2010.09.02 07:00 - "I don't find that normal"

The Guardian for this meeting was Storm Nordwind. The comments are by Storm Nordwind.

Storm Nordwind: Hi there Bertram!
Bertram Jacobus: hey storm ! :-)

Bert had sat down way over the other side of the pavilion opposite to me.

Bertram Jacobus: i hope you don´t mind when i sit on this place - so i can see the incoming people better ... ;-)
Storm Nordwind: I sit where I am for exactly the same reason :)
Bertram Jacobus: lol but so the landing spot is on your backside (?) ;-)
Storm Nordwind: I always have my camera looking south while I'm waiting
Bertram Jacobus: whaow - so you see even yourself from the front !? ;o)
Storm Nordwind: Sure! That's my cute side ;-)
Bertram Jacobus: hehe. oke :-)

I noticed that the village fairy had been around cleaning up the place of stray objects.

Storm Nordwind: You'll notice that the environment has been cleansed of rotting fish ;-)
Bertram Jacobus: yeah - and i must admit that i´m a bit happy about that - may be not all feel like that ... hm
Storm Nordwind: The rules are simple. Put what you like in the pavilion during a session, as long as the GoC is OK with it. Then take it away when you leave. After all, taking stuff away is easier than putting it there in the first place!
Bertram Jacobus: what was / is GoC - forgot it , sry ... (?)
Storm Nordwind: Guardian on Call. The scheduled guardian to host a session.
Bertram Jacobus: a yes. thought so but didn´t know the words for it :-)

I played a little with the pool settings. Bert changed seats and remained floating in the air.

Storm Nordwind: They get to do this too... :)
Bertram Jacobus: they get to do ... what, plz ?
Storm Nordwind: Change the pool and the seating :)
Bertram Jacobus: ah okay :-)
Storm Nordwind: Bert you were having an uplifting experience!
Bertram Jacobus: it was like that - yeah ! sometimes sl gives that to us , no ? ... :-)
--BELL--

Bert and I haven't spoken for a while. We do a friendly catch-up. Bert's life sounds like a movie I'd rather not be playing a role in.

Storm Nordwind: Anything interesting happening in your life at the moment Bert?
Bertram Jacobus: uh. yes
Bertram Jacobus: but no easy things
Storm Nordwind: Ah, sorry to hear that
Bertram Jacobus: my life seems often to be like an unreal movie (!)
Bertram Jacobus: very hard times - if you would put the karma perspective on it, one would call it "best"
Bertram Jacobus: trying to do good and earning problems
Bertram Jacobus: best way to develop
Storm Nordwind: "No good deed goes unpunished!" says the old joke
Storm Nordwind: Are you sitting in the audience watching the movie, or are you stuck on the screen?
Bertram Jacobus: but i would like to rest a bit. it´s so exhausting ! difficulties since years now (may be two or so) - my life was really not always like that (!) ...
Storm Nordwind nods understandingly
Bertram Jacobus: hehe ( about the joke)
Bertram Jacobus: and stuck ... *think* ... hm ...
Bertram Jacobus: it changes i´d say. i´m still learning all that
Storm Nordwind nods
Storm Nordwind: We are all learning, all of the time. No experience is wasted I believe, no matter what.
Bertram Jacobus: but they say there was also a stage "above learning", behind, beyond ...
Bertram Jacobus: some teachings say so, don´t they ?
Storm Nordwind: yes they do
Storm Nordwind: The state of No More Learning

« Le mot interdit »

Bertram Jacobus: i love that, love the thought of enlightenment so much
Bertram Jacobus: even if some, also of our group, don´t like that "word" so much, sadly as i find ...
Storm Nordwind: Don't they? I must be so unaware, I hadn't noticed their likes or dislikes :)
Bertram Jacobus: yes. may be an other expression for it is wu wei
Bertram Jacobus: may be that was never a topic when you were around, randomly
Storm Nordwind: You learn without striving. You can absorb by being. So it seems to me anyway! :)
Bertram Jacobus: i think, "even pema" doesn´t like "that word" so much, may be at least not here - may be he doesn´t want too much buddhistic influences besides the others (influences) ...
Storm Nordwind: That's understandable. Maintaining spiritual neutrality may be good
Bertram Jacobus: yes. i guess so too. but ... i like "that word" (and others!) - nevertheless ...
Storm Nordwind: The dreaded "E-word"!
Bertram Jacobus: yess :o)

By contrast I am fortunate. Am I normal to have the attitude I do? What is normal anyway?

