Paul Monaco .com

I haven’t talked much about The Sims Online here mainly because I didn’t think it would be a long term addiction for me, mostly because from my perspective it simply looked like a piece of gaming history I should look at before it disappeared. Well, simply put I was wrong and the game apparently is here to stay with development underway. (Check out TSO-e for the scoop)

So, that said…. I thought I’d start sharing some of my sims with you and unmask my anonymity a bit. One of the most common complaints amongst players is the out of control economy within the games. With very little effort, one quickly finds ways of acquiring obscene amounts of Simoleans (the in-game currency) that totally negate the pricing of objects and makes getting a sim-job a waste of time.

I gathered up a quick 50-Million and happily went about my sim-life building and buying and having a grand old time. Fortunately I’ve made a few really good friends in the game and now for me it’s essential a cool chat room with game play taking a back seat. I often wondered what it would have been like if I had played the game back in the beginning, when it played as intended. which of course gave me the idea to create Shoten Zenjin! A new sim that will live his SL has intended. Selling his $50 paintings and earning his $100 a day at the robot factory.

Shoten is a fairly new sim and has yet to make a lot of friends however, he is truly having a good time going to work. Regrettably, he’s the only one that seems to ever show up at the factory so production (and his pay) are down. None the less, having a great time with this guy and I’ll be reporting back on his progress.

Shoten Zenjin is born!

What a wonderful weekend this turned out be with yet another example of how the Mystic Law really works for me. Let me back track a bit a bit, as I haven’t been keeping up with my blog as well as I should. I have been diagnosed with type-2 diabetes for a few years now. It was well under control with oral medication and diet. But a year ago, when I quit smoking I started to gain weight which is partially to blame on my lower pulse rate from quitting but also very much because I’ve started eating like the pig that I am!

So, after about a year of perfect lab results I get a call from my doctor telling me my A1C level is out of whack.

Of course I quickly add a note to my daimoku chart where I keep a list of all the things I wish to chant for as well as keep track of how much chanting I do. I’ve been really neglegent in actually logging my daimoku but I do often look at it prior to my sessions and it does act as an excellent reminder.

So as I chant for the ambition to get out more, exercise and eat properly I find out about the exhibit coexistence that will be in Hartford, Connecticut. What better way to get out into the fresh air, do a little walking and reflect upon cultural diversity, tolerance and world peace? So today I venture out to the city (now you real city folks, stop laughing.. I know Hartford is far from a big city!)… And I find the exhibit.. everywhere… and I mean everywhere. It sprawled around a very large block with a lot of nothing in between pieces. I drove around several times, trying to find a spot that I was comfortable leaving my car at but was unsuccessful. I quickly realized that this was the type of exhibit that would most be enjoyed by those who are actually a part of the city.. eating.. working and playing on a daily basis. Perhaps if I didn’t go alone I would have been more bold but not today.

As you can probably read into that last paragraph I can be easily intimidated by the unknown and walking into unfamiliar environments. During today’s morning gongyo I did take advantage of daimoku to build up the gumption to go and I was really close to simply forgetting the whole idea. But I knew that I needed to just dive into this little challenge and see where it takes me. So… ready to leave the city I key into my GPS for directions to one of my favorite little diners that I haven’t been to in a long time, Mickey’s Oceanic Grill. As luck would have it, they weren’t open. So…..

It’s still early enough where I don’t really need to eat lunch yet, and still in need of some exercise I wander around the corner to the Great River Park where I very pleasantly suprised! It’s been years since I’ve been here and really didn’t expect much more then a little public boat launch area. I ended up walking for about 2-hours up and down the Connecticut river shooting pictures and just enjoying the mild pre-summer day!

So, a quick summary…

1) I overcame my mild fear of venturing alone into the city.

2) I saved myself the calories of a roadside diner meal since they were closed and was redirected to a park where…

3) I ended up walking much farther then I had originally intended and

4) re-inspired myself creatively by giving me a new photographic subject which…

5) I will return to continuing to satisfy my creative need and refueling my motivation to exercise in a fresh new environment to explore.

and… hidden benefit

6) There is a pedestrian bridge that links East Hartford and Hartford. As I increase my walk I’ll also be venturing into the city a bit without the worry of where to park my car.

Perhaps even more experiences lay ahead!

Here’s my elusive cat, Tabitha. (Click photo for larger image) She rarely sits still long enough to get a good portrait of her. I was hoping this one was salvagable but I’m not happy with it to send it to a print. I’m really eager to get some good pictures of her as she is well over 14 years old now and I don’t think she’ll be with me a whole lot longer.

Lately, the creative side of me has really been itching. My problem is that I haven’t found an outlet that satisfies me fully, or that I enough natural talents to nurture. Of course one could argue the the beauty of art it within the artist. I have found myself very fascinated with sound lately. I spend several hours this morning simply creating harmonics by processing a guitar though reverberation and other effect. I seem to be really drawn to low-fi.