Strawberry Singh

The Haunted Meme – Standing On The Edge Of Tomorrow

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1 Fear_034

A fear of heights is a classic phobia. I’m not afraid of heights, so much as I am of falling. I remember distinctly when this fear manifested itself. I was eight years old, on a trip to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky with my sisters and my oldest sister’s family. After traversing most of the cave, there was a stairway you have to climb built over the “Bottomless Pit” to reach the end of the tour. This stairway was made of metal grating and when looking down, you were staring into the abyss. I recall the terror that seized me about halfway up; my brother-in-law had to take my hand and lead me the rest of the way. I had nightmares for years about this experience. And it is a fear that plagues me to this day.

But that still isn’t my greatest fear. It is looking back on my life and worrying that the best has passed me by. That the worst days of my life may turn out to be the best. That the foolish decisions I made when much younger have led me to a place where the edge of tomorrow is a steep, craggy cliff that I am afraid to descend. And I am left with nothing but a yesterday that is far from ideal, but better than what is ahead.

When I saw Berry’s meme this week, I was afraid (haha) that this would end up seeming depressing. Her instructions were:

What are you afraid of? What are you haunted by? Share some of your fears and if you can, create an image depicting one of them. Don’t forget to leave your link in the comments!

To combat the somber tone of my post, I decided to deck myself out in the brightness of sunshine, with the softness of a daffodil’s petals and the delicacy of a butterfly. Thanks to the new round of Collabor88, that was a simpler task than convincing my avatar to stand on this precipice long enough for me to take photos. It was, I admit, a rather quick photoshoot 😉 I found this location in the Destination Guide, once again. It is a sim well-worth exploring called Skye Neist Point. I’ll be going back to wander around another time.

I took a few days off from blogging, and I apologise for not mentioning it in advance. But actually, it wasn’t planned; just a case of inertia. But I’m back now.

Never fear.

Credits:
Dress: Baiastice_Ayoun dress-yellow (Collabor88)
Shoes: ::HH:: Hucci Nasik Sandals – Summer Yellow (Collabor88)
Hair: “”D!va”” Hair “Ange” (Garnet) (Collabor88)
Hands & Feet by SLink
Skin: [:T:] Helena / powder (red) :: 09

Pose: SHAG – Lookin’ BackF

On To New Challenges

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1 ABC 30

And so it goes. Thirty days, 35 posts and a sense of completion. And a bit of sadness that we have come to the end of the iRez Avatar Blogger Challenge.

I admit to feeling a bit of trepidation when I began the iRez 30 Posts In 30 Days challenge on June 1. I wondered if I really belonged – I am a “baby blogger,” having started this blog less than six months ago. I’m not on the radar of the big-name designers or movers and shakers in Second Life. I just take pictures, add a few words and slap them on the internet. I have a few loyal followers, to whom I am eternally grateful, but I’m not in the Big Leagues of SL blogging. But I took the plunge alongside some amazing chroniclers of our virtual world. And I’ve discovered some fantastic new blogs and even more amazing people along the way.

I want to thank Strawberry Singh who has been an inspiration to me since before I started blogging myself. It was her post that drew my attention to this challenge, and although I can’t find the original post now, just check out her blog (if you haven’t already). She is not only an incredible photographer, she is amazingly generous in sharing her knowledge and encouraging other bloggers. She’s a peach among berries 😉

And I especially want to thank Vaneeesa Blaylock for putting this challenge together. For setting up the ABC Gym so each blogger had his or her own workout station. For getting us together for photos and giving us space at LEA11 to display our meme photos. And for her inexhaustible energy, wit and insight. She is an artist by profession, but what I recognise most in her is her caring, giving soul. I may never have met her had it not been for this challenge, so for if no other reason than crossing her path, I’m so happy I participated.

Yesterday, Vaneeesa pulled as many participating bloggers together for one final photo shoot. Our formal shot is the one above and includes 11 of the (at least) 29 bloggers who participated in this challenge. It was a tricky shot – group photos are a bitch! – but we all snapped away, memorialising this special group. I’m proud to have been among their numbers.

When we finished, in true Vaneeesa style, on the count of three we all dived into the water. A metaphorical baptism, sending us out into the world as members of the ABC Crossfit Gym, ready to follow our hearts, having learned something from this experience. For each blogger, it will be different lesson. But no doubt, one that will be long remembered.

1 ABC 30 Wet

And now, on to new challenges.

