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As I begin to write this, I ask myself, "Do you
really have the time for
this?" Let me explain: When this reporter first
joined Active Worlds, it
seemed that she had all the time in the world
to do everything that was
possible here. As is typical of many newcomers
to this great 3D playground, I
spent a good deal of time hanging out at AWGate
meeting people & making new
friends. The hours would fly by but I was happy
because I was having the time
of my life! I made some of the most lasting friendships
in that world and I'll
always be thankful for that.
Slowly I ventured out to places I heard about
and
discovered the delightful thrill of Exploring.
The capital "E" is not a typo.
Exploring was and still is this reporter's first
love in Active Worlds. More
than anything else, she loves to find new and
innovative constructions. After
about a month of this I decided to take the "Right
Click" plunge and see just
how bad I was at building. It was my worst nightmare
at the beginning. I
thought I knew the meaning of frustration before
I joined Active Worlds,
however, my first solo experiences at building
seemed to make Job's biblical
experiences a walk in the park. In fact, this
reporter did the unthinkable.
She gave up! She threw in the towel. She cashed
in her chips and cut her
losses. Exploring and chatting were what floated
her boat and why worry about
some hi-tech, chiphead hobby that really didn't
sound too appealing in the
first place? Then I met the person who would
be the one who convinced me to
try again with their help and my life changed
forever! (Thank you SO much
AmunRa!) Making things became my first priority
and I dived in head first with
no regrets. As luck would have it, I was learning
to build at a most unique
time in Active Worlds. I stumbled across a new
world called AWUniversity. I
looked at the webpage and was delighted to see
that members would have the
opportunity to take VR classes with teachers
right here in Active Worlds! By
the time I was feeling like I may actually get
the hang of this building
thing, AWUniversity opened and I REALLY put my
confidence out on a limb by
applying for classes there. It was absolutely
the best decision I have ever
made while a member here. They said they wanted
students who had some building
experience but just wanted to take it to another
level. This reporter devoured
just about every class offered and loved every
one! The knowledge she gained
has been invaluable in all of her subsequent
projects. It also forged the
first link between the Real World & the VR,
namely, teaching. This reporter
prefers not to discuss her Real World life in
too much detail (the reason may
be a future essay subject) but she will say,
for the purposes of this story,
that she is a mentor and teacher at her company
and her newfound building
knowledge naturally lead her to offer what she
knew to all who asked. It has
been a long strange trip from that first day
that I appeared on the dais at
Gateworld. So what does all of this have to do
with the subject of "Not Enough
Time"? If you have to ask that question after
reading all of the above then
you should definitely NOT take the "Right Click"
plunge. Has anyone figured
out how to make that little green checkmark go
away yet? : )
Ewasx.
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