Bertram Jacobus: and your life ... always seems to be kinda optimal (?)
--BELL--
Storm Nordwind: My life is wonderful. Sometimes physical things catch up with me, but that's the nature of having a physical body. Life is too short to be unhappy!
Bertram Jacobus: that sounds very lucky - nice ! ...
Bertram Jacobus: the more people are lucky and happy the better (oops - silence, unaware) (!) ... ;-)
Storm Nordwind: I am fortunate - yes. But I am mainly fortunate because of my attitude.
Bertram Jacobus: were you always like this or did you learn it, worked it out ?
Storm Nordwind: It has come, over the years
Bertram Jacobus: was there a point from which on you could say : unhappyness will never be anymore ?
Bertram Jacobus: hey hana ! :-)
Storm Nordwind: I don't recall a specific moment like that Bert
Storm Nordwind: Hi Hana!
Hana Furlough: hi bert and storm
Bertram Jacobus: but do you feel that today ?
Storm Nordwind: Sure! :)
Bertram Jacobus: sure ? i don´t find that normal and think it isn´t ! (?) :-)
Storm Nordwind: Normality is what you choose it to be
Bertram Jacobus: oh. to me - i understand by it : what the majority does, according to statistics etc.
Hana Furlough: smiles at Storm
Bertram Jacobus: hello sharon ! :-)
Storm Nordwind: If you choose to believe that the majority defines 'normal', that is your choice alone
Hana Furlough: agreed
Storm Nordwind: Hi Sharon!
SophiaSharon Larnia: hi veryone, sorry to arrive so late :)
Storm Nordwind: Hi Eden :)
Bertram Jacobus: hey eden ! :-)
Hana Furlough: Hi SophiaS
Hana Furlough: Hello Eden
Eden Haiku: Hi Storm, Hana, Bertram, Sharon :)
Bertram Jacobus: i thought and think, taht word originally meant that, no ?
Bertram Jacobus: but people very often mix it up with "good"
Storm Nordwind: Mathematically yes Bert. Sociologically I believe you have a choice :)
Bertram Jacobus: i try to avoid that
Bertram Jacobus: i think, i have no beliefes ... hm ...

I haven't been in-world much recently, apart from to do research. Certainly no time to come to these sessions, apart from this one.

Storm Nordwind: By the way, I apologize to my friends here whose sessions I've not attended recently. I've either been exhausted or very busy!
Eden Haiku: Oh, same here Storm, no problem at all :)
Storm Nordwind: That's the problem with writing. Sometimes you have to surface and find that there's a real world, and that's it has moved on since the last time you saw it!
Eden Haiku: hehe
Hana Furlough: have you been writing recently, storm?
Bertram Jacobus: wb sharon :-)
SophiaSharon Larnia: :) let me try this again
SophiaSharon Larnia: thank you
Storm Nordwind: Oh I've been helping with a project.

Sharon has been fading in and out.

Storm Nordwind: Hi Sharon. Welcome back!
Eden Haiku: Great hair Sharon!
SophiaSharon Larnia: thanks :)
Storm Nordwind agrees
Hana Furlough: sounds great
Hana Furlough: yes, amazing hair!
Storm Nordwind: Would go well with a top hat perhaps?
SophiaSharon Larnia: yes its the same as I always wear just a different color :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: its amazing how this sim is not rezzing fo rme
Storm Nordwind: There seem to be problems this morning for me too
Bertram Jacobus: i put the settings back to "recommended" sharon - that helped here a lot (!) ...
SophiaSharon Larnia: in my case that is 'low'
Bertram Jacobus: ah okay ...
--BELL--

Eden tells us of her artistic travels in-world.

