The Moon Is Down

I hate December. Always have, always will. December is the month everything changes: my world, my personal life, even my age (the 27th, a proud Capricorn here). Now, it has arrived, and already I can feel the bleak holiday spirit spreading throughout the communities I'm in. Everyone knows it: nothing good comes from December once you pass the age of 16. Even the man who walked on water had his birthday changed to accommodate some pagans.

Still, there are a few bright spots in my virtual life:

Imprudence is coming along well. Due to the freedom of "hey, I can implement this idea and not worry about giving a flying fuck what LL thinks" the improvements have steadily been building. 1.0 will be a pretty awesome viewer, but 1.1? Totally kickass. I almost don't want to get there, just because the excitement for it is too much fun to revel in. The quickfilter, for example, is a godsend.

I've also begun exploring other 3D "worlds" out there (if anything, they're mostly 3D guided tours or flash games), not so much to find a new home for myself but to give their UIs a try. It's interesting discovering just how many of these things there are out there (or at least, have popped up in the past only to quickly die). For example, right now I'm downloading a "lite" 600mb client for a korean anime MMO as well as Google Sketchup, just because I'm curious about their interfaces. (I suppose that officially makes me a UI geek right there).

Last year, my friends threw me a surprise birthday party that packed a sim for six hours straight. It was the second surprise party of my life, and just as well-received as my first. The gifts and the company were beyond fantastic. It's going to be weird, comparing last year to what I know is coming this year: I'll log on, test a few features in Imprudence, log off again. Maybe hang out in the living room and watch movies until I pass out (the usual way I spend my birthdays). I keep reminding myself, "It's better this way. You don't need Second Life anymore," but still, not looking forward to that day.

Damn, this was supposed to end upbeat. See what I mean about Decembers?