Thank you Aly <3

That is *my* Alysha Rennahan, an angel & great friend. We've never hung out in SL, or RL... but we IM, Flickr, and know each other through each other's blogs. She & I share a lot of things that we have in common. If you don't follow her blog yet, you should... and if you ever see her in world say "HAI!" She's an awesome person in SL/RL and she has the M&Ms... always.

Thank you Aly for everything you've done :)
You truly are the bestest of the best.

Warm, Fuzzy & Squishy

That's my Rosie Shawk! Enough with all the ugliness around here. Seriously. I've said my peace, so now I present to you (drum roll please......)

MY ROSIE POSIE PUDDIN PIE - The apple of my eye!

In all my time in SL, I've been very lucky to meet some amazing people. Rosie being one of them. She is always there to give me just the right reality slap (Ouch!), advice that I don't wanna hear (but she's right), up for any hair-brained scheme (Did you get a Morrisey yet?) and great at shopping cycloning with me (did you see that new release?). Just like Aka, she just *gets* me.

THANK YOU FOR BEING REZZED INTO MY SLIFE!

Girls Go in Pairs

You know why we do everything together? Including trips to the bathroom? It's because we *get* each other. That's right. Girls are a special breed. Bring up a situation to a guy & watch his face go from interested to puzzled. Bring the same situation up to a girl friend and watch as her expression turns to "*I* know, right!" There's not much that we don't agree on. Been there, done that. Guess what guys... we all give BJs the same too. No way! Shup! That's inside info, by the way.

So when you need to vent, who would you run to? A girl friend of course. Chances are she feels exactly what you're going through, knows what you are talking about & you can bet she has the words to make you feel a hell of a lot better.

I need Ben & Jerry's. kkthnx

Omg! Omg! *squeals*

Just as I was starting to get really grumpy about full blown un-numbness in my sore jaw, about ready to say fuck it, and go to bed... I get an IM that made me brighten up instantly.

Dilligafah Hoodoo: JELLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JellyBean Madison: OMFG DILLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!

I've known Dilli for a very very long time, mayhapsibly my entire SL existence. I nicknamed him "My Monkey." And ever since then he's been one of the greatest friends Aka & I could ever ask for. He's seen us go through a lot of changes, a lot of immaturity, a lot of growing up, and numerous moves in our SL. He was our recon during wand games, roommate/neighbor & builder of things to make us laugh [enter the RoboTender & Surfing Potato-Man]. He took a huge break from SL, I mean HUGE, with schooling, studying and work he rarely could find time to log in, but he would still manage to pop in just at the right moments or brighten my day on Yahoo.

I'm sorry Aka wasn't here to see you tonight Monkey but on behalf of us both, we welcome you back to our SLives with huge tackle hugs! You were greatly missed you goofus! *noogies*

Don't Hate, y0

I was going to write my response to my friends post, but in the middle of doing so I was im'd by someone I use to be close to. This made me rethink my post and head a tote different direction with it but I think it will still mesh well with the point I was going to make.

A bit into our convo he asked me "Where's the Jelly hate?" This made me think for a second. He was right, where the fuck did my hate go? Have I found my zen? My chi? Should I have attacked him for trying to start a convo with me just because it was him? Nah, just because more than one time he's suffered from Jekyll/Hyde syndrome doesn't mean that he doesn't deserve a... a... a... fifth(?) chance. No, it's not even that. Iunno. I've changed, I guess. I'm not sure if it's that I'm more forgiving (hears angels sing) or if it's that I just don't give a shit anymore.

I'm going with the don't give a shit theory. I'm not a fool & just cause I can cool my attitude that was prominent before does not mean I won't still jump your shit. I just need to justify it to myself now. Why? Mostly because I think before I act now, mostly. I asked a friend last night why do people make me feel like I'm broken? She told me that I'm not broken but I LET others make me think I am. Then she went on to quote Eleanor Roosevelt - No one can make you feel inferior without your consent (I had this at the bottom of my profile once). This is so true.

