Hello! I am Lookin4BN, Peacekeeper 41 and a Watchkeeper for AWNewbie, Queen RaMel and I are the editors for the PK Newsletter, one of our features is the PK interviews. This month's interview is with PK 50, SkiRascal. We felt as he is the first to become both Gatekeeper and Peacekeeper that the interview should be seen by all, so here it is. I hope you enjoy. Note: This is how it usually goes :-)
“Hiya Mel”
“Howdy Lookin, Have you got that interview I sent you out for?” She asks with a hopeful look on her face.
“Ah, Well I want to talk to you about that”
“You didn’t get it did you?” she replies accusingly as she gets up from her desk and moves in on me.
“Well not exactly”
“What do you mean by, Not Exactly?” she says tapping her foot with her face talking on an ominous look, I look around and back away quickly.
“Well I went in search of our latest victim err interviewee and well I couldn’t find him”
“You did try opening your eyes then”
“Oops I knew there was something I was doing wrong” I laugh.
“Hmm” Mel gives me the look .
“Looks like I get to go out again then,” I say with a grin “righty oh see you later” Mel shakes her head as she watches me disappear looking for my next victim.
 I find our first GK/PK chatting at the gate, and giving out helpful advice to the new citizens and tourists alike.
“Hey Ski, how’s it going?”
“Hiya Lookin, I am good thank you, how are you?”
“Doing ok thank you, say are you busy?”
“Why what’s up?”
“Well I thought as you are the first Gatekeeper to graduate from the Peacekeepers Academy. You could be my interview for this month”
“Great idea”
"Yep I thought so to" I get my note pad out and ask my first question.
“Ok here we go, how did you first find AW and what did you think about it?”
“I first downloaded Activeworlds back in June of 2001 and was immediately hooked. It was more basic back then, but the idea of 3D chat was still young enough that it was the first I had seen. I checked out other programs over the years, but in terms of friendships made and kept, nothing really compared!”
“Yeah I agree AW is a great place to make friends, right then my next question, How long have you been a cit?”
“I have had this citizenship since March of '03, but my first cit was in 01, so about 9 years total now”
“That’s a long time in AW you must really love it here, ok moving on, what is it that you like most about Active Worlds?”
“Yeah I do love it here and what I like most is the friendships made and the ability to help new folks out. I get to help in two ways, one in assisting new users as a gatekeeper, the other as a peacekeeper in helping people enjoy the program in a nice atmosphere. Both are rewarding and it is nice to give back to something that has been such a part of my life for close to a decade now.”
“You mentioned the Gatekeepers, so tell me how long have you been a GK and what made you want to become one?”
“I have been a GK for a total of about two years now. At first back when I was first a citizen I admired how the gatekeepers helped and instructed new users in the program, including me when I needed a helping hand, a job they are still carrying out today, very well I might add. I think I just wanted to give back to something that really was there for me thru so much in my life, good and bad. I have a natural disposition to want to help people, so to me, it just made sense.”
“Well I can see why you wanted to be a gatekeeper, so what made you want to be a Peacekeeper?”
“I have always wanted to be a PK, as I knew that what they did was so important to Active Worlds and for the tourists and citizens and Active Worlds in general. The idea that I could be there for someone when a cry for help was being called for was very appealing. I applied as soon as I heard that GK's could now apply as well.”
“You were the second fastest to complete the PKA training, only being a few days short of beating the PKA director, how did you find the training?”
“Tough. I learned after day ONE that this was serious business, not something you just 'float' thru. After the first week, I drove myself hard and studied relentlessly to be the best student I could be, to get the most out of the program and make sure than when I put the badge on, I knew as much as was reasonably possible to know.”
“I believe one of your memorable moments was during a class with our director, would you care to tell us what that was?”
“Sure why not, it was the garbage class I believe, this is how it went
KeithB- You must find what does not belong in here
Me- I am looking now!
KeithB- Wrong building, Ski”
“LOL Yep that's sure is a memorable moment, ok moving right along, As you are the first GK/PK in the AW universe how are you finding it, switching between the two roles?”
“Learning to wear two hats is more a matter of not trying to wear two hats at once. There is a definite distinction between what I do as a GK, which is primarily to assist new users and as a PK, which is being a presence that people know from our reputation as someone they can rely on as they can ALL peacekeepers. I know that the distinction was actually harder for some of my friends to accept than it was for me. I also know that there were some hard feelings over this, but my dedication and professionalism are always at the fore-front of my thinking. But in the end, I am just SkiRascal, the same semi-burned out surfer dude from Florida who likes to have fun”
“Have you ever got the two mixed up?”
“Nope. If anything, I have had to learn to 'loosen up' a bit when I am in the PK suit, as I noticed I was coming off rather stuffy and unapproachable. I would never have thought that possible lol. I was sure I probably would have been too much like my GK persona, kinda silly and off the wall, but that was never the case, thank goodness. I DO have our rep to watch out for LOL”
“Well with being a GK and a PK do you have any time to build here in AW?”
“haha...I have two wonderfully incomplete builds. One house in Alpha, the other a house in AWHelp, the GK world. I have never been much of a builder and do not see myself improving much with age. I am such a chatter, I am easily distracted from doing much building. lol”
“Ok that’s the AW stuff over with now the RL stuff, so what do you do in RL???”
“I teach music to a handful of personal students who really want to learn. It makes my time my own, which is nice as I decide when I teach. It also leaves most of my time open as my lessons are an hour long each. At 50 dollars an hour, it is not a bad way to make some $$. I am disabled myself, so teaching is what I do from my shared apartment.”
“Are you married or live with some one, did you meet them in AW?"
"I share an apartment with my sister and we take care of our mom, who is also disabled. My sister is an artist herself and sells her paintings and jewelery. She is a computer net-head as well, but has nothing to do with Active Worlds! I am divorced now from my second wife.”
“Right, then, me next question, have you any children?"
"I have three beautiful kids”
“Besides active worlds what other interests do you have?”
“Music, hiking, camping, anything that get's me outdoors in the summer. I use a cane, so I already have my walking stick lol”
“Ok nearly done, Who would you most like to be??”
“Jean Luc Picard. I just love his cool way of commanding. Everyone follows his lead without question and he has a very calming sense of authority.”
“And my last question, If you won one million dollars, what would you do with it?”
“More like what I would not do, I would definitely purchase a world and that would never be built in either! LOL.
But I think I would have my own studio, and smack dab in the middle would be my pc setup!”
“That sounds like a great idea; well that’s it, all done, Thank you for your time”
“No probs it was fun”
“Ok I am off to get this back to Mel, see ya later my friend”
I find Mel sat behind her desk busily working.
“Hey I got the interview” I say with a big smile on my face.
“Awesome, let me see” Mel holds her hand out, “This is great, love the memorable moment” she laughs.
“Yeah me to, hey I have just had an idea”
“Be careful ya will hurt ya head”
“Ha Ha, very funny, well, as Ski is the first GK/PK do you think the AWNewsletter will be interested”
“Good idea, let's go find out”
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