Phoebe hair yet, you need to run there right now.

Our new friends Brandy (nice name, huh? ) and Coriander are looking to role-play together. I told them about Midian City and City of Lost Angels, but I think they’re looking for something a little less urban or maybe urban but less gritty. Any other possibilities for them to check out? I’d actually be interested for myself as well. It’s something I’ve meant to explore in SL and just haven’t tried yet. I think I’d like something similar to Newford, the city where Charles de Lint sets some of his stories. I’d definitely want something a little more light-hearted than I perceive the roleplaying areas I know about, but it’s also possible that I just don’t have a good understanding of places like Midian City.

This week new surnames also became available in SL, and one of the new names is Munster. In somewhat related news, I created my first and only alt named Lily. I think I’m just going to dress her like the famous Lily and have her around for kicks, but I haven’t had a chance to do anything with her yet.

This may be TMI, so please skip ahead to the third paragraph if you don’t want to see a little ranting. First, I usually don’t have huge issues with PMS, but there’s one cycle out of every year or so where it’s so bad that I wish I didn’t have to deal with me, so I can only assume others feel the same. The past few days has been one of those times. Good news is that my husband is away on a business trip, so he’s spared the worst of it. The bad news is that my husband is on a business trip, and this is the longest we’ve been apart in the 11 years we’ve been married. I miss him, and I’m very weepy. In fact, typing that is making me want to cry again. This sucks. The migraines that had vanished almost completely over the last 3 years are also back with a vengeance, so I’m doing the rounds of “migraine specialists” again, and that’s a real joy too.

Then today, Aly, Zin, and I decided we’d do a little photo shoot in my Photosphere. I’ve decided that I don’t have a gift for group photography, and we’re all 3 dealing with PMS. We muddled through anyway with a few ruffled feathers here and there, and we ended things well. I signed out and tried to open the bitmaps in Photoshop like I always do, and all the files are 0 bytes. We have no photos. This has happened to me a few times before but never on a whole series of images. I have 37 empty bitmaps. Does anyone know why this might happen? I’d like to avoid it in the future if possible.

Now that is all out of my system for a bit, and I can focus on the happy things that have gone on this week. I promise there’s been some good stuff. Rosie and her guy Armin are engaged now, and while that doesn’t really affect me so much, I’m always happy to see my friends happy and being treated so well. In Tiny Empires news, I’m now a Marquise thanks to Aly and Zin, who both spent more time in SL this week than I did. That’s a fun first. Thanks to Elusyve for sending me a congratulatory IM because that’s how I found out about the promotion. My subjects need to work on communication, I guess. And I also won an honorable mention prize in the Photosphere contest I mentioned a few entries ago! The theme was “freak show” so I dressed as an SL interpretation of crazy cat lady with me in my neko ears surrounded by some of the drakelets that I’ve been hatching lately.

The best news however is that I had a really fun date with my husband in SL last night. While he was eating Chinese food in his hotel room, and I was eating Chinese food here at home, we explored Pillow Talk a bit to check out the seasonal items.

We then went from sweet date out in the country to dressing up as members of the U.S. Army and playing I Am Legend: Survival. Both date activities had their charms, and I scored major points with the husband by sharing the game. He’s a huge fan of the original novel and the two movie adaptations that are already out, and we’re looking forward to the new movie as well. I’m sure we’ll be back to the game even after he’s home again, and he’ll be home tomorrow evening! /me cheers!

I’m not going to be in world very much this week. Last night I signed in for the first time in about 48 hours and had 2 IMs in the first minute I was online asking where I’d been, so I thought I’d make a public announcement this time. LOL

Having said that, I did pop in very quickly this morning to check out A Fishbowl View by Strawberry Holiday. After seeing the video that I’ve included in this post, I knew I needed to check the exhibit out for myself, and I was definitely not disappointed. Strawberry has a magical style, and stepping in her painting is quite an adventure. I’m looking forward to going back and taking some photos there when I have more time.

Aly and Zin have been in-world a couple more times since our time together this weekend, and Uriah and Tull have signed in as well. What’s the draw other than my own cute self and the wonders of SL? They’re hooked on Tiny Empires! Finally, their second lives have purpose. They also banded together to get me to take a bribe that sent us back to Wessex from Camelot because of the lower taxes there, and my idea of moving to a princess rather than a king or queen was struck down quickly because of the tax breaks one can get with a king or queen. I’m not sure I like this being bossed around by mere subjects.

The title of this post comes from a TE-related IM exchange my friend Zin had with someone trying to bribe her as well as my own interactions with a couple interested not in TE but in my shape. First up is Zin with her tale of the potential liege who got the wrong idea. He sent her a bribe offer through the game and then sent her a message to try to encourage her to take the bribe. She brushed him off politely by saying she was happy where she was at. He came back and made some comment about how I’m an incompetent liege because I wasn’t even online and hadn’t provided her with any subjects. Zin replied that actually she was sitting next to me in my home as she played and that she would never switch to another liege because we’re RL friends.

Suddenly, the guy made this giant leap and decided that Zin was my slave and I wasn’t allowing her to jump ship. Even after the bribe offer was off the table because that turn ended, he was trying to convince her that she would be better off with a male master because males would put her in her place better. How did he go from TE bribe to wanting to collar her? We have no idea, but we were laughing up a storm. He finally went away, but then he later sent me a message asking if he could have time with my slave because she needed to be handled with a firmer hand. I just ignored that, and we haven’t heard from him since. So strange!

My own crazy IMs began with a man telling me that he found my shape attractive. Honestly, it’s a little weird for a guy to just IM me with that out of the blue, but I gave him benefit of the doubt and thanked him. Then he mentioned that he had a girlfriend who needed some help with her shape and wondered if I’d sell my shape to him for her. I told him that my shape wasn’t for sale, but he said he’d pay “any price” for my shape. I still didn’t have any intention of selling him my shape, but I was curious how high “any price” would be, so I asked him what he’d consider paying. His offer was “around 500 lindens”. Any price has sure come down a bit since my day. *laughs* There was a little more back and forth, and then he finally went away.

Then yesterday Mr. Any Price sends me another IM asking about my shape. I told him that I was tired of talking about it and that I was never going to sell my shape to anyone no matter the offered price. Just when I thought he might have gotten the hint, he then starts asking me if I’ve ever done any escorting because he’d like to be my sugar daddy. So what about that girlfriend? Well, he loves her of course, but he really prefers my shape. Isn’t he a winner? So I tell him that I’ve never been an escort and have no desire to start. After the millionth mention (or so it seemed) of “sugar daddy”, I told him that I found being my own sugar mama was a lot more enjoyable. He thought I was coming on to him because I was talking about “doing” myself. I warned him that he was going to be muted if he IMed me again, and then I muted him when he of course had to IM me again.

So that was the end of that, right? Not really. A female avie claiming to be the guy’s girlfriend (but seemed more likely to be the same guy on an alt or in his girlfriend’s account) later asks me if we can meet somewhere. I said I was busy, so she then wants to know if it’s true I won’t sell my shape to anyone. I said it was, and really, anyone could make the same shape themselves with the sliders if they took a little time to do so. They’d come up with something even more suited to their own preferences that way even if someone else’s shape was the original inspiration. I was trying very hard to be polite and helpful in case this really was someone who was honestly just trying to figure out the shape sliders. Abruptly, the IMs from her became abusive as she told me that she didn’t find my shape attractive at all and didn’t understand why anyone would want to “sleep with a whale”. I gave her the same warning about being muted, and her final IM to me was something about how she hoped I was sitting in a corner crying and eating Twinkies. So original. *yawns*

No one puts Brandy in a corner…

P.S. Can the crazies go find somewhere else to be crazy? You’re fun in small doses, but I’m kind of tired of you.

This weekend was so much fun! Thank you to all my wonderful friends who helped make it one of the best weekends in recent memory. Two of my best RL friends actually spent time in world with me, and showing them around and shopping was really fun. They live on the other side of the country, so it had been ages since we had a girl day together. I’m crossing my fingers that they’ll come back more often now.

Both Aly and Zin have had accounts for a few months, but they hardly ever sign in. Aly is actually my sister-in-law, and she had her husband (Uriah’s brother ) join as well. Uriah’s brother is named Tull. Classic rock fans might notice a connection with those two names.

I managed to sign them all up for Tiny Empires a while ago, so they got more hooked on that as we shopped. I became a little irritated with TE when it didn’t acknowledge me accepting a bribe that I really wanted to take, and Aly and Zin thought that was hilarious for some reason. I’m glad someone had a laugh over it. *sniff*

I’d really like to get Uriah, Tull, Aly, and Zin together in SL at the same time and take some group photos. I even have a brand new photosphere that would be fun for that. That was part of the big shopping spree of last week, and I’m still figuring it out. Perhaps I’ll even join the photosphere contest.

I also became hooked on SL fishing this weekend. (Bad pun alert!) Going through the official Neo-Realms fishing camps, I found some really cute areas. With SL fishing you don’t get just fish. My favorite catch so far is an adorable little penguin with a fork and knife. It was definitely good for some photos and laughs.

Then Saturday night Club 9.13 had a Nekos & Furries night. I decided to wear some really cute cat paws from Honey Kitty, but I wasn’t thrilled with the ears and tail from that set. I also didn’t really see a need to go out and buy the scripted ears and tails that I’ve seen on some of my neko friends because it’s not like I’d wear them that much.

Right before the event I was cleaning out my inventory, and to my surprise I had a whole folder full of scripted leopard ears and tails! I had black, white, brown, green, purple, and pink, and I still have no memory of buying them. I put on the pink set and decided to wear my dead doggy skirt from JetDoll, which is a black poodle skirt with a skeleton poodle on it. I was like a pink leopard girl from the 1950s, and the whole look just made me smile so much.

