TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON

By Debbie Bulloch



To everything there is a season,
a time for every purpose under the sun.
A time to be born and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to harvest;
a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance ...
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to lose and a time to seek;
a time to rend and a time to sew;
a time to keep silent and a time to speak;
a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace

To everything there is a season. These are words that have comforted me ever since I first heard them. When I was a little girl and I was sad, my Mom would tell me not to run and hide from the sadness. She would tell me, “Debbie, enjoy your sadness don’t run away from it.” The first time my mother said that I thought she was crazy. After all, mothers are supposed to try to take away the sadness that children sometimes feel, not to encourage it. But then my mother explained to me that in Life, as sure as there is a time for sadness there will also be a time for joy; she told me not to allow the sadness make me stop what I was doing. She told me to keep moving because just around the corner Happiness was waiting for me. And she was right.

Today I write, with a great deal of sadness, that my dear friend, my SL Big Brother and ABC Homes’ General Manager, Mickey Geest is leaving ABC Homes. After helping build ABC Homes into a premier SL home sales company, sans pareil, Mickey will now turn his attention, and his talents, to the pursuit of new challenges.

All of us present and past ABC sales representatives, have many fond memories of working with Mickey. Mickey taught each of us how to rezz houses; he taught us how to use borders tool to make sure that houses were rezzed in the right location within the owner’s parcel; he taught us the proper way to install a TP (and avoid orbiting a customer into SL outer space); and he taught us to write notecards, with the XYZ coordinates and Z rotation, just in case something went wrong with a house (like deleting a wall) so the house could be re-rezzed in the same, exact location. Mickey taught us these and many other skills.

I can still remember Mickey spending time teaching me how to install TPs. I was very frustrated because I could not rotate the little buggers and make them fit into the wall. I wanted to just quit and simply pay someone to install the TPs for me. But Mickey never got upset, never got angry, and never grew impatient with my clumsiness and lack of hand to eye coordination. He was kind and gentle and he persevered until I was finally able to rotate and set a TP into the wall. I was as happy with my triumph as I was the first day that my father let go of my bike and I was able to ride down the street all by myself. Mickey was there to share my accomplishment and to tell me “See, I knew you could do it.”

Mickey did more than teach the sales representatives how to do “things.” He taught each one of us the importance of customer service. Mickey made sure that we all understood that customer service was a lifetime commitment, not just something that ended after the sale was made. Mickey led by his example. I have already written about how he came to my rescue when I literally destroyed my first ABC home. I had no idea how to fix the damage. I had a friend with me but all he could do was stand by and mutter to himself. Out of desperation I called Mickey, not really expecting the Sales Manager to show up and fix my problems. Within minutes he arrived at my house, looked at the damage I had caused and without missing a beat he put my house back together again. What was really amazing is that, unknown to me at the time, Mickey had just broken his right hand and it was extremely painful for him to operate the computer’s controls to repair my house. But Mickey never complained and never let me know how much pain he was in.

I have never forgotten how Mickey came to my rescue, like a knight in shining armor. So when I became an ABC sales representative I made it a point to follow Mickey’s lead and I made great customer service my first priority. There have been many times when I was hanging with friends or I was dancing at a club and I would get a call from a distraught customer asking for help. Like Mickey, I would stop whatever I was doing at the moment and I would go to help the customer the way that Mickey helped me.

And all the time while teaching us to be the best home sales reps in SL, Mickey never lost his sense of humor. English is the second, or third or fourth language for Mickey. He would still make jokes in English that sometimes lost something (or a lot) in the translation. Still, his valiant efforts at humor were very funny and it kept the sales staff entertained while we waited for customers. Mickey took the time to teach me Dutch words and phrases. In turn, I taught Mickey that ABC Homes are “inexpensive” and not ‘cheap.”

Mickey always worked long hours, tirelessly promoting ABC Homes. To many, Mickey WAS ABC Homes and vice-versa. In fact, many times when I told people that Mickey was the Sales Manager, their reply invariably was, “We thought that he was the owner.”

I know that ABC Home’s owner, Dawn Islander, joins me and the rest of the sales staff in saying: “Mickey, we will miss you and we wish you the best of luck.”

I know that I already miss having you around.

To everything there is a season. Even as we say au revoir to our dear Mickey, we at ABC Homes are getting ready to welcome some exciting changes. If you have not done so already, please visit our new store. The new store is set on a larger sim, allowing ABC to display houses for sale in a more natural setting. The furniture store carries a full line of quality furniture that will look awesome in any ABC home. Also, there will soon be new homes available for sale. In conjunction with our business partners, ABC will launch some very exciting promotions. Look for future announcements regarding these promotions and upcoming concerts hosted by ABC Homes.

