Recently, I had a chat with Natalie, and told her that I had some things I was thinking about writing about, but wasn't sure if I should. I have other things I need to be doing, and flinging dirt seems so...um..."declasse", if you will. Nat was surprised that I was actually "afraid" to write about something. Not liking the "afraid" thing, I thought, "why not?" It's not really for my own benefit, but mostly to help out some people that probably aren't expecting it.
I was at the Aoharu store a week or so ago, and there were some people there with familiar names, but I coudn't remember who they are. I didn't read their profiles at the time, but made a mental note to look them up later. Costa Rica is so large now, with so many residents, I'm always afraid someone might think I snubbed them if I don't say "hi" to them outside of CR, and I honestly can't remember all the names of the residents. They seemed to be in private conversation, so I went about my business, and then returned home.
A few days later, I remembered the names, and decided to read their profiles. Their names were Kiki DeVinna and Larz Beresford. According to their profiles, Kiki is the sister of Ammon Pera, and Larz is her partner. This brought up some thoughts in my head.
Upon reading Larz' profile, I discovered he had a tab called "loans", and said something about Brinks Lemmon. Last year, or maybe it was very early this year, when all the drama was going down with Jenny Olbracht and Ammon Pera, Brinks Lemmon popped up with a story about her experience with Jenny Olbracht. I took Brinks at her word, because she was a friend of Neveah Niu, who has been a friend of mine for a long time. The story Brinks told was not very flattering to Jenny, and I was sympathetic towards Brinks. Brinks and I became friends, and she seemed to be a decent person.
Not long after I made Brinks' acquaintance she started asking if she could borrow money. I thought it was rather odd, but she was a friend of Neveah, whom I've always known to be a really good person, so I gave her the money, thinking it must have been embarrassing for her to ask for it. I didn't keep track of all the transactions, because at first it was L$100 here and there. I did make a notation on the "my notes" tab on her profile, which I am pasting here:
[10:08] Brinks Lemmon: Rawly could you do me a favour
[10:08] Rawly Rousselot: sure whats up
[10:09] Brinks Lemmon: I changed credit cards, and had to revoke the one I was using from SL. I am waiting for the company to send me the credit card, so I am stuck without L$ atm. Could I borrow 1000L$, and I'll pay you back with interest when my credit card comes, or I get another custom job? I am SO SORRY that it has come down to this, that I have to ask lol
[10:10] Rawly Rousselot: lol
[10:10] Brinks Lemmon: Thanks a million rawly
[10:10] Brinks Lemmon is typing...
Loaned L$5000 may 28-2008
[6:53] Brinks Lemmon: 5000 isn't a problem for you? Alot of people would give a lexure, I know I do lol
[6:53] Rawly Rousselot: lol
[6:54] Rawly Rousselot: well THIS one is going on the "my notes" tab on your profile :)
[6:54] Brinks Lemmon: LMFAO
[6:54] Brinks Lemmon: OMg
[6:54] Brinks Lemmon: That noise of all the coins scared the shit out of me
Now, here is what Larz has on his profile:
This is why you NEVER loan ANYONE money - This girl built some furniture for us, and befriended us, then .......
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[9:27] Brinks Lemmon: Larz could you do me a big favour?
[9:28] Larz Beresford: hiya sure, if i can :)
[9:29] Brinks Lemmon: Well I have to take of my old credit card so that I can put on my new credit card. The credit card company called me and said there has been an error in the processing of the card so I need to wait 1-2 weeks for them to investigate, to I have no way of purchasing L$.. Could I borrow 4000L$-5000L$ and pay you back with an interest rate until the issue is resolved?
[9:29] Brinks Lemmon: it would really help me out
[9:29] Larz Beresford: sure ! just pay me back soon as you can - no interest needed :)
[9:30] Brinks Lemmon: Thanks larz :-)
[9:30] Brinks Lemmon: You are a life saver
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>>> That was MONTHS ago ... I got off easy - $20 US to find out she's a deadbeat and a liar. You may not get off so easy !
