Just Random Ramblin'

I have all these things I want to talk about, but some have to wait for now, and others are probably going to stoke a fire that would not be good for anyone's blood pressure :)  So I'm going with random ramblin' tonight on a few different topics! Kinda like my puppy tears through my house which we now affectionately refer to as being Rorycaned. I think he probably qualifies as his own storm type, but I doubt the NWS would allow me to do so!

First, my apologies for not blogging last week. We were so consumed with the grid roll and the hardware changes on the back end, which got delayed, that my day off was shot to smithereens hehe. 

As you all know, we released the currency exchange this last week. Majority seem happy with it, however, we have a few who are discontent. This never makes me happy. These are the times I wish I could speed up time and have everything in place for everyone and then everyone would be happy as ducks in water. Sadly, this is not the case, and we have to move one step at a time, but rest assured, our goals are to ensure that particularly in this endeavor, we satisfy as many people as possible. I have come to learn, can't please all of the people all the time, but I do think this is one of those times, we can make a whole slew of them happy over time.

We're also having quite the discussion about the marketplace / search and how it will all tie in together. Kind of interesting, it's one of those crossroads we're at where we know we can do it differently, but will it be better than what most are used to? Hopefully so, as we continue to take in our residents suggestions and feedback so we can lay a solid foundation to work from.

The other trend I'm noticing, is region sales. It seems land is not stagnating when placed for sale, so this has me slightly intrigued. I'm looking at the things I have to do to transfer a region to a new owner (no small feat believe it or not), and how we can streamline this process for our end users so they aren't waiting on me. Alongside of this is the region moving or server shuffles I'm finding myself engaged in for the last couple of weeks. Again, another that is no small feat to do, it's like playing with one of those big shuffle puzzles, 585 regions with 1 extra tile to make everything work right. Fortunately, I was always good at those puzzles  ;)

We also released our real life info this last week. So, let me give a short intro of myself, and really, this needs to go up on the wiki, or somewhere but who's looking right? As much as I love my chosen InWorldz name (although, Llewellyn, well hmmm, yeah that's all I'll say there), my rl name is Beth Reischl (you can also see this on our FAQ). I was a hellion growing up, but was an overachiever. Didn't take much either, as I have an excellent photographic memory and the school system I was in wasn't high on homework. They believed in test grades being the proof in the pudding. My dad started his own business back when I was in High School, he wrote software for CO2 industrial lasers. For those who want to know what that means, it means they cut steel about an 1 1/2" thick. Not the kind you want to play around with.

The software was the translator between DXF file outputs (we typically used AutoDesk's AutoCAD, which back then was version 1.2 when I learned it) into CNC (computer numerical control) language for the lasers. I had this knack, for listening to his support calls and understanding exactly what the customer was asking. At that time, Windows was still a twinkle is Mister Gates' eyes. So the software was written in QBasic, and running on CGA monitors. Wow we've come a long way  :)  My first training for him was in OR over my senior year Christmas break. Zomgs, talk about learning how to roll with code and fixing things on the fly! That was an interesting training needless to say. From there, I handled all the training, wrote our training manuals, moved into handling sales, also did alot of custom work in digitizing. Don't ever ask me to draw you diddly on a piece of paper as I can't. But give me a CAD program and I can do anything on them, probably why I love VW's so much. I also spent my time that year, becoming certified in MI to teach AutoCAD to our customers, was really kinda wasted on me by that time, but was the paper cert I needed for validation. Our customers included Mitsubishi, Anorad, Amada and a few other laser companies. Mitsubishi eventually bought out the business about 6 years later, and my father was going to ghost write the code and I could continue with a new business, but I wasn't ready at that time. Too much responsibility after roughly 6 years of steady travel, little social life, and too many other things going on.

So I took my sales and support experience and went to work for Michigan Rx. They sold prescription pharmaceuticals to pharmacies. At the time they were in 6 states around MI, but the time McKesson bought them out 3 years later, I had been responsible for branching us out into 35 states by then, and handled a team of 5 sales associates. I went through our stock, made sure what we needed to get rid of, put together our sales flyers, handled support of any customer, and generally worked as a go between on accounts that were past due and the billing department. It was at this time I had my first daughter, then moved to Chicago.

From there, I worked for PowerDirect. Not necessarily a company I want to discuss, but there it is. Again, I set sales records, handled customer support, and was generally considered the closer on any potential accounts that needed a final closing on. Two years later, I had my second daughter.

My youngest, is diagnosed ADHD, Bi Polar and ODD (oppositional defiance disorder), and her diagnoses shook my world quite a bit. The mortality rate is not good for them, especially in the teen years. So, I heeded the advice of my mother and quit working to make sure she got whatever she needed in the form of counseling and so on.

Somewhere along those years of raising my kids, I got introduced to Second Life, and loved the entire concept, not to mention it gave me my social outreach I needed. The only thing that bothered me, was as a single mom of two girls, who was more interested in seeing them get to adulthood than jetsetting my own career, I could never afford my own sim there. Even owning a 1/4 parcel really stretched me thin. So my dear friend, Bob Bunderfeld (who shall NEVER live this down btw) introduced me to another grid where it was far more affordable, more prims, the whole nine yards. I was in heaven. Well, for a short while. A few of us got tired of having issues there, and nothing being fixed and false promises. So we said, we can do this better. And we set out to do just that.

Here we are today. I look at our residents, our disabled, our different, our single mom's and dad's, our older folks, and sometimes I get a little teary, because I've been there. We get your thanks, and we really do get it. We understand completely. We know for that so many of our residents, this isn't just a hobby, it's a way of life, a way to throw off the rl shackles, the way to express yourself in no other medium. It's a way to be the real you rather than what you're forced to be.

On that note, I think I've probably rambled enough. See ya InWorldz  :)