THE HISTORY OF THE CAGE - again ....lol

Ok ..so when we first set up the blog ....I wrote my version of the HIstory of the Cage. Stupidly ...I deleted our first postings....as I didnt realise the development of the blog :( Duhhhh. I didnt realise that some people actually valued the conten. I have been asked to give my version of the History of the Cage ....again...because I deleted the first one. This is my attempt to do that.
( I welcome anyone who wants to correct my cronological order :) I do not claim to have a flawless memory .....( must be all the pot I smoked with Della at the Cage ? )

OCTOBER 2007.
After bumbling around SL for about 6 months I found myself reaking minor havoc at Blackhearts. Basically, I would go there and tell Jaysun his hair sucked and promptly throw swear words into the chat. I enjoyed Blackhearts immensely and had made some special friends there including Jaysun Falta and Cori Offcourse. I thought Jaysun was a complete self absorbed dag when I first met him, but nothing could be further from the truth. One of the most fun people I have ever met in SL. My time spent as neighbours to Cori and Jaysun were some of the funniest moments in my sl.

Many other friends were made to name a few . Daiseze Dahlstrom, Amythest Morigi, Greanfrog Oh, Rainmaker Innes, Oompaloompa...( he knows who I mean ), Wheelerwood Oppewall, Faine Blackadder ...... and of course Granite Collas. Granite approached me one day and asked me if I would like to work at his new club ...The Cage ! It had yet to be completed and he was planning to grow a decent size group before the doors opened. I very rudely told him ..I may not like his club, and I would prefer to visit there when it had opened rather than say yes straight away. Another club owner at the time, also asked me to come and work for his new club. Needless to say -I arrived at the opening Event and promptly took over the floor - and there began my journey at the Cage. Granite, Vega and Rybread Collas were the owners at the time. They created the building, established the name and founded the VIP Group.

The boys all had busy RLs and being in world was not easy for any of them. I however, was online a lot more and being in Australia I was able to do a lot of things during the hours that the boys were asleep. I threw myself into decorating for the themed events and became a professional host. WE started with one event per week and slowly grew up to every day. Granite and I shared the hosting mainly, Vega and Rye did what their RL would allow. Rybread announced very shortly after opening that he could no longer stay in SL and left his ownership postion open. At the time, the boys needed a fourth owner to contribute to their land holdings. ( This meant that the Tiers on linden land were greatly reduced ). I put up my hand and became an OWNER at the Cage... not to mention months of being blown up, stretched, drowned, exploded, gassed and shot by the boys !!

I worked everyday at the Cage- hosting, tagging, learning about different elements of SL. Granite and I shared the hosting as the group slowly grew. Vega ( who we referred to as brb, because he kept crashing and not returning ) hosted when his rl would allow. Basically, we all worked for nothing at this stage. Before we knew it, we had established Events every day - slowly adding one day after another until we were open 7 evenings a week. Granite included his RL Wife as an owner of the Cage and Millie became another Cage Host.

Granite and myself still hosted the majority of events and realised quickly that we needed more hosts. Eventually the Cage was making enough money through tips ..to pay our tier, without contributing from our own pockets. Granite and Vega managed to purchase property and established an sl home using their Cage Income. I chose not to draw funds from the Cage at this stage. ( personal choice ) The club was growing fast and eventually we decided to split the profit (if any) 3 ways between Vega, Granite and myself.

Vega found his RL time was limited further and SL was decreasing further - so he chose to leave as an owner of the Cage. This once again ...left us with an owner space to fill. This is when Trip Joffe became an owner of the Cage. Trip is one of my dearest friends in sl. We go back a long way together, spending great fun times at another club ( now de rezzed ) 9.13. This club was basically a strip club, but full of the most fun, real and wonderful people I have ever met in SL. These characters included Pangtera Nakamura, Arianna Rehula, Rosie Bartholmess and of course my dear gf Nora DeVinna. Noooo...I never DID strip ...except the one time they played Robbie Williams and it made me rip my top off....what can I say ? Robbie has that effect on me ! What was the over riding theme at this club...was how absolutely comfortable I felt when visiting. There was no rules ...no judgement..and yet great respect for one another. I think this place influenced my SL more than I will ever know. :))

