Abnor Mole's Speech for Bellisseria Mole Day

 

On Friday August 30 at 10 AM, Abnor Mole gave a speech to a crowd in Bellisseria. This would be the opening event of the Mole Day Celebration Weekend. While no one at the Newser could be there, the speech would be offered in a notecard in the Bellisseria group.

 

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Hello everyone! Thank you for coming.

As many of you know, today is the beginning of a major holiday weekend in the US… Labor day… a day to recognize the contributions of everyday working people and their contributions to society. And I think most of you already know this, but a group of moles is referred to as a ‘labour’ of moles… so, it is quite appropriate since that is exactly what LDPW Moles do. While most of you are here to play, we are here to work; toiling away building things not for ourselves but for all of you.

It is something we have been doing since 2008. Creating everything from the roads that span across the mainland to games like Paleoquest and Linden Realms… and if you haven’t played those in a while I highly suggest trying them out again. Even though they are nearly 10 years old at this point they are still quite fun. And if you have payment info and have used it (and if you live in Bellisseria you are Premium or Premium plus, so you have) you can even get a few L$ for playing.

Then there are the season regions like Isle of View for Valentines… (say it out loud if you haven’t gotten that particular pun yet)... Winter Wonderland, and the Halloween Ride, which should be coming back in the not too distant future like it does every year. That one still impresses me. It too is a little long in the tooth, but it is still one of the best Halloween experiences in SL I have ever seen.

Then comes the big one… Bellisseria. What started out as a facelift for the old Linden Homes morphed into something huge. Because you all loved it and appreciated it soooooo much, it morphed into something so far beyond its original scope it boggles the mind. Over 3000 regions and counting, 12 themes and more on the way. Roads, bridges, railroads and waterways that connect most of the original continents with a new continent all its own… all built with you in mind by a huge team of people working hand in hand to make it happen and bring features and amenities for you all to enjoy as an individual and as a community. An area so huge that you can sail, fly or drive from practically one end of Second Life to the other. I’ve done it! The bad news is it will take you all day, but the good news is, it… will… take… you… ALL… DAY. ;D

We appreciate every thank you we get from all of you of course, but what really warms our hearts the most is when we see you using and enjoying it. As any of you who have built things know, nothing is as disheartening as when you build something or plan something and you put all of your heart and soul into it… and nobody comes… Or they come, look around, say “meh” and leave. Like when you give someone this handmade gift that you worked on for a whole year and they put it down and leave it untouched.

But that isn’t what you all have done. We see you living in the homes we built and placed with care. We watch as you sail by or drive your cars and trucks through the neighborhoods. That.. that right there is the biggest thank you we can receive, because we know you love and appreciate what we built and are using it every day as a part of your SL lives. Decorating your homes, having friends over, maybe driving to an airfield and flying across the grid.

Of course then you hit a bad crossing and everyone is like… “OMG! WHAT HAPPENED? DID I CRASH? WHO IS FLYING? JERRY? JERRY!?!?!!! OMG JERRY CRASHED!!! WE’RE GOING DOWN!!! AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!” and you crash into someone’s backyard in the ranch homes and their cow is staring are you. Jerry logs back in and you tp him there and it’s like “Um… Jerry? Where are your clothes?”

Yes, we complain about those things when they happen. Buggy region crossings… clothes not rendering… But years from now you’ll be with your friends and say, “Remember that time we crashed into that cow and Jerry lost all his clothes?” and one of them will say, “Yeah, that’s how we met Lexi.” and Lexi will say “That was my house and that cow was never the same after that. You still owe me a cow, Jerry.”

The point being, those things are what makes Second Life fun. It’s why we are here, to have those crazy fun experiences. But to have them you need a place for it to happen. And that is what we try to build for you. Not a place where we entertain you, but a place where you all can entertain yourselves and each other. And when we see you all doing just that, it is the most satisfying form of a thank you we can ever receive.

So on behalf of myself and the entire LDPW team I just want to end by saying…
It is our pleasure, and thank you. 

 

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It was stated there would be a video of the event available later, but as of the writing of this, so far the Newser has not come across one.

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Abnor Mole's Trolley Ride

 

By Bixyl Shuftan

 

On Wednesday December 28, I noticed Abnor Mole ask a question in Bellisseria chat, "How many people can fit on a trolley?" Someone responded, "No. But you can always call over people and find out." Abnor then sent a link to a location in Chippewa Junction. I sent an alt over, and a number of residents were already over, joining Abnor and Moonstruck Mole. "Make sure you turn your AO off and sit on an empty seat." "Click on a seat, not just the train." But there was soon little to no room on the seats, "Looks like the roof is a good place to sit too."

 

About twenty were about to get on the trolley, including myself and the two moles. We then headed down the track, going around the "boot" of the older part of western Bellisseria. Moonstruck commented, "Abnor and I weren't just looking for excuses to ride around today, nope. Not us." Of the one guy on the roof, there were some jokes, "Sit down you will be loosing your head when we come across a tunnel." He just chuckled, "Nice time for my face to be frozen in a terrified grin ...."

Our trip took us through some scenery, "Hey, we just passed my cafe!" We went through the campground area, "The only thing missing is the cables, and the eerie electrical noise they make at times." It would also take us through some rough but picturesque terrain. Someone got knocked off, but got back on, "Omg, I saw myself in the air!!!" The guy on the roof stayed on, though, "Good thing we don't want you to loose your head." "(chuckle) Thanks ... I don't either. Expensive head (chuckle)." Eventually though, we passed under a bar, "Careful of your head! Eep!" "Marius, did you keep your head?" "Marius is dead now." But the guy smiled, "I am reborn!"

Talk about the seating arrangement continued, "Try to seat on an empty seat." "Trying to sit but it says nothing available. Oh wait, I'm on it now." "I tried a seat and ended up on the levers. The train decides!" "Yes sitting backwards like I'm going to fall off. *evily laughs*" The guy on the roof commented, "It does decide as it keeps putting me up here." "... f sat properly we should get a menu upon seating and be able to change place if there is at least one left free." "I think we're out of seats... it's just attaching us to door frames and stuff." "I think the trolley needs seating poses that have us hanging from the poles like in real-life (grin)."

Still, the trip went on, "This tram is made especially for Bellisseria, so its perfect for here... and for riding with friends (smile)." "It is a good looking trolley." "Yes, I love the look." "The rail system is one of the most exciting things happening these days.  It's so cool to witness it being worked on." Moonstruck would say, "They do have a bunch of diff ones." 

Then the trail seemed to be getting off the tracks. "Derailing!" "Trolley!! NO!! You can do it!! We believe in you!" "Calls Squeaky.... we need help!!" Then the car got back on the rails, "Oh .... ok again *phew*" "Poor trolley," Moonstruck commented, "didnt want to go home yet." "Think it feels abused" someone asked. Moonstruck didn't think so, "It likes you all I think." "Gonna need loads of maint soon, haha." Abnor admitted, "The script errors are getting very graphic."

Eventually, the trip ended back where it had started, Chippewa Junction. "Home again, Home again jiggity jig," Moonstruck mused. We got off, thanked Abnor for the ride, "Thanks for the fun ride." "Thank you too for inviting us." "Thanks for the ride!... and the fun!!" "That was so fun! Thank you for the invitation!" " Have a wonderful day, everyone! Thanks for the fun times." Abnor thanked us back, "Thank you everyone for the successful pile on test." "Thank you all so much for taking a ride with us!" Moonstruck told everyone, then mused, "Make sure to pick Abnors pocket before you go!"

 

It was a fun little trolley ride with two of the Linden Moles.

Bixyl Shuftan