Side of the Road in SL

Location: Sansara Mainland

Tough day at work. And by the time I got home, there was no time to garden. So I hit the virtual road in SL, as I'm wont to do when I need to clear my head.

I learned the term "samsara" in a Buddhism class many years ago, as a cycle in which we are born, die, and are reborn through the ages. I had, perhaps erroneously, associated it with suffering. Nirvana, on the other hand, meant perfection achieved beyond the circles of our world.

So when I set out, from my usual spot near Prokofy Neva's Memory Bazaar, I did not realize that my favored mainland for motoring was called Sansara. It's SL's "Old Continent," suggested by Robin Linden many years ago. I found a vehicle rezzing area with the handy map, shown above. After more than two years, my old home has a name.

Fun abounds on Sansara's roads. I wanted to see how many truly "adult" businesses remain, now that the Linden Lab policies regarding the mainland will force them to move. Only one sighting: a kinky toy-store called "Divine Discipline," which had a person on my friends list suggesting that it re-brand as a form of Catholic education. I know I was beaten a lot by nuns and priests...might be a model for the shop's survival in SL.

Not long before I spotted this shop, I came across a lovely juxtaposition. First, there is this Celebrity-Skin emporium. It's clearly designed for motorists like me, but as usual I passed no other vehicles. A few pedestrians wandered around, and I did my best not to hit them.


Then, right next door, there was a seemingly educational exhibit on urinary sediments. Since the billboard had no interactivity, I was left to guess at its purpose.


I'm not one to judge, but the proximity was so ironic that I cackled long and hard.


Then my car vanished at a sim-crossing...and I floated far above the cycles of hyperbole and despair. If the mainland vanishes one day, or just becomes a huge park with highways, I will miss this tawdry glory.