To everything there is a season, indeed!

MY ABC DREAM HOME, By: SanPaul Held

I am the proud (and happy) owner of an ABC Dream Home. By profession, I am a lawyer in SL and in RL. A few months ago I read an article that was published in the California Law Journal. The article talked about how lawyers and law firms are establishing a presence in SL. I already knew a little bit about SL. My dear friend, and ABC Homes Sr. Sales Rep., Debbie Bulloch had told me about her experiences in SL. It all sounded very interesting, so I decided to take the plunge.

From reading the article in the law journal I knew that I wanted to try practicing law in SL and see how that would go. Accordingly, one of my first decisions was to get some land and set up an office. This is where Debbie stepped right up to the plate. The first thing Debbie did was to set me up with some land. Because I did not know if I was going to stay in SL for a very long, she suggested that I rent a small parcel instead of buying land. Debbie has an extensive network of SL contacts and as it turned out, one of her friends had Linden Land for rent for a very low price. So Debbie arranged it for me to meet with her friend and before you could say ABRACADABRA I had rented a small plot of land—just perfect for a first time office.

The next question was to find a suitable office building. Originally, my plan was to get a small office building and then maybe buy some land and a home. But Debbie had other plans. She suggested that I buy a building that could be used both as an office and a house. What a clever idea!

In RL my very first office was a converted two-story house. The office was on the first floor of the house; the upstairs were my living quarters. It was not the best possible arrangement but it worked just fine for a young lawyer just getting started (plus the commute to work was very short which saved me both time and money).

So Debbie’s idea of selling me a house that could both serve as an office and as a home sounded great to me. We agreed to meet at the ABC Homes store and there Debbie took me on a tour of the store. I was surprised to see all the beautiful houses that the ABC builders had created. I was just awesome; there were ALL kinds of houses. There were simple, one-room cottages and there were multi-room, executive houses. The level of detail, as well as the quality of construction, was all very impressive.

After looking at all the beautiful homes sold by ABC Homes, we finally we arrived at the location of the house that Debbie had picked out as my perfect dream house-office. There, standing before me there was a very nice, very well made two story house. The house was called the Swiss Chalet. The house is one of Yucca Gemini’s designs and it was very nicely done.













I stepped inside and right away I knew this was the prefect building to house my office and my living space. As you can see from the photographs, the house looks small on the outside (perfect for my small parcel) but it is very large inside. As I looked around the inside of the house, I noticed all the nicely detailed touches. The window curtain system is very clever and it allows complete control over how much light to let in or how much privacy is desired. Instead of stairs, which take up so much room in a small house, the house has a simple and effective TP system.

One of the best things about ABC Homes is that they are full copy/full mod. This means that a homebuyer can modify his house; no two houses are exactly like. The full copy feature means that in the future, if I buy more land, I can rezz a full town full of houses (all different because they are full mod) and not have to spend another Linden on houses.

As nice as the Swiss Chalet, there were a few things that I wanted changed, to make the house feel truly mine. Debbie put me in touch with the builder and yucca met me at my house. Once there, I showed yucca what changes I wanted. In no time at all, yucca had made the modifications that I wanted and my house looked exactly the way that I wanted. I have taken some pictures to show you the charming outside of the house as well as the nicely done interiors. As you can see, the first floor makes a perfect setting for a law office.













I highly recommend ABC Homes for the purchase of your dream home. Everyone there is very nice and helpful. The Sales Manager, Mickey Geest, and the sales staff (sorry I do not remember all of their names) are always ready to help customers. Mickey has chosen a sales staff from Europe and the USA so customers are guaranteed that there will always be someone in-world to answer their questions. (Editor’s Note: ABC’s professionally trained sales staff includes Sez Innis, Reagan Nicholls, Xena Faulkes and Indra Yun). Sr. Sales Rep. Debbie Bulloch is a hard working sales rep. She goes out of her way to help customers realize their dream of home ownership. In my case she helped me get land I needed and the right house to put on the land. ABC’s owner, Dawn Islander, strives to provide quality homes and excellent after-sales service. Her philosophy has made ABC Homes the go-to place for home shopping.

Count me as another happy ABC customer. If you are looking for a house, come on down to ABC Homes, you will be pleasantly surprised.

SanPaul Held
July 23rd 2008

ABC Home sales verkauft auch Laden und Clubs.