Eden Haiku: Changed my settings back to normal too. Had changed them to visit this immersive exhibit Bleu recommended. It helps: now everyone is rezzed!
Storm Nordwind: Which exhibit was that Eden?
Bertram Jacobus: great and nice to read eden ! :-)
Eden Haiku: Looking in my inventory ;)
SophiaSharon Larnia: thank you Eden :)
Bertram Jacobus: ty for the lm eden !
Bertram Jacobus: may be i can visit it after the talk here ...
Eden Haiku: It's really fun!
Storm Nordwind: Is this like Cosmosis?
Eden Haiku: I went there just to check the site and spent almsot an hour there. Reallly immersive and beautiful!
Eden Haiku: I haven't visited Cosmosis. Storm, how could I post the LM in the chat? The exhibit is on for a few more weeks.
Storm Nordwind: You can right click on the LM and select properties. Then copy it into chat
SophiaSharon Larnia: oh great Storm I dint know that :D
Eden Haiku: NMC Campus West -- The Aho Museu, NMC Campus West (143, 165, 14
SophiaSharon Larnia: (cat is completely in my lap sorry about typing)
SophiaSharon Larnia: I was making my puzzle for the next exhibit today
Storm Nordwind smiles
Hana Furlough: lol
SophiaSharon Larnia: are you sure no prim limit ::))
Eden Haiku: Thank you again for the "puzzle" mentoring Storm, I have been trying a most humble puzzle project of my own but it is still difficult :)
Eden Haiku: How do you add a "teleport" to a site?
SophiaSharon Larnia: not all of the prims in mine are 'mine' but you'll see why I added them
Storm Nordwind: You're most welcome Eden!
Eden Haiku: Oh, you are very advanced too SophiaSharon!
SophiaSharon Larnia: blah I rarely make any thing I like
SophiaSharon Larnia: :)
Bertram Jacobus: "okay", friendly people - i´ll leave for now - have a nice time, ty and may all beings be happy plz
SophiaSharon Larnia: bye Bertram
Eden Haiku: Bye Bertram, have a great day :)
Hana Furlough: bye, bert!
Storm Nordwind: Yes i thoroughly recommend Thoth Jantzen's 'Cosmosis' and 'Kaleidoscopium'. I believe that's part of Open Habitat, also at NMC campus
Eden Haiku: Cute gesture!
Storm Nordwind waves
Hana Furlough: i should get going, too
Bertram Jacobus: bye bye thank you :-)
Hana Furlough: happy day, everyone!
SophiaSharon Larnia: bye Hana :)
Eden Haiku: Bye Hana :)
Eden Haiku: h, yes Storm, he is also the builder of the Aho Museum exhibit!
--BELL--

Interacting.

SophiaSharon Larnia: what is the theme of it?
Eden Haiku: One part is called the "Birth canal" that's the one I explored. It's like being in Odysseaus 2001.
SophiaSharon Larnia: cool, I'll see if I can get my laggy avatar to rez there :)
Eden Haiku: I was wearing my Nefertiti outfit so it was really amusing dissapearing into colors and music and forms and then discovering far away in the tunnel a minute Nefertiti wildly dancing...
SophiaSharon Larnia: :D
Eden Haiku: You loose a sense of where "you" are.
SophiaSharon Larnia: amazing that a created objects in sl can evoke that kind of response
Eden Haiku: Time presenting pixel appearances...
Eden Haiku: Yes, isn't it Sharon ?
SophiaSharon Larnia: anything I make I reach for the feeling, i guess I'm not satified
SophiaSharon Larnia: I guess why*
Eden Haiku: YOu mean you want to create a feeling in interacting with the object?
SophiaSharon Larnia: in a way yes
SophiaSharon Larnia: anything made is as an interaction with the senses
SophiaSharon Larnia: :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: like the words that you write, evoking :))
Eden Haiku: I appreciate that SL is so realistic looking in some SIMS. LIke here :)
Storm Nordwind smiles
SophiaSharon Larnia: sometimes in sl objects can look a little too real and give me the eebie jeebies, I forget what the word for that is
Eden Haiku: First time I landed here and walked in these gardens and then found the little house where the pub is, I felt like being in a fairy tale.
SophiaSharon Larnia: :)
Eden Haiku: A realistic one :)

Getting out and about.

Eden Haiku: Now I travel much less in SL. I used to visit desertic areas a lot :)
SophiaSharon Larnia: I havent been traveling much either lately
SophiaSharon Larnia: :))
Eden Haiku: Eebie jeebies, Sharon, intresting word. Goose bumps ?
SophiaSharon Larnia: yes
SophiaSharon Larnia: haha
Storm Nordwind: Maybe we should go on a viking raid and pillage these faraway places and bring back the booty! ;)
SophiaSharon Larnia: hahaha
SophiaSharon Larnia: with my luck they will be no copy
Eden Haiku: Ah the Norse wild man in you is talking Storm! Yeah!
Storm Nordwind chuckles
--BELL--
SophiaSharon Larnia: I generally stay on my plot and play in the garden
SophiaSharon Larnia: kind of like in rl
Eden Haiku: I look forward for BurnMan2 event, in mid-october.
Storm Nordwind: Ah... it will be your first Eden?
SophiaSharon Larnia: yes remind me if you can :D
Eden Haiku: I used to go dancing a lot, attend many poetry readings but I don't find the time anymore.
SophiaSharon Larnia: smiles
Eden Haiku: No, I went to BurningLife last year, before I found PaB, and I really enjoyed it!
SophiaSharon Larnia: have to go now, Bye all :))
Eden Haiku: It's where I met my friend Aztlan. I see he comes back here but I always miss him :)
Eden Haiku: Bye Sharon!
Storm Nordwind: Bye Sharon
SophiaSharon Larnia: have fun :)

Only Eden and I are left. We both missed each other RL birthday, despite knowing when it was.

