Every day things evolve, and slowly the Harleyquin workshop area is evolving to have…grass in the common areas! There is more though…Three high powered and fun workshops this Saturday, not to mention the first in our new training theatre!
Click HERE for workshop details and participation requirements, and HERE to visit the Harleyquin Learning Center!
10 am – Creating Small Stage Performances (1 hour, Project Platform)
12 pm – Creating Backstage Movers (1.5 hours, Training Theatre)
New mini workshops are being added to the line-up! Bite-sized instruction, the first on tools I find invaluable for the dance world. Have the gadget but not sure how to use it? Want to learn if it would be a good fit for you? Come down for this short 30 minute session!
Saturday, Sep 29th – 9 am slt
Camera View/Save Setup HUD – 0L
Stores up to 8 camera positions on the sim with just a click of the button. To change your camera view, simply touch one of the red numbers. Makes it extremely easy to cam on your dance pad, the stage, behind the curtain while you cache your sets, the cute guy in the third row…
Best of all – it’s free, easy to use, and copy, save one for every dance venue! No more trying to manually cam around. Did I mention it’s only ONE script?
To purchase: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Camera-View-SaveSetup-HUD/5647480
Saturday, Oct 6th – 9 am slt
+[BN]+ Group Change HUD – 125L
Always forgetting to change your dance tag? Love to hit up the sales and forget to activate the group? With this Group Changer HUD – set it up and forget about it!
What’s different?
No notecards, everything is done from the menu.
You set what group to activate when you teleport to a parcel OR sim! Part of the special VIP group? Set that tag to automatically activate.
No more wearing the wrong dancer tag at a venue! It automatically changes when you arrive!
Dance at two different venues on the same sim? If they each have their own parcel, you can set which dancer tag to wear when you arrive at each.
You can also designate what you’re default group is!
Set it up and forget about it! You can even lock it on your screen so it never comes off unless you want it to. Best of all? It’s only ONE script!
To purchase: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/BN-Group-Change-HUD/7199110
Attend the mini workshops if you’d like a little hands on instructions, or explore these two useful tools on your own. May they help make SL just a bit easier and more fun for you!
Note: I am not a representative, creator, seller, etc for these tools. I receive no compensation. Opinions are my own based on my use of them.
Occasionally I foray into 100 word stories, where you are challenged to write a story using specific words and limited to only 100. This past week was “driver error”. I am not a writer but am unexpectedly finding this to be mentally stimulating and relaxing at the same time. (Never said I was normal, did I?) Words dance upon the page.
A woman of many words becomes one of few. This is mine…
See Me, Feel Me. A dance performance, generally RL, that touched me in some way, but I won’t go into detail how. That’s for you to feel, to see, to listen for yourself. I watch dance performances in SL, and in RL through videos. I sink deep into them, how do I feel, how do I react to it, can I feel the movement, does it inspire me, or do I dislike it. In turn, I believe it expands my own mind and creativity.
It is not often my breath is stolen away for a performance, but for this it was. Dance can tell a story. It can provide such visual focus with the use of costume and movement. Form.
Is it me, or has the world feel like its tipped on its axis and gone a bit weird? All kinds of topsy turvy and high emotional stuff all over the grid and on the other side of the mirror (RL) too. It will pass! It always does. The future unfolds and things evolve. Let’s visit a little Enya before we continue, shall we?
“everything flows….here comes another new day”
Whew…that’s a bit better! Ever heard of the moving Defending Your Life? It’s one of my favorites though couldn’t tell you quite why. (Nor Muriel’s Wedding…think I binge watched that so much it’s out of my system.) So anyway, there’s an underlying message I love in this quirky movie. <clears throat and does the voices for ya>
Defending Your Life movie quote:
Bob Diamond: Being from Earth, as you are, and using as little of your brain as you do, your life has pretty much been devoted to dealing with fear.
Daniel Miller: It has?
Bob Diamond: Well everybody on Earth deals with fear – that’s what little brains do.
Bob Diamond: …Fear is like a giant fog. It sits on your brain and blocks everything – real feelings, true happiness, real joy. They can’t get through that fog. But you lift it, and buddy, you’re in for the ride of your life.
Daniel Miller: God… my three percent is swimming.