Hallo Leute, (english version is below)

Ich möchte euch gern Carsten Illios vorstellen. Er ist ein guter Kunde von ABC. Der Vorteil bei ABC ist das viele Verkäufer auch mehrere Sprachen können.
Carsten wurde immer in Deutsch geholfen. Das ist für uns normal. Der Kunde ist der König.
Carsten Illios hat beim letzten Mal einen Laden gekauft bei ABC. Dieser Laden ist - wie alles bei ABC - copy JA und mod 100 % und hat sehr wenig Prims (nur 205 prims für ein 4096 sqm). Schaut euch mal die Foto's an, wie schön er seinen Laden eingerichtet hat.
Ihr könnt Carsten gern kontaktieren, um diesen schönen Ort in SL zu besuchen.
Also, alle Deutschsprachigen können ruhig nach ABC kommen. Jedem wird geholfen, in Deutsch. Wir haben nur das beste für unsere Deutschen Freunde. Als Flame aus Belgien bin ich stolz, das ich auch die deutsche Sprache gut beherrsche. Die Deutschen sind die 3. größte Gruppe in SL, also sehr wichtig für alle Geschäfte. Tschüss bis zum nächsten mal.
























Hi all, (Deutsche Version ist hier oben)

I would like to introduce you to carsten Illios. He is a good client of ABC. The advantage at ABC is that many sales people do speak a lot of languages. Carsten is allways helped in German. This should be like that. The client is the king. Carsten Illois did buy the last time a shop at ABC. This shop is - like all prefabs at ABC - copy YES and mod 100% and with very few prims (only 205 prims for a 4096 sqm). Look to these pics how nice carsten has decorated his shop. Feel free to contact carsten if you would like to visit his nice place in SL. All people who have German as their mothertongue can visit ABC, we will be pleased to help them in English or in German.
As a flemish person from Belgium, i am so proud to speak German as well. The German community is the third biggest community in SL, this makes them very important for all business trades. Take care and see you next time.

Mickey Geest
July 23 2008

Arizona Davies, owner of Arizona ABC house

Arriving in SL can be exciting and confusing with all the learning and doing things for the first time. All of us have experienced the first time we purchased a home and land. When I started looking for a home there wer so many options. Size, price, design. Where to turn?

I met Mickey when I came to ABC Homes and fell in love with a home on their lot but it currently had no information, price or purchase options. It had been delivered to ABC shortly before I had arrived and they were just getting it ready for sale. It was a low prim home with the basic build that was great for a first time home. Because it was so new, I was the first person to purchase the home currently known as "The Arizona". Many people that visited my grotto home could not tell that it was the same home currently seen at ABC Homes. A restyled the home again to an elegant style with a winding staircase and beautiful mural on the curved wall.

From a 512m lot, I now own the 65,536m openspace sim, Bound Ambitions - Dulcinea a D/s Retreat and still reside in "The Arizona" home that can fit a 512m lot.

Please enjoy the pictures of "The Arizona" in the two styles I have lived in.

Arizona Davies (owner of Dulcinea)

some pics of the Arizona house, where a staircase has been added :












some pics of the Arizona house, changed in a grotto :

















Mickey Geest wrote :

"I did sell this new home to Arizona Davies. It did not have a name yet. And it was one of the very first homes we had for sale in the very beginning of ABC. We both agreed to give this house the name of the first buyer, Arizona."

Happy Customer

Second Life is Grand, now that we have our beautiful new home. We purchased it from ABC Homes. The Californian is a gorgeous home. Best service I have seen on SL Grid so far. They will help you put it on your land, let you say where and when you want it. They will make sure you understand how to save it, rez it, use the locks on the doors and use the window tint systems.
It Looks Fabulous, go to the Sales Store and walk through some homes, they are all great looking and spacious. They provide L cost, and lots size needed for each home.
AWESOME experience, I would recommend them to all second life avi's who have not had the time or inclination to learn to build their own homes.
Meisha Verstandig July 2008

Testimonial from a happy ABC homeowner

After finally finding the perfect parsel of land, I thought the "hard part" was over in creating my little corner of SL. I quickly discovered finding the right home for myself was even tougher! I was amazed at the plethora of ho-hum structures, and the ones that did catch my eye were far too high in primitives (what good is a beautiful home if you don't have enough prim counts left to decorate it?).

I then came across ABC homes. Wow. The selection was very extensive, from styles to sizes. Each home was clearly listed in price, size (both dimensions and the needed parcel size), and prim counts. I was floored (no pun intended) at how these beautiful houses could have such low primitive counts! And the homes were full of features and options (you could buy the same home with either stairs or teleporters, etc.). Everything from the scripts to lock the doors and tint the windows to the rez installer made placing and setting up my new home a breeze.