Eden Haiku: So you have been working a lot Storm?
Storm Nordwind: Yes... and playing a lot. I guess the combination got to me. Not as young as I was!
Eden Haiku: Ah, that's good to hear: exhausted from play, that keeps you young :)
Storm Nordwind: hehe!
Eden Haiku: Happy birthday by the way, you were in August too I think.
Storm Nordwind looks down at his knees
Storm Nordwind: And you too dear friend!
Eden Haiku: Looking at her own knees :))
Eden Haiku: Back to yoga practice, it helps a lot!

Winding down, talking about working hard and playing hard, and a game to help do the latter.

Storm Nordwind: I rediscovered the latest incarnation of an old game I used to play a lot. Got me addicted again for a while. :)
Eden Haiku: A web game?
Eden Haiku: Lord of Warcraft?
Storm Nordwind: It can be nowadays. But mostly I play it on my own on my PC
Storm Nordwind: It's called "Civilization"
Eden Haiku: Sounds nice:) Civilized.,..
Storm Nordwind: First came out in the early 90s
Storm Nordwind: Version 5 is about to be released
Storm Nordwind: You take the persona of a leader of a tribe of people 6000 years ago. And you have to lead them through time, developing cities, discovering technologies, farming land, negotiating with neighbors, right up to the present day
Eden Haiku: I downloaded "Assassin's Creed" on iPod and got good at it waiting somewhere. But I cannot get addicted to a game consisting of killing people, even if the settings are beautiful :)
Storm Nordwind: I sympathize
Eden Haiku: Oh your game sounds much more interesting!
Eden Haiku: Do you play with other people?
Storm Nordwind: Do not under any circumstances buy it... unless you want vast tracts of your time to disappear!
Storm Nordwind: You can play it, online multiplayer. I always play using my PC to fill in for the neighboring civilizations
Eden Haiku: 6000 years ago, are you in Egypt by now by any chance?
Storm Nordwind: You can be. But I rarely play as the Egyptians! I often meet them though :)
Eden Haiku: Oh, you change personas, I see. May I ask of which tribe you are the leader?
--BELL--
Storm Nordwind: There are different ways of winning the game for different styles and preferences. You can be militaristic and try conquest. You can be cultural like me and build legendary centres of culture. You can research till you have a spaceship that flies to a nearby star. Many ways.
Storm Nordwind: I usually play as the English, simply because their indigenous traits, as decided by the game, are best for a cultural victory!
Eden Haiku: Could get addicted to that, yes :)
Eden Haiku: Ah ah, very realistic game :)))
Storm Nordwind: And it's turn based. So you can go away from it at any time and think about it. And you have to, as a game can take days!
Eden Haiku: Wow!
Storm Nordwind: It's very very addictive. Be warned!
Eden Haiku: Better not start...Still on Twitter which takes a lot of time :)
Storm Nordwind: Yes. I had a premonition I would suddenly stop and I even knew when. So it didn't surprise me when it happened
Eden Haiku: I was enetratining the hope that you might come back to my Twitter Timeline :))
Eden Haiku: *entertaining
Storm Nordwind: Ah well... we'll see. But I am deeply flattered by the thought!
Storm Nordwind: I'm still collecting followers - amazingly!
Eden Haiku: But I understand, you focused a lot on your gogohkyas (see, I forgot the spelling) so it felt like work I guess.
Eden Haiku: I like being in touch with lots of different people from many places and many interests.
Storm Nordwind: I enjoyed the poetry, and i was getting quite good at it (even though I say so myself). There was a reason for it I realize
Eden Haiku: You were good at it, I agree!
Eden Haiku: Even though gogyohka isn't my favorite rythm.
Eden Haiku: A reason?
Storm Nordwind: Yeah... when you need to take over the world, eloquence is useful when persuading people! ;-)))
Eden Haiku: Ah the tribe leader is very active right now, I see ;)))
Storm Nordwind smiles
Eden Haiku: Any writer takes over the world, that's true.
Storm Nordwind: The pen is mighter than the sword, so they say. Especially if it's sharp! ;-)
Eden Haiku: As long as he is creating a world by himslef, it's when it goes into the world that it might feel different :)
--BELL--
Storm Nordwind: Well please excuse me. I'm going to shut down my machine and internet link. Everything is so laggy today, the reboot will do it all good. And I need a refill of ice lemon tea anyway!
Eden Haiku: Sure. It was nice seeing you Storm. Have a great day!