Anywho, my main fixation last night was missing my hatred but it went like this:

You: dreamer I've changed for a good not a bad right?
Dreamer Demontrond: wha??
You: I was asked earlier "wheres the jelly hate?"
Dreamer Demontrond: well iunno Sunshine
Dreamer Demontrond: u like where ur at?
You: mhm
Dreamer Demontrond: hate's a negative
You: true but it can be entertaining
Rosie Shark: lol
Dreamer Demontrond: oh yea
Dreamer Demontrond: used correctl :P
You: like hating the clippity clap of prim shoes as a hooker walks by
Dreamer Demontrond: lol
Rosie Shark: lmao
Dreamer Demontrond: oh exackery
Rosie Shark: there's the hate :D
You: lol
You: but I don't hate ppl
Dreamer Demontrond: bring THAT hate
You: like [insert starfuckin whore here], I don't hate her cause she's a cunt
Rosie Shark: it's good there's no hate
Rosie Shark: just means that you moved on

So that's that! I've moved on. :) Or mayhaps I've grown up. :o *gasp*

With all the friend discussion going on it made me realize that I could try harder as a friend. I've always thought that I was a decent friend, but I am lazy & forgetful. I'm working on that. I've said this before & I'll say it again... I'm lucky for the peeps I got. :D *nose licks & HI5s all around*

Friendship

So, Jelly and I have been having lots and lots and lots of convo's on friendship over the last couple of weeks. We have been picking up some new friends and walking from some old friends. Bits and pieces have dribbled through the blog, but in a nutshell the discussion hinges on how do you really define friendship? At what point do you walk from someone who you have previously defined as a friend, how do you evaluate new friends, how do you manage your friends list in SL, etc etc...

So here is my philosophy on friendship:

My friends typically HAVE to be: honest, genuine, and trustworthy. If I feel any of those are lacking then I cannot remain friends with them. Then once you get past the core values, I reach the next layer of things that draw me to people. These are traits like: sense of humour, creativity, passion, spunk, drive, intelligence, compassion, and compatability of interests.

Throughout my life I have tended to keep very tight close friendships of maybe 3-4 people, and then I have a slightly wider network of maybe 15 that I would call friends. I actually manage my SL list this way, I routinely go through and trim it back. I have 25 people on there atm (counting Jell plus all her alts as only 1…lol). I have over 75 contact cards though, so over time I have cut about 50 people.

Most often I cut people, just because we fall out of contact and I don’t really run in their circle anymore. Sometimes, I have had to cut because of people exhibiting signs of craziness or drama inducing issues, which I don’t want to get near. A few haven’t measured up to my level of trustworthiness, which although unfortunate is not a choice that I made for them.

Am I a good friend? I hope so… I really do. I am normally very easy to get along with, and I enjoy having a good time. I am someone who you can always ask for help, or who is there to lend an ear if you just want to vent. At the end of the day it is my friends who can truly answer that question. I am who I am, and I have made some really big mistakes in the past, but I am trying to make every day better than the last one.

A wise pixel once said...

"the thing about friends and relationships is what's important to the "relations" in your life should be important to you."

I'm curious to hear some answers from ya'll..
What makes a friend a friend?
What do you look for in friendships?
Do you believe you're a good friend and why?
Do you tend to try to be the friend to everyone or keep a small inner circle?

Say it Right

Wowzers! My bloggity blog blogging has slowed down tremendously. I use to blog about everything and now, nah, not so much. I find it's better to just collect a few different topics & do one post. I am struggling to actually blog once a day which could only mean... Hell, iunno. Mayhaps some days, I just have nothing to say. Hard to believe, I know. I do have a few things to cover & some are deeper than my normal babble, I s'pose. Anywho, shall we?

Hurricane Flossie
I'm sure ya'll probably heard about it before I did. I'm not a news watcher. It's depressing. We have only seen rain so far, but not the strong winds. Not yet, at least. We're under a hurricane watch this morning as it continued on a course that should bring it within 100 miles (165 km) of our Pacific state. Flossie, currently a Category 4 hurricane, is expected to come closest to the island by 2 p.m. local time (8 p.m. EDT) on Tuesday when it will weaken to a Category 2. I'll keep ya posted, unless of course I lose net. Haha.