On top of the home itself, the sales and management staff of ABC are truly top notch; you feel like they are very interested in your happiness with the purchase and answer any questions after the sale. They walked me through the home and showed me how to use all the features, and have been very prompt in helping me with anything I needed with my home. Service after the sale is paramount, and ABC Homes delivers with a smile.

I couldn't be happier with my new Las Vegas 2 home, and Reagan Nicholls was the best sales agent I've encountered in Second Life. If you're looking for a new home, or looking to upgrade what you have now to the best of the best, I strongly recommend teleporting to ABC Home Sales!

Signed,
Synn Lorefield
July 04 2008

Interview with Reagan Nicholls - New sales rep at ABC Homes

Here we are, standing in front of the new, beautiful ABC Homes sales building. We are almost ready for the big opening, so please stand-by for upcoming announcements. In the meantime, we would like you to meet one of our newest sales rep, Ms. Reagan Nicholls. Reagan was kind enough to take a few minutes away from her busy schedule to talk to me and answer a few questions for the ABC Homes Blog.

Hi Reagan, how are you doing today? I know you are busy, so thank you so much for taking time for this interview.

Hello Debbie, thanks for the interview, I look forward to reading it on the ABC Homes Blog

Debbie Bulloch: Reagan, when did you join SL?
Reagan Nicholls: I joined SL in May of 2007.

DB: So you recently celebrated your first SL birthday – Happy (and belated) SL birthday!
RN: Thanks, it was a lot of fun!

DB: What made you join SL?
RN: I had read about SL and so I became interested and wanted to see first hand what SL was all about. So I joined. One month led to another and next thing I was hooked. So here I am.

DB: I think that’s how it is for most of us; I know it was the same for me.
RN: Welcome to the club Deb!

DB: What are your favorite tings to do in SL, besides selling these wonderful homes?
RN: Well, I like to go clubbin, hang with friends and watch for the guys. Heeheehee. I also like making fun of other avi's … heeheehee. But that’s only when I’m bored.

DB: So other than clubbing what else do you do when you are not selling houses at ABC?
RN: When I'm not working here at ABC I switch over and become a neko kitty and go pouncing around.

DB: Sounds scary!
RN: Growlllllllllllllllllllllll

DB: How did you find out about ABC?
RN: I found out about ABC Homes through Mickey. One day I saw him at my previous job. Mickey was looking for new sales reps and I was looking for another job. So it all worked out. You can call it a match made in SL Heaven.

DB: Did you have any experience selling houses before joining ABC?
RN: Nope, this is the first time I sell houses in SL

DB: Have you learned any special skills since joining the ABC Homes to help you sell homes?
RN: Yes, Mickey taught me how to use the Border tool. He also taught me how to properly install houses, so the rotation and the XYZ coordinates are set right. By the way, that Border Tool is a real neat gadget.
DB: Yep. Customers are always impressed when they see the little bot flying around their property, setting up the border panels.

DB: Do you have a favorite house at ABC?
RN: Yes
DB: Which one?
RN: The New Hampshire. It is a beautiful executive home.
DB: Well, you know that after six months working at ABC you get a free house of your choice…hint, hint!

DB: Tell me about your best selling experience so far.
RN: Sold 3 houses in one day.
DB: That is really good, especially for a new salesperson. You should teach me some of your techniques.

DB: At ABC we have customers from all over the world. Do you speak any foreign languages?
RN: Nope, just good old English. But I can use a translator device and I can always call on Mickey, who speaks a bunch of languages, or any of the poly-lingual sales reps. So communicating with a client is never a problem.

DB: Do you have any special messages for people considering buying a home from ABC?
RN: I sure do. In the past, when I had been house hunting, I spend days on end just looking for the right house. ABC Homes has the best houses I have seen in SL. Good prices and low-prims. Had I known about ABC, my house hunting wouldn’t have taken me days. I am very picky about my house and the look and feel of ABC is very authentic. ABC Homes is the first place to come when choosing the right house.

Well Reagan, thank you for your time. And I agree with you 100%. Whether a person is a newbie or an experienced in-world resident, the place to make your home ownership dreams come true is at ABC Homes.

(NOTE: ABC Homes has recently added five new sales reps. Please stay tuned for more interviews featuring our newest staff members).