I think that “we only use 3% of our brain” thing has been discredited but I truly believe we haven’t tapped its full potential yet either. So, as I ponder, which I often do (because stuff swirls in my head and I just have to get it out or it will drive me mad although I’m already mad…crazy type mad), I stop and think. That was a really long run on sentence. No, (though that was a long run on sentence), I think that when the world seems topsy turvy – what if it’s that giant fog of fear doing it?
No matter how hard I try, sometimes that fear of failure creeps in. Letting myself down, others down, how am I ever going to balance stuff, etc. etc. etc. If I don’t nip it in the bud it becomes a band of screaming banshees until I can’t accomplish anything at all.
No! Not that kind of banshee…but it is a bit catchy. So, then I realized…
Fear and doubt become self-fulfilling prophecies
I stress about meeting a deadline. I avoid it. I work inefficiently because my nerves are on edge. Perhaps I finish, but almost never am I satisfied with what I’ve done. Maybe it crashed and burned. Maybe my head is so overwhelmed I have to take a week to recover. For me, the ultimate symptom of fear? Procrastination and avoidance.
That’s not it, though. I have another one. When things feel shaky and the unknown looms I scramble to create a sense of order – simple, monotonous things that don’t require a lot of thought. Busy work. This falls under avoidance too.
Now…what to do about it?
Procrastination is one of my weaknesses. Every one of us has a weakness or negative trait whether we admit it to ourselves or not. My question to myself is…what is the underlying reason? What is the trigger? Are there other factors? Fear of speaking up? Fear of letting others down? Fear of abandonment or obsolescence?
First. I’m going to take a deep breath. Second. I’m going to remind myself of the good moments – teaching, DJing, creating, performing, just enjoying. I’m going to be grateful for these moments. Third. I’m going to be patient with myself, shushing that internal critic and the other little voice that wants it all…right now. Slow and steady wins the race. Fourth. I’ll be open to ways that make good habits easier to follow and more enjoyable. Fifth. Be aware when I begin to slip, and also what works to bring me back. Music, activities, meditation, etc. Sixth. Remember what I love doing and why I love doing it. It’s almost never just for the finished goal, but for the experience itself.
When everything flows together and I’m in that zone of doing whatever it is I’m doing, it is an amazing experience. Just living within the moment. Letting go of doubts, fears, and worries. Not overthinking everything. No apologies…just being and doing.
On the flip side. Transition sometimes sucks. Really sucks, especially when I’m blindsided. When it comes, this too shall pass and all the above still apply. If unexpected and unwanted change hasn’t come yet and is merely a possibility, let it be. Plan, be aware, but fretting only expends my own valuable energy.
Swimming through the fog and finding the other side,
~ Eva
I sit and ponder…while I should be doing other things. What inspires you when you don’t feel inspired? There are moments when I’m among so many things I love and enjoy, but none of them draw me in at the moment. A jump start is the first thing that comes to mind – perhaps a human version of the car battery life bringer. Then I realize that’s a taser and quickly change my mind…
Perhaps a bit of recreational shopping? … then I’m reminded my inventory is full of recent purchases waiting to be organized. Amazon? The UPS driver would think it an odd day without stopping at my house after a recent flurry of purchases. Did you know you can get pencils automatically delivered every three months? Sign me up!
Seven dances begun, an additional three to create over the coming months. Each individually are incredible to lose myself within, but at the same time feel like puppies vying for my attention. One will sing its siren’s song tonight I know, and I will blindly, willingly, heed its call. One by one I will do the same until each box is sealed and the ribbon tied. At times, I reach a point where a dance creation frightens me..or frustrates me. Can I make what I see in my head? Is it too complex? Too much? Too simple? blech…a question for another time.
At the moment? My head says “no thinking allowed”. Just breathe….so I do.
So many times the words “new beginnings”, “transitions” are bandied about. I know, because I often do. Recently, every day feels like a reinvention of myself. Finding a sense of order. Balance. Peace. Beauty. Creativity. Connection. Boundary. Fulfillment. Personal Satisfaction.
Ahhh….perhaps that is part of the mystery. Personal satisfaction. Do I leave time enough for personal satisfaction? Do I hold those moments in my hand and say yes, this is just how it should be? Truly appreciate the art I create in this world of dance? or – is an apology always on the tip of my tongue?
I need order and routine. I need to feel things are falling into place. A place for everything and everything in its place. What of time? Perhaps this statement also applies.
