Welcome To The New Age (to the new age .. to the new age)

Now that I have completed some of my self-imposed checklist for today, I can take a break, and bring you all up to speed on what has been going on in the life of River this week, both RL and SL.

We'll start with SL.

As we expected, it was a really quiet week in SL this week, because of Christmas.  We actually decided a while back that we didn't really want to run any scheduled events at Exile on Christmas Day, because the holidays are a time for family, and I would not want anyone to have to break from holiday family celebration to log into SL and spend two hours working.   I had actually thought about coming in just to stream some music, but RL got in the way of that - something I will discuss later in this post.

Friday was really good!! We had quite a few people for my 80s Flashback event - it really seems to be picking up more and more steam each week, and I am loving it.  I've always said that my biggest joy in DJ'ing is to be able to find and play whatever someone asks for, and that still holds true. Especially with the 80s, there are so many obscure songs, and one-hit-wonders, that it makes it a challenge sometimes.  People are always amazed at the sheer number of 80s songs that I have - I don't have to look for much - but then again, I am a true child of the 80s.

We skipped Master's event for the monthly staff meeting, and might I say, it went VERY well! We got tons of ideas and suggestions from the attending staff.  Flo and Mav are going to have a static event on Thursdays called "Naked Furrsday" for nekos and furries, which should be a lot of fun! Starting the first of the year, we're also going to be switching to even times for our events, in an attempt to be more competitive, and to make it easier for our patrons to choose what events that they want to attend during the course of a day, without having to leave one or another in the middle.  The staff is pretty excited about this change, as we are!  You can look for lots of big changes at Exile in the new year, which I might add, will be going into its 2nd year of commercialization in 2014!!

Naked Saturday was absolutely brilliant.   People just kept coming in and coming in, one after another, and the majority of them stayed around to dance and listen to the music!  There was lots of great conversation - everything from food to music to (ahem) more censored topics!  We gained several new members to the Exile group, also.  Oh! And we had three dancers!  Shanique, Lami, and our newest dancer, Reyna!  I got TONS of requests, and one of those requests landed me on the SHX Top 40 Chart - I'm currently sitting at #16.  I was in there twice, but my lower score has since been knocked out.   A big improvement over the glitch that happened with the board last week - I would have probably charted pretty high, too.  Ah well, c'est la vie!   I probably would have charted top 10 this week, but we had a few board griefers that came in, and voted down several songs just to be asses.

Now, on to RL.

Christmas this year wasn't all that great.  I got a call on Christmas Eve that my Mum was being ambulanced to the hospital.  She's not been well for a while now, but she had taken a turn for the worse.  So, I've been spending a lot of time up there, with her.   She was getting a bit better, but passed out again yesterday as she was sitting on the side of the bed, and stopped breathing for a bit. They got her resuscitated, and put her on oxygen, and are still running lots of tests to see what is going on with her and how to get it corrected.  As it stands, when she is released, she will probably be spending some time in an in-patient facility that does physical therapy, just to get her strength up to acceptable levels.

Its been interesting ... Keeping my kids from freaking out over this .. and then in turn, Master keeping me from freaking out over this.  Kind of a trickle down effect.  Except he gets to deal with me after I have been dealing with them.

It was really nice for a few days, but its gone back to being uber cold again.  I was at work last night, and it was 45 degrees - then all of a sudden, the wind came out of nowhere, and it dropped to about 30 degrees, in under half an hour.  Brrrr!

Today I've been working on getting a few things done in the house.  The floors are all swept, and mopped with Murphy's Wood Oil Soap.  It smells wonderful in here - a soft orange scent.  I love that stuff.   I cooked Master's Fried Rice for dinner.  Yum!   Next on my agenda is to finish cleaning the kitchen ... and I have decided that THIS WEEK, I am going to get most of the boxes left over from moving, unpacked.  Period.  No more putting it off.  And, the ones that I can't unpack due to lack of shelf space, are going to be consolidated and put in Jynxx's room until I can get either a bookcase or some more shelves.  (I have a lot of books and knick-knacks.)

That, ladies and gents, is my week in a nutshell.

Here's to an awesome New Year.

~R

Hair of the Dog

Haha Jynxx, that title is just for you.

But, its so applicable!  Speaking from a RL point of view, its very relevant to my every day life. Not in the alcohol sense, but in it's truest form.  Dog hair.  Its everywhere.  It doesn't seem to matter how much I sweep and vacuum and mop - Its still there.  I have two doggies, my fur-babies now that all of my own kids have grown up and moved out and started their own families.  Achilles is a Welsh Pembroke Corgi mix, and Loki is a Schnauzer-Pug mix.  We call him a Schnug.  Heh. Anyway, they both shed like nobody's business.  And it's all white for the most part.  For some reason, Achilles never seems to shed the darker hair.  Or, maybe I just haven't noticed it as much as the downy, snow-coloured drifts that seem to accumulate, seemingly overnight, in every nook and cranny of my house.

That's what I have done today.  I have swept, vacuumed, and swept again, then mopped.  Two hours later, guess what I have found?  Yep, you're right.  More dog hair.  I suppose its probably too cold to shave them both bald.  Besides, they would look really funny, and probably poop in my shoes or something if I did that.  Loki is looking at me dangerously, for even thinking about it, if even in jest.  Yeah ... no, I won't be doing that.  I like my shoes.  They're black and pink Sketchers.

It fits in other ways, too, though, relating to SL.  Sometimes, the hair of the dog is just what I need to keep on being motivated, and to pull myself out of thoughts of grumpiness and anger and despair.  Usually, I do really well at keeping on, but sometimes I need that little dose of the hair of the dog to get back on track again.   That dose comes by way of people like Perse, who thanked me the other day "for all that you do".  People like Miss Rose and Sir Len, who come to Naked Night even when Sir Len isn't feeling well.   People like Lioness and Shanique and Rosie and Isis, and a bunch of others who tell us, point blank, that they aren't going anywhere, because they love, and are LOYAL to Exile.  Most of all, people like Jynxx and Emerald, who never have a problem kicking me in the pants and telling me to suck it up and move on.  People like my Master, who is always there for me, no matter what, helping me with Exile stuff, even if he would rather be doing something more intimate with his girl.    THESE are the reasons we kept Exile going.  THEY are the ones that exhibit what it means to be family - the Exiles - bound together by love and loyalty, and kept strong by that feeling of belonging to something special.

And while I am being thankful, I'm thankful for all of the lessons that I have learned this year, too. Lessons in trust, and who not to trust.  Lessons in pride, and lessons taught in anger.  Everything is a lesson, I think.   I think the biggest lesson that I have learned this year is that I trust too easily. Some might say that its an endearing trait, but its hard to see it that way, when what it brings you is a knife to the back.  (Or several, as the case may be.)   E'tu, Brute?   Heh.

Another thing that I have come to know about myself is that I have no room in my life for pretenders.  That goes from pretended loyalty all the way to people pretending to be what they aren't.   Spoiler alert - finding out that someone you knew for years, and trusted, is not only a backstabber and not loyal, but not even the sex that they pretend to be.   Just, ugh.

Things are going to be good for me in the New Year.  I am not making any resolutions except for one .. to be a better me.   :)    And, in the words of Jynxx -- Not to sweat the small stuff, and not to pet the sweaty stuff.

~R

Dark Christmas Ball in Review

All I can say is, what a blast we had at Exile last night!!   If you weren't there, you truly missed one hell of a party.