Customers service is very important

I recently had the pleasure to get a call from a long-time customer of ABC Homes. She had recently bought more land and she was now ready to buy a new home. The client wanted a bigger house; she also wanted a house of the same style and quality as her old ABC home. I was very happy to hear from her again and I was even happier to hear that she was coming back to ABC Homes to look for her new dream house. I took the customer for a tour of the store and showed her some of the new dream houses at ABC Homes. After a while, the customer found her dream home and bought it right on the spot! ABC Homes are full mod, so one of our builders will work with the customer to make a few changes and additions to make this house a truly unique showcase of the costumer’s lifestyle.

This client bought her first home at ABC Homes. I still remember that initially she had a few problems with her new purchase. Due to SL glitches (and we all know about those dreaded SL glitches) parts of her home were deleted several times. Each time the client had a problem with her new home I assisted her, at no charge, with the repairs. Although I am the Sales Manager and I am supposed to be busy doing other things, I personally receive a great deal of pleasure helping customers with their building problems. I was once myself a newbie and I always appreciated it when more experienced in-world residents helped me with their problems. Helping customers is not only a pleasure, but it is also part of the customer-service experience that puts ABC Homes way ahead of the competition. At ABC Homes we are not happy with a sale until you, the customer, are 100% satisfied with your new house.

The fact that a long-time customer came back to ABC Homes means that, in addition to great dream homes at affordable prices, we also offer superior customer service. Our five-person sales team is always ready to help customers.

Debbie Bulloch (Senior Sales Rep),











Reagan Nicholls,










Sez Innis,











Xena Faulkes










and Indra Jun











are always available to help all new and old ABC clients. Our sales staff comes from all over the world (including three different US time zones) which means that we have virtually 24 hour coverage. No matter when a customer is in-world, there is an ABC sales rep available to assist. New visitors are welcomed at ABC in a personal, friendly way. There is NO spam, no push to sell, no hassles; at ABC Homes we simply want to help our customers realize their dreams of SL homeownership. Customers often tell how pleased they are with ABC’s approach to sales. Clients often tell me that at many other companies there is no personal connection, like we have at ABC. That is not to say that there are no other good companies out there; at ABC Homes we simply put the customer ahead!

In fact, our Sr. Sales Rep. is an ABC Homes customer service success story. As a newbie, Debbie bought a house from another prefab company. When she ruined her home during installation (as many newbies often do) Debbie contacted the owner of the store. After a long wait, the owner finally helped Debbie but he charged her a huge sum of money for the repairs; at ABC Homes we never charge for repairs. (Editor’s Note: The owner of that other store was also mean and rude to Debbie. See the 04.06.2008 blog article by Sr. Sales Rep Debbie Bulloch). I first met Debbie when she finally bought a home from ABC Homes. She had a few problems with her first ABC house house and so I immediately came to her assistance. The problems were fixed quickly and for free. Debbie was so impressed with our customer service that she joined our sales team!

Whether you are a newbie or an experienced in-world resident, if you are searching for your dream home, then come on down to ABC Homes. All of you are most welcome to contact me or any member of the ABC sales team. You will get very good service. People are very important to us; happy customers are what keep ABC Homes growing.

See you all at ABC!

Mickey Geest
July 02 2008

ABC FEATURED HOME OF THE WEEK – The FLORIDA BEACH CONDO

The Florida Condo.

Hello once again. This is Debbie Bulloch, your fearless blogger and ABC Homes sales representative "sans pareil." (That’s a French phrase. It is not that I think that I am unique, though some people may disagree; it is just that I am learning French and my French teacher, Monsieur Arcabulle Odriscoll insists that I practice ALL the time – Mon Dieu!). But enough about me.

ABC Home Sales is proud to bring to you two new and exciting homes. One is the Florida Beach Condo, the other is the Miami Mansion. And if you look closely, you will notice that there is a central theme running through these two wonderful new homes.

Can you guess what that theme may be? Come on…is not all that hard…do you need a hint? Well, if you open a map of the U.S.A. and look at the East Coast, specifically Florida, you will see that Miami is in Florida. (Yes, I know there is a Miami in Ohio, but that was not the original inspiration for the Miami Mansion). So we have a FLORIDA condo and a MIAMI mansion. See the pattern?

These two wonderful new homes are the real deal! I had the good luck (or misfortune, depending on how you feel about the state that brought us the term “hanging chads”) of living in Miami for a brief period of my life. While in Miami I met some wonderful people, ate great food and spent time dancing the night away to the beat of Cuban conga drums! Ay que rico chico!

