First class at NCI

I went for my first class yesterday. It was a class on clothing creations by Rainbow. The class was held at NCI South, which you can teleport to from NCI Plaza itself. Just click on one of the two signboards there. Be sure to click the right one!

I got the lesson schedule from the big signboard at NCI Plaza. You can either read it off the screen, or click on the signboard for a notecard with the schedule. There are some interesting classes being held throughout the week. Too bad that most of them are outside my log in hours. Living in a different time zone and all... I wonder if they will give out their course material...

One of the main takeaways from this clothing class is how the textures map onto my body. We were actually told to wear the UV maps and I managed to take some snapshots after the event, so that I can study how the textures are mapped and work on clothing accordingly. Having only used Photoshop CS, I think I want to switch to GIMP, which is free!

Anyway, classes at NCI are free, do check out the schedules and see what interest you. Maybe we will see each other in class one day.

Working at a casino

For newbies, one of the places where you can easily earn money without doing much is at a casino. Most of these casinos have camping chairs (usually in front of their slot machines) where you can earn L$2-3 every 10 minutes just by sitting there. Of course, there are other ways to earn money too.

I took up a job at a casino as a security guard. It paid L$1 every 6 minutes, just standing there in the casino's uniform. They even provide a gun for you too! Other jobs at casinos include doorman (standing at the entrance) as well as pole dancers.

There are other jobs too, such as road sweeper (which I have already done as a first job), cleaning windows and even planting flowers! So there is no shortage of ways to earn money in SecondLife, but it can be boring just doing the same thing over and over again. But then, I guess that until my creations start to sell, I may just have to stick with these jobs to earn an income.

First Job

I got my first job today, sweeping the floor outside a mall. You can see poor me below, sweeping away for a meagre pay of L$1 every 10min. This happens when you cannot find a camping chair... but they don't pay for long anyway. This job, I can earn up to L$500... but that means 5000min on the job! That's more than 80 hours... or more than 3 days.

But I need the money, else I won't be able to upload more textures for use in my creations. Some people work at jobs and forgo their dreams. Some people work at jobs so as to be able to pursue their dreams.

Freebie Dungeon

This is yet another newbie area, with lots of freebies. There is an attempt to group the types of freebies available, but generally, things are lying around in crates and boxes, and you have to walk around to find the things you need. There are some animations and gestures here that may interest you, as well as poseballs. As with other freebie areas, there are lots of free clothes too. You will be spoilt for choices here.

The Shelter

This is definitely a newbie place. Here, newbies can get freebies, and they can use the dance floor to dance, the bar to get a drink and meet people. It is a great place to start, I made some friends here.

GNUbie Store

Free stuff here too, with some of them costing L$1. The layout is a bit confusing, though, since they are arranged by designers rather than by types (skins, hair, clothes, etc).

Sarah Nerd's Newbies Paradise

This place is full of freebies, and is a good place for a newbie to start acquiring much needed fashion. There is also a money tree, where newbies can try to get L$ off the tree (yes, money does grow on trees). But like The Free Dove, most of the people here are here for the stuff they can get, so there is little interaction.

New Citizens Plaza

This place is great! Not only are there lots of people around, there are lots of freebies too. There is also a ball in a corner of the building which gives out L$ to newbies. There is even a small plot of land here that you can "own" by joining one of the groups here (NCI Home Owners), after which you can set that piece of land as home. A public sandbox is here too for those who want to build, or learn to build. There are quite a few people here willing to teach newbies. Definitely newbie-friendly.

The Free Dove

This was the first newbie store that I visited, and I didn't regret it. There are tons of stuff here, from clothes to shoes to hair and skin. They are organised into sections, and there are even some items for guys, so it is not just an exclusive ladies' thing. But most of the people here are here with a purpose: to shop. And thus there wasn't much learnt here. Just pick up the freebies and move on.