We saw people that we had never seen before, and people who had come in the past, but had not seen for a while!  Old friends, new friends, and it was amazing!  Everyone looked great, too! There were lots of big poofy dresses, and some slinky ones, and the men in their tuxedos and suits were resplendent!

I hope that everyone enjoyed the music - I tried not to overpower with Christmas tunes - even though I had dug up some really amazing ones.  We heard from Abney Park, Claire Voyant, Cruxshadows, and a bunch more that I can't even remember off of the top of my head.  Mix those in with the regular tunage that people love on Naked Night, and the place was in full swing!

The only downside of the evening was, that somehow our SHX board glitched at the very end, and it didn't record the score to the Top 40 board.  I'm fairly sure that I would have placed high (read, in the top 20) because I had a score of 249ish.  Master has emailed the creator with the details of what happened, to see if anything can be done to correct both my standing and Exile's club standing.

Nothing last night could have dimmed my good mood though, and even work flew by pretty quickly.  I debated having some breakfast out, but really, I just wanted to get home to Master, so I decided to save that for another time, and came home to some piping hot oatmeal with brown sugar, butter and milk instead.

I rather feel as though I have been productive today as well.  I got all of the cut-outs done on the papers, as well as going through (count them!) 4 holiday magazines and cutting out the recipes that I wanted to save.  Not to mention, I hooked up with my friend Todd, who helped me get signed up for my ACA (ObamaCare) policy.  Its a lot cheaper than I had thought it would be, and my coverage is good, so I can't complain at all.  I had some lovely fish and chips for lunch (my lunch time is your dinner time most likely) and then two eggs, over easy on toast, for dinner.  Yum!

Currently, Loki wants me to stop typing and play "throw the pig" with him, so I had better end this blog post and do that.  Heh.  Its either that, or risk getting the bloody pig tossed at me.

Peace!


~R

More Ice Storm Pictures

Disclaimer - I did not take any of these pictures.  They are from friends, who uploaded them to FaceBook.  However, they are awesome, and so I am sharing them here as well. I will add more as I get more awesome ones.


Oklahoma Ice Storm December 2013

Frozen Pampas Grass

Lots of icicles!

Huge tree leaning over neighbor's fence

Baby Elephant Tree

News Van Covering Ice Storm .. or is the ice storm covering it?

Wicked Friday!

Wicked Friday started out normally enough.  Master and I danced at Exile while he streamed his set to me that he was planning to play later.  I love getting to hear him do this, because he cuts up in ways that he doesn't do at the actual event.  ("I got 99 problems, but...")

After that, we both went to bed, and then it happened.

When I woke up, it was to the beginning of an ice storm in RL.  Its gone on and on all last night and is still happening today.  There are giant icicles hanging off of everything.  The good news is, that because we were in the 70s all week, the roads were really warm, and so it isn't slippery!  The grass, sidewalks, trees, and everything else, however, is a totally different story.   I had to break into my car to go to work last night because it was frozen solid!  What a lot of window scraping that was, let me tell you! Oh, I totally borrowed this picture from a friend of mine, because all of my pictures are on my phone, and something isn't working with it .. namely, my service.  Ugh.  So, just giving props for the picture, there.

The Friday events went smoothly, staff all showed up, yay!  Quite a few patrons did as well, and we all had a good time through the 4 hours that Master and I streamed.  Lots of great conversation, which is always awesome, and the sploder was going off like nobody's business.

After I got home from work, I logged on to find Master chatting with Shanique.  He had been out shopping for his tux for the Christmas Ball, and then Shanique and I commenced trying on gowns and outfits for the same.  I had a lovely gown in my inventory that Master and Shanique both approved of (Shanique had thought I needed to show more skin, heh!), grabbed my shoes and hair, and I was ready!   Master looks totally RAWR in his tux, btw.  I love seeing him all dressed up - he looks so damn sexy!!  Jynxx showed up at Exile just as Master was getting ready to go to bed.  I listened to him as he fell asleep, on Skype, which I adore doing.  After that, Jynxx and I talked about the schedules coming.  Satre came in as well, and is helping us out with yet a few more things, which is awesome! I see by my email that one of them is finished already, and waiting for me in-world!

Tonight is Exile's Christmas Ball.  I've got some great tunes lined up, and mixed in a sprinkling of holiday music - not the normal kind, mind you, but stuff from Nox Arcana, Abney Park, Claire Voyant -- in short, to quote the name of Abney's holiday CD -- "A Dark Christmas".  Miss Rose and Len Sir have already announced that they will be there, and Miss Rose sent over some music for me as well, that I can't wait to hear.   I'm so EXCITED about tonight!! I'm really hoping for a large attendance, but even if its not, I'll still be happy, because its still friends getting together to celebrate the holiday.  :)  And, after that, that is what its all about.

I'll write about how it went, tomorrow!

Much lurve!

~R

Oh What Fun!

Things have been sooo busy with the holidays kicking into high gear, both in SL and RL!  Let me start by going back a few days.  :)

Naked Saturday was an absolute blast.  The event before it, Jynxx's Come As You Are, was really well-attended, and those people stuck around for the naked party!  So, we started out without about 18 people.  They stayed and stayed, and it wasn't until well into the last hour, that things started to taper off a bit.  I got tons of musical requests (which really makes my day!) and played each and every one of them.

Sunday was quiet - we didn't have any events, but that was okay, because it let us get things done that we needed to do.

Monday was also good - I had reports that Lilah's event did really well, and that people really enjoyed it.  She's a really good DJ, and if you get the chance to go and hear her, you really should. There were some people from her event that stayed at Exile until the wee hours of the morning, so I am guessing that they were really enjoying Exile!

Tuesday was a bit hectic! I hosted for Skyler during the 7-9 and then DJ'd the 9-11.  Skyler's music was amazing, and very relaxing.  I kept finding myself just leaning back and zoning out to it, heh!  Lami was on hand also, and it was really good to see her, because she's been gone for a bit. So, welcome back Lami!

The coolest thing happened during my event - a couple came in - Sir Marq and his lovely girl, Cheri.

Marq Sir and Cheri

They were celebrating their 9 month anniversary of her being in his collar, and they chose to come and celebrate it at Exile, even though they had never been there before!  Since it was a quiet night, Isis, Rosie and myself, decided to make the night all about them.  I played all kinds of love songs for them - some that they asked for, but a lot were just in my musical library.  They really seemed to enjoy themselves, and promised that they would be back.  It makes me so happy to be able to add to someone else's happiness, and we all hope that their anniversary is one that they will always remember!

This morning, Master, myself, Jynxx and Rosie met up for an awesome game of UNO at the game tables.  Shanique came in a bit later, as did Satre and a friend of hers.  Satre and her friend were playing Greedy, though.  We all had a lot of fun.  Its my hope to be able to log in and see lots of people playing the games at Exile.  Its a great way to just get together and hang out!  Its hard for Master and I to be able to get in-world at the same times as most other people, because of time zone on his part, and working nights on mine.  I don't think a lot of people realized that we were in-world in the early AM, taking care of things, sending notices for events, and hanging out with those who are around at that time.  Its funny - Its okay for others to say, "oh, I can't do that because I have this or this going on", or, "I can't because I am going to bed" but somehow, it wasn't okay for us to have lives in the real world.  Ah well.  :)   We've been noticing too, that so many people are coming around Exile these days!! Not just during events, but all different times.  And we've had some staff come back, that had left before, for certain reasons that are now resolved.  To all of them, we say, welcome back!!