Whilst at the Cage, I found myself often reminiscing the days of 9.13 and how comfortable I felt. I felt this was a key ingredient to people returning to a club.
During the first 6 months of the Cage - we experimented with many themes, many managing methods...extended and changed the internal facilities of the Cage..numerous times. Granite and I worked very closely together to ensure that ALL facets of the Cage were managed and executed to the 'nth' degree. We both hosted heavily, and financially contributed to the prizes and general maintenance and upkeep of dances etc. And NOOO WE werent a couple ...or even close to being a couple. Many peeps presumed we were....but we were both very much on the same wavelength when it came to the expectations of the Cage. Granites RL had limited his SL time even further, and I was also stretching myself too thin with hosting and managing. We decided to employ our first Manager, Amythest Morigi who handled our hosts, the schedules and the Themes. Amy was a hoot ..and we enjoyed her very much. She was most popular with the VIPs and we had an absolute blast while Amy was in da house ~! Unfortunately Amy had to leave for personal reasons and we employed Shado Radek to take over. Shado had been working as a host at the Cage for some time, and both Granite and I recognised his abilities immediately. *I just noticed the women were flockig to the club everytime he hosted LOL. Sound familiar ?

Shado brought a whole new energy to the Management side of the club. Not only was he fantastic with the Hosts, he was passionate and as energetic as we all were at the time...if anything ...he was obsessive about his responsibilities and was incredibly committed , consistent and Loyal. He also was proving to be a popular DJ and began taking regular gigs at the Cage. He also attained the ability to unwind Amber Bracken when needed...by simply nodding a lot, and saying mmmmm...when required..without judgement of critisicm.

The club had grown so much we had moved to a private sim , where more avatars were allowed and we had more scope to grow if we chose. This we did ,and upon arrival, decided to purchase the land next door and established the Cage Shopping Mall. The Cage at this stage, was barely breaking even financially and we felt that the shops would bring more traffic, and encourage growth... which it did. We were still growing in group, and very busy with traffic, but the tips and the contributions were not enough to cover the tiers.

The Owners at this stage were Granite, MIllie, Trip and myself. Millie and Trip were not as active as us. We all made a deal to establish no firm rules about mesuring contributions to the Cage - as everyone was only able to give what their RL would allow. This included financial contributions aswell as hours online. We were once again in need of another owner. I suggeted to Granite that we ask Shado to become an owner It was clear that his committment and loyalty was with the Cage, and if he became an owner - we also didnt have to pay him a wage anymore :)) Shado became an owner not long after.

Once again RL stepped in ....and Granite was unable to be inworld as much. We found ourselves with less hands on deck, than we needed. I managed to overdo my committment to the Cage ...a number of times, and fell in a little sl slump in the corner of the cage. This was happening more regularly, sometimes it was a slump..sometimes it was a full blown psycotic episode blasted in Granites direction, and sometimes it manifested itself in a sad little avatar called Amber Bracken. Granite and I worked as best we could to monitor all aspects of the Club. Even so, our online time together had decreased dramatically , and Shado was performing a lot of the duties that I simply was unable to find time to persue. Shado's knowledge and SL experience was a huge help to The Cage at this point in time. His ability to remain calm in stressful situations was the positive influence that kept everyone grounded and happy....including myself and Granite. ( Okay ..so I was Jeckle and Hyde...pfft.)

After establishing the shopping mall and listing it as part of the Cage,
Granite decided to purchase land personally on the other side of the Cage and created his own fishing area which included Gaming machines. The club was not involved with this project. This building expedition of Granite's drew concern from me and as usual I expressed it in the usual subtle manner that only Amber does :))

Around this time, Vega wanted to return to the Cage as an owner and was duly put back on the board. We now had 6 owners. Granite, Millie, Vega, Shado, Trip and Amber. There was no profit sharing as there was no profit. We eventually had to move the Cage for various reasons - and we ended up at Isle of Gems, after a number of slight hiccups.

