"Real Life" vs. Second Life?

Wow! I was finally able to get started in Second Life (after some issues with needing to update my graphics driver). I'm glad we were able to get started in Joykadia first - I felt in some ways like I already spoke some of the language ("teleport", "landmarks", and particularly knowing how to get my avatar to do things (like sit). The graphics are much different - not sure if I prefer one over the other yet. I guess I will see how things go as I do more things in Second Life. I finally had a moment in Joykadia when things seemed to "click" - I look forward to having that same moment in Second Life.

I wanted to include a snapshot of my avatar in Second Life, but I am still figuring out how to do that. I am really enjoying this course, but am having a bit of trouble balancing the amount of time I have to dedicate to the course (based on my busy life and the single-credit expectations) with my desire to sit down for hours and really figure all these systems out.

I am a fan of the show The Guild. One of the characters, Clara, is a mom with three young children, whom she neglects terribly because of her addiction to online gaming (in a WOW-like system). Obviously, Clara is a caricature, but I also think of her as a character in a morality play, highlighting the dangers of becoming too involved in a virtual world.

How do you balance your online world and your "real" world?