As far as RL - its been a blur of getting ready for Christmas, as well as the everyday hum-drum things that go on, and work.  Tonight promises to be a little more quiet.  I'm in the process of cooking some Parmesan breadcrumbed fish, with Red Lobster biscuits and almond green beans on the side.  Yum!  I've got to get plastic over the windows of the house tonight or tomorrow, because on Friday we are supposed to get hit with a second round of wintery, snowy weather.  Ugh.  NOT looking forward to that at all, seeing as its been in the 60s and 70s for most of this week.

I hope everyone has awesome holidays, and we'll see you at the club!


~R

Holiday Cheer And Other Stuff

Can you tell that I wasn't very inspired when it came to the title of the blog today? Heh.  Part of that is that I have only just gotten out of bed, and I am still half asleep.  The other part is that my inspiration hasn't kicked in yet.  I think maybe I left it in my other pants' pocket, which means, at this very moment, my inspiration is shivering at the bottom of the washing machine, waiting to go into the dryer.  I'll have to go and retrieve it soon, because tonight is Saturday, and that means Naked Night at Exile!

Its been a pretty quiet week honestly.  And pleasant.  Relaxed.  Stress-free.  Are we seeing a pattern, here?  SecondLife as a whole has been pretty quiet, actually.  I have been seeing the numbers online when I go to log in, and its down quite a bit from it's usual hundreds of millions of residents.  I can only put this down to it being the holiday season.  People are full of good cheer, even moreso, the closer it gets to Christmas.  Shopping, dinner parties, spending time with the family, etc etc etc.  Having been on SecondLife since early 2007, and having been in club management since almost that time, I can tell you, with all certainty, that this happens every single year.  Everyones' traffic is lower than usual, and its because all of the residents are doing things without the aid of a computer!  Imagine, a world where people actually go OUTSIDE and spend time with people there!  Unheard of!!

That isn't to say that those of us, who have remained safely in-world, have not been having fun.  Its not us out there, dealing with traffic and sales and last-minute gift pick-ups.  No no, we're safe, in our little virtual space, listening to music, playing UNO, and just generally chit-chatting and having fun the way that only we know how.  Its true that we will have to deal with some of those things at some point - I, as an example, will be doing the last-minute gift pick-up, but only because I am waiting to hear back on some sizes for my grandchildren.  Heh.  So not my fault!!  If I don't hear back soon, I shall have to improvise, and that usually isn't a good thing for anyone.

Exile will more than likely be "closed" on Christmas Day, so that our awesome employees can spend time with their families in the real world.  We don't want anyone to feel as though they have to come online and work on such a special day.  There's gifts to open, traditions to observe, and warm fuzzy feelings to be shared.  If you're online, though, and want to stop by to see if anyone is there, please feel free!  You never know who might be there, or what might be going on.  Maybe you'll find yourself in the middle of an intense UNO game, or listening to some awesome tunes, or spending time with that special someone on the dancefloor, or even in the dungeon. (Gasp!)

That's about all I have to offer for right now - I should have another blog post up soon about Naked Saturday, though, but for now, I have to go and get my playlist together, and grab a few songs off of the other computer.  ;)


Peace.

River Cottage And Other Things

Its been quite a week already.  I don't think that I want to go into great detail, because I don't want to inadvertently fuel any flames, but suffice it to say that there are some persons who are no longer employed with Exile.  The funny thing is, there seems to be a lighter feeling all around, because in all honesty, we've been waiting for this shoe to drop for quite a while.  Its good that it finally has, because now we can finally get on with business, and not have to walk around on eggshells.  This is not to diss any of the persons who have gone - rather to say that, things had not been smooth with them for a number of months, and its best that we are going separate ways and doing our own things finally.

Since things came to a head, its been an amazing whirlwind of flavour, so to speak.  Just in the last week, Exile has gained 11 new members to the family - celebration time!  Our Christmas decorations are up, much thanks and love to Jynxxie and Emerald, and they seem to be well-received by everyone who has seen them.  We're currently planning our Christmas Ball, to be held on December 21st at 8pm SLT.  Tentatively, I will be DJing the event.

I'll also be taking the Tuesday night 9pm shift until Emerald comes back from her visit back home to visit her family for Christmas.  Jynxx has moved her Thursday 5pm shift to Wednesday at 7pm for the time being.   So yes, there's been a few adjustments to the schedule, but nothing major.  I'm also happy to announce the return of some previous staff members who had left, due to personality conflict with one of the persons who has now left Exile.

Things are going to be just fine.

This morning was a good bit of fun.  Master and I were sitting at Exile, discussing a few things that have happened this week, and got onto the topic of "River Cottage" - a British show that we were watching until we ran out of episodes to watch.  We were both laughing, talking about Hugh's poly-tunnels and green houses, and celeriac, tomatoes, capsicum, and butter beans.  Heh.  I suppose that would make a lot more sense if you had been there.  Take my word for it - it was hilariously funny, given the context of the conversation!!   Master, I think the hanging veg boxes are a MUST, btw. ;) Truthfully though, I do love that show.  I love the idea of having a bit of land, and becoming self-sufficient in that way.  "River Cottage" inspired me to start my own garden, and I am really excited about the prospect of it, now that I have a house that has a bit of land to do it on, instead of having to do it all in pots, which didn't work out so well for me (or my veg).

Dinner tonight is going to be grand - chicken tortilla soup, possibly with grilled cheese on the side.  Its cold and snowy outside, and I need comfort food!  If you like chicken tortilla soup, you can find a really awesome recipe for it on Ree Drummond's website - The Pioneer Woman.  I still chuckle when I look at her site.  From going to school with her (though I didn't know her overly well), I never would have thought she would be such an amazing chef - cooking person.

For now though, its time for me to take my shivering self off to get my set ready to DJ tonight, finish my soup, and then let what may come, come.

Carpe Diem!

~R

Yay for Sunday!

This will be a short post.

Thank God.
Maybe sometimes wishes do actually come true.


:)


~R

(Dancing) On A Saturday Night

Saturday, oh Saturday, how I look forward to you each week and lament when you are done! Naked Saturday this week was so much fun, and fairly well attended, which made it even better! There were lots of familiar faces, and lots of new faces that came in to join us as I spun for the event.  I admit that I had come on with a bit of apprehension, but it vanished soon enough, and I relaxed into the music and people who had come to party.  Its been a fairly rough week for me, personally, but as Master keeps telling me to do, I relaxed, and enjoyed myself.  He's really good at being right about these things, heh.  Yet another reason that I adore him so much!

We started the evening out with Jynxx's Disco set.  It was really great that a couple of people, Asia and Sebastian, came in, having recognized us as old Fallen, from our names and from the Fallen Angel statue out front.  Of course, they joined the group without a second thought, and proceeded to shake their groove thangs with us!  Jynxx played tons of cool 70's Disco hits - some I knew, and some I didn't, but they were all great!  I personally think Jynxx plays better Disco than any Disco DJ I have ever heard.

Sexy Momma!

Next, we slid sideways into Naked Saturday, and I started spinning my set.  I had lots of great music on tap - some new songs that I was really anxious to get opinions on, as well as the old favorites.  I got lots of requests, which is always a good thing.  I love it when people make requests that I have to search for, or when they tell me that its pretty obscure and I manage to find it anyway!  I had just that very thing happen, and was able to find the song, so yay! As I said before, we had a lot of new faces - opportunities for new friendships, double yay!   Bananas took some really great pictures, and those are the ones that I am using in this blog post.  She's really coming into her own as a photographer, and I love the shot she got of me!  

