Donald
Stalker
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2006
- Posts
- 1,521
- Society
- Retired
- Avatar Name
- Donald "Don" Cleveland
Part I: A Sad Farewell
The problem was simple enough. I was broke, out of PED, and needed more. The solution, unfortunately, was not as clear. "Well, simply deposit some more money, Sir!", you might suggest, and under regular circumstances, I would most likely heed your advice. However, these were not regular circumstances. You see, in exactly thirty days Mrs. Cleveland and I would be striding aboard the Queen Mary 2, a luxury liner of no small fame. In the time between that happy occasion, and today, I needed to acquire as many real life dollars as possible. If we were to find much enjoyment on our various planned excursions, we would be wise to have adequate funding.
So, an idea came to me, to see what various avenues of endeavor I could take, for the express purpose of acquiring PED. I already felt that my current, impovershed condition was causing me, more and more lately, to spend less and less time in-universe- the Entropia Universe, to be precise. What I proposed to do was to see exactly how much PED I could earn, from a starting point of zero, within 4 weeks time. It would require a good deal of thought. I reviewed all that I knew on the subject, and one idea came clear to me: Do not expect to gain PED from MindArk. They are not in the business of doling out cash to their clients. Do look to my fellow Entropians for it.
(I actually learned this from none other than Ms. Pinky, in reading and re-reading her fine work entitled, "How to make money in Entropia - A guide". Under Part II, para. 3 she states, "There are loads of professions (jobs) you can take up, but you need to make sure you pick one that makes money from other players, not from Mindark if you want to profit…" Earlier in the piece she mentions that MindArk could not survive as a business if it were possible to easily make a profit directly from them. Think of it! If it were that simple, everyone would be doing it!)
I needed to come up with a service that would be appealing enough to others, that they would want it, and want it a lot. If this encouraged them to increase the size and frequency of their deposits, so be it. So much the better, I say!
The first step in my personal 'enrichment program', would have to be cutting costs. With a current income level of zero, I needed to have zero expenses. At this time, I only had two recurring expenses, which were the care and feeding of Raffy, and the maintanance fee on the flat. As for the flat, I had several weeks before anything had to be done, so I could just postpone action; as for Raffy... he was not yet starving, but beginning to feel a bit peckish. The last time I saw him, I had no nutrio-bars to offer him, and although he performed his tricks with the usual amount of skill, I could sense that his heart was not in it. I made a very hard decision... At home, on the table in the banquet hall, were several very large piles of fruit -fruit of all kinds! In happier days, I would take the fruit, buy some sweetstuff and whip up a good supply of food for my pet. These were not happier times. That fruit represented PED to me now, and I knew they were meant for the auction-block. I would retain one of each variety, for as you know, one looks as good as one hundred one, as a table centerpiece. The rest would go to the highest bidder, and Raffy be damned! Well, not actually...
On this particular day, I forced myself to go to Jason Centre, and have the stablemaster fetch him for me. From there we walked together, toward the south, through town. Once out of range of the turret that he so feared, we headed west, and away from the city. As we walked, I talked and he listened. I explained to him as best I could, that his place was truly in the wild, being a wild thing by nature. I explained that lounging around in a stable, and occasionally doing tricks for a human was not the life for him. Then I gave him some pointers on how to survive. Your average Snablesnot Young is made mincemeat of by the newest new-comer off the boat. How much more so, one who has spent the last several months in the company of humans, and has lost the fear of them?
"And so, my pet, upon seeing any human- any human what-so-ever- run in the opposite direction! Run like the wind! Even if you have observed a human doing nothing more than sweating others of your kind, do not imagine for a moment that they will not at once pull out a weapon and dispatch you when you are of no further value to them. Do you understand what I am telling you? Trust NO ONE!"
He gave me a sideways, upward glance and wiped some mucus from one snout. I didn't mind... it comes out easy enough in the wash...
