As demonstrated in my earlier post, Second Life can never be properly explained in text. Even attempting to come up with a montage of scenes to capture the essence and possibilities of Second Life is difficult.

Andy (Marcellus Cantteneo), who believes that Second Life in its current state is only good for perverts and deviants, suggested he could smoke a bong. There was talk of following him to buy products that would make his avatar a fully equipped male. Yes, a penis.

“Yeah, drugs and sex are okay. Except when I mention alcohol I get a slap on the hand,” said Zach in exasperation.

I can only imagine what the others sitting around us in the Academic Advancement Center, thought about that conversation.

Ryan (Blargo Swindlehurst) was finally able to bring us back to the dialogue we were supposed to be writing, and the rough storyboarding of our actions. Zach seemed tired, but smiled, rubbed his forehead and commented on how glad he was we were doing this piece. According to him, it was a stress reliever. Soon after that he gathered his gear and left us to our own devices, probably wondering if that was such a good idea.

Even though we began our adventure around 3 p.m., filming didn’t begin until almost two hours later, however, as we spent way too much time exploring the capabilities of Second Life and teaching KidCharlie Congrejo how to fall off the roof on cue.

In the five hours we spent in the AAC we learned how to dance, how to push people out of our way, how to give each other clothing, tattoos and other items like hats and blunts. At one point I had to tell Marcellus to shut off his weapons (helpful hint: don’t have or use weapons on OU’s island, you will get kicked off).

KidCharlie, with his cape, straw hat, blunt and glass of water kept experimenting with the “drunk” gesture, trying to perfect his impending fall from the roof of the Arts & Music Center. Marcellus, having had to give up his weapons, would not stop dancing, using the most effeminate dance animation I had seen yet. Blargo kept changing his appearance every five minutes, so I kept losing track of where he was. At one point I overheard two women talking about how they came across what sounded like a nudist island.

It was a chaotic five hours in which we spent maybe half that time actually filming, and even after recording the audio I still have no idea how Blargo’s video will come out or how it will look. But if our experience was any indication, it will probably be just as chaotic and shocking, as it should be.

I’m pretty sure Zach Wise just called me a bigger geek than him.

Although, the truth is, you don’t have to be particularly geeky to enjoy the virtual trip, the alternative world, the parallel universe that is Second Life. With Ohio University leading the nation’s universities in development and design in Second Life, it’s natural that the Soul of Athens team would want to delve deeper into the newest wave in the realm of online communities.

Student organizations, community programs and Athens residents can now engage on OU’s virtual campus, where the picturesque environment, from the gate to the bricks, has been re-imagined in a world where anyone can explore it and learn about everything that OU and Athens has to offer.

While I didn’t exactly convey the perks of Second Life to Zach or Ryan Navaroli, it didn’t matter, they were already convinced. Before I knew it Zach was pulling out a notepad and asking for my name. But he didn’t want my First Life name.

“My Second Life name is Meghan Gildea.” I proceeded to spell it out.

As Zach was writing, Ryan chimed in, “My name is Blargo Swindlehurst.” He said it with a smirk, prompting me to explain my lack of creativity.

“I didn’t realize you could pick a fun name when I chose it!”

If most of this post has sounded like complete gibberish, then clearly Second Life needs some explaining.

Simply put, it’s The Sims on crack.

It’s also a little bit of Athens: uninhibited, unpredictable, a place where there are no limits to your imagination, even if it is a tad creepy, at least at first.

Ryan sat back, relaxed, as we discussed ideas for exactly how to approach this project, in a realm almost unknown to most of Athens’ population. Yet, it’s one that would infect them soon enough, we just didn’t know how. As I left, however, I was sure Blargo would come up with an answer.

To learn more about Second Life and how to sign up for a free account go to http://secondlife.com. Just remember, once you pick a name, it’s yours forever. See you in World.