Mmm, sexy latex and lace!

I was wearing this really sexy lace-latex bodysuit that Master had approved, even though it was fairly skimpy.  It was alright though, because he was there with me, so if anyone got out of line, it would have been taken care of fast enough.  But, due to the caliber of our Exile VIPs, no one did.  Everyone was just very bent on enjoying themselves, and that is exactly what we did!  

Cell Phone Oink in da house!

Oink had joined us again on his cell phone. He's really looking forward to being able to come back on again via regular internet, so that he can more fully join in the fun, but he manages to keep the chatter going as best he can.  As always, he was full of conversation about foodie stuff, and had everyone drooling over some of the recipes that he has done since we talked to him last!!   

Rosie and Shanique did a great job keeping us all hot and bothered all evening from the dance poles, as they always do.  I swear, they just get hotter and hotter every time they come to Naked Saturday!  As an aside, Rosie and Shanique frequently join us in the early mornings as Exile to play UNO - it always ends up being a wild time! If you get the chance, come over and join us! 

Delicious Rosie!

Bananas was dancing in the Brat Box that Jynxx had set out for her - hehe, it fit well, I think! Though, she did have to fight Rosie for her box later in the evening.  Believe me, there were a lot of remarks about Rosie wanting Bananas' box, and lots of innuendo was seen all around!  We were also wondering where, exactly, Bananas plugged her lights into.  In the end, we decided that it was just one of those little magical SL things better left unexplored.

Brat in a Box

Master was keeping us all entertained with his awesome stories and sexy comments!  Its really fun watching all of the females flirting with him, but ladies, he's mine, so just be aware! ;)  Earlier in the day, Shanique was trying to get him to wear an outfit for Naked Night, that was only a few well-placed signs that said "Censored" on them.  I thought it would have been fun, personally!  One of the signs would have had to have been rotated, though, heh.

Master looking yummy!

If you haven't joined us for a Naked Saturday, you should give it a go.  No, you don't have to come naked!  You can come dressed however you want to - naked, pajamas, furry, fuzzy, werewolf - whatever!  We're all about just having some fun on a Saturday night, and cutting loose to enjoy the weekend!  We'd really enjoy having you there with us, and trust me when I say, Naked Saturdays are something that, once you come, you will want to keep coming again and again and again, because its just that much fun!!  

Lovely Sem!

Its interesting to note, that while we expected this week to be a bit quiet, on through Christmas, we have seen a lot of new faces appearing at Exile, and a lot of people joining the VIP group!  I really love this, and it gives me a lot of smiles and hope to see.  Just another lesson I suppose, that even when you think that things are going to be rough, that in the end, it just really doesn't matter at all, and things will go on as normal with the people who truly are loyal sticking around, and the new faces coming in because they have heard its a great place to be.  :)

That's the thought that I am going to carry with me into this coming week.

Much love to all,

~R

Fabulous Friday!

What a great Friday!!

It all started with my 80s Flashback set at Exile, and it was so much fun! Of course, the usual suspects were present and accounted for - the Bolero family was in attendance, including Kthulha, which was great because I don't get to see her much other than Naked Saturdays!  Master came in world early and partied with us.  Shanique was there, of course, because it wouldn't be 80's Flashback without Shanique!  Merriah and her crew came in - quite a few people I had not met yet! Persephone sent me a link to the place where she gets a lot of her clothing, and I can't wait to go and check it out.  She always looks so amazing!

Next up was Master's "Aussie Style" set, and it was really great to see the majority of the people from my set stick around for his!  Even more of Merriah's crew came in, and one guy even put on an Aussie hat for the occasion!  Of course, the music was great, as usual, and everyone seemed like they had a good time.  Kitten and Shanique were keeping us all warm with their awesome dance moves, and Isis, as always, was amazing as Master's hostess with the mostest!

I snapped some pictures, and they are below:

Exile VIP's!

Kitten, making us all toasty!

Emerald, me, and Master - Getting down!

80's Flashback Time!

I am really looking forward to Naked Saturday tonight, and am hoping that we have a great turnout for it! I've got some new music lined up to play - I've been grabbing it here and there this week. Jynxx is doing a Disco set just before, and it sounds like its going to be a lot of fun.

She and Emerald were at Exile today, decorating for Christmas, and I went in and put the final touches on the dance floor for them, and restarted the SIM so that it would be delightfully lag free for the night.  It all looks really great, and very festive!  I'll try to grab some snaps of that for my blog post tomorrow.  :)

That said, I need to wind this down, and get into the mindset for DJ'ing.  I've been listening to Swedish House Mafia and Pentatonix for a while, and the mood is great!

See ya there!

~R

WoW Its Snowing and Christmas Wishes

OK, so, this is going to be a mostly RL blog posting.  If you don't want to read about my RL stuffs, no worries, feel free to close out now and no harm done!  :)

Its snowing.  Its snowing HARD.  When I got home from work, there was already about an inch and a half on the ground, and still coming.  When the dogs went out about half an hour ago, it was coming down even harder, and it was big huge flakes.  Something tells me that we might come close to the 4-6 inches prediction.

This would be a good time to mention that I really don't care for snow.  I mean, its all pretty when I can stay inside and not have to get out in it.  But, the second I have to drive in it, or be driven someplace in it, it becomes a vile, horrible thing.  Besides, snow = cold.  I don't like cold at all.

So, I've been trying to stay inside other than going to work.  Part of that has entailed the game that I play online - WoW - Worlds of Warcraft.  Without going into a lot of detail that will make me sound like a gamer geek chick, I will say that I am now a proud level 74, the highest that I have ever been in all the years I have played off and on.  I tend to get bored with games and quit .. and then pick them up later, play some more, and get bored again.  So level 74 is a big thing for me!

I grabbed a screenshot of my meeting with Alexstrasza.  She's awesome.  I'm standing between she and her consort - She's the Queen of the Red Dragons.  I don't have a shot of her in dragon form though.   Check out my cheesin' panda.  Heh.

Christmas wishes - I remembered what I wanted!! Tortilla press, kitchen scales, and Ugg boots to keep my tootsies warm at work!!  That, and world peace.  Oh, and a move to Australia to be with Master.  :)  I'm not asking too much, am I??  I'm sure Santa can handle it all.

Anyway, thats my bloggie post for today.   See you all on SL!


~R

Rest and Recovery

So, late last week I found myself "under the weather".  Actually, I think that is a bit of an understatement.  I was sick, y'all.  As in, I was seriously contemplating going to the emergency room, which is something that, those of you who know me well, know that I just don't do.  It wasn't the "I ate something bad" kinda sick - it was the kind where every breath burned and made me cough, and I just couldn't get enough air to breath no matter what I tried.

I did something else I never do - I canceled an event that I was supposed to DJ.  That event was Naked Night at Exile.  To be fair, Lioness had sent out a notice earlier saying she was also ill, and I logged in briefly to ask if a host replacement had been found.  I didn't want to cancel if one had. But, after hearing that no one had stepped up, and after the encouragement of Master for me to take the night off, I decided to do just that.  Master forwarded some cash to my Paypal so that I could go and get the meds I needed, because I was between paydays, and with my nasty-tasting liquid salvation in hand, and under a warm, fluffy blanket, I curled up on the couch and watched some shows with Master - a new series he found called "Recruits", about getting onto the police force in New South Wales, Australia.  Let me just state, for the official record, that I could not do it.  Wow.   We've been continuing to watch it after I get off of work in the early morning hours (USA time), before bed.