"Even if you should suppose it is I, myself, who is approaching you, perhaps even calling you by name, do not come. Once again, run like the wind! There is much treachery afoot in the land, and you never really know who's who- or who is logged in as who." I fear that last part went a bit over his head, and he continued to take care of his drainage problems. ...be that as it may, we were soon well away from Jason Centre, back in the wild- back where he belonged.
"Good bye my friend! Mind the whips! Run like the wind! Don't look back! Go! Go now!"
With that I turned back toward town. With a heavy heart, a countenance full of gloom and thoughts of the darkest kind occupying my mind, front row and centre, I meandered away. As I walked I remembered that magic day when he was given me as a pet. He, more than any else, had always been a faithful friend and true. And now I was sending him away.
"It's for the best for him", I told myself. "If he can only manage to avoid those guns..."
At that point, I heard a slight noise, coming from behind. What? Could it be? Was it Raffy following me back home, refusing to be dismissed? Refusing, once and for all, to let go our vast friendship, and all the joy and happy moments we had shared? With a sudden tearing of the eyes, and joy leaping to my breast, I spun around- And look! I saw on the trail, not ten metres away, a ...pair of chirpy young, taking a dust-path. As I stood there, my eyes still wet, I heard from what seemed some great distance away, the trumpet-call of one happy Snablesnot Young... it was beyond a doubt, Raffy himself, and he trumpetted with glee.
Turning slowly, and yes, once again with a heart made heavier still, I stumbled back to town.
And so ends day one of the great experiment. From this day onward, I will consider myself as Donald, Entreprenuer. I need to make this work... whatever the cost. I need to be smarter, thriftier and more conscientious than ever before. I need to really learn how to earn PED in-universe. By means of my wit and stunning intellect, I need to learn to not only survive but prosper!
And so my Entropian friends, stay with me over the next four weeks, as I relate the news of my progress, or lack there-of. Will I succeed? Am I as smart as some think I am? Or am I simply a verbose, dullard- one who's bound to eke out an existance on the dole? As I always say, let's see what happens...!
[End of Part I]
The problem was simple enough. I was broke, out of PED, and needed more. The solution, unfortunately, was not as clear. "Well, simply deposit some more money, Sir!", you might suggest, and under regular circumstances, I would most likely heed your advice. However, these were not regular circumstances. You see, in exactly thirty days Mrs. Cleveland and I would be striding aboard the Queen Mary 2, a luxury liner of no small fame. In the time between that happy occasion, and today, I needed to acquire as many real life dollars as possible. If we were to find much enjoyment on our various planned excursions, we would be wise to have adequate funding.
So, an idea came to me, to see what various avenues of endeavor I could take, for the express purpose of acquiring PED. I already felt that my current, impovershed condition was causing me, more and more lately, to spend less and less time in-universe- the Entropia Universe, to be precise. What I proposed to do was to see exactly how much PED I could earn, from a starting point of zero, within 4 weeks time. It would require a good deal of thought. I reviewed all that I knew on the subject, and one idea came clear to me: Do not expect to gain PED from MindArk. They are not in the business of doling out cash to their clients. Do look to my fellow Entropians for it.
(I actually learned this from none other than Ms. Pinky, in reading and re-reading her fine work entitled, "How to make money in Entropia - A guide". Under Part II, para. 3 she states, "There are loads of professions (jobs) you can take up, but you need to make sure you pick one that makes money from other players, not from Mindark if you want to profit…" Earlier in the piece she mentions that MindArk could not survive as a business if it were possible to easily make a profit directly from them. Think of it! If it were that simple, everyone would be doing it!)
I needed to come up with a service that would be appealing enough to others, that they would want it, and want it a lot. If this encouraged them to increase the size and frequency of their deposits, so be it. So much the better, I say!
