Another Sunday at Phat Cats

Here I am once again dancing with the most Eye-Candy DJ in all SL, Thorgal McGillivary.  Every Sunday from 2-4pm SLT he is spinning the tunes (like the beautiful song from Luka Bloom that he closed his set with and which I just posted below) at Phat Cats.

Tonight he played "Fields of Gold" for me. Come by next Sunday and he'll play a song for you, too.

How NOT to make a Good Impression on a Woman

Phat Cats (1), originally uploaded by Tsai Jie.

Went to Phat Cats on Monday because my friend Thorgal sent out an invite. Lovely place, great music, and elegant (if laggy) surroundings. Since Thor was busy dancing with Molly, I jumped on a pink ball with a nice looking fellow named Lawrence (for reasons you will see below, I am leaving off his last name, but just let me say he must be related to a certain Godfather). His profile gave his rez day back in 2006, so this was no noob--even though he acted like one.

We introduced ourselves and took a few sweeping turns around the floor when he asked: "How old are you?" I made some non-committal noises about never asking a lady her age, but next he wanted to know vital statistics: Height, weight, hair color, cup size. This took me a bit aback and at first I started answering: "Yes, real blonde, longish hair, 5'3" ... C cup, if you must know...." but he wouldn't stop. Wanted the age. Wanted the weight. While giving out those is not generally a problem for me it just bugged me that he kept pushing.

Hell, I had already handed him an RL photo of me that I have tucked in my SL photo album, but due to the lag he said it wouldn't rezz for him. I pointed out that this questioning was rude behavior in SL where many people prefer to keep RL info private and we are all an illusion anyway. I mean WTF?

I thought I might convince him that there is more to a person than looks so I told him I wanted answers to a couple questions, too. Asked about his favorite authors, books he's read, movies, music. Shared my own tastes in those departments--something he did not seem interested about at all. But he kept returning to age. Now I was getting pissed.

Eventually I said okay. Told him I was "born in the year of the Dragon." Took him a couple minutes to Wikipedia that, but then he came back with the date ranges for YotD over the last century and he wanted to know which Dragon: Fire, Wood, Water? By now I was so done with this that I told him was I born in 1904.  And he still wouldn't quit pushing.

Finally I told him: "Assume I am either 1) Young, moderately pretty, and grossly overweight or that I am 2) older than you, gorgeous, and thin as a rail. You pick which you prefer." (Just for the curious, I do not fit either of those profiles--you can think of me as average!)  That, too, was not good enough and he persisted with the questions. I finally thanked him for the dance, told him it had been interesting--because I had learned so much more about the man he was by his questions than he had learned from me. Jumped off the pose balls and left.

I am sure I will be back to Phat Cats, but you won't catch me dancing with Larry there (or anywhere else) ever again!

Phat Cats (2), originally uploaded by Tsai Jie.

Dancing with Thorgal McGillivary

Dancing with Thorgal, originally uploaded by Tsai Jie.

Thorgal is a hot DJ who hosts the Freaky Friday Xperience in SL (SLFFX) every Friday afternoon at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Das%20vergessene%20Tal/105/65/24.

There are fun trivia contests (yours truly has won the Sex Trivia contest 2 weeks running now!), great music and friendly people.

If you want to know more follow #SLFFX or @mcgillivary on Twitter.

Dancing with Spiff

Dancing with Spiff , originally uploaded by Tsai Jie.

Spiff Whitfield, a friend I haven't seen in ages, took a moment to come see my new digs, and we danced in the sunset there.

The Good / The Not So Good

It has been an odd week and a half for me. Some good, some not so good.

Not good: I lost my best friend. We'd had fights before. But I guess I always had faith that the friendship would survive. We'd blow up, then we'd talk. This time? Not so much. He's gone.

Good: I discovered some things about myself. I am an incurable optimist. I still believe that love and friendship can survive anything if both sides are willing to try. I still hope that someday we can be friends again.

Not good: I lost the only place I ever called home in SL. I should have known it was coming. I did know. But it still felt like getting a rug pulled out from under me.

Good: I found new land in Zindra, in McGavet. I was only half-heartedly looking, but I found a parcel that the previous owner had named "Serendipity Cove." I figured that was too serendipitous to pass up. And the price was right. The tier was, too. So I bought it.

Not so good: I have no one to share it with.

Kind of good: Another thing I discovered about myself this week is that I am at heart a nest-builder. That will be no surprise to anyone who knows me in RL. I am forever making over, rearranging, remodeling, and shopping for my RL home. When stressed I tend to head for Pier 1, Bed Bath & Beyond, or Home Depot. Even changing the colors of the bathroom towels and soaps can make my day. So it should be no surprise that rebuilding in a new space in SL was fairly theraputic as well. And I needed that therapy.

Neither good nor bad: There is some irony in the fact that I (once again) made a romantic spot to hang out in SL. Dancing, cuddles, and even sex animations. Waterfalls, pools, and gardens. I did mention that I am an incurable optimist, didn't I? And even if the man I would most like to share it with is no longer interested in me, well, at least perhaps I can make a nice place for other lovers to visit, to play.

So keep watching, I'll post pictures as I change the seasons at Serendipity Cove and redecorate regularly. Feel free to come by with your loved one and enjoy the facilities, make yourself at home.

Bogart's Slow Dance #3 Therapy!

So tonight there was a Halloween Tales and Tails Party at Callahan's Crosstime Saloon. Amanda won the contest with her story--something about a hooker? Anyway I got there late and was bummed that I had missed it, bummed that I hadn't seen all the friends I wanted to see.

But then Jamesen logged in-world and stole me away to go dancing at Bogart's Jazz Club! My hero...

Thing about Bogarts is that you really need to dress up. So I asked him what color I should wear and he said red. I dug deep in the closet and found this slinky number I'd gotten ages ago from DE Designs. Threw on a pair of sparkley strappy shoes. He put on his best tux, and tp'ed me to Bogart's.

While the place is usually packed the lag is pretty low. The music is soft jazz, Sinatra-esque. Perfect for a quiet evening of slow dancing and sexy talk.

Smiling now.

Dancing with Jamesen in Crescent Moon

Second Life is a like a dance. A complexity of steps in which we give just enough, take just enough. maybe even love just enough.

Always moving in and out of the patterns. Watching our footwork, trying not to be too distracted by the touch of another's virtual hand, of another's real soul.

Last night I went dancing with Jamesen in SL. I have known him for over 2 years, and yet I barely know him at all. SL is like that sometimes. People come into your life, share as much or as little as they can, as they want. They move out of your life, come back again. And all you can hope for is second chances. Sometimes a friend like this who asks nothing more than to be a friend is a gift beyond measure.

Thank you, Jamesen, for taking me dancing and helping me destress at the end of a long strange week. To paraphrase Rick in Casablanca: "I think this is the continuation of a beautiful friendship."

Where I am going, where I have been

I know... you are confused. Wondering how you got here and where it all went. Me too.

First I had the "Diary of a Second Life Courtesan" blog. Talked about Second Life, romance, dating, love, sex, history of sexuality, everything up to and including erotica. Very popular that blog.

Then my life went off on a tangent. (Men. Go figure.) Gave up the courtesan thing. The blog mutated into stories about my Second Life with one man, my friends, fashion, dancing. Later the roller coaster took a dive.

So that blog had to go away. (Yeah. For the man.) So far away that I deleted it ... mostly. Thing about writers is we back up shit all the time. Words. They are precious, you know. Sometimes words are all we have.

And you know me. I never stop writing for long. So next blog: "Dancing Through My Second Life." Talked about friendship, romance, and fashion, all that stuff I was still feeling but not mentioning names.

And I was happy again. So happy for a while that I didn't even have time to blog.

But things are changing again. (Yeah. Men.)

Last night I decided I was done accommodating the men in my life. I mean geez! What a sad sister I have become. Sit around and wait like a china doll on a shelf watching him as he loses interest. Be miserable, unfocused, no sense of reality. Make a choice. Give up one man to make the other one happy and wham! That one puts you back on the shelf too. WTF!

So this morning I decided screw it. I had 900 hits a day on the old Courtesan blog. Went down to 10 a month maybe on the Dancing blog. Here it is fellas. I'm going back to my good old bad ways.

Moved this whole shebang back over to http://tsaijie.blogspot.com/. Gonna write this blog here now. Maybe resurrect the advice from the Courtesan.

So I'm taking it one day at a time. And if the roller coaster takes a dive, well hell, there are lots of fish in the sea. RL? SL? Who knows. Mebbe I'll go be a Companion in a Firefly sim. No strings. No pain.

You see me in-world come say hi. We'll go dancing.

Sentimental Gentleman by Osprey Therian

OMG! (/me fans her face) Is it hot in here?
Doesn't this just make you want to dance like that?

Read about it in NPIRL at http://npirl.blogspot.com/2009/09/giving-new-hawt-meaning-to-virtual.html

"I Tried Dancing" - ShoMunro

Nice moves, ShoMunro!

Places to See: The Veridian Sea in Babbage, a Steampunk Sim

Steampunk Sims seem to be popping up all over Second Life these days. I've been visiting several of them, but I am most especially fond of New Babbage. Never mind all the shopping for cool vintage clothing, never mind the ballrooms and the dancing, never mind the airships even! Check out this awesome underwater build in the the Vernian Sea off Port Babbage. Now is this the coolest habit-trail for humans or what?

TP directly to the Vernian Sea to see it: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Vernian%20Sea/73/195/102/

And here's a great video tour of New Babbage by Loikboy!

Isle of Mists Concert - Jaggpro!

Had a great time tonight listening to Jaggpro at the regular Friday night concert in Isle of Mists. He has that deep rich husky bluesie sound going and some fab guitar work, too. Found out last night you can download some of his tunes from http://www.thesixtyone.com/jaggpro, so go check him out.

"Strolling Through Graves" - Music Machinima

Great music, Hot dancer!

(/me whispers) GF! Where DID you get that hair?!

Tuesday Afternoon

Tuesday, afternoon,

I'm just beginning to see,

Now I'm on my way,

It doesn't matter to me,

Chasing the clouds away.