To everyone who sent me warm fuzzy best wishes, thank you so much.  :)  They helped, if by just making me smile to know that you guys care so much!   To those of you who wanted to slam me for canceling Naked Saturday ... meh.  :)  I've got better things to worry about than your opinions - like, my health for example!

I am feeling better now though - still not 100%, but I am getting there! And I am looking forward to seeing you all again at my DJ shifts on Friday and Saturday this week.  I missed DJing for you, and just seeing you all in general!

~R

Hmph!

My all-day sucker lied.

It only lasted half a day.

Playing Catch Up ... Again.

So .. I haven't been in-world for 3 days now.  Something I plan to rectify later.  With the drama of Saturday, I just haven't felt the need or want to be there.  I know I should be, but meh.  Nothing like drama to spoil one's desire to do something.  Plus, I haven't been feeling the best in the world. No, I'm not ill, per se, but a bit of depression has set in.  Holiday stuff.  The holidays are still hard for me.  Daddy has been gone since 2007, but it was just before Thanksgiving, and I still miss seeing him at the holidays a lot.

And, I am really fortunate to have a Master who understands all of that!  He's been nothing but sweet and kind and supportive of me, which is something that means so much.  I doubt he even realizes how much it means, because it means that much to me!

Speaking of Master, we celebrated our two year partnering anniversary this week.  :)   We have two anniversaries - this one, and my collaring, which was in October.  There's just something about the sound of his voice when he wishes me a happy anniversary that makes me go gooey and stuff inside, and I get the hugest grin.  Something else to be thankful for, is that I have a Master who actually remembers important dates!  Hehe!

Apparently, Jynxx has had a Thanksgiving accident - she broke her foot!  I won't go into all of the sordid details here, but suffice it to say, only Jynxx! Ha! Darn those turkeys! ;)

At this point in my day, even though I just woke up a couple of hours ago, I am seriously contemplating taking the example set by my dogs and curling up for a nap.  I'm not sure if its a side effect of the holiday blues or what, but I constantly feel as though I am not getting enough sleep. Napping should be an Olympic sport, darn it!

On a side note ... I think my memory is going.  I had my Christmas list all ready, and I only wanted two things, so  I didn't bother to write it down.  I can only remember one of the two things!! LOL Help!! I think I remember telling Jynxx - Jynxx, if you remember, please remind me.  Tortilla press and .......???

I'm excited though, I found some amazing-looking recipes online to try out, and my friend Mary is going to send me some Finnish recipes to test out.  Should be a great time in the kitchen soon! BTW, Jynxx, I found most of my pan lids.  LOL

All of that said, I am going to end this post now, and make some coffee in lieu of a nap, or maybe I will do both.  Not at the same time of course.  That could be dangerous.


~R

Staff Meeting ... Oy.

Let me start out by saying that I adore my staff at Exile.  Most times.  OK, to explain that, I adore the majority of my staff ALL the time, but some people ... there are times that I just want to leap across the table and choke the living shit out of them for a brief moment in time.

Last night was just such a time.

We were having our monthly staff meeting for Exile.  The subject of hosting came up.  It was said in the staff meeting that "At some of the other clubs I work at, the owners stay up and cover shifts if no one can do it, even if it means that they are up at 4am like the owner of club so and so that lives in the UK."    I very politely explained (AGAIN) that Yannis lives in Australia and works until roughly 10pm my time, and that I work overnights and sleep during the day, so unfortunately, that isn't an option.  I also explained that, there was a time that I used to do that, a lot.  It really dragged me down, I was getting next to no sleep, and was barely functional.  Apparently said staff member, Frenzy, thought she was being "shot down" to use her own words, and was nothing but snarky for the rest of the meeting, despite being basically BEGGED by both owners and the GM for her input on things.  Then, another staff member, Ashley, asks if a comment I made (basically telling ALL staff, and I did say ALL staff, that if they don't offer input and opinions, that they don't get to bitch and complain about things later) - asking if my comment referred to Frenzy's blog.  I replied, several times, no, my comment had nothing to do with her blog - Frenzy had actually brought the bloody thing up by saying something like, "I reserve the right to state my opinion whenever I want" or something along those lines.

So then her blog today gets brought to my attention.   After saying REPEATEDLY that I was not talking about her blog, she posts that I "barked about her blog".   WTF?!  Really?  First of all, what part of "I was not talking about your blog" don't you understand, and secondly, see first question!

Let me explain something to you, darling.  I don't give two shits about your little blog.  Its full of emo drama and sadness most of the time that I don't have time to read.  You have never shown me the remotest hand of friendship, so why would I be interested in any of that?  The ONLY reason I even look at it, is if someone tells me that you are badmouthing Exile.  In the immortal words of Sweet Brown - "Ain't nobody got time for that!"

And I have something of my own to ponder.   Here I was last night, a 44 year old woman, sitting on my couch, crying because I was so upset over the snarking at the staff meeting.   As I have said before, Exile was started with the intent to keep the family together, and to make that family larger, and more inclusive.  I have constantly felt stabbed in the back by people who are supposed to be friends, supposed to be close, supposed to be working towards the same goal that I thought we were all working towards.  People that I trusted.  I have given up countless hours of my time, and my Master's time, to try to make sure that people have a place to get together and hang out with friends and other like-minded people.  I have spent my own money on this venture - not funny linden money - REAL money, to make sure it stays open and has cool stuff.  What do I get in return?  Snarkiness and back-stabbing and tears and accusations of things that aren't even remotely truthful.

Is it worth it?


~R

What a Week!!!

Yes, I know, its been a week since I posted last!  But I have a really good reason.  The reason is that, Jynxx was here visiting me in RL!!   Oh, the things we did ... the places we saw ...

OK, not really on the things and places.  We just really sort of hung out most of the time, but it was a complete blast, and this visit was about 10 years in the making.  So of course, we had a lot of fun.

This is a map. (Duh!)  Jynxx lives way down in the green state, and I am that little pink state in the middle. The purple line is how Jynxx got here.  She had to go up to Atlanta, and then over and down to Houston, before she got to me. Then on the way home, it was the blue line.  She had to leave me, and go to Chicago, and then to Pittsburgh, before she got home! My poor Mommasan spent hours and hours on a plane, twice, just for me.  Did I mention, she doesn't like flying?

But, back to the fun part.  She got in on Monday night, about 10:30pm.  Upon arrival, she told us that her cane had been stolen by some woman in Houston, as we were walking to claim her luggage.  Really? How are you gonna steal someone's cane??   Then we get to baggage claim .... and her baggage is nowhere to be found.  Apparently, it decided it wanted to stay in Texas for a while longer.   So with the promise that they would deliver it to my house the next day, we set off for home, which is about an hour away from the airport.  It was really dark, and she didn't get to see any of the landscape at all, but she seemed fine with that, heh.  (Seen one cow, you seen em all, right?)   We got home without incident, and she went to bed not long after, because she was a tired Mommasan, and I went to work.   

I was hoping that she would get some good sleep, because my dog, Achilles, was making a lot of noise.  For some reason, starting about 3 weeks ago now, he gets anxious when people come to the house - almost like having a doggie panic attack.  And he whines and makes a lot of noise.   Apparently, he settled down for the night as soon as I left - in her bed no less, with Loki, my other dog.  They all three cuddled up and went to sleep.  When I got home, I went to bed.  

When Jynxx got up on Tuesday, she was bored.  So, she decided to go to the store down the street, grab a few things, and then she came home and cleaned and re-arranged my kitchen cabinets!! (Momma?? I can't find the lids for the pans still!! LOL)  We all loaded up into the car and went to Luigi's for dinner - yum!  I finally got to introduce her to Sophia - I've only been telling Jynxx about Luigi's for years now.  Best Italian food ever.  Vito either wasn't around or didn't come out of the kitchen, so I didn't get to introduce them.  Maybe next time!  We also hit Goodwill to see what treasures they had there, and I scored two more blue glass vases! (I adore blue glass.)  When we got home, her laptop got fixed, and then we hung out, and later, she went to bed and I went to work.

Wednesday, I got up, and she had made a meatloaf for dinner!! YUM!  It was really tasty, and I totally want the recipe.  There was more hanging out, and we talked to Master on Skype, and just general goofiness was going on.   We also went to Hobby Lobby, which is MUCH better than Michael's.  I grabbed some yarn for a baby blanket that I am making for my daughter's girlfriend's sister, and she grabbed a matching set of little vase things for us, and materials to make a Mardi Gras mask, complete with feathers, and a few other things.  Wednesday night, she went to work with me, and threw some newspapers around, and we listened to my Harry Potter audio book in the car.  Heh.  She ended up falling asleep towards the end, and I have a picture, but she has said I am not allowed to show that picture to anyone, so I won't post it here.  Got home, and she staggered off to bed.  I stayed up a while and chatted with Master on Skype, and then I went to bed also.

Thursday, we got up and went to Monterey's for dinner ... Mmmm, Mexican food!  We had to rush home afterwards, because it was gaming night for Darkain, and the guys were supposed to be here around 6pm.  Only one gamer showed up tonight though, because the rest had tests coming up and needed to do some hard-core studying.  So they were in the other room playing Magic, and we stayed in the living room with Achilles, who was having another doggie panic attack, and did some crocheting and chit chatted with Master on Skype.  Oh, and Darkain introduced Jynxx to WoW. She has a Pandarian Rogue to play around with now, heh!  We all ran thru the panda starting area together.  He made a shaman, and I have a hunter.  Then came work again, so she went to bed and took the dogs with her, and off I went to deliver the news.

Friday I got up to a full on Thanksgiving dinner!! Yep, turkey, stuffing, veggies, and even a cake for dessert!  OMG I was sooooo full.  And yes, there are left-overs.  But that wasn't the only thing I woke up to! Ha!  She had decided to re-arrange my living room for me, and it looks great!  Also, Friday morning after I had gotten home from work, we had decided that it was time to move Exile to the new build.  So, I walked in, microwaved some mac and cheese, and we got on with the task at hand!  It was me, Master, Jynxx, and Satre, and then Shanique and Eldric showed up as well to offer support and guidance.  Eldric dropped another Dutchie chair for us (I love those things!) and we all chatted a while after it was moved.  At 7pm slt, I had my 80's Flashback set at Exile - the first event in the new build!  We were celebrating Shanique's birthday during my set, and she had put some lindens on the board for a contest.  Then at 9pm slt, Master had his "Aussie Style" set.   It was a lot of fun, and it was great being in the new place finally!  I will say, its definitely not a "depressing black box" anymore!

Saturday, I got up and made chicken tortilla soup for everyone.  It was the second time I've made it, and I have to say, I think I love it more than the first time.  Jynxx really liked it too.  (Remember Momma, the recipe is on Ree's website!)  Then, came Naked Saturday at Exile.  There was 2500L on the board, and we had a lot of fun! It was Manda's birthday and so Perse had set up a birthday display for her in the corner of the dance floor, and we all yelled "Surprise!!" when she came in. TJ also came on board as a new dancer - he's really good!

Then, got home from work today, and had to take Momma back to the airport to go home.  Sad Panda!!  Came home, talked to Master for while, as he played Uno with Lioness at Exile, and then I took my ass to bed! 

Now, I just have to find those lids....

~R

TGIF!

Fridays are always fun, everyone thinks so.  I really enjoyed mine this week!

After getting up, I hung out on WoW for a bit until Master woke up, and then we listened to the news together from AU, over Skype.  Then, it was time for me to DJ my weekly 80's set at Exile. The usual suspects were there, and I was pleasantly surprised to see Fitch and Frenzy come in towards the end of my set!   Master was hanging out for a bit down at the new build, but he was camming up to vote and tip the staff, which had us all chuckling.  After my set was over, I had ranked on the SHX Top 40! YAY!

Then came Master's "Aussie Style" set, and he rocked the house!  Fitch and Frenzy ended up leaving to go and see the new build about halfway through.  Rosie came in, too, and hopped up on a pole with Shanique, double the dancer fun there!  Then we were all introduced to the Melbourne Cup via Master and Rosie, which was fun.  And at the end of Master's set, he also made the SHX Top 40 - and kicked me off in the process! Ha!

Work in RL was pretty dull and uneventful, but when I got home, Master was waiting at Exile, and we cuddled up in the awesome Master's chair that Sir Eldric dropped there for us.  I love that chair, honestly.  Shanique was there for a while chatting, but left to go shopping about an hour after I got home.

After about another hour, I was feeling very cuddled and loved and drowsy, so I went on to bed.  I think Master stayed on for a while longer - not sure, because I was asleep, dreaming happy naughty dreams about being with him! *Grin*

And thus, was my Friday!

Hey Jynxx!! 2 days!! Woot!!

~R

Early Morning Building - A Graphic Novella

Rain, Building, and the Search for a New Purse

I will start out by saying, the weather here has been insane over the past few weeks.  As a result, I am alternating between having a cold, and ... well, feeling okay, but still having a cold.  I work overnights, and the lows have gone, within the past week, anywhere from 32F to 58F.  I have no idea on a day to day basis, whether to leave my heater on, or turn it off ...what to wear, or if I need that extra blanket on my bed.  I am weather confused, people!!  But, I guess it proves what they say about living in my part of the US ... "If you don't like the weather, wait a minute."

Loki - Eater of Purses

And, I need a new purse, now.  My cute, adorable puppy, Loki, took a liking to it.  I forgot to not put it on the foot stool last night, and he not only got the zipper open, but devastated the zipper.  As in, I found the zipper a few feet away from my purse.  My cherry all - day sucker is history, as is my remaining lip gloss - yes, the chocolate cherry one, and I am going to need a new tube of Orajel. (I bet he enjoyed that one, heh.)  I have a fiendish delight out of imagining him sitting in the middle of the living room floor, looking puzzled, thinking, what the hell happened to my mouth!!? I can't feel my mouth!!  It makes me sad - its the only expensive purse I've ever owned - a Guess one, and it was a really neat shade of ... well, lime green is the best way to explain it.  And, it had a matching wallet!  (I did manage to save the wallet.)  But, it's my own fault, he's a puppy, and it had tasty cherry flavoured stuff in it, and I left it down, where he could get it.  And besides, he looks so utterly content, curled up in the corner of the couch, that I can't possibly be mad at him. So, I guess we'll just go with, slightly miffed.  