During the time that I spent in Miami I had the opportunity to visit many of Miami’s famous neighborhoods, like Miami Spring, Coral Gables and South Miami Beach. I can tell you that after having seen many examples of South Florida architecture, these two new home offerings from ABC Homes are the real McCoy! Either of these new homes would fit in perfectly in any of Miami’s best neighborhoods. And guess what? Either of these two homes will fit perfectly on your parcel of SL land. At ABC Home sales we are specialists at making dreams, your dreams, come true.

OK, now that I have built up enough anticipation, let’s go directly to the Florida Condo and see what it has to offer.

As you approach the condo, the first thing that you will notice are all the windows. There are big windows all over! Unless you are a mushroom and prefer cold, dark and damp places, this home’s light and airy style will simply grab you. Look at all these windows and now imagine yourself sitting in the Florida Condo’s living room, drinking daiquiris and looking out the window and onto a beautiful, white sand beach – your own beach! Can life get any better?

Now come with me and let’s go right inside. Once inside you look around the downstairs living area and you say to yourself. “WOW this is real nice and big and open.” Then you look around and notice that there are no TP buttons. “How do I get upstairs?” you ask the friendly sales representative. She smiles (Mandy, Lysa and I do a lot of smiling!) and at the touch of a button a stairs descends from the ceiling and you feel like Robert Plant himself is right next to you singing a few bars of “Stairway to Heaven.”

The friendly ABC Homes sales representative leads you upstairs to the master bedroom. The master bedroom, like the living room below, is surrounded by large windows that give the happy homeowner a clear view of his land. Keeping with the Florida theme, these windows can be fully tinted in order to keep the hot, midday Florida Sun out (as well as prying eyes!). Imagine your own love nest in the bedroom of the Florida condo, a nice bed with a few sexy pose balls and you and your intended are ready to trip the light fantastic.

After you and your honey are through having fun, you can both step outside and enjoy the beautiful summer weather. The master bedroom doors lead right to the second floor deck. The deck is huge and it is perfect for intimate get-togethers with your sugar pie or, if you prefer, you can load a few party pose balls and have a wonderful party with your friends. Either way, the second floor deck is a lovely addition to a wonderful, lovely home.

What impresses potential customers from the first time they lay eyes on the Florida condo, and continues to impress them as they walk through the condo, is the attention to every potential detail. And what is really impressive is that all of this is available with a low prim count (54 prims) and extremely competitive price ($1000L). ABC homes has built its reputation on offering just what the customer wants: quality homes with a low prim count and for low prices. The Florida Beach condo is no exception.

At this point in the tour, may I offer a suggestion? It occurred to me, as I walked through the condo, that this is a perfect structure for a home-office set up. Think about it; the living area could easily be transformed into a professional office: a doctor’s office, a lawyer’s office or an accountant’s office. The second floor can then be used as the owner's living quarters.

I have seen many homes successfully converted into an office-home combination. Having your office downstairs from your living quarters could dramatically cut back on your commute time. Well, I KNOW we don’t worry about commute time in SL (we can fly or TP anywhere we want). Still it is a nice point to consider. I have a very dear friend who converted the Swiss chalet that he purchased at ABC into a home-office combination. SanPaul Held (who is a lawyer in RL and in SL) set up his law offices on the first floor of the Swiss Chalet. His private, personal quarters are upstairs. Thus, using just one structure SanPaul can address the need for an office and a home. This is yet another example of how ABC Homes can make your SL dreams come true.

Well, that is all for today. Please stay tuned for my next article, where I take you on a magical, mystery tour through the Miami Mansion. Also, please be on the look out for future articles featuring ABC’s exciting summer line-up of new homes and other products. I think that you will simply be amazed at the homes and other products that ABC has lined up for you--our loyal customer. ABC Home is growing and as we grow, we will be able to make even more dreams come true.

Now for the “technical” stuff:

BASIC INFORMATION:

House/Build name: The Florida Beach Condo
Base Size: 20 x 20 meters
Prim count: 54 prims
Full Mod/ Copy / NO Transfer
Min. Lot size: 1024 sqm
PRICE: $1000 L

DESIGN FEATURES:

1) Single control panel for all the window tinting and door locks!
2) Notecard inside control panel for adding residents to your home access list!
3) Indoor stairs go UP! and go DOWN! with one single CLICK.
4) Large, second floor deck off main bedroom!
5) Custom placement of your home is available for only $100 L

Debbie Bulloch
May 14, 2008

ABC FEATURED HOME OF THE WEEK -- THE YUCCA JAPAN HOUSE

Greetings in-world residents and welcome to ABC Home Sales – where we make your SL home ownership dreams come true. (Happy May Day)

I am Debbie Bulloch, one of ABC’s friendly and helpful sales representatives. If you have been following the ABC Home Sales Blog, every week we feature one of our fine homes. Last time, I wrote a two-part feature on the Las Vegas house, one of the most elegant and feature laden home offered at ABC – and anywhere else in ABC for that matter.