What’s your Digits? – Take 3: Proportions Challenge (Size DOES Matter!)

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From my blog stats page - filtered by Avatar Blogger Month!
From my blog stats page – filtered by Avatar Blogger Month!

Today’s post is all about size…or numbers, anyway. First, I am proud to announce that this is my 30th post for Avatar Blogger Month. And I have the proof! Yes, I know, the print is tiny in the screen shot, but tiny is a size, too 😉 You can click the image if you want to see a larger version – or you can just trust me. And no, this doesn’t mean I’ll be taking the rest of the month off. I’ve hit the goal, but I plan to super-size!

But enough about my blog numbers – let’s talk about my digits. Berry’s meme challenge this week is about our avatar proportions. She has done this challenge twice before, but I wasn’t blogging then so this is my first unveiling of just what makes Peep’s body Peep’s. No, it doesn’t include all of the digits; just some of the basics, mainly the ones that are used to conform to mesh standard sizing. Berry has recently had a crisis concerning her inability to errr…wipe her butt…so she’s made some changes to her proportions. And of course, she had to share!

Here are this week’s instructions:

Meme instructions: Share your avatar’s digits (if you want to, not necessary) and then copy paste the following questions and answers into your post, remove my answers and input your own. Don’t forget to leave a comment in this post and if you decide to share your numbers, the flickr group for the Digits challenge is here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/digits

Why yes, that IS a wiener in my hand ;)
Why yes, that IS a wiener in my hand 😉

Here are my digits:

Height – 70 (6’8″ using the Avatar Ruler)*
Body Fat: 7
Head size: 50
Torso Muscle: 35
Breast Size: 50
Arm length: 97
Hand size: 30
Torso length: 55
Love Handles: 28
Belly Size: 1
Leg Muscle: 45
Leg length: 63
Hip width: 62
Butt Size: 43
Saddle Bags: 33

*I realised after I took my measurements and the photo I was wearing my SLink feet. If I take them off, my height is actually 6’7″. That is still considered exceptionally tall by the ruler’s judgment, but I am now shorter than (or about the same height) as most of my female friends.

And my answers to Berry’s questions:

1. Do you try and keep your avatar’s body proportionate and similar to the “average” proportions pictured above? (see Berry’s post for the picture) – About three years ago, a friend of mine devised a method of helping people adjust their avatar proportions to the Golden Ratio. I kept the shape she helped me create until the advent of mesh and standard sizing. When I made adjustments to accommodate a standard size small, I tried to tweak the rest of my settings to maintain this shape. However, I have changed my backside a bit – I preferred a slightly hippier version of myself. I do think I’m pretty close to the correct proportions, but even if I’m not, I’m happy with the shape I now have. I also adjust my arm length and hand size, according to whether or not I’m wearing my SLink hands. They do seem to shorten my arms and make my hands smaller, so I go with 83 for arm length and 20 for hand size if I’m not wearing them.

2. What do you dislike the most about the SL avatar mesh? – The hands and feet were an issue for me, too, until I started wearing mesh appendages. The only other things that really bothers me now are calves and elbows, particularly when using poses instead of moving naturally. Those body parts should NOT have pointy edges!

3. Does it bother you when you see other avatars that are not proportionate at all? – I’m not really bothered by whatever shape an avatar takes. That’s up to them to decide how they want to look. I do admit to a bit of a shudder when I see hugely oversize breasts, but that is most likely due to flashbacks over my early experience with wearing prim breasts! And I sometimes look at someone who seems to be out of proportion and stare until I figure out just what makes them look disproportionate. It’s not an aversion; it’s just curiosity. I’m just glad people can’t tell when I’m perving them 😉

4. Even though this is a virtual world and people can be anything they want to be, do you feel when they are in human form, they should try to keep their proportions close to average? – No, not at all. The beauty of Second Life is that you can be whatever shape you choose. I know a lot of people worried when standard sizing for mesh hit the grid that we would all end up looking like cookie-cutter avatars. That’s really not the case. Because only certain sliders need to be adjusted for a mesh shape, you can still be totally unique.

And in case you’re wondering about the wiener in my photo, I figured since I had the ruler out, I’d see if it measured up 😉

Basic credits:
Bikini by *Boom* (available at Summerfest ’13)
Hair by Tram
Earrings by Maxi Gossamer
Hands and feet by SLink

Pose by Glitterati and wiener from Sparrowtree Studios Poses