Besides, it's raining.  And I can't be angry when it's raining outside. As I sit here, typing this lovely blog post, I can hear the sound of the rain coming off of the roof and hitting my porch, outside. Just this gentle pattering of water, and it's lovely.  Its very relaxing.  I adore rain, have I mentioned? Now you know.  Its a balmy 61F outside, and the sky is dark and gray and lovely, and I just want to open all of the windows in my house and let the air come inside.   But, I can't, because we have a water treatment plant a ways down the road, and sometimes, you can smell it.  Today is one of those times.  It kinda smells like rain, mixed with fish (from the river), mixed with ass.  So, my windows will remain closed, and I will simply gaze upon the wonder that is the gently falling rain, through glass panes.

Today is Jynxx's RL anniversary - 24 years!! Congrats, woman!  She and Mr Jynxx went to Medieval Times, I am assuming, in Orlando.  This is where I hate her for a few seconds.  OK, all done.  Oh hey, Jynxx?  6 days.  WOOT!

Anyway, obviously, she isn't going to be on SL today.  Master and I went on this morning, and had a bit of a brainstorming session in the new club build.  We decided that the library needed to be moved, and we also added a connecting bit of walkway to make it more accessible from the other side.  Satre came in and dropped the new couches and dance podiums for us, and gave me the new Exile texture for the dance floor and signage.  I left Jynxx a message on FB that we had mildly altered a few things, and her reply was, "Ut oh", and of course, she had to log in and check it out before they left for their night o' fun.   Apparently, she quite liked what we had done! YaY!  I really enjoyed getting to do a bit of building.  Jynxx and I have an agreement - she builds, I texture things.  But, it's been a long time since I played with building, and it was great fun.  I discovered that I am a bit rusty, but once I got started, I remembered things fast enough.

Now I am going to close out the blog for the evening, and enjoy my rainy night, talk to my Master on Skype, and maybe play some WoW.  The possibilities are endless.  

~R

Peace, Quiet, and Other Things

This is going to be a catch-up post, because I have been really bad about posting to my blog for the last few days.  Bad River!

Lets start with Friday.  I came off of my break from SL on Friday, just in time to do my Awesome 80's Flashback set at Exile.  Being Halloween, there weren't exactly a lot of people around - RL Halloween parties and Trick or Treating and all - but I still had a great time.  I have always said, it doesn't matter to me if the music reaches one person or one hundred, as long as its being enjoyed! After my set came Master's "Aussie Style" set, and he had a few more people than I did.

"Aussie Style"

 I did manage to snap some pictures this time, despite being his host, because Isis is away on vacation.

Saturday's Naked Night was really quiet, too, but it was still a blast!  The usual suspects were there - the Bolero Family, Miss Rose and Sir Len, just to name a few.  Apparently, a lot of people were also having issues with the new Firestorm Beta release, which explained the way that people kept logging on and off repeatedly.  Apparently, you either love it or  hate it.  I happen to be in the "love it" category.

This morning, after I had gotten home from work in RL, I came online to find Master chatting and DJing at Exile, with Jynxx.  We had made plans to move the new club build from the private sim, where Jynxx had been working on it, to the Exile parcel on Crystal Cove II.  Theoretically, we had the perfect plan.  SL and reality decided not to make things quite so easy for us.  Jynxx returned the build to my inventory, where it should have settled in one large lump in my lost and found, ready to be dragged back out again at the appropriate place.  SL, however, had different ideas.  It broke it into different parts, and ate some of the pieces.  After reviewing our options and trying some different things, it was decided that Jynxx would simply re-create the build.  I logged in briefly to see how it was going, and I have to say, I was pretty amazed.  Jynxx has done a HUGE amount of work today!!  I'm not going to post any pictures yet - I want to wait until she's closer to being done, or done completely.

The RL side of things saw me sleeping in til about 5pm, which was nice.  Time changes always do me in, even "falling back".  Got up, read thru FB, cleaned the kitchen, cleaned up the mess Loki made from figuring out how to unzip my purse and stealing my all day lolli ... Heh.  He seemed to enjoy it though.

Hope you're all enjoying the beginning of Fall.

~R

Gotta Keep On Keep On Keep On ...

If the title of my blog post made you have flashbacks to the Brady Bunch, good - you're old enough to remember!  Honestly, it was part of a rather hilarious conversation between myself and Master, last night.  I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say, it was funny, and completely relevant.

I've had a few days off from SL, and it's been pretty much blissful.  I've gotten to spend tons of time with Master (not that it's really different than any other time, because we always spend the majority of our time together).  I got to sneak in-world for a while yesterday morning and see how work was progressing on the new build, and Master and I offered some suggestions to Jynxx as to where to stick things.  Yes, that pun was completely intended.  (Love you, Jynxx!)   The new build is coming along very well, and I can't wait to see it put in place so that the rest of the staff can come and oogle the fantastic job that Jynxx and Marge have done.  Most importantly though, I have had some time to do some deep thinking about things that have  been bothering me as of late. While I may or may not have a solution to those problems, I will not bore anyone with the details of said deep thinking processes or conclusions.  Just know that they are there.  :)  There were tears, there was consoling ..... etc.

On the RL side of things, I did mundane things, like cleaning, and laundry, and playing with my dogs.  Maybe a bit too much playing with said dogs, because I returned home from work to find the papasan chair overturned and both dogs looking at me with utter innocence.  Its been raining, which has only added to the bliss for me.  Anyone who knows me will tell you, that I love rain.  I also love fog.  Perhaps its my English heritage peeking out again, heh.   Oh, and I made frybread.  Twice.  It was delicious both times.

Tonight is Halloween.  I have no candy, so I am hoping to turn off all of the lights in the house and hide from the wee children coming door to door.  Of course, the porch light will be off, and that's sort of the unwritten law around here - no porch light, no knock.  No, I'm not an utterly cruel Halloween grinch, I just haven't gotten to the store to buy any.  That isn't looking to change today, because there's no way in hell that I am setting foot inside Wal Mart on Halloween day.  Eek!

I will be back in SL on Friday, to DJ my Awesome 80's Flashback set at Exile, and then again on Saturday, for Naked Saturday, also at Exile.  I'm actually sort of looking forward to getting back in again after my time off, now that the brain is no longer on overload and I know exactly what is what and who is who.  Heh.  Horton is a Who .. did you know?

With that, I can only say, its time for bed, and I shall leave you with this charming gem.

You know I love ya.  ;)

Stupidity, Idiots, and Reality

So apparently, some people can't understand reality if it bites them in the ass.

I've had the unfortunate circumstance to have to deal with some drama queens in my time, but this really has to take the cake.   There's a person at Exile, who does a blog, and in this blog, she incessantly degrades the club, and the people in the club, and can't seem to get her reality straight.  She says things that aren't true at all, and when she's called on it, she cries like a little girl and hides behind the skirts of other people.

Yesterday, I wrote, what I thought, was a very nice letter to this person, trying to explain how people work really hard for Exile, people close to her included, and each time she posts something bad about the place, it reflects on them as well.  I tried to give her some advice, such as finding her happy place, and that she should stop complaining about things all the time - that I, as well as others, would love to see her take some pride in Exile.

Of course, today, there is another snarky blog post.  

While I understand that the blog is her own "brain dump" and her own space - and I would not, and have not, asked her to censor it, I do stand by what I wrote to her.

Honestly, lets look at this in a RL fashion.  How many employers, would continue to employ a person, if all that they did was degrade the workplace in a blog, or tweets, or any other social media?  We've all seen plenty of cases such as this in the news, and guess what? Said person was usually released from work.   I would like to note, that I have not done this.  I have tried to be patient and tried to be nice.

