First meme of 2009

My wonderful SL sister Trinity did it, and the admirable Gabby did it. They both claim Kitty did it but I can't find it. But OK, I do it now too. Here's (my) first meme of 2009:

1. Who was your first prom date?
We don't have proms in my country, and to reveal a secret, I never took dancing lessons either. The only girl in my class asking me to join in dancing lessons was someone who used to gallop around the schoolyard like a horse (no kidding!) and stalked me otherwise. Her asking me to join was the guarantee for me not joining at all.

2. Do you still talk to your first love?
We lost contact a while ago. She even visited uni in the same town I studied, but our paths took different directions. I still think of her, and I still wonder why it did not work out since we clicked very well.

3. What was your first alcoholic drink?
Growing up in a famous wine region, it was white wine. Only much later I started to drink beer. Still can't get used to red wine. I barely drink any alcohol anymore these days and if, it is the occasional glass of good Scottish Single Malt whisky.

4. What was your first job?
The first self-earned money was for selling self made hardware gadgets for the Commodore 64 computer to classmates and friends. The first money from a company was from an IT magazine for articles I wrote. The first money as an employee was during the (mandatory) internship for my university studies at a mechanical engineering company.

5. What was your first car?
It took me well into my twenties before I owned a car, and it was an Opel Corsa.

6. Who was the first person to text you today?
Since I barely use a cellphone I can only count instant messages. The first person that I texted/IMed was Quaintly Tuqiri, the first person to text/IM me was Flutter Memel.

7. Who is the first person you thought of this morning?
My RL-wife, because she had to shake me to wake up since we had some errands to do this morning.

8. Who was your first grade teacher?
An incredibly old gentleman who recently got 90 and is still alive. Tough but just, with incredibly large sweat-stains under his arms in summer. He must have had a horrible time during war, because every time we had fire drill, the poor man flung himself under the desk and started to cry. That was quite an unsettling sight for a 6 year old. Much to my shame I have to admit we made fun of him because of that.

9. Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane?
My first airplane ride ever got sponsored by Microsoft, and the destination was Seattle, USA. Well, Redmond, to be precise. It was back in 1995 and the release of Windows 95 got postponed yet another time, so Microsoft rallied up the worldwide press for a promo event, showing them how cool it all was. They paid for everything, so this was not only the first flight I ever made, it was also the only First Class flight I ever made.

10. Who was your first best friend and do you still talk?
In SL this probably applies to Cheyenne Palisades with who I talk way too little in the past year. Sorry, Chey, it's not meant rude. I don't understand it myself.

11. Where was your first sleep over?
I can't recall that anymore. However I DO recall a sleepover as a teenager where I shared the sleeping bag with my girlfriend back then, and our hands had a life of their own. We whispered and giggled, assuming the others were fast asleep. She had to leave a day early, so the next night I slept alone, but another couple shared their sleeping bags, and I realized that you hear EVERYTHING.

12. Who was the first person you talked/will talk to today?
My wife and the kids.

13. Whose wedding were you in the first time?
I only attended two weddings in SL. The first one was the (first?) wedding of Ryker Beck and I got dragged along there by someone I liked very much back then but who backstabbed me in an unimaginable way several months later. I did not know Ryker very well back then, and I doubt she will remember me having been there, especially since her SL partnership with the guy ended in huge drama.
The wedding I prefer to remember was the one of my SL sister Trinity Dechou and her wonderful and smart partner Aimee Trescothick.

14. What was the first thing you did this morning/first thing you will do when you log in?
Turn the alarm off and take a shower to resemble a halfway human being. First thing I did upon logging in to SL was take a photo of a party invite for Quaintly.

15. What was the first concert you ever went to?
The first "real" concert (where "real" means by a nationwide/international recognized performer and not a local hero) was actually Chris DeBurgh. Living in the middle of nowhere, with no car and not a lot of money ruled concert-going out a bit. But I had the chance to see Marillion, Jeff Healy (poor chap died a year ago) and Joe Jackson. The best concert I ever visited was Billy Joel + Elton John when they performed their joint tour in Dublin, Ireland. It was also the last concert of an international star I attended.

16. What was your first record/tape?
I recorded a lot of tapes from radio shows, so memory is blurry there. The first vinyl I bought was "Thriller" by Michael Jackson. The first CD I bought - actually the first THREE CD's I bought (since I bought them together) was "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" (Beatles), "90125" (Yes, the album where "Owner of a lonely heart" is on) and "In Visible Silence" (Art of Noise) - the latter I sold again because I did not like it.

