I have a few RyanSchultz.com blogposts simmering on the back burner, but first, a short, snappy post about a great, free Second Life hunt for female avatars, offering a generous variety of clothing, makeup, and skin gifts.
The Summer Festival Vibes hunt is one of the monthly hunts held at the venerable and recently redesigned freebie store, the Free Dove. The hunt prizes are all from Alaskametro, and all you need to do is join the Free Dove group (for free), and hunt diligently for festival passes on purple lanyards which are hidden, five per location.
Here’s the hunt legend, so you know what you are getting:
Below, one of my alts (wearing a Meshbody Legacy body), is wearing the Arwen feather earrings, the Annika lacy top, the Eve distressed Eve jean shorts in faded denim, all covered up by this wonderfully detailed Misty fringed coverup jacket! All clothing comes in Maitreya Lara and Meshbody Legacy sizes only. The metallic body tattoo (Bakes on Mesh) is another one of the Summer Festival Vibes hunt gifts.
And in this picture, my alt (wearing a Maitreya-Lara-compatible Kalhene mesh body) is modeling one of the Karma LeLutka Evo X skins (which comes in three skin tones, including the head, ear, and body skin!), the Annika lingerie top, the Eve jean shorts in black, and the sheer Misty coverup in a black floral tone.
Add some sandals or sneakers and you’re all set for your next virtual folk festival!
Other Summer Festival Vibes hunt prizes include Bakes on Mesh/system skins (three full-body skin tones), BoM/Omega lipsticks and eye shadows, and fingernail textures for Maitreya or Slink mesh hands. Here’s another one of my alts (wearing the Chelsea head by LOGO), wearing the Kismet II Bakes on Mesh skin, along with the Crystal eyeshadow and the Backstage lipstick, along with the HUDs for the latter two items to show you the colour options (the makeup comes in both standard BoM and LeLutka Evo X versions):
The hunt ends on June 30th, 2022, so don’t wait too long to snap up these fabulous freebies.
Second, I am still struggling with bouts of anxiety, depression and anger at having to self-isolate in my apartment because of the coronavirus pandemic. I started working from home March 16th, 2020, and I feel as if I am slowly starting to fall apart at the seams, and it hasn’t even been ONE FULL MONTH YET. And today Helen Branswell reports for STAT:
A modeling study on the new coronavirus warns that intermittent periods of social distancing may need to persist into 2022 in the United States to keep the surge of people severely sickened by Covid-19 from overwhelming the health care system.
The research, published Tuesday in the journal Science, looked at a range of scenarios for how the SARS-CoV-2 virus will spread over the next five years. Those scenarios included variables like whether people who are infected develop short-term immunity — less than a year — or longer-term protection. But, overall, the research concludes it is unlikely that life will return any time soon to the way it was before the virus’ emergence.
2022? 2022?!??
And, just to add insult to injury, I have developed an ugly, painful reddish-brown rash on the backs of my thighs from spending 16-to-18 hour days perched in front of my personal computer, sitting on one of my wooden kitchen chairs, and it has has just made me even more cranky, upset and ill-tempered. (I plan to drive out to my office in the science library tomorrow, to pick up my lushly upholstered and much-missed executive office chair, praying to God that I can fit it into the back of my subcompact car, so I can bring it home.)
As a virtual hermit who largely lives his life on the internet, all of a sudden I can no longer sit for long periods in front of my computer! (So much for my admittedly unhealthy coping mechanism.) In between sessions on my PC, I lie on the sofa, with my legs propped up, rubbing a corticosteroid cream originally prescribed for my eczema on my thighs, seething.
So, no, I am NOT a happy camper today. I am not a happy camper at all.
However, I still take some small amount of pleasure from my weird little hobby of designing a complete Second Life avatar look from head to toe. So tonight, I have plunked down an avatar at the side of the (New) Frank’s Jazz Club, listening to the music stream as I lie on the sofa:
Here’s a few more shots of my avatar from the front:
This avatar is wearing:
Mesh Head: The Limited Edition Bento head from Akeruka (L$1 group gift; the Akeruka group costs L$150 to join, and I would strongly urge you to pick up this Bakes on Mesh head before it’s gone, which comes in eight different skin tones and with matching skin appliers for Maitreya, Belleza, Slink, and Omega-compatible mesh bodies included). The beautiful mesh eyes are also included in the package.
Mesh Body: Juliet by Altamura (a limited-time group gift from Valentine’s Day 2019, which I turn to again and again on this blog; at the time I joined the Altamura group it was only L$50, but it now costs L$100 to join their group; this Juliet body is now for sale at the full price). In order to use the Serenity II skin below, I needed to buy and install the Omega system kit for Altamura (available for L$99 at this exact SLURL), as well as use the free Bakes on Mesh relay available at the Altamura store.
Skin: This beautiful pale Serenity II skin with blonde eyebrows is a Bakes on Mesh skin by Alaskametro (available for free from The Free Dove freebie store). This was my inspiration to get creative tonight!
Hair: This elegant updo is called NO.KEY and is by NO.MATCH (it was a freebie during a short period of time last year when the store was giving away a free gift each day).
Dress: This truly lovely retro Celebrate Spring! dress in opal is by steampunk/historical roleplay outfitter Cog & Fleur, and it was a free hunt prize in their recently-concluded Good Eggs hunt.
Shoes: Jai pumps by Rowne (free group gift; unfortunately, the Rowne store seems to have disappeared from the grid).
Necklace: This is an oldie but a goodie: the Glazed Heart necklace from Eolande’s (remember them? they have long since closed up shop).
TOTAL COST FOR THIS AVATAR: L$300 (L$151 total for the Akeruka head, L$50 to join the Altamura group to get the Juliet body, and L$99 for the Altamura Omega system kit)
Every stylish avatar has some wardrobe essentials: pieces that she turns to time and again to pull together a classic look. Alaskametro and the Free Dove freebie store have teamed up to provide a hunt for ten such wardrobe staples. Six of the items can be found by diligently hunting for the Alaskmetro shopping bags hidden all around the Free Dove freebie store, and another four (much easier to find!) can be found at the Alaskametro store. All are FREE (although you do have to join the Free Dove group to get the freebies hidden there; the group is free to join, however). The hunt will take place only during the month of May.
Each outfit staple comes with a HUD with three different textures. Here is a picture of one of my alts, wearing the T-shirt dress in a beautiful pastel pink:
