Manifest Destiny - I want it ALL

or... Keeping up with the Jones'


What is it about human beings that makes us what what we don't have? What makes us want more when we already have enough? What makes us desire what is just beyond our reach?

SL plays on the innermost desires humans have to want more, More, MORE. I, myself, am not above such desires. I remember seeing as a newb how I could tan at T-Mobile island to earn Lindens. I was so excited to just have $15 for my 10 minutes of tanning time, or whatever it was. I was fine with my newb clothes and scant inventory freebies, until I met a clothing designer and others who weren't so new and I thought to myself, I needed more. I spent an evening at a friend's island beachside home, a tiny bungalow with great artwork and the sound of ocean waves. And, you guessed it, I wanted MORE.

Now, the idea of paying RL dollars for SL things is one which you cannot think too long and hard about. If you stop to think about how you are paying RL dollars for things that only exist in pixels on a server somewhere far far away, it will drive you nuts. It is kinda like saying the same word over and over and over again until it doesn't even sound like a word any more.

I remember shopping for clothes months ago - years ago SL time - and $300 seemed like a HUGE amount of $$. Good lord. $300L. But, when you stop to think - just for a brief second that the SL-RL exchange rate is like $250 L to $1 US - you think... huh, I can buy that for just a little over $1 - COOL! So off I go... sucking myself into the SL trap. I am off and running in the Linden world with a semi-full wallet of Lindens and find love and happiness in none other than THE MALL. And... store after store after store after store. What could be better than shopping for the body you always wanted?

Then, that little beach home that was a fun locale for an evening with friends led to a tour of land that was available to rent. It couldn't have been more classic peer pressure. No real estate agent was needed. This friend of ours figured out how to get to us. Oh come on - how much do you spend on take out or movies or Starbucks in a month? How much would you spend for a babysitter? With that kind of logic, I once again dipped in my Linden purse and signed on the dotted line. Bigd was equally excited and ready for the fun as well.

That was back in July. Months later we were working on the 3rd type of landscaping/home theme and thousands of Lindens invested in SL. My inventory topples 13,000 (mostly objects from re-rezzing my home--- ok and several hundred clothing and shoe items :) ). What does this all have to do with manifest destiny? Well... in January... our neighbors moved away. I eyed the mountaintop and thought hmmmm maybe we could own THAT too! Would you be surprised at this point for me to tell you that yes, we now own that? So... an island and a mountain.

Then, Bigd decided that the tallest mountaintop right next door, because it was vacant should also join our land acquisition collection. It is important to note - purchasing estate land like this is WAY easier than purchasing RL land. Click accept to the covenant rules, pay your lindens and wa-la.

I would worry about D and I if we weren't alone in this phenomenon. Oh - and did I fail to mention - that you not only create on the ground, but you create in the sky? Yes, the sky is yours too. All the way up. Build another something or other in the sky. This was something someone new to SL never even thinks about.

So... back to what comforts me in the darkest hours of the more more more overwhelming feelings in SL? My friends. My friends who own 1, 2, 3, 4, and now 5 plots of land; my friends who have homes, skyboxes, and stores; my friends who's inventory topples 12 or 13,000 as well; my friends who look damn good in SL because they have paid top Linden dollar for skins and shapes for not just 1 but 2 or more avitars. ROFL I tell ya. Can you possibly HAVE too much of a good thing? NO.

Eat and drink to your hearts content in SL and never worry about a designated driver. Load up that inventory to your desire because you travel with it - you never have to worry where you left such and such - you just have to remember WHAT THE HECK it is called! What was that I just bought this morning anyway? I remember it was cute. Hmmmmm. What? The land next door is for sale? SOLD. Hooo!