Changing My Look

No, I’m not changing my real life look. I’m so set in my ways that you can always count on me to look casual with curly hair going crazy, glasses, and minimal make-up. I’m nothing you’d see on a fashion magazine. That’s why I’ve always had fun with Second Life. All kinds of looks and a huge wardrobe to play with. It’s too much fun to play with everything that’s available to me in Second Life.

I haven’t played in Second Life very often lately, but one day I opened it up and decided to go for a very different look. My avatar, Moran, was normally a petite brunette, so let me try a more buxom blond.  I came up with this:

 Yep, that’s a blonde in a red swimsuit standing around somewhere. Not my normal look. Blondie has more of a tan and really likes the super-light blonde hair.

And while I’m at it, here’s another  look at her:

 Of course, playing around with a different look is fun, but I found that I had to go back to my brunette look. I decided to take it to an extreme. Just call this “Back in Black” and I mean big time:

I did try some light colored eyes, instead of my dark brown or gray eyes I usually wear. I think these looked rather spooky:

I eventually went back to my more normal casual look. A cute outfit and some casual hair and I’m feeling my old self again:

 Will I stay with my normal look? Well, as I don’t go into Second Life as often as I used to, it might be fun to try something new. Then again, I do like how Moran represents me. She usually looks like a nice person, isn’t dressed in too sexualized a manner (well, okay, sometimes she is), and she’s been known to wear glasses just like the real me. Yeah, I think I’m okay with this look.

May Day Party

Last night I jumped into Second Life to join the Friday night Thinking Liberally dance. The theme, since it was May 1st, was May Day. Yep, we honored working folks everywhere by wearing red and waving red flags. Solidarity, baby!

It was also Jillan McMillan’s Rez Day party, which really makes it a good reason to join in the fun. Jillan is one of the dedicated folks in Second Life who is able to organize all kinds of parties and conferences. She’s just an all around good person, with a wicked sense of humor. The party was at her place. She decorated appropriately:

I took this shot of Lumi, one of the Thinking Liberally regulars. When the theme is RED, she went all out:

A red time was had by all! Workers of the World Unite!

My Christmas Freebies

As I mentioned in my post about some of the good holiday freebies, I picked up lots of gifts in Second Life at Ohana Isle and at Solange. I really loved the holiday boots Solange handed out:

I found them especially cute with two poses I whipped up. I also got a freebie Christmas gift at Artilleri’s. It’s the black, short-sleeved shirt with the red stripe (the sash was something I already had — from Persona, I think):

I need to get back into Second Life and gather more goodies. There’s some nice stuff available to prance around in.

Hunting and Shopping

I did some hunting and shopping yesterday. It’s easy to do while sick at home. Okay, it’s easy if you’re in Second Life. It all started with me fiddling around and coming up with two new poses:

I decided to reward myself by dressing up in my various ballgowns. I have many of these in Second Life; none in Real Life anymore. Here’s one ensemble I liked a lot:

Shiny gold gowns just make me happy.

I then felt I should reward myself by shopping. Hey, a whole new outfit to wear! Life is good. Here’s the shopping ensemble:

I received a shopping ad from Solange and thought I’d go check out the holiday dress she was advertising. I get there and what do I discover? A Christmas gift hunt! Solange has put out various red and green Christmas tree ornaments that hold freebie gifts. She’s putting a new one out every day. I love these hunts. I got most of the ornaments, but you do have to do some hunting. I even headed down below the building to see what I could find. Let’s just say that in real life my boots would have been ruined:

I then chatted with Jane about the hunt, she showed up in an adorable tiny bunny costume. And when I say tiny, I mean her avatar came to my knee and looked like a rabbit. I didn’t get a photo of her. I’ll have to do so next time I see her. She told me about the big Christmas Gift hunt on Ohana Isle. More freebies? Shops like Eolande offered various gifts if I can find the Santa hats. There are 45 of them and I’m telling you, it ain’t easy. There are five tiny hats that if found can help you win some prizes beyond the freebies sprinkled throughout the shops on the isle. I found several of the big hats and not a single one of the tiny hats. I kept taking breaks to sit on any provided sitting area. Here I am, up in a seat hanging from a tree limb trying to scope out my surroundings. Not easy scoping, I got to say.

