The World According to Marx Dudek

I tell you, it’s feast or famine with me and blogging.

First, it’s official - I am now officially the owner of Holland.   Well, inasmuch as ownership of a 100%-occupied sim can actually be construed as “ownership”.  I even hate using the word “owner”, even though the money sunk into the purchase and transfer was my own.  The wonderful people living and working on the sim were doing their own thing long before I ever entered the picture.  The fact of the matter is that this purchase is entirely a labor of love.  The sim is presently self-sustaining - which is good, because it means I don’t have to dip into my own pocketbook to pay tier to LL.

Second, Ella and I have procured another parcel of mainland.  This one is lovely beachfront land with - I believe - seven sims of protected water across the front.  I deeded the Donatelli land to her and we will keep that as our main home, but the new plot will be for rest and relaxation.  It will also be home for most future Marxism events.

A lot of people have been asking if I’m okay.  I can’t thank you all enough for your concern and your support.  I know that I haven’t been my usual “bubbly” self recently.  It has nothing to do with anything in-world, I assure you.  Maybe I’ll feel comfortable writing about it sometime in the near future.  I know I’ll certainly try.  This blog exists to give me the freedom to express myself, just as being in Second Life gives me the freedom to be myself.  And I promise to continue to do both.

Recently, Linden Lab made a large number of landowners unhappy by glutting the market with new land (causing land prices to plummet) and lowering the cost of new private sims (causing many rental sims to lose large numbers of renters). It hasn’t been surprising to see land selling for 50% of its previous value.

So I knew I was faced with a challenge when deciding to sell off 4608sqm of my land. Most of the land in the sim had been bought up by a Gorean (sound familiar?) to build dozens and dozens of tiny rental skyboxes. This meant the already rocky terrain below was left barren, largely devoid of even a single tree.

I approached the skybox owner about selling my land. As predicted, I was treated as clueless and potentially gullible. I was told that most mainland was being sold now for two to three lindens per square meter, and that I should drop my asking price.

(Oh, did I neglect to mention that the skybox owner was griefing a nearby club owner because she dared putting ban lines around her own workshop - which apparently interfered with Mr. Skybox’s ability to fly around “his” region?)

So I lowered my asking price. Slightly.

Then I erected a 4608sqm cement skybox.

Honestly? I was sick of the desolation. If I was stuck with the land, at least I was going to have surroundings that were amenable to me. I built it first, planning to come back to retexture the interior later. By the time I finished assembling it, I was actually pleased with it! Since I figured it wasn’t going to sell, I was going to cancel the sale and muck about in the air, visually shielded from the clutter of rentals in my midst.

Ironically, I forgot to cancel.

I’m guessing that my cement behemoth was the incentive the skybox builder needed to buy me out - for L$6.07 per sqm. I was in world, talking with a friend when suddenly I get my skybox handed to me, piece by piece - and a muncha bunny dropped into my account.

The funny thing? The 4608sqm started out as one 512sqm plot that I bought for Three for her plot of tier-free land under her premium membership. When she changed her mind, I noticed the 512 next to it - and the one next to that one. And so on.

Land ownership is insidiously addictive.

Well, I’m homeless!

(Sort of.)

I pulled my skybox down.  I love the design, but making it both functional as an office and cozy as a home has proven a challenge.  Not to mention the fact that the vast majority of Lyralo is now owned by a skybox rental builder, which has cluttered the surrounding skies from just above the cloud layer to the maximum building height.

I’ve been looking at some of the Vista prefabs with the thought of moving back down to ground level, and while I do like their builds, I’m not entirely sold on them.  What I’m looking for is something that I can divide between work and relaxation.  I’ve got a 4608m2 parcel, but it’s somewhat L-shaped.  Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.  My ceiling is about L$2500 for something truly stunning.  About half that or less for something comfortably average.  Prim count is not particularly a concern, and I’d like to stay away from alpha textures as much as possible.

I’m starting my own in-world publishing business, and it looks like I might already have a client.  I’ve been signed on to try my hand at commission-based real estate sales.  Also, I’ve got my fingers crossed for a possible job with a company I’m positively crazy about.  Last but not least, I DJ at the Lounge of Dreams when I’m able.  Hopefully, I can eventually cover my own expenses in world without having to rely on outside sources.  Finally, I’m working on an art installation that I plan to write about very soon - if you dare to bare, please get in touch with me.

The social element of my in-world life has become a bit stressful.  I’ve been spreading myself a little too thinly, and I’ve had to take a few steps back to re-focus.  I’ve reluctantly had to make “Set Busy” my new friend in recent days.  Anyone who tells you that Second Life™ is a utopian existence has never spent any time in it.

That said, I should be in world a fair bit this weekend.  Hopefully with a home.  So I need your recommendations!

The Birmingham City land is no longer available.