I signed out after the event Saturday without changing, and when I signed in yesterday for a little shopping and Tiny Empires chatting, I changed outfits but left my ears and tail on. Wearing them just makes me feel a little silly in a good way, and while I probably won’t wear them a majority of the time, I’ll definitely be pulling them out again.

In fact, I was thinking that they’d look really cute with some silvery hair and one of the drow skins from Tête à Pied. I already have the matching dress and hair from Silent Sparrow and Calico Creations, so I obviously must buy the skins anyway. The leopard ears aren’t part of the traditional drow look of course, but it’s just smart to think of ways to mix the skins into my other looks. /me nods quietly to herself as she runs out the door with her wallet.

Even without a computer of my own and with a couple of RL deadlines hanging over my head, I had time to socialize in SL this weekend. Rosie and I went to the Cannery on Saturday, and that was a lot of fun before RL came calling in the middle of the trip. I hate when that happens.

I thought I’d seen all of the Cannery during the opening night, but I actually missed a few spots. I guess the multiple crashes that night disoriented me. That made me doubly glad that Rosie invited me along or let me invite myself along as the case may be.

It’s hard to talk about favorites at the gallery because it is all amazing, but I think the Romance section is particularly nice because of the different takes on the theme. There was boy love, girl love, neko love, and just a general love fest. The huge talking couch in that section remains a mystery.

Then Sunday I was fashionably late to the SL Bloggers Party at Clockwork in Topgol. Thank you so much to our hosts Myg and Alex! I was feeling shy and almost decided not to go once I realized that RL errands were going to keep me out later than I had expected. My husband convinced me to go anyway though because he’d seen me digging through my inventory to come up with a “gangster” outfit.

There were many different interpretations of the gangster theme, and I’m more aware than ever now that I don’t have any guns. I do have an ice cream shooter, but I’m not sure that counts. I’ll have to do some research and buy myself some sort of steampunk gun.

I was fairly quiet as usual at the party, but I did reconnect with some people I hadn’t seen in a while and met a couple of new people. I also found out that I actually know one of my fellow SL bloggers from a forum we both frequented a few years ago. How cool is that?

I’ve been even quieter than usual lately because of this bug that knocked me flat on my butt. I even went to the doctor, which is really out of character for me, and he said I had a bad case of RL, some nasty bug that’s being going around the grid. I think RL stands for Really Lame. I’m not much on medical terminology, but there was a lot of mumbling about crashed hard drives, corrupted registries, and misplaced installation discs. There wasn’t anything for me to do but get some rest, so I’ve been taking it easy.

I was feeling a little better yesterday, so I decided I was going to treat myself with a trip to the shore to get some fresh sea air. Just thinking about it perked me up. I chose Flotsam Beach as my destination as that’s where Jen and Seven Shikami have set up their shop Seven’s Selections. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m completely hooked on their wings, and it seemed like a nice spot for some relaxing. There’s so much to do there that I’m sure I’ll be back for longer vacations in the future, but it was nice just for a little day trip too.

First, I checked Seven’s Selections just to see if there were anything new, and I found a little button on the wings wall that you can click to get a freebie set of wings! I should have taken a photo of them, but it completely slipped my mind. They’re really nice angel-style wings called Duality with one white wing and one black wing. I checked out other nearby shops as well, and there are some really cute items down on the boardwalk. I wrote down a few things that I’ll be back to get next time.

After the window shopping, I signed up for the Flotsam Beach Explorer’s Club, which includes several items including a sweet little hermit crab named Samuel L. Crabson. He’s awesome, and he even lets me call him Sammy.

Sammy told me about the big roll of tickets I could use in the arcade, and boy, that was like stepping back in time to my childhood. I headed straight to the skeeball to rack up tickets for some of the cool prizes just like when I was a kid. There were many other games that I’ll have to check out next time. I’m still collecting tickets too. You know I need to get the sparkly deely boppers!

Normally, I’m a big chicken when it comes to water slides, but Sammy convinced me to try this one out after I spent most of the day in the arcade. I surprised myself by loving it. I even tried it twice, once sitting up and then once on my belly. Sammy hung on to my shoulder both times, and I think I even heard him giggling! He denied it of course. He’s Samuel L. Crabson after all.

Sammy wanted to show me the paddle boat tour, the kites, and the rollerskating rink along with a ton of other things, but I just didn’t have the energy to do anything else but sit on the beach for a bit before heading home again. I’m already looking forward to the next trip!

When I got back home, I found out there was a Heaven and Hell event going on at Club 9.13. An excuse to wear some wings and hang out with friends? Even when I’m under the weather, I’m up for that, so I threw on a ball gown and some wings to pretend to be angelic. DJ Rosie B was spinning tunes, and with a pretty small crowd of friends, we indulged in boy bands and pop princesses. The chatting and giggling were very much needed, so thank you to those friends. Soon I’ll be back to 100% and around more often.