Andree plays the piano in Elfhame

The weather is supposed to be sunny and warm here this weekend. I'll believe it when I see it. Unfortunately, I will spend most of my time indoors trying to stay awake at meetings and working on two grants, one due on Monday and one due on Tuesday. My real life becomes more ridiculous by the minute.

I'm starting to think men from other countries, particularly European countries, are more well trained in manners than American men.

I can't wait to receive the backlash from that statement!

In SL, I have met men from Canada, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Portugal, India, Pakistan, UK, Norway and China. Of all these men, not one has thrown his calling card in my face and asked for sex. In fact, they have been very adamant about wanting friendship and not sex. It isn't only that; they have been very kind and thoughtful, preferring to put my wishes ahead of their's. My experiences with Lost and Andree have been good examples of this; they are both Portuegese.

Last night when I was with Andree, we went to Dance Island for awhile for dancing. I asked him to show me some places he had been. He TPed me to a London park that is like HPI and, then to a club he had never been to. His computer was crashing; the lag was incredible there. He left to relog and as I started to rez, I found it was an adult only place. I was accosted by an employee with questions as to whether I was a child avatar. I walked out and into the garden to wait for Andree. When he returned, I explained I didn't want to return to the club because I didn't belong there and the lag was very bad. He immediately said he didn't want to return and asked me to choose what we would do next. Is that not sweet? He didn't want me to feel uncomfortable and maybe he felt uncomfortable there, also. We did some exploring at Elfhame and went to VHEA to sign him up for job notices.

Andree hasn't asked me how old I am or what my job is, instead talking about our experiences in SL. He has never suggested I need to be taller or wear different clothes or hair. That, in itself, is refreshing.

Lost likes to consult me about his problems with people in SL; I think he is appalled by some of the behavior he has witnessed. This may be the other side of the coin. Are these American women who are incredibly rude to him? Maybe I'll have time later in the weekend to ask him.

I don't mean to insinuate all American men are rude, only they seem to be overwhelming focused on their desires and not on finding what may be a mutually enjoyable experience. I often feel like I am just an avatar in a big ocean of avatars and not like a person they would like to know. This is a challenge, then; prove me wrong!