Something, calls to me,

The trees are drawing me near,

I've got to find out why

Those gentle voices I hear

Explain it all with a sigh.

Tuesday afternoon is my new favorite time of the week. So many men, so little time. . . .

In Innisfree

In Innisfree
Originally uploaded by Tsai Jie

The dance is "Eclipse" by Bits and Bobs. My dress is called Absinthe, one of Draven's creations that can be found at Bird of Prey shops.

Dancing in Valis

Dancing in Valis
Originally uploaded by Tsai Jie

Ever meet one of those men in whose arms you could just melt? It is even better if you are dancing with a special friend in the sky in Valis.

Dancing in the Colors of Second Life

My first SL video... for my first real love in SL.

The paths we were walking did crumble... but, baby, if you again start hoping, with your arms wide open... come and dance with me into the colors of the dusk.

The day I changed my profile

So here we are. Nearly spring. Three months into 2009. I know some of you have wondered why I haven't been writing as much as I used to. The answer is both simple and complex. Real life has kept me busy, sure. But my chosen second life has kept me even busier. Fact of the matter is that for some time now I have been too busy in SL not only to blog about it, but also to do most of the things I have done in the past. For one thing, I am not dancing in clubs anymore, no more stripping, no more escort jobs . . . no clients at all. In fact most of the places I used to work, Perfect Droom, Lotus Moon, Blue Noise, are all long gone (long in SL is, after all, often a matter of weeks. not years) or they are so changed as to be unrecognizable.

What!? Does this mean you are no longer a courtesan? How can this be? I hear you asking.

It's not that I am not a courtesan . . . rather it is that all my skills, all my time, and all my heart are devoted to one man alone in all of SL. I am the personal companion, or concubine if you will, of Draven Sautereau. I am coming up on my second rez day in 2 months, and a month after that is the anniversary of when I met Draven. We've actually just passed the one year mark of our decision to be exclusive to each other in SL. I think it is about time I made it clear up front here in the blog, too.

So today I am commemorating that by changing my profile on this page. From now on the "About Me" section reflects the fact that only for Draven does my SL heart beat. Scary isn't it that you can find something so real in a place made only of fantasies?

A Song for SL Dancers: "Human" by the Killers

I have fallen in love with this song by the Killers. It asks a very poignant question: are we human or are we dancer"? But what does a question like this mean?

Of course we are all indeed human--with all the fallibility inherent thereto: anger, pain, jealousy, illicit desire, and deceit. But perhaps we are also more than human when we let art take us above mere humanity. We are, as dancers, as beings engaged actively in art and in social interaction through that art (music, dance, all the performance and creative arts) much more able to appreciate all the things arts inspire or are inspired by--most especially desire, romance, being loved, caring for a beloved.

So, of course, this song reminds me of dancing my way through second life with a special friend. Not only because of the dance he and I dance in SL, but for the feathers on the lead singer's shoulders (wings? armor?) and the black crow (his totem) that flies through the video as well.

And if you, Dear Reader, have a lover with whom you dance (and, oh, the connotations that word dance can cover!) you, too, should take a closer look at this song.

Are you just Human? Or are you Dancer? Me--I hope I will be dancing.

[Note: follow this link to the (not embeddable) official song video with lyrics. And check out this one by the Second Life Sky Navy. Or this one: the Stalker Chick version!]

Visiting Blackburne

I've been to the Firefly Bar in Blackburne again. I like this little town. Draven was there, too, and we danced a for a bit. The folks are real friendly and don't look down their noses at me as a whore for being a Companion, as happens on some worlds on the edge, nor do they get all deferential, as on planets in the inner systems. Pretty nice people all around. It may be that as a companion here closer to Sihnon, I am more respectable than I would be on some Rim worlds.

After dancing in the Firefly bar, I ran into and chatted with Cholgosh, a Blackburne Enforcer. We sat on the porch across from the bar and listened to the reports coming in from Hale's Moon of a Reaver attack and something about robots, War bots. Blackburne has had its own troubles with dangerous human-killing robots on the edges of the town, I was told.

I must find out more about this sector of space if we will be visiting here with any regularity. Aside from not wanting to step on any toes locally (at one point Cholgosh's partner, a spunky woman named Amyla turned up, and I hastily moved to give her the seat next to him so as not to give her any reason to thank I was "treading on the hem of her skirts"), I also need to know what dangers we may face while in this port. When the porch began to get crowded with folks wanting to ask the Enforcer about the news over the Cortex, I slipped away.

I ran into my brother Corwyn down on the street. Since he's the one who first told me about this moon, I asked him about its defenses. He pointed to big guns mounted on top of some of the buildings. There is a huge ship in dock, too, but he tells me it is a Firefly class vessel -- cargo ship, no guns -- and gave me a bit of a tour. I could tell this was a ship with some history. The pilot, whoever he was, had a toy dinosaur and a palm tree on his console. This felt like a ship that was lived in . . . and loved. But the bottom line is that it wouldn't be much help if Reavers attack, except maybe to get a few of Blackburne's inhabitants out of here fast.