Well, heLLO! Thanks ever so much for dropping by. Can I get you anything? Muscat grapes? Muskrat crépes? Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan? Welcome to my new home-away-from-den, courtesy of Weebly. Thanks to TechChick for bringing these guys to my attention. As I'm getting used to these new digs, I'm going to republish past blog posts for your edification and my laziness. Stay tuned, don't touch that dial, watch the skies, don't take any ticking nickels! My first post follows, from Wednesday, October 12, 2005:
Hi, I'm Akela. You may know me from such persistent online worlds as Second Life, and -- well, really, that's the only one. I'm glad you've come. Please remove your shoes, and get that thing out of your mouth. C'mon, we're professionals here.
I wanted to talk a little bit about identity. If you know me only as Akela Talamasca, it may surprise you to know that I do have another identity, one which is shrouded in secrecy, mystery, and, occasionally, corn chips. This identity I playfully refer to as the Real World Self (or RWS). He's the one who pays the bills, calls the shots, greases the palms, and buys the yachts. He keeps me in the style to which I've become accustomed: an endless supply of kibble, a solid titanium scratching post, and just the cutest li'l flea collar you ever did see.
I, on the other hand, am a figment. I exist only when someone thinks of me. Fortunately, the RWS thinks of me virtually all the time, so I rarely have to endure the yowling void that is Unexistence. Occasionally, though, the RWS will find other matters too pressing to deliberately concentrate on maintaining my reality, and off I go into the Wild Blue (it's not as thrilling as it sounds, believe me -- maybe I'll talk about it sometime. Brrrrrr).
So, I'd like to ask a favor of you, and this will be the only thing I ask: keep me in mind. When walking your dog, think to yourself "Wow, Stubby's little beady eyes really remind me of Akela, and the adorable way he has of cocking his head to one side when he doesn't understand something, which is, let's face it, frequently." While you're out shopping, take notice of the impulse items near the checkout stand and say "Good lord, that Paris Hilton is revolting. You know what Akela would say? Probably something hilarious and cutting and beginning with the letter 'J'." During those times when you're bored with nothing to do but love your family and friends, suddenly stand and exclaim "By all that is holy and yummy, Akela Talamasca is a Force for Good in our time!"
If you're in the restroom, you can stop thinking of me. I don't need to exist that bad, you know what I'm saying?
Identity is a funny, fluid concept. We roleplay every day of our lives, all the time, whether or not we realize it. We play the parts of employee; lover; sibling; friend; Greg the Handyman who dropped by to "fix the shower" but uh-oh, his tight jeans have popped open at the button-fly; and many others. We are rarely, if ever, what we might think of as our 'True Selves', especially when around other people. Everything we do and say is colored by our past experiences, our expectations of ourselves and others based on those experiences, and our immediate needs, whatever they might be at the time. We modify our behaviors all the time to get what we want.
It's a natural occurrence, this roleplaying. We seem to need it simply to get through the days. The point I want to make here is that it's important to be aware that you're doing it, and conversely, to be aware that others are doing it too. When you think about this (and that's your homework, due the next time you visit this blog), you're bound to realize all manner of crazy things, many of which will be True. I invite you to leave me your thoughts. And the next time you're idly waiting in line to buy that trampoline you've been promising yourself, think of me, and give me a little skritch beneath my chin; I love that.
business is business, action is action
Akela