The hardest aspect of our relationship to explain is always going to be the very early stages when we were restricted to Second Life's real time, text-only communications. What developed over the months was more than mere friendship. How we progressed to that stage using such a basic medium and with my avatar dressed for the most part in a Groucho mask, Groucho slippers and a dunce cap is bound to arouse skepticism about just how serious a friendship could actually develop under such circumstances.
In our defense, both of us were just in Second Life for the pure escapist fun of it, both our defenses were down, and during our few serious moments we soon realized that we shared a lot of common ground. So from the instant Pied Pfeffer appeared before me up to our logical progression into webcam territory, I found myself nightly in Pied's company, grinning like a Cheshire cat at our increasingly juvenile antics.
Pied is long gone now though; Lisa Jane and I have progressed too far to return to the innocent silliness of Second Life. I look back now and see only the restrictions that SL imposed upon us and would never be tempted to try to return and relive it.
The two most memorable incidents during this period were both in real life, and both occurred whilst chatting online with Lisa. One was quite a violent earthquake by British standards: shaking the house with a low rumble the likes of which I have never encountered before or indeed since. [Those of us within his SL company at the time thought it was only a large truck rumbling through his neighborhood and were immediately proven wrong shortly afterwards by the internet reports of an English earthquake. -LJL]
Secondly was the discovery that my unappealing, large, rented house had a serious vermin problem: that is if you consider a rat emerging from the wall cavity and nosily exploring the living room serious. [I named the rat Mortimer. -LJL]
A new idea occurred; I moved all my belongings upstairs, kept the living room door permanently shut and thought about perhaps selling my own empty home with the intention of buying a house more suited to a married couple. Our relationship was at much too early a stage to make any concrete decisions but the first small germs of an idea where forming and I knew it would be advantageous to just continue on within this squalid, old residence for a time until I could fully ascertain just where this friendship was heading.
Andrew
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