Unhealthy Friendships
I have to say I've been bottling this but last night I was able to vocalize it. My Rezz Day party was a huge heart opener for me. I was going to say eye opener but meh. In my 3 years in SL I've met a lot of people & I've made some friends that I considered close. Let's just say, I don't always make the best choices. There are mayhaps a total of 5 people in my SLife that I considered to be BFFs but not only couldn't a few of them be assed to help with the party, they couldn't even show. So I guess for the past two weeks I've kind of been re-evaluating my inner circle. Sometimes cutting ties is hard, other times you just do it because kicking a dead horse is just moronic. Honestly.

Burning Life 2007
I'm not completely sure if Burning Life will happen this year. For those of you that are newish to SL, you may not even know what BL is. For the last four years, the Burning Life festival has helped Second Life Residents recognize the true creative potential of our ever-changing and ever-growing world. Second Life’s annual homage to Burning Man is in question this year. Last year the Burning Life grounds were in the shape of a 12-estate island - double the size of 2005's site. Each participant had almost 1/16 of a sim to express their interpretation of Burning Life. Use of the land was free of charge and didn't count against your land tier. The specially created location echoed the spirit of Burning Man’s Black Rock Desert (and even included textures sourced from the Playa!) - without the blood-boiling Nevada heat. On Monday, September 18, 2006 Burning Life disappeared as it always does, leaving residents with a lingering suspicion that it was all a wonderful dream…
This year there's question that the Linden's will even be supplying land (like they've done in the past) for the Burning grounds. GavinLeigh Wake has been the keeper of the SL Burning Life Blog. He states: "Input from the Linden's is still minimal but everyone hopes to hear from the powers that be, and that they will participate by creating a dusty playa for the festival to run upon this year." BL has always been a big deal to me, right up there with the annual Winter Festival. If you'd like to know what's in the works, please join the .:Burning Life:. group in SL (optimistic that BL 07 will be Aug 27 - Sep 3) and follow the Offical Website: Burninglife.org.

JH Report Returns?
We're not entirely sure that we'll keep to any particular schedule that we did before (every Saturday) but we are currently working on JH Report IV. Seems that it became more time consuming than we could actually devote to it. Changes in our RL schedules leave us with very limited time together & though we do love to create together, we'd rather inhale each other for that time over working. With JHR IV we're taking our time just doing a bit a day as to not be overwhelmed by it. So stay tuned, it'll be posted shortly. Mwah

StumbleUpon
Thanks to Myg, I have a new addiction... StumbleUpon. Channel surf the internet with the StumbleUpon toolbar to find great websites, videos, photos and more based on your interests. StumbleUpon learns what you like and makes better recommendations. It's insane how long I can sit & draw lines completely amusing myself, or play with 3D snowflakes, giggle at religious satire, get lost reading philosophy or ancient mythology and lol'ing at funny cat pics. When I told Hawks about it, I could just envision him shaking his head at me. Lmao. This is a new toy that I'm not sure will ever lose flavor. Lawd help us all.

Last but not least...
Friendly reminder:

Click to Enlarge

Toodles & Mwah!!!

Just Cause - I liked it!

And... my "I so farted! And your mouth was open!!!" Hahahahaha!

Opportunist Friends

Incoming vent sorta, cause I can.
Life was made a tragedy for Caesar by his greedy and opportunist friends. Okay I'm not Caesar but I know an opportunist friend when I see one. Opportunists in disguise of friends that use you to get to where they can with help from you whether you know it or not. I'm not talking about popularity, because that would just be presumptuous on my part. It could be anything. All I know is I've got three in my SLife & I'm about to go tell them to get fucked. I was talking to Rosie about this last night & her suggestion was to leave it lay. One of them is starting to really show their true colors and karma will eventually bite them in the ass again. I found this earlier:

A true friend makes no excuses of having work or appointments or anything but will be with you whenever you need him/her. In your hour of desperation, a true friend will support you even if the whole world opposes you. A true friend is not an opportunist. Instead of having hundreds of good friends, if you have a true friend, treat yourself lucky. If you can also become a true friend of someone, you will be blessed, because it is much easier for all of us to expect but very difficult to give. Be a true friend yourself first.