NOt long after we settled at Isle of Gems, Granite announced he was leaving the Cage as an owner. There were various reasons that he left, but his general explanation was that it was time for him to move on, and that he wanted to persue other projects. He basically handed the building, and all Cage objects to me, and left with Vega to open up a new Club called Club Eclipse. Our long relationship as business partners ended abruptly ....and for me ....it was a sad day, and the end of an era. We all parted on good terms, although SL gossip likes to tell a tale of different characters. Granite and Vega have remained on my friends list ( until very recently ) and we have always kept in contact. Granite has since become a proud father, and Vega is about to have his second child. Both have ventured away from Second LIfe and into World of Warcraft. I still consider them valued friends.

By this stage, MaDawna Radek ( Shado's rl partner ) had joined the club as a host. Not long after the club was handed over we gave Mad the reins as Manager where she has found her niche as the Master of Scheduling, hosting and djing :))

The Club has moved from strength to strength. WE are now listed on the first page of the search in both the ALL general category and the DANCE CLUB page - we are also on Page 1. The Group is now over 1000 strong and growing daily.

We recently moved to Shado & Zora's privately owned Sim. Why did we move ? The private location we had been on, dumped 3 clubs on the one sim, and the lag ( for which we have always been famous for NOT having ) was beyond our control. NOw we are able to have full control over all aspects of the Cage land....thanks to Zora and Shado providing the space we needed.

People often ask us, what is the secret to remaining open in SL? Apart from throwing LIndens at it.....which is absolutely what is required. The ONLY real answer to that is that we have good staff and great management. We treat each other with respect and try not to judge each others sl lives. Our hosts over the years have simply become part of our Family at the Cage, and we tend to treat our VIPs as visiting relatives rather than guests. The door is always open ...to all ...anytime and all we ask is that you treat others as you would like to be treated yourself.

Without GREAT staff, without reliable Management, and without LIndens of course....the Cage would be long gone. It belongs to the VIPs. It doesnt belong to Shado or me...it doesnt belong to Granite or Vega...it belongs to the guests, the hosts, and the peeps who have fallen in love on our dance floor, who have laughed till their cheeks hurt at one of our events, it belongs to the Hosts who adorn our stage, to the friendships made, and the debating warriors who share our chat.

I was recently asked in an interview for SLTV - " What do I love most about the Cage? " My only answer could be the people...the connections I have made here....and the LOVE I feel when we are all together at the Cage. And yes its LOVE. :))

I am not for a minute suggesting it has been easy, or without stress. Emotionally , physically and mentally, the Cage has taught me a great deal...in sl and rl. To say that I have grown a lot in here is an understatement. I am still learning ..still here and still Loving my time spent at the Cage.

Amber has been described, discussed and dishevelled by gossip and perceptions of who she is in SL ( and RL ) for the past 2 years. I have a reputation for rambling and chatting WAYY too much, discussing contraversial subjects for her own entertainment....and this is in fact true for both rl and sl. There is however the perception of Amber as the 'alpha female' who is driving an SL Mercedes sports car....doing Coke....with her head stuck so far up her own ass she cant see the sl daylight ???? Nothing could be further from the truth.

I am continually humbled by the people I meet at the Cage. I am continually humbled by the Love I receive in SL... and by the friends whose trust I have...and vice versa. I sit in awe still....at the skill and knowledge of those around me who continue to offer themselves to service the Cage's future.

I believe that SL is an individual journey for all of us. I try to avoid sitting in judgement of anybodys journey in here...and try to encourage all to continue to explore. Some days can be diamonds......and some days can be Pearls. Some days can be so fucking bad....the thought to remove the whole damn programme from the computer seems to be the most logical response !! :)

I turned 2 last month...and reflected on the time I have been here. I looked at where I was in SL, who I was with and who I have grown to Trust in here.
For the first time in a long time....I feel like I am finally 'home'. Thank you to the people in my SL ...who have walked this path with me...thank you to each and every one of you...for without you...I wouldnt be here. Here for me right now in SL ...is the best it has ever been. I feel very humbled by it all...still.

I LOVE Second Life. ...and of course I love the Cage :) I aint going anywhere.....hehehe !!!!!