I felt really bad. I remembered that Ammon and Brinks met each other after I had written the story about Brinks' experience with Jenny. Brinks never did pay me back, but I got my L$5k in a round about way.
When I gave Brinks the L$5k, she had said it was to buy textures for some custom furniture jobs that she had already signed contracts on. She explained that she was good for it, and if I really needed the money, she would borrow it from Nev, and then she would pay Nev back once she got her credit card issues cleared up. I told her not to worry about it, to just repay me when she was able to.
The very same day that I gave her the money, she went and spent it on clothes. We were actually still in IM. First she said she went to Textures-R-Us, and was complaining about the lag. She didn't stay long, and then told me she was shopping at Armidi. We were still chatting in IM when she told me that she was down to less than L$100. I was very nonchalant towards her about that remark, but inside I knew that she was not a responsible business person.
Time went by, and she would IM me now and then to say "hi" and make small talk, and eventually she mentioned the money again. I told her to just keep it, and build me a dining room suite. She agreed, and wanted me to give her some ideas of what I had in mind, as she was excited to get the project underway. I showed her some things, showed her around my house, and she said she would have something for me to look at within a week or so.
She never did have anything built for me to take a look at, but my home must have made quite an impression on her, because not long after I showed her around my house her sister, Madlyn Hastings, showed up and befriended me. Madlyn warmed up to me quickly, which always makes me cautious, and she was always wanting to talk about my business, and had talked about ways that I could work with her in some kind of home production venture.
One day, Madlyn asked me if I would terraform a sim for her. I explained that I have more work than I really want to do, but since she was the friend of a friend, I would be willing to make an exception. I also explained that I was to be paid for my time and effort, but I would only charge her my minimal fee of L$5000. She agreed, and said her mother would be the one to pay me, as she was broke.
Brinks was not very happy about Madlyn contacting me, and she told me that Madlyn was just after me for my money. Of course, the first thing I thought was, "If that ain't the pot calling the kettle black...", but I didn't say anything, and I really didn't want to be mean to Madlyn. I did not disclose my conversations with either of them to either of them, but it was pretty clear to me what was going on.
I went to terraform Madlyn's sim, and her SL parents were there. Madlyn was being a bit of a spoiled brat, but I just proceeded in a professional manner. They had told me their ideas, and what they wanted to use the sim for. I studied the surrounding sims, and came up with what I thought was the most aesthetically pleasing design for the wants and needs that they presented me with. I had planned a low range of hills to block out the clutter of an adjacent commercial sim, and wanted to orient the views towards the open ocean, and blend the design with another adjacent sim, one that was a nice looking residential area.
Madlyn's mom gave me the money not long after I started working on the project, and I kept working, not wanting to leave it unfinished. They were also watching me the whole time. It always amazes me when people seem to think that a sim goes from flat nothingness to terraformed perfection with one click. Designing a sim that is both beautiful and meets the needs of its intended use is challenge, but is one that I enjoy. About an hour or two into the project, Madlyn's mom had left, because they had some kind of disagreement, and Madlyn go so frustrated with me she told me to leave and she was going to do it herself. I was a bit hurt, as I felt she was telling me I sucked at what I was doing. I took solace in the fact that I have done a lot of terraforming for Costa Rica, and Giancarlo has been happy with my skills, which means a lot since he is very picky about aesthetics. I decided to just let it go, and returned home. I also kept the money.
A few days later, Madlyn was contacting me again. She told me a story that Brinks owed her L$5000, and Brinks told her that she was going to pay her once she got the money from me for the dining room suite. Apparently, Brinks told Madlyn that she was building a set of dining room furniture for me with a price tag of L$5k, but neglected to tell her that it was to pay off a debt that Brinks had with me. I am not really sure what I told Madlyn, but she removed me from her friends list, and quit contacting me shortly thereafter.
I believe in Karma, and have found that it exists in both RL and SL. There is another story here, as well, but I will get to that next time.
