CULTURE: BFFs The True Definition Unknown- Prince Sonoda Reporting...

It was late Tuesday the 17th of March 2009, the night ending the famed St Patrick’s Day.

As I sat in my living room, trying to contain my crazy inventory, I received a call from my dear friend Lanai who was at a Jax Streeter concert. I quickly jumped on the next TP and landed on top of the corner couch. Waiting for things to rez, I heard Lanai’s voice asking me if I was going to take a seat or stand on her head all night. I went into appearance to make sure that all my prims were accounted for. Seconds later, I was seated next to Lanai and enjoying Jax mesmerizing performance.

One of the great things about SL is that you can talk undisturbed in crowded room. Yes, IM is a beautiful thing.

During the course of the night, we talked about the SL Enquirer, the wonderful new staff that she has working with her now and the growth in readership for the greatest newspaper in Second Life.

We also talked about RL and how our week has been this far. Her company is so pleasurable.

I have met Lanai on the steps of the original Sinners Paradise. That was close to 2 years ago. I have a lot of love, respect and admiration for her. I call her “Lanai the Great”, since I truly believe that she is. Lanai is a friend who never asked for anything. She does include me in all of her project even if most time, all I ever do is tell her: “Great idea Lan” or “Mmmm! I wouldn’t particularly go that route if that were my choice”.

As the night progresses, we started talking about how long we have been friends and when she told me that in here, I was her BFF, I started laughing. You see, for me, BFF stood for Best Female Friend. As much as I live and breathe, I am 100 male, even if I am color coordinated, see my barber twice a month and have a massage therapist who gives me a facial, manicure and pedicure once a month.

Lanai explained to me that from her end, BFF means Best Friend Forever. That made me smile that she thought of me that way and especially coming from a friend who had a wall thicker than Fort Knox protecting her when we first met. We even met in RL and that was surreal. We are obviously the same people RL and SL, great friends here and there. If you have missed reading the article about how we met, it is still available. We both wrote our version of it.

We make friends here and some are closer that others. Some makes it impossible to ever think of logging in SL without them here. To find such a friend is a blessing.

If you do find such a friend, don’t ever let it go. That is the true meaning of a BFF or BMF, whichever way you choose to look at it.

Thank you Lanai.

Prince Sonoda