I’m heading back to both places to see if I can find more. I’m having way too much fun getting over this cold!

Red Sari

In my concern over my mother’s health (she’s still in Intensive Care at the hospital) and stuck here in Flag due to my cold, I played around in Second Life. Trying outfits on and taking pictures seems to keep me occupied. Yesterday I tried on the red Menaka sari from Zaara.

I tried various hairdos and a skin or two. Here I am in the sari:

1. Celestial Studios cashmere skin in Mid-Red and RaC’s Lola hair.
2. KA skin in pale Drama and Detour’s Luna hair.
3. KA skin again and RaC’s Lola hair again.

Moran Singh in her red sari

It’s a lovely outfit, don’t you think? Just the thing to take your mind off more serious matters.

And I look so good too!

Yellow Accessories

I popped into Second Life last night. I’d been working on some poses and wanted to see how they look. By the time I finished taking snapshots, I thought it might be fun to show one that I “adjusted” (that means I’ve messed with color levels and added some other color).

This pic doesn’t quite show the outfit. It’s from MichaMi. A nice glittery tube top with some leggings was fun to wear with the tousled Clever Trickster hairstyle by Find Ash. The makeup was a new one. I liked the dark gray lipstick. It’s from Tea Lane and is the Agave skin tone of the Kaia makeup . I definitely am a skinaholic. The shoes are the Dhali Bow Platforms from Armidi Gisaci. The bangles on the arm are the yellow Melange bangles from Zaara, as are the earrings.

Yep, a little bit of yellow goes a long way.

Barbied

I’ve made a few visits to Second Life lately. I don’t do much, but I continue to have fun with clothes and hair. One night I tried on some old outfits, plus a few new outfits and had to take some snapshots. I can’t believe this still entertains me. I must be missing the days of my bubblehead Barbie.

Here’s various outfits:

I don’t remember having this many outfits with my Barbie.

I Feel Pretty….Pretty Tired

I survived the first week of the semester, one of the busiest times of the year for me, plus I had to watch all the Democratic Convention speeches at night (damn, Obama gave a great speech, didn’t he?). So, let’s just say that I’m tired.

This three-day weekend is a wonderful chance to lounge about, and even though I’m on call today, it’s really quiet at work and I had a chance to catch up on some snapshotting in Second Life. Now in Second Life, I don’t feel pretty tired, I just feel pretty.

Last week I saw a blog post on Fashion Planet showing off some clothes from Zaara, plus a cute, curly hairstyle from Fetish. I ran out and bought both. I certainly am not doing anything social in Second Life, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting new hair, skin, and clothes.

Here I am in Zaara’s Anjuna in green and Fetish’s Adora hair in black. The glasses are from Solar.

I would dress like that if I could. Casual, fun, and showing my belly button. Of course, in Real Life, no one wants to see my belly button. Trust me on that.

I bought the skin I’m wearing in the above photo from Nora. She had a great going-out-of-business sale a few weeks ago and I picked up this Samantha skin in the Ginger tone in Green Apple makeup at great prices. I’ve picked up a few more skins, because I can’t help myself. The following skins are the Nora skin (I’m showing off that green eyeshadow), KA skin in Drama in the Pale tone, KA freebie Special Edition skin in Dark Tan, and Tres Very’s Fuchsia Fit in the Tan tone:

I purchased the new hairdo from Find Ash. It’s the Clever Trickster in Neo Black. I keep thinking of hitting the big Hair Fair in Second Life, but I know I’ll go crazy and buy everything.

I put together an outfit with a shirt I bought at Zaara’s called Indian Summer. It’s in green and plum. I didn’t buy a pair of pants or a skirt to go with the top, and discovered that the bold colors don’t look right with jeans. Luckily, I’m a crazed shopper. I stumbled across these green capris from Aoharu in my inventory. Never worn, they now have a blouse I want to wear with them. The jewelry is from Zaara’s and is part of the Melange set. The shoes are Armidi’s Viniani Heel in Eggplant. The makeup is the Tres Very Fuchsia Fit in Tan.

It’s not often that one can wear such a symphony of lime and plum. It certainly looks more vibrant than I feel, sitting here on the couch. Ah heck. I feel better after putting together these snapshots. Let’s just say that I feel pretty!

A Return to Skin Addiction

I’d taken a long break from Second Life, but all it took to return, was to read about various new skins. I am a Second Life skin junkie (the term “skin whore” is often used also). Seeing several skin write ups at the Second Style Fashionista, I finally rejoined Second Life living and scurried off to try some new skins.

I ended up buying some at Tres Very. I also picked up some outfits at Coquette (also selling skins). A picture for your edification:

Now I’m off to check out the sale at Nora’s.

NN in SL

Does that title make sense? Well, it’s Netroots Nation in Second Life, but that’s one long title, so let me shorten it. I can shorten it even more by just using NNSL. Yes, the lazy person’s way of blogging — use acronyms of few letters.

Well, tonight is the kick off event for Netroots Nation and we’re streaming the video of Howard Dean and Wesley Clark into Second Life.  There’s a Second Life panel discussion, dancing, and movie-going.  I’m ready for it.  Here’s today’s schedule as listed at the NNSL web site:

… All times are Second Life Time, also known as Pacific Daylight Time:

1:00 PM — An SL/NN Meetup! Here’s a chance to do some comingling with the Austin crowd at Netroots Nation. Yes, Austin and Second Life will meet. Head for the Netroots Arena.

5:30-6:30 PM — Austin Keynote Address: Gov Howard Dean and (ret) Gen Wes Clark. This will stream into Netroots Arena.

6:30-7:30 PM — “What They Said” Commentary by Joan McCarter (McJoan), Jimbo Hoyer, GenJCChristian Homewood and Cliff Schecter. This is a Second Life panel held at Netroots Arena.

7:30-10:00 PM — SL Opening Party. We’ll be chatting and dancing at the same time – very easy to do in Second Life – at the Netroots Island Ballroom.

9:00-whenever – “The Corporation.” It’s a special Netroots Nation screening of “The Corporation” at the Marxist/Lennonist Party Headquarters (this will open up the SLURL for the location, which is not on Netroots Nation Island ).

It’s fun meeting new people to Second Life, plus the SL old-timers who are showing up for their first political event in SL. Why don’t you join us!

Survival

I just survived a visit from my great-niece, Catherine. A very smart nine-year old, Catherine sure knows how to enjoy herself.  We survived a torrential downpour. There is nothing like going to a movie and taking off your very wet shoes and socks, which we did. We survived any passing of wind (I tell you, fart jokes can really get a nine-year old giggling). I survived the rigors of keeping Catherine entertained and managed adequately. Though I do have to say that I’m pooped. She slept much better than I.

I also survived the trip back from Phoenix today. Talking about torrential downpours, try to imagine standing water on an incline — that’s how fast and hard the rain was coming down. So, a 75 mile an hour zone becomes 40. It does cause accidents. On one of the rainy sections, a car had flipped. The worst part of the trip was up near the rim. That’s where you could see water filling the road, even though we were going uphill. It’s amazing.

So, I survived all of that. Now I have to get ready for Netroots Nation. If you decide to join us, I’ll be the one in the corner, napping. It’s my survival technique.

Netroots Nation – Second Life Style!

I’d say I’m tuckered out, but I’m too excited to be tuckered out! Next week is the big Netroots Nation convention in Austin, Texas. It’s the annual gathering of political progressives.  So, am I going to Austin and that’s why I’m excited? Heck no! It’s Austin in July, why would anyone get excited? Nope, I’m staying  right here on the couch with my laptop. There is a Netroots Nation in Second Life convention also. Yep, Ms. Moran Singh is going all conventioneer style next week in Second Life.