Occasionally I foray into 100 word stories, where you are challenged to write a story using specific words and limited to only 100. This past week was to use two of these: Mask, Pinprick, Out of sync, Grapes, Rose, Drive, Print, Darling, Terminal. I am not a writer but am unexpectedly finding this to be mentally stimulating and relaxing at the same time. (Never said I was normal, did I?) Words dance upon the page.
A woman of many words becomes one of few. This is mine…
Gleaming silver floats above tapestry, a steady hand its muse. Images unfold slowly as once blank canvas overflows in a riot of color one minute stitch at a time. Vines intertwine as lush grapes hang heavily along the border whispering their message of fertility.
Silence expands, silence as solid as the floor beneath her feet. Not even her shallow breath disrupts the absolute stillness.
A contrasting pale rose stands alone among the vines, petals edged in decay as they flutter away from their still vibrant stem glistening with dew. Tears.
Sound. Movement stills abruptly. The canvas tumbles to the floor.
See Me, Feel Me. A dance performance, generally RL, that touched me in some way, but I won’t go into detail how. That’s for you to feel, to see, to listen for yourself. I watch dance performances in SL, and in RL through videos. I sink deep into them, how do I feel, how do I react to it, can I feel the movement, does it inspire me, or do I dislike it. In turn, I believe it expands my own mind and creativity.
Seems overwhelming when your mindset is on SL dance, doesn’t it? Wait…watch.
I will be the first to admit that elements of this aren’t really possible in SL. We can’t lift our skirts to create the movement as they do…but our costumes CAN have movement. Beautiful movement. This movement can help convey the emotion of the dance and tell a story. What CAN we do in this world of our creativity? Notice the interactions of the spotlight dancers with the “tornado” of fabric that seems to flow like water. Notice the soloist spin at 1:55.
Do the dancers convey the story, the emotion, of the music? What do you feel? What do you see? That is for you to decide in this world of art.
As some of you may know, I had to suspend our dance workshops for a period of time due to immediate and massive work requirements. These have now eased allowing me to restart the workshops again but…they have also been moved to a new sim!
I am absolutely thrilled that Harleyquin Workshops has moved into the 1/2 sim space next to Winds of the Sahara Cabaret, doubling our size! With this move, a training theatre is being added for performance preparation workshops and backstage mover instruction.
Workshops will begin on September 8th. Please view our calendar for details!
In moments of stillness…I sometimes ache for the past. The smiles, the laughter. Simpler times. Within my mind I return to those memories, becoming one with them again…or at least the selective pieces I envision. I feel during these moments. Butterflies flutter within.
I find these moments come on stronger, faster, when my world feels out of control, when I feel out of sorts. It is a safe place, my memories, where my mind chooses what to recall. Safe, so it seems, when in reality it is a silently dangerous place, one that reminds me of the past until I ache to return.
There is no going back. There is no recapturing those moments. I am not the same person I was yesterday, last month, and especially not a year ago. That is evolution of mind and spirit, just as it should be. The memories? A highlight reel of yesteryear, presented in the format of original film – the picture hazy and shadowed around the edges.
It is the people I think of most, who changed my life in their own way. Everyone you meet touches you in a way, some more than others. There is no going back. Perhaps they have evolved, just as they should. Perhaps they have left the world of SL. Perhaps they closed the current chapter and started a new story – a new avatar, and a new circle. Perhaps they are no longer amoung us, having risen from this mortal realm.
It is a dangerous thing, aching for the past, for it prevents us from moving on into what is yet to be. Cords still attached. Tethered. I remind myself that there will be amazing new experiences and memories to make. It is the letting go that is so very hard at times, especially when I feel alone. Memories are but a pale ghost of the arms which once held me safe and close.
I shake myself, and repeat…there is no going back.
There is me. There is my own path. There is a new beginning, each and every day.
Words have power when spoken. Those that have touched my life and moved on will never see this, but may the universe communicate my message in its own way. Thank you for being part of my world, for all that we shared, and for all I learned. You will never be forgotten. By being part of your world, I was changed, and you will always be in my memories even as I step forward. Cords broken. Free.
Eva Harley is the person behind the avatar, or is that the avatar behind the person? I exist in all worlds, I am simply me. Find here random thoughts, feelings, information, ideas, possibly inspiration, and hopefully laughter and smiles. I embrace the unusual, long to be within the world yet also outside of it, watching and marching to my own drum, creating my own beat. This is my canvas, Second Life the world between worlds that is my playground. My life is what I make of it, and here I share for both you and I alike.
Madness, Matter, and Rambling Thoughts 