I always wanted to have a lot of land, but tier is frightful. Yet, two weeks ago I decided to overcome that fear and got an extra parcel that became available next to my plot. I said to myself: “Sometimes you spend a lot of money on things you don’t even enjoy, so why not on SL?” And for the first time in four years I exceeded the self imposed monthly expense limit set for Second Life.
During the first week, I worked on a nice landscape that I even used for my previous post. Since I liked how it turned out, I went ahead and paid two more weeks of rent. By then I was convinced I wanted to keep it, but time went by, and by the end of the second week, the land was sitting there, almost empty, with lots of prims unused. The reasons for such bemusement? Firstly, I realized I was quite happy with what I had before, and needed nothing more. Secondly, tier in SL is quite expensive when you think about it, and when there’s no revenue coming out of this virtual frontier, it can become a burden. That’s why we’re seeing several “hallmark” sims closing lately, because their owners can’t sustain them anymore. So in the end, that served as a reassurance that downsizing is usually a safe path to follow.
To prove to myself that I still have room to play with in my original domains, and as a way to not regret abandoning Thither (the temporary moniker I assigned to the fleeting lot), I set aside a little corner in Next to Nowhere to transform into a “clubhouse”. Well, it’s really an abandoned cabin that the passage of time has tainted, but I wanted to infuse to it an air of nostalgia (maybe out of romanticism), and pretend it is special. Actually, this building is part of The Forgotten Cottage, a promo skybox made by Blue Pearl Homes (Marian Lean) ages ago. The complete scene has been available for free like forever and is still simply adorable. Visit the store inworld [slurl] –look for the magic couch– or the SL Marketplace [url] to get a copy. To rezz it you will need a parcel with at least 300 prims and a 60×60 sq.m. base.
Part of the fun this time is what lies beneath the dwelling: there is a small cave. It’s hardly visible in this picture due to all the greenery around, but sure a shot from the inside will give you a better idea of its existence. As of now, it sits empty next to the waterfall, but it sure adds a little adventurous touch to the surroundings.
All the objects you see in these pictures have been blogged before, except for the new bamboo with blue-green stem by nocc. This item is currently available as an exclusive for the Twinkle Night Bazaar 2011 event, a tanabata festival that showcases a prolific group of (mostly) Japanese creators. The event, which was organized by mocha’s flexagons Villota, is housed amid an idyllic parcel –in itself a must see– built by tetuma Kawashima (Napoliy). The bazaar runs from July 1st to July 11th. For more information, visit the Twinkle Night Bazaar blog [url] or go straight to the place inworld [slurl].
On a side note, but a very appropriate one because I’m using them all over the plot, New Trails released a Spanish moss version of its ultra low prim oaks today. Needless to say they are awesome, and just add an extra prim to the 2-prim basic tree released earlier this year. For a limited time (24 hours starting at 17 hours SLT) they are selling for 50% off the regular price. That’s a real bargain. So head to New Trails inworld to get the ones you need [slurl]. Offer is not available in the Marketplace.