You ever have that moment where you feel that all is under control, you know where you’re going, and everything is coming together beautifully?  I enjoy those .32657 seconds too!

As I contemplate the dances I need to work on…and the laptop cord my puppy chewed up…and lament that the new cord won’t be here until tomorrow {big dramatic sigh}, I consider the “chaos” and my need for order.

SL Lag & My inventory!

John Hammond: You’re right, you’re absolutely right. Hiring Nedry was a mistake, that’s obvious, we’re over-dependent on automation, I can see that now. Now the next time, everything’s correctable. Creation is an act of sheer will. Next time it’ll be flawless.
Ellie Sattler: It’s still the flea circus. It’s all an illusion.
John Hammond: When we have control again–
Ellie Sattler: You never had control! That’s the illusion! I was overwhelmed by the power of this place. But I made a mistake, too. I didn’t have enough respect for that power and it’s out now. The only thing that matters now are the people we love. Alan and Lex and Tim…John,they’re out there where people are dying. So…[takes a spoonful of ice cream;swallows] It’s good.

OK.  I’m giggling.  Either I’ve gone off the deep end (totally possible) or something struck a nerve.

If you enjoy creating anything in SL, performing, hosting, having wild sex romps, you know that control is an illusion.  We can’t control SL lag, which is one of the biggest beasts of all and has been the demise of more than one dance show.  We can’t control when the power goes out for whatever reason, or when the cat eats the keys off the keyboard, or the puppy chews up the power supply cord.  (Well….working on those last two…)

By the way, do you know how much fun it is when you have a touch screen and your cat decides to pounce on it?  I swear I didn’t mean to tp onto the stage…of male dancers…of nearly naked male dancers….uh huh….

Control is an illusion.  I have an overwhelming need for a sense of order.  I like to have a flow to things, a place for everything and everything in its place.  I love systems, and structure (as long as it was my idea…it’s a Scorpio thing), and knowing what’s when.

I could spend every moment in SL getting my inventory completely organized.  After I missed some dance deadlines and realized that (plus other things) are more stressful than a messy inventory, I employ the good enough approach.  Get a basic semblance of order, then tackle one thing at a time.  So it may take me 15 minutes to dress right now, I know I’ll get my new duds in my wardrobe soon.  I’ve got this new fascination with selling on marketplace, and gacha grab boxes (someone pleeeease save me!), but time for that has now been relegated to the weekend.

Balancing everything is a challenge we all face – RL to SL time, creating, spending time with friends, contemplative time, exploring, and organizing.  As I sit here, knowing my laptop is slooowly reaching the end of its juice…I remind myself that it’s not the end of the world.  Focus, deep breaths, and enjoying what I do are more important than the compulsions I can keep at bay my procrastinating them.  (Woot!  A good thing to procrastinate on!)

Control is an illusion.  Sometimes SL will be wonky and a tool will be a challenge (aka PITA), or lag will hold up all our particles until the very end, or the music stream will cut out, or objects will take forever to rez.  While I have visions of a perfectly organized and indexed inventory so I always know exactly what I have, that won’t happen either.

Sometimes we need to hold on for the ride, do the best we can do, but never forget to enjoy the journey.  Isn’t that the point?  Tackle one thing at a time and feel a sense of accomplishment in that.  Prioritize, and build in time to enjoy too.  When emotions slam you over the head, find a way to knock yourself out of those moments and have them at the ready for next time.  Stretch, do things you’ve always wanted to do, no excuses, no self doubt.

Oh, and exciting news!  I’m working on my first blog post for Dance Queens…so stay tuned!

Happy to be a fruit loop-
~ Eva