This week we turn our spotlight on one of our smallest houses – the Yucca Japan house. I have previously written a small blurb about the Yucca Japan house. This week, however, I will take you on a full tour of this delightful house. So please get in line and follow along with me.

The first thing you will notice about the Japan House is its low, low price, only $1000L, and its low prim count, only 38 prims. The home’s designer, Ms. Yucca Gemini, is a talented builder who is able to pack a lot of desirable features in an attractive package, for a very reasonable price and an amazingly low prim count. Ms. Gemini is not only a talented builder, but she is also extremely generous of her time and talents. A group of friends and I recently started a shelter for homeless in-world residents. Ms. Gemini designed and built a very attractive four-unit building for the shelter’s residents. She added furniture (that she makes herself) and even landscaped the grounds of the shelter. All of this at a very low prim count. (Incidentally, I wish to personally thank everyone who has generously assisted with this project, including ABC’s owner, Dawn Islander, and my boss at ABC, Mickey Geest. They both have allowed me to take time off from my obligations at ABC to work on the shelter project. Dawn, merci beaucoup! Mickey, dank je!). If you wish to visit the Between Homes SL homeless shleter project please follow the attached LM: Haven for the Homeless, Bluenose (157, 90, 96). If you like what you see, please add it to your picks. And if you feel up to it, you can even make a small (or large) donation at the rooftop tip jar. Thank you.


Anyhow, back to the Yucca Japan house tour. When you stand in front of the house you will notice the large, beautiful, blue double doors. The door can be partially opened (one panel) or fully opened (both panels). As with all ABC homes the door to the Yucca Japan house can be locked, so that only the owner may open it. Or, the owner can add friends to the door locking system, to allow full entry to the friends. The owner may also add “enforcers” to the door. The enforcers have permission to add their own friends to the door’s lock. This gives the owner full control over the door locking system or, if desired, the owner may delegate his control to a trusted friend (the “enforcer”).


Once inside the Japan house, you will notice the light, airy construction. The dark, wood plank floors give the house a solid look and feel. The Japan house featured in this article is owned by a very dear and close friend of mine, Ms. Xanadu Dominquez. She furnished the living room with Japanese-style furniture, giving the house a real authentic and homey feeling. Just look how well the furniture fits in with the house’s design. Incidentally, the Japanese-style furniture that you see in these pictures is designed by Mr. Torix Jameson, a very talented and creative furniture designer, and is available for sale at ABC homes. Stop by ABC’s furniture store and see some of the amazing furniture sets available for sale. Like everything else sold at ABC, the quality is high, the prim count is just right and the prices are incredibly affordable!

Now follow me to the first floor backroom. This very spacious room can be used for a number of different purposes. In this particular model, the room is furnished with a very attractive rug and sitting (pose) pillows. The area rug and pillows were designed by Ms, Gemini and are available for sale at her store, humorously called Blah by Yucca!. [If you wish to vist Yucca's store and see some of hte fine items that she has for sale, please follow the enclosed LM: Blah! By Yucca (187, 79, 140)]

The Yucca Japan house is equipped with a full tint system. The window tint system has a four-level setting: from transparent (fully opened) to dark (fully closed). The four-position tinter system allows for light to privacy and everything in between.

The Yucca Japan is equipped with a TP system, so press the TP button and come with me to the house’s second floor. The second floor follows the same general design plan of the first floor using dark wood planks for flooring. In keeping with traditional Japanese homes, the second floor is open to allow light and fresh air. In the corner, there is a wooden hot tub. You can sit in the tub with your significant other and share a cozy embrace!

The second floor includes a large balcony. Before we step over to the balcony please take a look at the wonderfully detailed, wood-cut panel. The panel depicts, in beautiful detail, typical Japanese scenes. It is simply amazing that a house using only 34 prims could offer such attention to detail and so many high-class features. Well, maybe amazing for some other home seller, but not amazing at ABC!

Step through the panel doors (which are also fully lockable, like the front door) and you will find yourself on the house’s balcony. The large balcony is a perfect place to enjoy a cool drink while watching the sun set. Or, if you are inclined to more spiritual pursuits you can sit on the floor and spend time doing meditation exercises. The hanging seat baskets that you see in these pictures were also designed by Ms. Gemini and are available at her Blah! store.

