Second Life: Aki Octagon - Day 1

I created my Second Life avatar, today. Aki Octagon.

My first few hours mirror the first 3 years of First Life - ie awkwardly forming my body and features and learning to walk (and fly). It takes a full 40 minutes just to make my hair. Upon mastering the hair and basic physics, I am now ready to forge a place in this world.

The next few hours then mirror the independent adolescence of our First Lives - wandering around unfettered and defiant of rules...directionless and lacking any higher purpose.

In Second Life we are free to define our purpose however we see fit. Yet, with so much autonomy I become bored and confused. In a world where one is free to do just about whatever (fly, teleport, explore), I find my Second Life empty without program missions. "What do I want to do with so much Second Life ahead of me?" What purpose shall I forge for myself here in this Second Life that First Life doesn't afford?

I practice learning to speak with a parrot who befriends me and repeats everything I say. The sun sets while First Life Aki eats a burrito. Second Life world progresses forward while you're away from the computer, Aki Octagon merely "sleeps" hovering above the island awaiting instructions.

Amidst all this undeveloped frontier (mostly fantasia mountainscapes and surreal pyramids and public "parks"), I find myself desperately in search of the other people. Not that I have anything to say to them when I do find other people. Still, the presence and proximity of others is comforting and compelling.

Aki Octagon requires no food. There is no natural hardship or decay here. No competition or conflict, no (need for) violence. No hunting for sustenance, no natural threats, no fighting for survival.

However, one does need to procure Linden Dollars to purchase any luxuries and badges in Second Life (like a pair of designer eyeglasses, which I hardly need here). Might Aki Octagon remain content as a wandering savage with little property or possessions? As in First Life, procurring extras requires that Aki Octagon get himself a job and start making some dough to upgrade lifestyle.

Tomorrow, in search of brands and brand lands!