I joined Second Life back in 2005 or so. For a while I didn’t have a computer that could do it at all so I only played at friends’ houses. Then I had a computer that could do it, but not well, so I got frustrated and gave up on it. Now I’m back, thanks to aleja, and I’m getting more involved! (This is only in the last few days, even.) In fact, I just bought a home. Yup, I’m now a Second Life homeowner, paying RL cash for a virtual plot of land. Oh well, it’s not much. I did always kind of want a home…I was a total vagrant before. Anyway, here are some pictures of my renewed second life.
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Today I got fitted for hearing aids. I am getting open fit Oticon Epoq XW’s with the Bluetooth option. Total cost is $5,648 and I’ve already put down a $200 deposit. I got them in “beige silver” - the closest option to my skin tone. I was surprised to find that the little tiny tube is fixed in a certain shape, not flexible. I got to try on a demo model; the BTE piece is about half the length of my ear. It plays a cute little jingle when you turn it on. They should come in 3-5 days so I’ll be picking them up sometime next week.

At first the guy said, “your hearing isn’t that bad” but I told him I’m an interpreter, and explained that I need to hear everything right the first time, he understood immediately and said “you’ll love the Epoq, I think it will be perfect for you.” So there you go, I did my own research beforehand and made the right choice.

My prank on A was so good, she thought it was Google’s prank! I had changed all her iGoogle stuff to be in German, including widgets all in German and a different theme and everything. I used Google Translate to put instructions on how to restore the backup I made beforehand, but she didn’t bother with it - just went to the tab where I had stashed all her real widgets. It wasn’t until tonight that I prodded her about it and she said “oh that was you!”

Tomorrow I am going to these people to see about buying my Epoqs. VR has new rules that mean I would have to wait more than a year for service, and very probably longer, so I didn’t even bother opening a file. I will get a trial period through these people, so I get to figure it all out and stuff.

I left school early today - skipped linguistics class and College Bowl practice - because I am all anxious and depressed and don’t feel good. I think I am better now though. A and I just finished watching Gypsy 83 and I feel okay.

Also, my story and picture finally got published in Budget Travel magazine’s funny travel stories contest! check it out!