As we conclude this tour of the Yucca Japan house, take one final look at this house, set by the beach, and imagine that this is your new dream home. At ABC we specialize in making dreams come true. Come by, talk to one of our friendly sales representatives and let her show you how affordable your dreams truly can be.

Debbie Bulloch
May 1, 2008

Dec 1 - 2006 : Mickey is born in SL

How does a person start with Second Life (aka SL)? I heard a lot about it in the local media. Some friends in real life (aka RL) were hooked on the 3-D virtual world. I hesitated some time to actually create an account for SL, but as you know, curiousity is the devil of the human mind.

I finally created an account for SL. I chose a neutral first name 'Mickey'. It had to be a name that was easy for others to remember. My choise for a last name is a clue for other 'Dutch' people in SL. Geest is a Dutch word, means 'ghost' or 'spirit'. Not one normal real English speaking person would ever choose that last name 'Geest' LOL.

I arrived at the welcome zone of SL and immediately I met a nice 5 month old resident Marty.

Marty is a technical writer in RL for a very reputated pharmacetical company in the USA. She made me feel comfortable right away. She explained to me in 10 minutes how the use the basic options. (general chat, private chat, add a friend, create a landmark, ....) And above all, like in all worlds, Marty told me where to earn my first money (Linden$). I was very eager to make a fortune in SL LOL. Perhaps from some influance of my RL studies and jobs I have done in RL (lmao)?

Marty took me to a place called Butterfly Island to 'camp'. Camping on a spot pays money. She told me to sit down, and do nothing more. I will never forget her words there: ....'Mickey, it's late, go to sleep now, leave your computer online, and when you wake up, you will be rich' ... .

In those days, most newbies camp to earn money (Lindens are the money and notated with a dollar sign behind the amount). Camping paid well there, 3$ per 10 minutes or even 4$/10 minutes. Today, campers are only paid 1$/15 mins or even 1$/20 mins. I was lucky (ROFL). Because I made good money, I could buy good feedback for my friends in SL. It went into their Profile so everyone could see it. Each feedback comment cost 50$. When you were looking for an SL job, owners did look at your Profile, which tells information like: how old are you in SL; do you have RL credit card payment information on file; do you have good feedback, etc ... . The feedback menu was removed almost a year ago though.

I was told that it used to be, way back, that everyone had to pay 10$ each time they wanted to teleport (TP) from one place to another. This was before my time. I love to TP in SL, I would have been bankrupt today (LMAO).

My first week in SL, I used CTRL F (Find Feature) to look for other camping places. I did find a place, 'Ami's', which paid 3$/10 minutes at that time. This camping place does not exist any longer. I like to talk and to meet a lot of people, and soon I met the owner Ami. Ami is a wonderfull person, she showed me around. And not like some other camping spot owners, Ami did respect all of the campers, her employees, her staff, ... .

I met Yucca as well at Ami's. Yucca is a wonderfull person, who has build some very nice homes at ABC home sales now. I started to make my first 'flexi prim shoes' at Ami's while camping LOL. I used camera control to build underneath my campseat. Ami did find my lost prims sometimes and she smiled. She asked me to be more carefull. I wondered then how Ami found out they were mine! (LMAO). Like Yucca, and many others, I grew tired of camping for money in SL. It was boring and you did not get paid enough to fulfill all your wildest fantasies in SL.

I started as a sales rep for a prefab company. I earned good money there, and the manager of the custom services taught me a lot. This job was perfect for me. I earned money. I could use my knowledge of the 5 languages that I speak, and I could develop a skill in SL (building and such...).

Then one day, I met my first wife in SL, Skye. I sold her a house, but I did not tell her the salesperson came with the house LMAO. I want to thank Skye for all the good times, if she reads this weblog. We are divorced now.

I never lost my good contacts like Marty, Yucca, and Ami, ... .
Ami did meet me often, we chatted and talked about many things. Ami decided to create a new prefab company in SL: Ami's Building Corporation = ABC. I was asked to become the sales manager there. And still today, I work at ABC, and I love and adore my job.

I have met a new GF now in SL, lysa, whom I love very much.

If you haven't tried SL, give it a try, just go to www.secondlife.com and press the orange Get Started button, it's free! Who knows, maybe you will meet a person like Marty that will give you a lesson like 'How to become a salesperson in SL' (LMAO). I'll hope to see you all at ABC Home Sales.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my curriculum vitae (CV) of SL.

Take care
Mickey Geest
04.25.2008