17. First hospitalization?
First and only one so far (/me knocks on wood) where Polyps at the age of 12 or so.

18. First foreign country you’ve been to?
Living in the part of Europe I live in, there's a whole bunch of countries nearby. The closest literally in walking distance. So the first "real" foreign country I went to was Great Britain on a pupil's exchange. Three weeks in Poole Harbour, one of the best times of my life.

19. First movie you remember seeing?
The first movie I WANTED to see was "The spy who loved me" - but I was too young for it. There was some Disney stuff I saw, but the first memorable movie I saw was "Flash Gordon" (the one with the Queen song).

20. When was your first detention?
Believe it or not, but I don't remember to ever have been detained.

21. Where did you first meet your spouse/partner now?
University.

22. Who was your first roommate?
The only roomates I ever had were during my military service, and to be honest I forgot their names the day I was done with service. I probably would not be allowed to name them anyways, it's prolly top secret or such.

23. What did you do with your first paycheck?
Call me a nerd, but I bought books from it...

The new meme by LL

So Linden Lab started a meme of themselves (without noticing it probably). Follwoing other blogs examples, here are my answers to their call to share stories:

What are you doing in Second Life?
Apart from the social and exploring side, I run a company offering translation and copywriting services for SL companies.

How long have you been in Second Life?
October 2006

How did you find out about Second Life?
I read some report on BoingBoing.net as early as 2005. It looked interesting, especially since I had a background in 3D design. However I saw the potential addictive factor and did not sign up back then (I think there were no free accounts either back then). Still the articles on BoingBoing.net caught my eye, and eventually I signed up in late 2006.

What were your original goals when you became a part of Second Life? Have they changed?
Having a background in 3D design, I thought it would be interesting to check out. Admittedly also the business aspect was attractive for me. It turned out however, that the building tools ware way inferior to what I was used to, and that of course conducting business was hyped in the media. What I did not expect though was to find many great people in SL, so the immersive and social - and later emotional - aspect became by far my biggest motivation to stay. And even though I am an SL entrepreneur in the meantime, it's the aspect of having real and close friends - as far as that is possible in a virtual world - which makes me stay.

Was there anything in-world that surprised you, something that you may not have expected?
I did not expect that SL is pretty much oversexed. Especially as a male, I feel under special scrutiny regarding my motives when talking to female residents. Innocuous remarks get met with the suspician that I am only after cybersex - which I am not.

What do you hope to achieve in-world?
Make a lot of nice aquaintances, get a circle of really close friends and virtual family, and make the lifes of residents better.

What is your motivation?
I really care for people, and enjoy meeting new and interesting ones. I am also the "hands on" type of person, so SL offers me a great opportunity to use my creativity.

How many Residents frequent your island/business? Daily? Monthly?
I don't own land, and honestly I don't believe in traffic as a means to measure attractiveness anyways. My office gets a fair amount of visitors each day, so does the island it is on.

How do you measure your success in-world? Is it by money or another means?
The commercial success of my SL-company is of course measured in money. But I don't want to accumulate riches or cash out regularly. Making money in SL is a means for me to maintain a rather care-free in-world lifestyle.

My social success I measure in terms of the interesting conversations I have, the good people I meet and comments on my blog.

What are some of your favorite places in-world?
For the longest time the Hobo place at Celleta was my home. I enjoy the tropical island Pele (on Forsaken) of my SL sister Chey. Black Swan, Chakryn Forest and Straylight are highlights of landscaping and content creation. Virtual Dublin is still one of my favourite hangouts.

What do you think makes Second Life interesting?
The residents, their social interaction, and their creativity.

What are the pros and cons of doing business in Second Life?

Pro: It's incredible easy to start a business, and the risk of failure is low and in any case not existential threat.

Con: People mixing RL expecations wiht SL reality or expecting that you work/produce for free. Unclear strategy of LL - you knever know how your business gets affected next, or whether your account might be frozen one day, or how they change SL and ruin your business model.

What do you see in the future for Second Life?
Ambigous question. Linden Labs task is to make SL more stable and upset its residents not too much. I hope we get better ways of interacting with the environment, and help new residents to make their first steaps easier. It hurts to think how many interesting people give up simply because their starting experience is too frustrating.

I personally would like to go on like this, meeting people, finding friends, doing my share of making SL a place worth visiting.