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July 14, 2009

Hi, I’m Lorna Dietz.

I was invited to play the YoVille game by


an old friend. This was five days ago ---
and guess what, I got hooked!

Through my avatar, Magic Hands, I was


transformed into this “21 Forever” hip and
sassy woman with blonde hair and big,
blue eyes who chose a black long-sleeved
cardigan, beige Capri pants, and hot black
heels as her uniform.

Magic Hands was my old CB and VHF


handle. Ham Radio was the social
networking phenomenon in Cebu where I
lived. We had regular “eyeballs” with
friends. The moniker stuck. For many
people, Magic Hands was a provocative
and mysterious person. For me, it simply
meant that I created magic with my hands
whenever I baked cakes and pastries in
our once-existent bakeshop, Sally’s Home
My Avatar Bake Shop.

In In this virtual world at YoVille, all my


worries disappear. I discovered that I could
YoVille (Facebook) control my destiny. And why is that? In the
real world, I don’t have the answers to all
my problems. Here in YoVille, I can
manifest my intentions in pictures,
painstakingly decorating a room until it is
designed to my satisfaction.

I once worked as a showroom representative for a furniture leasing company --- for
almost seven years. I was thinking aloud as I played YoVille: “If this game existed in the
1990’s, Bob would surely have made it available for his sales representatives. If we had
YoVille then, we would have been renting furniture faster than selling hotcakes because
the potential client could actually see his or her furniture in a home that was being
staged to sell or how much of a budget the client had for furniture to furnish an empty
apartment.”

Let me give you a tour of the first room that I completed at my YoVille apartment: my
bedroom.

My tastes are definitely eclectic. I blame my friends, Kevin Phipps, Sharon Sweeney, Jay
Minemoto, Denise Hountalas, Gail Bailine Fitzgerald, Lorna Buick, Denise Monet, Lynn
Roberts, Vicky Conlin, Nancy Ottino and Frances Araneta for educating me about the
nuances of furniture design and interior decoration in my furniture leasing career.
I chose to retain the basic furniture that YoVille provided for me: The bed, Safari
nightstand, and a deep red velvety-type chair.

The first area that I focused my attention on was my Meditation Corner. In real life, I have
a corner in the living room for my altar. Although I couldn’t find any spiritual items or
candles, I used a small gold lamp that was part of the original YoVille apartment package.
I also bought a glass cocktail table for the lamp. A Zen stool has a place of honor right in
the center of this Meditation Corner. I was almost tempted to add a Zen Garden in this
area but I thought that this special place would become too “high maintenance.” After I
finished setting up this corner, I knew exactly what felt right for the rest of the bedroom.
I decided that I wanted a Mother Earth / Zen / Safari over-all feel for the room.

Next came my study desk where I could sit and write on my laptop computer and
compose letters on perfumed pink stationery. Techie meets Girlie Girl in one table! The
animal prints on the chair matched the leaf motif of the table and the sculpture beside it.
This became my work corner.
Since Brenda Legarda Laurance had given me a clapping toy monkey as a welcome gift
to YoVille, I decided that this amusing red “thing” would be the “foil character” in my
sleeping area. The bed, its underlying area rug, and the wall art behind my headboard
were all very Zen, thus invoking serenity. Beside the bed, I placed a matching red alarm
clock on the Safari end table.

All the furniture was bought at reasonable prices at the YoVille Furniture Store.

It was my “Reading Nook” that inspired me to go a little berserk and totally eclectic. I
picked out a rocking chair from the Trailer Furniture section. I had always coveted my
own rocking chair. Then, I fell in love with a Louis XIV ottoman. Very expensive --- but I
could imagine my tired feet being pampered by this tiny piece of luxury. Beside the
rocking chair is a totally modernistic-shaped bookcase for those days of curling up in a
comfortable chair, reading. There aren’t too many books found in the bookcase because
most of my books have been downloaded to my Kindle, thanks to Amazon.com
technology. A Taku bamboo window completed the peaceful atmosphere.

It was my Dressing Area that took the longest time to furnish. I needed ample space for
my folded clothes --- so I bought a Zen chest. My jewelry box is perched right on top of it.
A Mother Earth type of painting gave the wall a matching aura to the Mother Earth
divider screens in my Meditation Corner, all leafy and seemingly refreshing.

I remembered an old trick my designer friends taught me. “When you don’t want a huge
table, get a sofa table.”I unearthed a glass sofa table from one of the furniture
collections, perched my vanity mirror on top of it --- and voila! My velvety red chair made
the perfect mate for it. Above the vanity table, I picked a shelf that would house my
make-up and skincare products. And of course, I had to choose a small, gold-painted
waste basket, which was really a huge vase.

Before I head out of the room every day, I am forced to check my appearance before a
slim, tall mirror that sits right beside the doorway.

As you can see, there are lots of plants in my bedroom that are meant to reflect an
earthy, calm presence in my life. I may not have a lot of expensive furniture and yet, I
have succeeded in creating a realistic sanctuary that reflects my personality --- in my
virtual world.

I resisted the idea of installing a TV set.

I could visualize my girlfriends congregating in my bedroom, hanging out, and being able
to be themselves: sitting at the meditation corner, laughing, or rocking themselves by
the window while chatting.

Now, I’m saving money for my bathroom --- but that’s another story.

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