Kudos to the person who wrote that and an AMEN! I believe in SL these opportunists are known as "star fuckers" *points* You know who you are. Move on. This was going to be longer but turned into a rant & well I didn't like it so -backspace- . I consider myself blessed to have Aka, Hawks, Rosie, & Dreamer in my life everyday. I love you guys.

To every one else that uses people to make their way in a "virtual" world - get fucked!
May the fleas of a thousand camels infest the crotch of the person who screws up your day and may their arms be too short to scratch!

THANK YOU!! MWAH

Wow, well what can I say. Jelly posted several pics from the surprise party she gave me for my birthday below so I won't mess with putting up more pics, but I did want to express my thanks and appreciation for all the great friends that I have made here on SL. Yes, I was a tad suspicious... mayhaps the large happy birthday banner that rezzed behind the bleacher seating at the Tringo area had something to do with it... :) Not to mention the particles jumping off Jelly every 5 seconds during Tringo... lol. But in the end I have to say that I was still incredibly surprised, because I was expecting something small to happen during our nightly Dreamer Tringo, when in actuality it ended up turning into quite an event.

I want to take a minute and thank those that came:

Mio: Welcome to the other side of noobville, you clean up fairly nice. Keep making Dreamer happy, and you will stay on my good side. Don't break poor Lucy's heart.

Igor: We are old tringo opponents but relatively new on the friendship side of things. I am glad you were able to come, and I have already sent your present off to the cleaners... lol.

Aug: Aug: You are a worthy Tringo opponent, and the king of dropping YouTube urls in the middle of the Tringo matches. Aug: Sure I never actually go look at them, but I still appreciate the fact you are so eager to share!

Rosie: I am just now feeling like we are getting to know each other well, and I really look forward to seeing our friendship continue to grow.

Map: Appreciate the appearance, and as long as you continue to treat Heaven well then you will score highly in my book.

Amanda: Thrilled you could make it, and dancing with Haos should score you some sort of hazard pay. I will always treasure your friendship, and I want us to stay close. The poem goes in my things to keep forever folder. :)

Heaven: Thank you for all the great moments we have shared, and for the tremendous friendship we will always have. Dancing with a "ruthed" Haos should score you more than hazard pay, I am thinking some sort of medal of honor for courageous actions above and beyond the call of duty or something.

Haos: I have always enjoyed our sparring matches, and valued your friendship. I am glad that I am staying in contact with you in the post BA world, let's keep it up. You really gotta work on your groove thing though, poor miss Streeter is probably still wallowing out there.

Kala: What can I say? You have one of the most bubbly cheerful personalities I have encountered in SL, and you help bring a smile to everybody's face. Don't change ... I expect you to still have that vibrant personality when you are 85 years old. Just think of how many shoe jokes you can think up between now and then.

Joker: Over a very short time, you have gotten to be one of my closest friends. I am glad that Tringo and Kala introduced us to each other. Your a little nuts bro, but a good friend through and through. Sorry if I kept you from breaking in the laptop properly...

Dreamer: I have never seen such quick wit and incredible sarcasm bundled up in such a sweet package. You truly are one of kind, and a treasure to all. I am happy you have found SLove and happiness, you deserve it! You will always be the hostess with the mostess...

Jelly: Ummmm. Wow! What to say. You continue to astound me with your generosity, warmth, and love of life. You still surprised me, even if I was getting suspicious. I am so happy to have found you, and for every day we are able to be together. You are amazing, and truly the Slove of my Slife... We are coming up on 2 months, and they have been awesome! I am kind of competitive, so we need to be sure to beat Eva and Ace so we have a ways to go... :) Mwah, kisses, and thank you so much for bringing in my B-day with a bash...

Sometimes...

After a rough RL day, a hug from a friend is all you need. Even a virtual hug can make you smile & feel better. Thank you Dreamer. :D