Second Life ... of boredom

So I am dogsitting in the East Village at an apartment with no TV but a really nice computer so to entertain myself I ventured into Second Life. Its a virtual world where you become an Avatar (like an animated version of yourself) and walk around and talk to people and build things. You can get some "linden dollars" for pretty cheap but I didn't buy any and I was too intimdated to talk to anyone so I got bored pretty fast. Has anybody else tried it and found cool places or things to do?