In which Oprah crashes a wedding and rubs elbows with Bill Gates
July 20, 2008 at 8:38 p.m.
I've been invited to a party this weekend, courtesy of a random fellow named Anver Chapman. The party is at a location called "Oasis," the invitation says, and will be a weekend-long beachfront blowout. I'm interested to see what a party in this virtual world is like, but the first thing I have to do is find it. So I type "Oasis" into the match function and opted to explore each of the locations that came up. In a rather disappointing turn, none of them had to do with the Britpop band. But I digress.
The first stop on my Tour de Oases is Oasis Cove, a placid beachfront marked with American and rainbow flags. While indeed a gorgeous beach, this is clearly not the place "Anver" told me about, as there is no one here. Still, itching to explore, I stumble upon a cabana by the water, the strikingly realistic sounds of the waves and seagulls filling the air. I relax on a comfy lounge chair with a tropical drink and a book, and relish, briefly, in the luxurious summer vacation I never had.
A place just labeled "Oasis the Tor" is next, and from the looks of it, it's a place to pick up accessories and mannerisms to become the fiercest pirate on the pixelated seas. All of the chests and signs here are in Spanish, and I look forward to communicating with someone here in another language I actually understand. But unfortunately, this place is vacant as well.
The first person who greets me at Oasis Isle is another famously-named avatar: Bill Gates. He sits in the corner of a European cafe in the center of a cute little boardwalk town that could just as easily be part of the French Riviera or Ocean City, Maryland. He can't be bothered with me, glued to his laptop aside from a brief exchange of hellos. I grab a coffee and set out to do some exploring.
Much of the boardwalk is dotted with shops, which do me no good because I have yet to find a means for making money in Second Life. The most intriguing of these is one just called "Weird Shit," which features costumes of all stripes. There are a lot of costume contests in Second Life with Linden Dollar prizes; one for Sci-Fi characters was publicized during my adventures today. At the end of the dock is a fishing game for prize money, facilitated by a man who goes by "Shark Hunter." After about ten minutes of fishing, I hold the top two spots, although my position in first was later overtaken. Bummer.
I leave Oasis Bay after about a minute and a half, seeing as it is a posh resort community with villas that I have yet to be able to afford to buy.
The last place I manage to go is Oasis Island, a lavish "Grown and Sexy" hangout where it is always sunset, the bar is always open and DJ Big D spins smooth jazz to get the crowd in the mood. I dance a little bit, order a few drinks and continue to explore. There is a pirate ship on the island, furnished with only a bed, a secluded place for amorous avatars to get some lovin' at sea.
Elsewhere on the island is an ornate pavilion with church pews and flowers at every turn, and it hits me that this is an outdoor wedding chapel. Here, dating, the wedding, the wedding night and the honeymoon are all available for avatars ready to take the plunge. The site is a little jarring and raises a ton of questions: do people really get married and have serious relationships on this site? How do the people in their real life feel about it? I decide it's best to find someone to ask and make my way into the ballroom.
The crowd here, mostly in formal attire and grooving to some R&B slow jams, is a lot more welcoming than the crowd I encountered before at the Stardust Cafe. Everyone says hello and no one makes fun of my name. Then I notice one couple, whose avatars' names are Savannah and Wolverine, are decked out in a white gown and tuxedo, respectively. They're a bride and groom, and this party is their Second Life wedding reception. Savannah's affirmation of "I love you, Wolverine," comes up on the open chat where everyone in the room can read. I've crashed a Second Life wedding, and I'm suddenly very uncomfortable, more because I feel bad showing up uninvited than because I just watched two people have their first dance in holy cyber-matrimony. I leave through the back door and opt to go back to Oasis Cove, my first stop, to rest and absorb the festivities.
Unfortunately, I never found the Oasis party. And despite all my travels, I'm still kind of disappointed. Anver Chapman, you owe me.
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