The End of an Era....

In October of 2010, the Cage Dance Club closed.
With a group of 1750 VIPs, we had a successful stable venue in Second Life, that had become self sustaining and 'home' to many of us.

In February 2010, my 21 year old son passed away. Devestated. Unexpected. Heartbreaking. Felt utterly lost as a mother, a wife, as a person.

Second Life remained a constant in my life, with my dearest friends supporting me, loving me and helping me through what was, still is, will always be the most difficult time of my life.

The club remained open due to the efforts of others. Quilla, the hosts, Teri and Pad, maintained the committment that I simply could not. VIPs remained loyal and donations were enough to cover the expenses of the club. The club was doing fine.
What changed is me:)... and THAT is what is important.

The experiences I have had during my time in Second Life, have all led me to where I am now. I appreciate every moment that was shared with me. I acknowledge the mistakes I made and the choices I made ALL contributed to the huge learning curve, that has been one of the most enlightening experiences of my life.

Virtual spaces are often ridiculed ....
Social networking is the fastest growing space on the internet, and unless one has experienced this kind of socialising, then it is impossible to express the effects, the influence, the opportunity to learn, that this space can provide.

Friendships.... like in Real Life, have sustained me. Without them ~ I would not have remained in Second Life. The importance of these relationships, cannot be expressed. All of my efforts in relationships in second life, were genuine and honest. Unfortunately, that was often misinterpreted or perceived inaccurately, but that IS the nature of SL. That is human nature.

The lines of real life and second life overlap continually, and to say it doesn't is foolish. We return to the computer every day to feed an emotional craving of feeling good. We feel good in here, because we can be ourselves, good or bad. WE feel good in here, because the interactions are based on our authentic personalities, exchanges of knowledge and discussions that we value and enjoy. If not, we simply turn it off !

The psychological desire to return is beyond our control, because the human emotions control our heads. We come back to feel good.

My second life had begun to not feel good.
When I first arrived in SL , everyone was giving, positive and happy. These days, there is much less emphasis on the sharing and caring, and much more emphasis on individuals focusing on themselves. This is fine, if there is learning done along the way. If we all continue to walk the same path, never listening to others, never changing our opinions,nothing will change. Nothing will be learnt. Change encourages growth, without growth we lose perspective.

I could see how others were losing perspective, I could see how I had lost perspective in the past, and I could see that the Cage path was not changing, so I moved things around, and shuffled the deck. People I considered friends, turned out to simply be acquaintances. Those who I thought were acquaintances, turned out to be good friends. Those that I thought valued my honesty, ultimately did not. Major learning curves began to display there were some things in this virtual space that I needed to change... so I did.

Eventually, it became obvious to me, that I needed to close the club, and let go of the sim. It was simply time to change.

The beautiful part of the story, is where the changes led me. I still see and chat to my dear friends, Quilla, Della and Pangy...Teri and Onyx, when we can. And then there is Reo. Nobody has given me the time, the energy, the wisdom and support that Reo has, and still does. Regardless of all other things, including the worlds we choose to reside in, our friendship remains the treasure that I will always honour, and respect.

I feel only gratitude, for every opportunity that led me to where I am today...
I touch the screen ...and thank the universe ...for every moment.

3 YEARS !

It began with a documentary on the ABC television ...a story about an online world called Second LIfe. I watched it, and knew immediately it was a place I had to go. I logged in as soon as the programme ended, and began my journey into this amazing space. Where do I begin ???
How do I explain this amazing addiction, and yes it became an addiction....as it does for many...although I prefer to call it a retreat.
It was here I found peace in beautiful graphic images of sunsets, rainbows, gardens of bliss, and music unlimited. My desire to chat, discuss, debate and ramble on about ideas, stories and fantasies were all welcomed with open arms and I found a very comfortable home for my personality.
The club began as something to do, and always was a focus for providing a space for others to connect, learn and enjoy the various tunes, live performers and my own Australian music on the odd occasion that I dared to stream myself :)
What a captive audience we have held....
what wonderful friends I have made.

Apart from the connections ...who know who they are, and need no identification in here...there is the learning. Learning about ourselves as we experience the ancient art of communication with words. Words and music, avatars that we can dress, express ourselves...and simply ...words.

Those who visit here once, usually stay and explore, with a view to thinling it is a game. It doesnt take long, to work out ...it is much much more than that.
Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of this amazing space, and thank you for teaching me about myself.

THANK YOU

The Cage has made some big changes lately. One noticeable change
is the venue itself....we ripped out some walls, made some modifications that have definately enhanced the environment. The sim also is now Spring, and moving fast into Summer.
If your not dancing in the club, you can be watching a movie on the grass out back, horseriding...or just hanging out in one of the cuddle spots around the Cage. The newly located Media House Photo Studio, and of course or Randomonyx Store, both locations worth visiting. If your looking for somewhere to live in SL , the sim has private cabins at the most reasonable rates in SL. No dramas with buying land...and each cabin comes with a fully loaded Intan to use. You wont find anything in SL as reasonable, or privately located as these mountain retreats.

* Broken Bodenhall DJing every Tuesday and Friday nights at 6pm slt.
Broken is an upbeat crazy fun lady - who takes requests and livens up any space she occupies.
* Wednesday Nights - TAUNTER GOODNIGHT - What a voice ! One of the most amazing LIVE PERFORMERS IN SL !!
* Thursday nights we have DJ Cecil....( pronounced Seesal )....who does some funky R & B from 8.30 ish. The weekends are always busy and we do our best to play the best tunes we can find for you all !

WE ARE IN SHOWCASE !!
Thanks to Quilla and her efforts, we made it into the Second Life Showcase !!! This pushed our traffic from 3k ..to 21 k in one week ! Quilla is the woman in the know in SL ..and shares it with us at Management Level , helping us all to make our sl businesses better ! THANK YOU Q !! What would we do without you:)

Speaking of thanks... there are further thanks that I need to extend to EVERYONE who has helped me keep the Cage operational while I have dealt with some extenuating RL situations. OBVIOUSLY...Quilla... who has taken the reigns for me running finances and general day to day running when I haven't been able to be around......Teri our Manager...who is doing the hard yards daily at the Club...
ALL our HOSTS......for simply taking the shifts and keeping the energy up !!

Thank you to my nearest and dearest ...who have taken the time to spend with me...hear me, encourage me and simply honour my friendship, by sharing your time with me. There is no greater gift than the time you have shared with me - without judgement, without fear and with trust. I appreciate every moment.

Thank you ALL for supporting the Cage - for the last 3 years ! xoxo

John Butler

LONG TIME NO BLOGGING !!

Things have been busy at Paradiso lately !!!
The blog has been neglected . ....just had too much to do.
Many things have happened ..and well....where do I begin ? Xmas came and went....New Year was a blast ! We skinny dipped in the freezing cold waters of the ice lagoon ...and we generally broke the rules. Ha !

Since then...Miss Onyx has opened up her Randomonics store....Christian Glaz has implemented an Open Learning Project - Free Photo Studio Access.
ALL THE LAND HAS SOLD.
Rental Cabins will be an ongoing venture ( available for minimum of one week ) and there are 10 in total.

Come visit the sim, check out the changes if you havnt already ... tell your friends about the rentals....so I can pay the LIndens their tiers !