Clash of Realities: A Commentary -- Allen Eppenberger Reporting

There comes a time when you take on so many projects at once, you start to lose track of which ones have priority. What makes it even more difficult is when digital reality starts to bleed over into the default world.





I swing a mop and scrub bathrooms to pay for daily expenses like food, clothing, and a roof over my head. I'm obviously not getting rich, but hey, it's a job. Like many of you, I enter Second Life just to unwind from the daily stress of my first life. So after a while, a person gets to the point when you start wanting some of those goodies that will make you happy inworld as well. There is no other way to do that than getting a job. Thank goodness job hunting in SL isn't NEARLY as hard as RL.

I settled into writing. I like to think I'm good at it. Only the numbers tell for sure. I usually get a writing assignment from my boss at the SLE. My record is literally hit and miss. I cover a feature one week, then just flounder for completing the next week's feature, and wind up with a filler story just to say that I've submitted something. (Like this one you're reading. BTW, thanx, Shon, for running this. You're a sweetheart!)




Culprits that allow us to bleed real with our second lives.

For the last few months, I've been doing a balancing act. SL keeps creeping into my list of chores. The problem is that SL is obviously more fun than RL. What will become of me when a graphical viewer will inevitably make its way onto my iTouch? I'm able to ignore most emails and notices from Facebook. But if I install an SL viewer app, what will become of my physical persona? Will I skip a bathroom? Perhaps rush my mopping? Or, worse for my bills, stop to write a paragraph or two for the SLE? It would be nice if the L$ had a better trade up value, then I wouldn't have to do maintenance! What if I'm in the middle of household chores? Last week, I had to put SL on hold while I took care of a medical issue with my wife. Is the SLE editor going to say "hey, since you're just sitting there..."? Well, Lanai isn't bad like that at all. But you can see where this is going.


Even in SL, one can feed his or her Apple product obsession: Rarity Design [SLURL]







I'd be interested in some of your thoughts. Are you considering getting a tablet SL viewer? Do you have one of the text only viewers now? Or are you going to remain true to your desktop or laptop, and the original experience? Leave your comments, and I'll try to respond to you. That is, after I'm done with that last wastebasket in RL!