Escaping (Literal) Painful Actuality at Raven Fairelander’s Labyrinth Masquerade Ball in Second Life – Ryan Schultz

I’m nonetheless working whereas on half-time sick time for therapy of job burnout, and (because it so occurs) we have now alongside weekend up right here in Manitoba, since Monday is Louis Riel Day. I needs to be blissful, however sadly, I’m additionally nursing a decaying again molar. My common dentist was in a position to solely do a partial root canal (one nerve) earlier than he encountered issues which he felt have been past his expertise and experience, and he’s referring me to an endodontist’s workplace. My appointment is in six weeks, however my tooth has nonetheless been giving me hassle, and I should contact my dentist on Tuesday (after the lengthy weekend) to debate choices.

So in the meanwhile, I’m popping further power Advil, and specializing in Second Life—which, as I’ve mentioned earlier than, is my most popular escape from nasty, messy, and (on this occasion, actually) painful actuality. By the point all that is over, I’ll have dropped over CA$3,000 on my tooth, so it seems to be like I will likely be leaning fairly closely into my experience because the uncrowned Freebie Fashionista Queen of Second Life! No extra SL buying sprees for the remainder of this 12 months for Vainness Honest and her small military of alts; my well being has to return first!! (I’m additionally grateful that I’ve dental insurance coverage by my employer, which ought to repay a part of the price afterwards. Nevertheless, the endodontist’s workplace needs full fee, up entrance.)

So, in these present circumstances, yesterday I stumbled throughout an announcement on the one social media I nonetheless use, Primfeed (which is type of a cross between Twitter and Flickr, but it surely’s completely for Second Life customers to submit about Second Life):

And, after all, Vainness Honest loves herself an excellent masquerade ball! Because it so occurs, one of many issues that I’ve been doing to assist me calm down and escape my chaotic actual life is cleansing by and reorganizing Vainness Honest’s voluminous stock, specializing in the oldest objects. And, in doing so, I found this superb, systems-layers-and-flexiprims Ariel ballgown from Kouse Singh, which I picked up again in 2012. I’ve thrown out at LOT of my oldest attire, however there are nonetheless a couple of objects that I can not bear to half with. This Ariel ballgown by Kouse Singh nonetheless holds up effectively, 13 years later! (I did add a few fashionable mesh touches: a black lace bolero from United Colours; and the Meritus crown, necklace, and earrings from Petrichor.)

Nevertheless, I nonetheless wanted to pick a masks; what’s a masquerade ball with out a masks? Raven Faireland used the 1986 David Bowie film Labyrinth because the inspiration for her masquerade ball (the truth is, she had video screens situated all through the spectacular ballroom she designed herself, taking part in the well-known masquerade ball scene from that movie on a loop). So I didn’t need simply any previous masks; it needed to be one thing particular to suit the theme!

Fortunately, final Hallowe’en I picked up a particular maze hunt prize from Queenz, this shimmering Luciferix masks. It’s utterly resizable on any mixture of the X, Y, and Z axes, and comes with a HUD to pick out considered one of eight masks colors and two metallic textures. I picked the black masks with gold metallic accents as proven beneath:

NOW, I used to be all set for the ball! I teleported into the attractive ballroom which Raven Fairelander had created, and I had a beautiful night! At occasions there have been over 100 avatars in a single area, chatting, flirting, and dancing to the DJs’ music stream (there have been three DJs that night). Everybody went all out and over-the-top with their masquerade outfits!

I did take some photos to share with my buddies and followers on Primfeed, however I additionally wished to share them right here, too. Please click on on every thumbnail within the image gallery beneath to see the picture in full measurement:

You possibly can see our gracious hostess and ballroom designer, Raven Fairelander, being dipped by her accomplice in image 4! You may as well catch a coupe of glimpses of me dancing with my champagne in hand. It was additionally Raven’s birthday celebration, so everyone wished her a cheerful birthday as effectively.

I’d prefer to thank Raven Fairelander for letting me come to her fabulous birthday masquerade ball. (I do have to ask her the place she acquired her lovely blue butterfly masks, which you too can see on a couple of different partygoers! I had carried out a right-click/examine on it, after which I logged out and forgot to save lots of the identify of the creator and the shop!!!)

Anyhow, that’s it for me. I’ll nonetheless submit once in a while, as I really feel as much as it; I’m nonetheless feeling exhausted and worn out these days, and my root canal state of affairs is not serving to. I nonetheless haven’t made any agency, last choice about what I wish to do with this weblog. I’ll maintain you posted.

P.S. For the sake of personal psychological and emotional well being, I’ve needed to keep away from all social media (besides Primfeed) and all information media (besides checking the Globe and Mail newspaper solely as soon as per workday, by a newspaper database my college library system subscribes to). Even then, the upsetting, batshit loopy information headlines from the US—and Canada, too!—nonetheless handle to filter by. Proper now, I have to deal with myself, my well being, and issues that I can change in my life, and keep away from as a lot as potential all of the batshit craziness happening, since I’ve zero management over it.

As I joked final week to each my household physician and my psychiatrist, “I don’t suppose I’ve sufficient Clonazepam to get by 4 extra years of a Trump presidency.” 🤪

UPDATE 1:01 p.m.: I discovered the blue butterfly Mardi Gras masks! It’s one of many prizes from a brand new gacha machine on the MeadowWorks sales space on the Valentine’s Store and Hop occasion, on now till February 18th, 2025. Right here’s your taxi! It’s L$60 per pull. I used to be very fortunate and obtained mine after solely 4 pulls! The masks isn’t any copy, PBR enabled, and resizable by way of HUD. (Please click on on every picture beneath, to see it in full measurement.)