Simone Stern, founder of Simone! Designs, at the charity auction held on February 13 in Second Life to benefit her charity and help fund medical treatment for Ayeshe Millions, a woman afflicted with tumors who lives in South Africa.
My friend Dale coughed up $12,500L for a date with me, and I was grateful, because the winning bidder from the previous round had made one too many jokes about cages. I had been asked to fill out a form before the auction to find out what kind of flowers I might like from my date--but instead I requested a gift that defied the laws of physics. This answer had been inspired by gifts that Dale has given me in the past, including a color-changing necklace and earring set with dazzling bling, and a warper-chair that allows me to explore the mysterious facets of my island home instantaneously.
As usual in my Second Life, everything was going swimmingly until I tried to move, at which point I pushed avatars into corners, shoved others out of the way and eventually made my way to the stage, which was surrounded by teddy bears, balloons, hearts and flowers. Some of the other bachelorettes had fancy dance moves (and they sweetly compared themselves to wild horses and rainbow sherbet) but I just stood there with my arms out, unable to take control of the situation because in real life, I was laughing so hard that I could barely type after an avatar named Hendrix crashed naked into the auction right next to the chair where I sat next to Dale.
Hendrix, who happens to be my real life best friend, caused quite a stir with his virtual debut. The fault is mine.
The day before the auction, his first in Second Life, was a mess, with router problems and repeat crashes. There's a process of evolution for every avatar from pasty newbie to nimble aesthete, and I wanted to fill his inventory with clothes, shoes and hair so he wouldn't have to try and figure it all out on his own. I bought him a skin (although I was disappointed to see that it couldn't be transferred from my inventory to his), and even the same glasses and gray pin-striped suit he wears in real life. Imagine my surprise when I first met his avatar in Second Life and he showed up as a woman!
He claims this was an accident, and I assured him that if he wanted to continue on in female form that would be perfectly acceptable, but he attempted to bust out of his party-girl exterior almost immediately. His red hair, cap and make-up remained in place, which gave him a creepy look like when Bruce Banner turned into the Hulk and stayed in the same tattered clothes.
When Hendrix logged in the next night during the bachelorette auction, I didn't think twice before extending a request to teleport, and he promptly dropped into the scene in nude drag--a concept that will only make sense to those who have experienced Second Life (see pictures below).
It just so happens that Hendrix dropped in seconds before I had to go up on stage.
Shopping for skins.
Hendrix keeps his party-girl roots while becoming a man.
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