What’s even more fun, and what’s leading to some of the tuckered out feeling, is that I’m one of the organizers for the Second Life event. Yep, I’m in charge of the Social Events. Yeah, me, Miss Unsocial.

Everyone’s been incredibly involved creating this event. We’ll be streaming video from Austin, plus putting on our own panels. We’ve worked hard on creating buildings, ballrooms, orientation areas, exhibition booths, and all kinds of things. The learning opportunities keep coming my way.

Here’s a view of the ballroom at Netroots Nation Island (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Yearly%20Kos%20Convention%204/156/59/24/):

Ballroom at Netroots Nation Island

Here’s the orientation area. Any newbies can find themselves right at home. They can even pick up some freebies, including avatars and outfits.

Netroots Nation Island orientation area

For more information about Netroots Nation in Second Life (or NNinSL for short), check out the web site and blog. It’s free. Anyone who cares about politics, community organizing, health care, economics, and anything else to do with how our country is run, should join us.

So, what does a fashionable person wear to Netroots Nation in Second Life? What a silly question!

Moran in her NNinSL t-shirt

Politics, Planning, and Social Gatherings

Tonight, after work, I went to a City Council meeting. I rarely would do such a thing, but tonight they swore in the new mayor and City Council members. One of my old DFA (Democracy for America) buddies, Karla Brewster got sworn in as one of those City Council folks.

Some of the DFA regulars were there and it was good to socialize with them. I committed to being in the 4th of July parade. It’ll be hot, I’ll stand for too long on my bad foot, and I’ll end up sleeping the rest of the day, but it’s been fun the other times I’ve done it.

Then I rushed home, fed the animals, fed myself, and joined one of the Netroots Nation in Second Life planning meetings. I’m one of the committee heads. Hard to believe, but I’m in charge of the social events for the event in July. I’m also on several other committees. I’m off for five days starting Friday, so hope to actually get some stuff done.

The fun part about these planning meetings is that we socialize afterwards. Tonight we watched Al Gore’s endorsement of Obama, plus various other videos, including the new MoveOn ad, and a very entertaining video about McCain’s use of a very offensive word.

A picture of me leading a committee meeting:

So tomorrow night is another political and social event. It’s the parade planning meeting. It’ll be fun too…I hope.

Well, here are links to the three videos I mentioned. Watch out, the last one has a bad, bad word (used to hilarious effect).

Gore and Obama:

MoveOn.org ad:

McCain’s Very Bad Word or “He Said it First”

I’ll save the Bollywood Obama for another day.

Conversing

You know what’s fun about Second Life? The fact that you can have a long, lovely chat with someone from England about politics, literature, history, and cricket — all, while you’re dancing.

Oh, and this was after listening to an interesting interview with Rick Perlstein, the author of Nixonland.

Just to show that I’m not all about intellectual pursuits (is cricket intellectual?) let me throw in a gratuitous fashion photo of my Second Life avatar:

Whew. I feel better now. Shallowness is much more comfy.

Lazy Shoe Day

I am suffering a major case of the lazies. The only thing I’ve done today, besides a visit to my chiropractor, is play around in Second Life and watched Elizabeth (great film).

Second Life at least offered some activity. I went shopping. Every time I go to MichaMi’s fashion blog she always has great shoes on. Lately, the styles that make me stop and look all come from Armidi. Well, that’s where I went and I didn’t buy only shoes. Oh no. All kinds of fun clothes.

The shoes are nice, right? But what really makes it is a little white dress. I love that in Second Life I do not have to hold in my gut when I wear something snug. Snug? Oh hell, this white dress is tight. And who can deny the charms of a well put-together 70s disco hot-pants outfit? The gold shoes do go well with the gold shirt. The vest is from one of Armidi’s male outfits.

I put together some other outfits, but added some of my new purchases from a store called Bland. If you could call goldfish pants and bold red tops bland, then the name fits. The rest is more pieces from the various Armidi shops.

The shoes? The shoes are all Armidi’s. I could begin to like wearing heels all the time. . . when I’m not being totally lazy.