I should have known...

I have said it before, and I will say it again... I am not a gamer. I have never liked first person type games (give me 2-D Mario Brothers or Tetris any day), but there was a little game I used to play...a lot. You may have heard of a little game called The Sims. I never played the online version that allowed you to interact with other people. No, I was content with building my own little neighborhoods and developing my various characters. When I was first introduced to Second Life, it reminded me of an advanced version of The Sims. This was not a good thing. I knew that once I logged onto Second Life, that an obsession would form... a time sucking obsession, and boy was I right.

As I ventured into my "Second Life", I have to admit, it was a little confusing at first. There is definitely a learning curve, but I have the feeling that people who are used to playing online multi-player games would have a smoother transition than I did. Initially, I could barely walk around without bumping into things. However, before you knew it, I was running and flying. (Although my landings were a little rough at first)

Once you get acclimated to the navigation, the real fun begins: appearance modification. Just like navigation, this seemed awkward at first. It also didn't take long to realize that the you could only do so much with the basic appearance tools they give you. Yes, you soon realize that just like in real life, you must acquire things. A bit of advice: initially you will find lots and lots of free things, which is an exciting thing. (Who doesn't love free things) However, I would stress quality over quantity. If you pick up everything you come across, you will soon have an inventory that is out of control.

So here I am. Me in my "Second Life" ready to conquer the world: