On Q's Mind!!

Just a few different thoughts for you that have been rattling around in my head lately.

1. Teamwork

This has been very much in my mind after the recent display of teamwork at the Cage in the past week. Firstly, when as can happen in SL due to FL influences (due to having stuff to do, not being well and loss of internet connection) the Cage was left without a host. To use Tamm's words…"I came in no one was here so I just started hosting". This I think is a fine example of what being part of a team is, seeing the need and just stepping up to do what needs to be done.

Then of course was the wonderful example of teamwork when the Cage was moved all in one go. I know that both Shado and Amber were suffering lack of sleep before they even started the process. I arrived after it had actually been moved and there had been some problems with the building to find Amber, Shado and yes of all people Mr Glaz working away to get everything in order and making sure that it was up and running and ready to go for the next day. The feeling in the air was indescribable and although I was there basically to offer moral support it was lovely to be part of that feeling and to see how when the need is there everyone just works so well together.

2. Forte

In a way an offshoot from my thoughts on teamwork is how all of us have our own specialities or forte. Things that we are good at. The problem is that a lot of the time people know a little bit about a lot so think they know a lot about everything and neglect to pay attention or acknowledge another person's "forte" (this is a major generalisation of course). If you are reading this blog you know that Amber and I often tease each other about her lack of ability to build or align anything and about my fixation with having everything nicely aligned. But the fact remains teasing aside, when I rebuilt my shop a few months ago, I went first to Amber to ask her opinion on what she thought would work, when I decided to update my vendor boards I also went to Amber and of course our wedding, went to Amber again. Even though I may question and throw in suggestions when discussing these things with Amber, it is more as a way for me to learn, because when it comes to marketing, organising, decorating and managing, this is where Amber excels. When it comes to fixing things, making stuff and generally finding out stuff Amber knows that I am there and that all the teasing is just that. As neither Amber nor I are silly [no pffting here Mr Glaz], we acknowledge and take advantage of each others skills to our own and each others benefit. And yes I am aware that lots of people do this but right now I am talking about us, on account of the fact that this is our blog...lol!!

Okay enough for now….. yes of course people there has been a lot more running through my head than this, but really you don't want to go there…LMAO!! Seriously, these were just some thoughts that have been very prominent in my mind lately so since I can I just thought I would share them with you.

Oh and while I am here writing can't go without saying SL marriage rocks!! I am loving every minute of it, but then again I suppose like anything it takes the right person, so my darling Mitch if you read this mwahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh (a) coz I love you and you are totally amazing; and (b) because I know it annoys the heck out of Amber when we do that…hhhhhhhhhhh (and the hhhhs are there for you Mr Pang, since I know you just love them :) ).

Oh, oh....one more thing!! Some pics of my latest projects.... well just because I kinda like the way they turned out!!!

Ciao for now Q

Computer crashes...!!

What an evening !!! Totally and utterly prepared as only Q can be....we had several very special tunes planned for the wedding....and because my comp died an hour prior...we never got to play them. So if u click the pics opposite ...u will hear what SHOULD have played at their wedding ceremony :)

OMG !! Did you hear Q got married!!!

A little while ago I yelled at Amber for deleting our earlier blog posts when she decided to tidy things up. I *cough* very calmly explained to her that a blog worked like a journal and you could look back and reflect on previous posts. Wow… I should have actually listened to what I was saying as I have just revisited my last post which was really not that long ago, yet so much has changed. In particular my comment "I have learnt that IF I ever go the SL relationship road again blah blah blah"…..ummm I have and big time. Yes people for those who don't already know on 6 March 2009 at 5am SLT…. I married Mitch in a lovely ceremony written and officiated at by Amber.

In true Q&A style we were so organised that I actually found myself on the day at a loss because I had nothing to keep me occupied. Although in true wedding style something had to go wrong at the last minute and after all Amber's hard work at selecting just the right music, her PC decided to give up the ghost an hour before the ceremony, whereupon she commandeered the family laptop proceeded to frantically download music and programs but alas the stream still refused to work. All the while, mind you periodically calling first on the phone and then in IM a nervous (that would be me) bride and speaking very calmly and saying everything would be fine and of course it was, the radio station that Amber selected played just the right selection of music at the right time.

Although as I did explain to Amber later, I had complete faith in her organising something with the music and the nerves really had nothing to do with that. Yes I knew I wanted to do this, I knew I wanted to commit to this relationship yet for some strange reason (who knows why) I never thought that my reactions to waiting to walk down to be married would be the same as in FL but they were, I remember waiting in my room, and making my AV pace back and forth and thinking how silly that was. But you know it wasn't silly at all, what it was, is what SL is an expression of what you are feeling inside and at that moment the pacing expressed visually my nervousness. I remained nervous until I tp'd down behind the trees to wait to walk down and I could read the chat… and of course Zen was being his usual daggy self and all I could do was laugh.

I know there were some lovely wishes from those there, but honestly I only know from later reading the chat log, from the moment I set foot on the red carpet and then was walked down the aisle by Della and right through the ceremony all I could focus on was Mitch and I and what Amber was saying, everything else was totally in the background. Again, a surprise to me who usually manages to multitask quite well, but again as it would be in FL, the ceremony was about Mitch and I, my mind and all my feelings were focused on him, so there was no room for anything else.

The place looked amazing thanks to Amber's wonderful decorating skills, everyone who could make the unusual time we had the wedding looked just stunning and well as always they are some of the best people around and Mitch and I thank them so much for being there for us and sharing our wedding with us and we also thank everyone who although unable to attend sent us their lovely thoughts and words.

Q

The Vows – Written and Officiated at by Amber Bracken

I just have to share with the you the wonderful ceremony Amber performed. Amber kept asking me if I was sure that we wanted her to officiate and both Mitch and I reiterated that yes we did. Well a couple of days before the wedding off the top of her head and with very little editing, Amber wrote the following ceremony. Mitch and I agreed that if we had searched high and low we could not have found a more meaningful and well written ceremony. Just in case we haven't said it recently… Amber thank you for everything…. big huggies from us both.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome everyone to the SL Wedding of Mitch and Quilla.
I have been asked to officiate their vows today ...and am honoured to do so

We all have our reasons for being in sl ...
but the one thing we can’t deny exists in here is the friendships, the connections and the Love that comes from knowing a person's mind, as intimately as we can in here.

In this virtual world of SL .....
people, friends & companions slip in and out of our SL life.
When we meet someone special ...we usually know fairly quickly :)
Some of us don’t always get it as fast as others....:)) ....but generally we all have experienced the 'knowing' when two people connect in SL.

Who knew ...that seeing a name in a box......
could bring a smile from ear to ear ? Who knew.....that a virtual hug could feel so good ?
Who knew that having a wonderful Second Life companion ...could make our Real life day ..so much better :))
Quilla and Mitch know :)) .
...and want to take their relationship to a higher level in here and commit themselves to each other ...
..as a lasting friendship in SL....
.and they wanted us, their special friends to be here to witness it :)
Quilla and Mitch would both like to say a few words to each other ..

Amber Bracken smiles at Quilla ...

[Q’s words]

Mitch's Response:
my dearest Quilla....( or whatever u want to say )
I happily wear this ring as a sign of my commitment to our Love.

Mitch says his few words...
........................................................................................................................

Mitch gives Q her ring
Dear quilla...
This ring is a token of my love. I marry you with this ring, and ask that you wear it as a commitment to our journey together in sl .

Response:
Mitch, my love
I happily wear this ring as a sign of my commitment to our Love.

Amber Bracken wipes away the tears.....and looks at Quilla and Mitch ...
With the absolute Power I give myself in second Life ...
....I now pronounce you
....we ALL pronounce you ...
Man and Wife.
You may now kiss the bride :))

Who indeed is anybody ???

I have been ordered by Q ....yes her ..Amber points! to update the blog ..
I have just finished reading Pang's blog. ( Attached to the Cage Blog )

Pang did indeed dj for a very small group of us for 5 hours straight at the Cage .....we were all completely lost in his music....enjoying each and every song Pang pulled out of his collection ....including some very old and obscure tunes.

I have known Pang for a long time in SL now...and have always loved his music. In my early days hanging out at a strip club ( not stripping ...but loving the environment and the people...) I met some of my most valued friends. Pang is one of those :) Who is Pang? Pang is...a very talented person. He is extremely humble...very polite...and has a very dry sense of humor. His taste in music is eklectic and classic. He may even be slightly shy...if I may say that. How do I know all this ? Because over time..I have come to know Pang ! I have watched, listened and seen him express his love of playing music for others...without any great fuss or fanfare. I do not talk to Pang often ...I do not know what he looks like in SL ...but I most definately trust him. How can this be ? Is this the same way we get to know people in RL ? No I dont think it is.

Why do we meet some people in SL and connect ? Why do we meet some people in SL and not connect ? Why do some people just 'feel' comfortable to be around and others dont ?

My theory ? is because it really is about our souls...our minds ..it is a very deep connection that we rarely experience in RL. WE barely scratch the surface in RL ..when meeting new people..or forming new friendships. Some people we would not even meet simply because of their appearance !! In here....we have nothing other than our thoughts and our words to communicate. ..and we dont judge by appearances.
Sure I hear u say ...duh ...thats no light bulb assessment ...I know - its basic.

We all come here to escape RL and its constraints... but I see SL embelishing our RL if we choose to learn while we are here. I believe SL is a valuable tool, that is teaching us about our minds and how we are all capable of so much more if we try.

I believe the act of sharing ones mind, thoughts & feelings...is ten times more intimate than any physical act of cyber sex. ( dont get me wrong ... nothing wrong with cyber sex ) ...however...I have to say ...I have experienced the most intimate - deep - moving moments - using very few typed words - listening to a special tune, watching a spectacular sunset over an SL ocean...in complete comfort with a special friend. You know ...those moments ? The moments you fall in sl love...or the moments you feel someone touching your arm....or your heart.

No cyber could come close to these moments of sharing for me. Thus the heightened feelings in here...everything is so much more focused on our 'minds'. Ten times more enjoyable...ten times more intimate...ten times more everything !! Yes ..the highs are incredibly high ..and the lows are incredibly low.

So accompany these intense connections with 'music'.....which we all know touches our souls....and well u might aswell take a rocket to the sun !!!

What Pang did for us the other night ...was took us all on a rocket to the sun...because we were all communicating ....respecting each others minds and thoughts...and giving each other energy which we all fed off. It was a very unique evening indeed. Close friends simply enjoying the space we created in SL. :)

Who is Pang? Who is Quilla? Who is Amber? Does it matter ? If we make the effort to communicate without judgement, without prejudice, without malice towards each other ...we find out very quickly - who we are dealing with. If we trust in our minds and our souls....we can actually find these amazing feelings of joy and happiness...but we need to respect the process.

Accepting without presumption...

Learning through mutual respect..

Does it really matter who we are ? Do we really need to explain ourselves ? I think not.

Who is Q?

Well Q is ME….. I may not look like Q in RL (that's right I don't have blonde hair and blue eyes) but in all other respects I am me, I don’t pretend, I don’t put on an act, I don’t bullshit.

Yes I like helping people, it’s what I do, always have can’t change that.

I like finding out how things work, so I pick up bits and pieces of information around the place and what I learn I am more than happy to share with others.

I like building when the mood takes me, I am not the greatest builder in SL but enjoy it nevertheless.

I am fiercely loyal to my friends and love them all and am and always will be there for them.

I try to be positive most of the time but I am human, like everyone else I have my bad days, just unlike a lot of people, except for rare occasions, only the people closest to me (namely Amber and Della) will know that as I don’t believe in coming in world to bitch and whine and moan and go “oh woe is me”…. Others can but I won’t. My RL is far from perfect but I am not in SL to go on about that, I am in SL to experience what SL has and take me away from RL.

I like people who know how to enjoy life and make the most of it, and I have found a great group of people in SL who do just that, I love to laugh and it is something I do a lot of in world. Love verbal banter and stimulating conversations… yes people you can have a “discussion” and have an “opinion” without it being an argument and friends can have differing opinions and still be friends, nor do they have to like everything you do, because it would be a boring world if they did.

What I have learnt?? Well I have learnt that I am now more open to new experiences than I thought I was and a heap of other stuff about me which quite frankly am not going to share here. And that is also it is the same for me in SL as it is in RL…. I don’t share a lot about “me”… so writing this little piece is a total rarity for me.

I have learnt that the majority of males make better friends than they do partners because I will not compromise who I am for them, I will not become a simpering fool to pander to their ego.

In SL as in RL I don’t give easily of myself but when I do I give a lot be it as a friend or a partner. I have learnt that IF I ever go the SL relationship road again, I want someone to explore with, share experiences with, someone who can be as honest with me as I am with them, not someone who pretends to care about me because for a time I make them feel good about themselves, but someone who actually cares about what I think and feel as much as I care about what they think and feel. Someone who is confident enough about who they are as a person not to need me to be less than I am to make them feel better.

I have also discovered that in SL I am totally obsessed with symmetry and balance, am totally addicted to textures, I love decorating, organising things and okay sometimes enjoy being just a little bit bossy (no laughing people!!!).

What I have found in SL? Well I have found some of the best people around, truly genuine fun loving people and most of them spend a lot of time at the Cage. I have also found a few select people who actually “know” me not just think they do and those people know who they are.

Ugh have I really raved on about me so much….. sorry… but you don’t have to read if it if you don’t want to, although if you have gotten this far you already have...LMAO!!!!

Ciao for now.

Quilla