Dinner Dating in Second Life

By Leona Kitty

Second Life, being an online virtual world allows us the opportunity to create just as the title says, a second life. We have the choice to make it anything we want. Some come here as an escape, others come here because they are unable to get out much in real life. Either way the lives we create in here can contain so many different possibilities. One of those that I have personally seen and experienced over the years is the ability to meet people and date in Second Life.

In real life you meet someone, usually go out on a date with them to a dinner, movie, a walk in the park, out dancing. So why not do the same thing here? Residents of Second Life have created so many wonderful places for us to use for this purpose. You can go out shopping for a nice outfit to wear for your date. You can then meet up for a romantic dinner followed by dancing. And all of this can be done for much less than the cost a real life date would have cost.

So you may ask, how can I go to a romantic dinner? We cannot actually eat in Second Life. Well this is where your imagination comes in. And truly, when you take that real life date out, are you there only for the food or are you really there to get to know them? Getting to know your date is what the night is all about.

 I personally have always loved the Live service romantic restaurants in Second Life because I feel it truly creates an atmosphere that is as close to a real life date as you can possibly get. You and your date arrive at the restaurant and you are warmly greeted by your hostess or server. Once seated at your table you are able to view a menu and make selections. Over a three or four course meal your server will visit your table to deliver the next course, see how you are doing and just provide general roleplay to make the experience as close to real life as possible. During this dinner which usually lasts close to 1 hour you are able to talk privately with your date and focus completely on getting to know them. What a wonderful way to live a dating experience in Second Life.

So for those seeking a nice, romantic experience where they can devote some time to their date or even significant other I highly encourage you to check into some of your local romantic restaurants.

- Leona Kitty

Pictures taken at "The Falls"

SLife and Times: Fake or Cheating

By Tiddily Winks

    There are many people who come on Second life for many reasons.  Some people think that if a person is having intimate dates on Second Life, then they are cheating on their real life mates.  Other people think that Second Life is just fake. Inquiring minds want to know what you think.  Is SL intimacy outside a marriage fake or cheating? 

    Many people come on Second Life to be intimate with others they have met online.  These people may be in a real life relationship as well.  This is kept secret by some of the people who play intimately on SL but is not kept from the real life mate all the time.  It is something the person needs to choose to do but may hide the fact that what they are doing may be wrong.  This may be done because of a lack of intimacy in his or her real life.  This may be done because of fantasy that a real life relationship does not fill.  Whatever the reason, it is up to the person on Second Life to talk to his or her real-life mate.  It is not something that is necessarily a good thing to hide.   Still some people use SL as stress reliever.  It can be relaxing to come on SL and reduce the stress that real-life causes.  It is also used to live out fantasies that are not possible to live out in real life. 

    Some people do not have contact with others much in the real world due to different reasons.  So the people like this use Second Life to meet people and have a social life.  Because they are not able to for whatever reason they have in real-life, this is a way to meet some great people.  SL is how some people socialize. 

    Some people think that everything on Second Life is fake.  “All of it is if fake and pixels.”  If it is so fake then why do so many people use it for different reasons?  Yes, it is true that most people do not look like that avatars do in real life but SL is a way of getting away for your issues in real-life.  So why would anyone want to look like themselves to come and do someone that is not real?

    No matter what people use Second Life for, there is one important thing to always remember.  No matter what, there is still a real person who is behind the screen that can be hurt by things that are done on SL.  So don’t purposely go around hurting people just because you do not agree with what they do or how they look.  If you are in a real life relationship, do not try to hide Second Life from your significant other.  It may just cause trouble for you later on.

Tiddily Winks

Bid4aCure Date Auction Nets 276K for Diabetes Research

On Sunday Sept 25th, the annual Bid4aCure date auction took place. Held at the Temprus sim, the event began at 11AM and went on for a few hours. A few dozen men and women took part, standing on stage while the bidding took place, sometimes with Jocelyn Sands who helped organize the event. While they were on stage, a song that the participents helped pick played for the audience. Money raised went to the American Diabetes Association and Diabetes UK.

The entrance to the event had a small art exhibit with a few displays. One titled “A Drop in the Bucket” showed a huge container of blood, with drops trickling in from above. But those dops had people inside, symbolic of the charity’s theme. Besides the dates up for bid, there was also a “silent auction” held beside the theater, with a number of clothes, skins, and other items up for bidding.

When Shana Kosco was up for bid, the music she chose was hard rock tunes.. She described herself to the audience as “loves art, and BEER.” After some laughter, she joked, “At least no one has talked about my tequila habits.” Someone commented, “A date with Sahana will not be boring, that is for sure.” She went for several thousand Lindens.

EricSteffensen Mistwalker was bid to the song “So Cliche.” He was won by B&B owner Bundy Xue, whose venue took part earlier this year in the "Jam for Genes" fundraiser. Bundy herself was up for bid soon after, dancing on stage to the tune of “Crazy B*tch.” With the winning bid at 10,000 Lindens, she responded, "Skeat says I define a expensive chick." Baxter Hyun was bid on to the tune of "I Ain't Got Nobody." His winning bid was 5K by Panther Miklos. Leira Vaughan went for more, Duncan Bagley putting up 20K for her.

Musician Mack Humbridge performed a little of his music during his bids, with a few of his fans in the audience dheering a bit, one calling out an “It’s a Mack Attack” gesture. Another musician, Edward Lowell, just performed quieter guitar music. One whimsical fellow held a sheapard's crook and rezzed a bunch of sheep around him. This was just a sample of what went on. No doubt the antics continued during the whole event.

Nazz Lane, whom once worked for Second Life Newser’s predecessor SL Newspaper, went for 7,000 Lindens by Briawinde Magic. Talking to him after the date auction, he told me a total of 396,791 had been raised, “Not as much as bigger fundraisers, such as the Relay for Life, but we’re happy with the results.“

Bid4aCure’s website showed a total figure of over 700,000 Lindens raised just after the date auction. They have continued to hold events, and recently their season total passed a million Lindens.

To read about Bid4aCure's date auction in 2010: Click Here.

To go to the Bid4aCure website: Click Here.

Bixyl Shuftan