WTH HAPPENED?????

Yes this is another SL post but a slightly different one than usual.
SL is a LOT of fun. You get together with other people via their Avatars and party and cut up and usually have a blast.

But there is a dark side to SL- and just like in RL there are some really strange and disturbing people in that world.

In SL women have a few choices for jobs available to them to earn money. From the most profitable to the least are:
*Business Owners-. IF they have enough funds to set a business up or can find a partner/partners to invest with them.
* Escorts-Also along the same profits level as business owners(sometimes more). Sex sells. BIG TIME.
*Dancers- lots of different kinds- from hostess types to stage dancers to topless to full nudity.
* Gamblers
*Dance-Pads-Dance on a pad for a few Linden for 10 or 20 minutes.
*Campers- sit in a certain area for a few Linden an hour, or basically just be a warm body to fill the space and be a draw for others coming in to the establishment.
*Gambling

Now in SL I'm a dancer. And I'm very new at it. I've been being coached by one of Paulius friends and one of my friends in SL and my stage debut was yesterday afternoon.
It was NOT a pleasant experience for me.

The club was holding a gambling event and I decided it was the perfect time to debut. Not too many people there and what was there would be interested in the gambling more than my dancing so any mistakes I made would be easily covered if they were noticed at all. Unfortunately, Paulius couldn't be there because 1-he wasn't feeling well in RL & 2-We only have one computer and it doesn't have enough memory for us both to be logged into SL with a duel screen.(THAT will be rectified before I go back on stage tho).

A few people began showing up at the event as Adav was on stage dancing. I was watching from the comfort of my office chair as my avatar was on stage. Well, this strange guy came in and was literally running all around acting like a total moron- as long as he wasn't being overly obnoxious the staff sort of ignores ppl like him in the name of having fun. Being too strict and serious can drive business away and that's not good for an owner of ANY type business- especially a club. Weapons and REALLY obnoxious behavior are about the only things you can get in real trouble for in SL. Well, when the dude got close enough to me I caught bits and pieces of what he was saying to some of the girls. Not very nice stuff- but if they weren't objecting who was I to say anything. But I did keep an eye on him. He finally gave up on the floor and came and sat in front of the stage. Very well behaved- didn't say one single word- just watched a while and then walked around a few minutes and then came back up to the stage for a few minutes and then left to run around a bit more.
At this point I had had enough of the dancing- people weren't tipping - they were there to WIN money, not spend it- so I called it a day. When I clicked on the avatar to stop her dance mode she stopped dancing, but instead of stopping on the platform- she stopped and was beside the stage.
(SL has been having some problems this week and it was just another glitch, so rather than wrestle with the controls trying to get Adav back of the stage and into the dressing room that way, I took her to the side entrance beside the bar.)
Unfortunately, as the door to the dressing room was closing, "Mr Weird Crazy Dude" ran into the room with her.
He ran around the room and then stood in front of the door- not trying to go out- but facing Adav and not saying a word. Very creepy.

Adav told him he had to leave- it was a "staff only" area. He just stood there and ignored her and so she repeated it again. He finally did leave after a couple minutes.

Maybe it IS just a game- but that really freaked me out. I've had a couple bad experiences like that in RL that didn't end that well and let me just say that Mr. Weird Avatar brought back some really bad memories.

I re-dressed Adav in street clothes and brought her back out to the club floor- but Mr. Weirdo was gone by then.(It took quite a while for me to get Adav re-dressed I was shaking so badly)
All the other staff was busy at the gambling machines and hadn't even realised that the dude had went in there behind Adav- or if they did notice they didn't say or do anything about it. So much for anyone looking out for ME when I'm dancing.

Okay- so here's the thing..........The scariest part of the whole episode wasn't what the dude did-altho it was upsetting- it was how I had reacted. I mean it was two freaking Avatars in an isolated room and I absolutely panicked. I had been watching this dude act strangely all afternoon and when he came into the room like that I froze in RL!!

WTF??????

Me- who has has self defense classes out the ass because of the RL situations- I've had TACT training, Anti-terrorism drills and I'm an expert marksman with a 38 & a 9mm. And I EFFING FROZE!

Now, before you go telling me that I take this game wayyyyyy too seriously, let me just point out that playing games like these teaches us things about life experiences and about who and what we are in life. And this little game had just given me a few questions I still can't answer.

Would I freeze up like that if I were confronted with a situation like that in real life? Would everything I've been taught and trained to do and say just fly right out of my head like it did in the dressing room?
It scares the hell out of me to think that maybe I would freeze up.
Maybe I AM making too much of it- but I'm one of those people who likes to be prepared for anything life can throw at me. I don't like surprises- especially the kind that could make me a potential victim again.

Maybe it's time to re-take a couple classes.

Don't let this little episode influence you to NOT try SL- it's only the 2nd weirdo I've encountered in that world and the majority of the people are friendly, fun-loving and helpful.

There are weirdos no matter what world you're in.