But, as I pointed out to Master last night, apparently, being nice isn't working.  So perhaps its time for me to become the bitch that everyone seems to think I am.

I have taken a few days off from SL to gather my thoughts, with the assurance that Master, Jynxx, Emerald and Fitch will be handling things in my absence.  I will be coming back on Friday, unless I decide that I am ready to come back before then.

But be warned.  I am not dealing with this anymore.  Master will be dealing with these people from here on out.  After all, he is the co-owner of Exile.

And please remember, the same that your blog is your "brain dump" ... Exile is OUR club, and our PATRONS' club.  That will not change.  

Please, by all means, keep up your shit-talking, sweetheart.  All it does is make you look like an idiot 2 year old drama queen, seeking attention, and so eager for it, that you'll take it even if its bad attention.  Honestly, you don't have my anger.  You have my pity.

Naked Saturday Goodness

Last night was Naked Saturday at Exile, and it was our annual Halloween bash.  Well, the 2nd one we have had, anyway, but it's going to be a tradition.  It seemed like most everyone who was there, had a great time, and there were loads of great costumes to be seen!  Unfortunately, I was so busy Djing that I didn't get a chance to snap any pictures, but take my word for it!  Ky'she was an amazing mermaid, Master was Cartman, Sem and I were both ghosts, albeit different costumes, and there were some angels and devils and demons, and even Frenzy was there with a big mallet of some kind, and a gun.  I personally thought it was a pretty good night.  Granted, there were some who werent there, but I am guessing that RL also held lots of Halloween parties, since it was the last Saturday before.  I'm looking forward to seeing them back, next week!

Today has been a pretty lazy day all around.  I got the Exile schedule out (a bit later than I like, but I overslept!) and have dinner started.  Tonight is going to be Indian tacos, with chicken instead of beef.  For those of you who aren't familiar with the Indian taco - become intimately familiar! They are delicious!! Fry bread is da bomb.

Because of oversleeping, I dont have a lot to post today.  I'll try to do a better one tomorrow.  :)

~R

The 80's, Tuna Noodle Casserole, and Other Things

Hey everyone, its me, River, again! I know, its an odd title for a blog post, but trust me, it fits in with the whirlwind that is my mind.

So yesterday was Friday.  Fridays, I do my 80's Flashback set at Exile, and it was really a lot of fun.  All of my usuals were there, and Cherie stopped in towards the end of the set as well!  The sploder was well-served, and there was lots of awesome 80's music to be had by all.

Immediately afterwards, was the Exile staff meeting.  The ones who were in attendance, seemed very excited about the news of the new build, and while we assured them that nothing is, as they say, set in stone, I think that everyone is very excited to see it.  We informed them that Jynxx and Marge are deprimming the hell out of it, and doing some parcel-fitting as well (its a bit ... large), but hopefully a lot of that will be done soon.   They were, as always, full of great suggestions and ideas.  I love when that happens!   I was really sad that Frenzy didn't make it - I had a question to ask her, but Miss Fitch said she would talk to  her about it when she came on - co-incidentally, just as we were logging off!

RL work was a booger.  Everything was fine until the very end, and then the car had a blow-out, back passenger side.  Being as we are in a used car that we purchased 2 years ago, we had no idea that there was a spare tire tucked away underneath the car.  Heh.  After downloading a flashlight app on my phone so that we could see, we finally managed to get the tire to release, and then changing it was a breeze.  As of 9am this morning, there's a shiny new tire in it's place.   I stayed up late to meet a man who was supposed to come over and get an old refrigerator, but he never showed.

In the meantime, I was enjoying some time with Master at Exile, as he streamed some of his awesome music.  I had already gotten dressed for the Halloween version of Naked Saturday tonight, so I was looking a little pale.  Shanique, Rosie, and Miss Eloise also showed up, and then Satre, so it was a regular little party.

Tonight of course, is Naked Saturday, and as usual, its going to be a blast.  If I can manage to, I will try to snap some pics of the fun and post them here, tomorrow.

Now, I am off to enjoy some of the awesome Tuna Noodle Casserole that is for dinner.  I have a pic of that too.  There will be much less of it when I am finished.  I love this stuff!

Enjoy the night and see you all at NS tonight at 8pm!!

A Little Tact ...

I am going to try my damnedest to be tactful in this blog, but there are some things that I want and desperately need to address.  I do not plan on mentioning any names in this posting at all, so please bear with me as I dance around the naming of people.

There is a blog that I read on occasion, and in this blog, said blogger, who is an employee of Exile, has complained and commented on multiple things.   I am going to take the time to answer those comments, here and now, for everyone to see.

1.  "Exile is a dark, cold place."
In actuality, it isn't at all.  The beauty, the warmth behind Exile are the people who come to Exile, whether they be staff or patrons.  Everyone, and I do mean everyone at Exile, is considered part of the family.  As I have said before, Exile isn't about the build, or the pictures that were on the wall (and are now in the viewer) or the couches, or any number of other things.  Exile is about the PEOPLE.

2.  "Hardly anyone comes anymore. I think its because (insert names here) left."
As an owner of Exile, I see the number of people that come through the doors each and every day, and exactly how long they stay for.  Many of the events are well-attended!  As with any club in SL, not all events are going to be well-attended.  But, if your event is not well-attended, then sit down and ask yourself why it isn't.  Is there something that you can do? Perhaps a change of music, or even a change in attitude?  Maybe some outside advertising could help.  There again, if could be because (Insert names here) and all of their alts, aren't attending your shifts anymore. Addressing the thought that it's because (insert names here) left ... so not the case at all.  So many people were sick and tired of the drama being caused, and, as I said before, and will say again - Exile is Exile .. not the (Names Here) Show.  If you were under the impression that they ran things, or had some sort of "inside track" on what was going on ... I suppose you know now, that you were mistaken. Not sure if you just thought it, or if it was something that you were told, but I can hazard a pretty damn good guess, seeing as I have heard it from others as well.  They have left.  They are gone. It's time to let the past be the past, stop dwelling in it, and rocket forward into Exile's future.

3.  "I came in twice now, and stood ungreeted for at least 10 minutes."
That may very well be.  I remember bringing this up in several staff meetings.  Except .. then it was your and yours not doing the greeting, and guess what .. You still barely do, unless it's someone that is one of your friends/family.  I still get complaints about you in that aspect, and some of those complaints are coming from managers, as well as staff and patrons.   Darling, you cannot expect people to jump up and down for joy when you walk through the door, if you are not willing to at least greet people, yourself, and show some enthusiasm in it.  No one wants to feel as though they are pushing themselves upon someone.  You cannot expect someone to be happy to see you, when they say hello to you repeatedly, and get nothing in return, but you're all too happy to say hello to everyone else.

I'm going to end this blog by offering some well-intentioned advice to you.

Stop complaining and bitching about everything.  If you aren't happy, then change it.  Get your happy on! Look for something to smile about!  Trust that the people in charge actually DO know what they are doing, and if you have thoughts or comments to make, make them constructive ones - not words dripping with sarcasm and contempt.  Stop with the "woe is me" act and FIND your happy place, and reasons to smile and be happy about all of the good things that you have in your life.  No one should have to find it for you, or provide it for you.  Inside, I know that you are a truly awesome person, but right now, its very hard to get past the drama and bullshit, to see all of that awesomeness.  Said with love, said with love.