The first step in my personal 'enrichment program', would have to be cutting costs. With a current income level of zero, I needed to have zero expenses. At this time, I only had two recurring expenses, which were the care and feeding of Raffy, and the maintanance fee on the flat. As for the flat, I had several weeks before anything had to be done, so I could just postpone action; as for Raffy... he was not yet starving, but beginning to feel a bit peckish. The last time I saw him, I had no nutrio-bars to offer him, and although he performed his tricks with the usual amount of skill, I could sense that his heart was not in it. I made a very hard decision... At home, on the table in the banquet hall, were several very large piles of fruit -fruit of all kinds! In happier days, I would take the fruit, buy some sweetstuff and whip up a good supply of food for my pet. These were not happier times. That fruit represented PED to me now, and I knew they were meant for the auction-block. I would retain one of each variety, for as you know, one looks as good as one hundred one, as a table centerpiece. The rest would go to the highest bidder, and Raffy be damned! Well, not actually...
On this particular day, I forced myself to go to Jason Centre, and have the stablemaster fetch him for me. From there we walked together, toward the south, through town. Once out of range of the turret that he so feared, we headed west, and away from the city. As we walked, I talked and he listened. I explained to him as best I could, that his place was truly in the wild, being a wild thing by nature. I explained that lounging around in a stable, and occasionally doing tricks for a human was not the life for him. Then I gave him some pointers on how to survive. Your average Snablesnot Young is made mincemeat of by the newest new-comer off the boat. How much more so, one who has spent the last several months in the company of humans, and has lost the fear of them?
"And so, my pet, upon seeing any human- any human what-so-ever- run in the opposite direction! Run like the wind! Even if you have observed a human doing nothing more than sweating others of your kind, do not imagine for a moment that they will not at once pull out a weapon and dispatch you when you are of no further value to them. Do you understand what I am telling you? Trust NO ONE!"
He gave me a sideways, upward glance and wiped some mucus from one snout. I didn't mind... it comes out easy enough in the wash...
"Even if you should suppose it is I, myself, who is approaching you, perhaps even calling you by name, do not come. Once again, run like the wind! There is much treachery afoot in the land, and you never really know who's who- or who is logged in as who." I fear that last part went a bit over his head, and he continued to take care of his drainage problems. ...be that as it may, we were soon well away from Jason Centre, back in the wild- back where he belonged.
"Good bye my friend! Mind the whips! Run like the wind! Don't look back! Go! Go now!"
With that I turned back toward town. With a heavy heart, a countenance full of gloom and thoughts of the darkest kind occupying my mind, front row and centre, I meandered away. As I walked I remembered that magic day when he was given me as a pet. He, more than any else, had always been a faithful friend and true. And now I was sending him away.
"It's for the best for him", I told myself. "If he can only manage to avoid those guns..."
At that point, I heard a slight noise, coming from behind. What? Could it be? Was it Raffy following me back home, refusing to be dismissed? Refusing, once and for all, to let go our vast friendship, and all the joy and happy moments we had shared? With a sudden tearing of the eyes, and joy leaping to my breast, I spun around- And look! I saw on the trail, not ten metres away, a ...pair of chirpy young, taking a dust-path. As I stood there, my eyes still wet, I heard from what seemed some great distance away, the trumpet-call of one happy Snablesnot Young... it was beyond a doubt, Raffy himself, and he trumpetted with glee.
Turning slowly, and yes, once again with a heart made heavier still, I stumbled back to town.
And so ends day one of the great experiment. From this day onward, I will consider myself as Donald, Entreprenuer. I need to make this work... whatever the cost. I need to be smarter, thriftier and more conscientious than ever before. I need to really learn how to earn PED in-universe. By means of my wit and stunning intellect, I need to learn to not only survive but prosper!
And so my Entropian friends, stay with me over the next four weeks, as I relate the news of my progress, or lack there-of. Will I succeed? Am I as smart as some think I am? Or am I simply a verbose, dullard- one who's bound to eke out an existance on the dole? As I always say, let's see what happens...!
[End of Part I]
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