Saturday 3 October 2009

Space boy

Round 21: Autumn 2013
last update/next update

Galen Clarke is 75, Georgette is 73, Kendal is 37 and Calvin and Troy are both 10.
(Lake Draper is 56 and Patience is 11)

Narrated by Kendal Clarke

Georgette recently managed to claw her way back up to the top at the law firm. Her superiors were really impressed with her dedication to mentoring the younger employees. They tend to get overloaded with the extra work no one else wants to do and Georgette is always willing to help them in her own time at home. It's nice to see her going off to work happy again.



I'm not so happy at work. I have to stay back and work late to meet deadlines and I'm just hating every minute of it lately.

Almost every minute anyway. At the very least, the job means I can see Lake every day. He's my one bright spot in my otherwise dreary days. Or nights, as it tends to be recently.

It's really wearing on me because I'm having to bring work home with me now. Right before leaving work one afternoon, my boss dropped an assignment on my desk and said he needed it in 24 hours or I'd be demoted.

I was up all night, running on caffeine. I got no sleep at all.

I had a vacation day the next day (some vacation - I spent it working!) and I got the article finished with 5 hours to spare and e-mailed it to my boss.

After that was over, I made sure I spent some quality time alone with Calvin and Troy. I feel like I've been seeing them less and less and I hate that.

I certainly found out something very interesting when I was talking to Calvin! Apparently, Troy hasn't been doing his homework. He just throws it on the floor, leaves it there and goes to play video games.

Calvin has been doing it for him, because he's so afraid his brother will get an F. I'm going to need to talk to Troy about that now - that's not how I raised him! And maybe I should take away that Playstation too!

I had a lot to unload on poor Lake when we next went out to dinner, mostly about work. He asked me if I hated it so much, why didn't I just quit?

You know, why don't I just quit? I do hate it and writing has never been a passion of mine anyway. I guess I just have to figure out what my passion really is.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about our relationship. As I've grown older, my family has become more and more important to me and I would really like Lake to be a part of that family.

I know he loves me as much as I love him but I wonder if he's ever thought about getting married. I never notice until I start thinking about stuff like this but he's a lot older than me. Would he even want to do that all over again?

On the job front...well, I quit. I felt relief as soon as I hung up the phone but also a sense of dread. I didn't really know what I wanted to do instead. I'd love to go into science or teaching but I don't have a degree.

After I paced around the house for a few days, wondering what the hell I was going to do next, Galen told me he had the perfect idea - Suffolk University was now offering correspondence courses. I could get a degree and do something with my life! The only thing is that it would require a full time commitment, so I won't be able to get another job for a while. Georgette gets paid enough to support us all but I don't want to put that much pressure on her.

I told Lake all about it and he suggested that we move in with him! It means so much to me that he wants to support me in this. I think it's going to work out well for all of us. Lake and I will get to be together all the time, he can let the nanny go because I'll be home with the kids while I'm studying.

Patience already gets along really well with Calvin and Troy, so there hopefully won't be too many problems with the children.

It will probably take us a few months to get everything together before we can leave but I'm already so excited!

Random pic:

Just a little workplace romance for you! It didn't fit into the update because in my head, Kendal is too busy for making out and groping at work! But it's cute, so I'm including it anyway.

Notes:
  • I'll move Kendal and co. in with Lake and Patience when I play their house (Spring 2013). I was almost going to wait until next round but it makes more sense to me this way, even though it means Kendal gets played twice this round. I'm moving Galen and Georgette in too because dammit, I don't want to play an all-elder household!
  • Kendal rolled the ROS "Deadline to write an article within 24 hours (demoted if failure)". Which basically meant she had to write a novel in 24 hours (an article is too easy). So she did it and then the next day, she rolled the want to quit her job. This is a want I've only ever seen roll up for a) Sims who've been demoted or b) Pleasure Sims. Seeing Kendal is neither, I started thinking about why a brainy single mother might want to quit her job. Lightbulb - maybe she wants to quit her job to further her education!
  • Sooooo...in the comments of my most recent college post, The Lunar Fox got me thinking about people who study to enter one career and later enter a completely different one. That, in turn, got me thinking about people who never studied in the first place but later decide that they want to, either for their career or just for personal fulfilment. People can do this in real life but Sims can't. Now, I could use any number of hacks to give Sims an instant degree but as you all know, that's not how things roll in Sullivan. So I've devised a little system for older Sims who want to earn a university degree and Kendal will be my guinea pig.
  • My idea right now is adult education courses will be by correspondence only. The Sim will have to write two articles for each skill area (article writing is a feature of Monique's computer), making a total of 14 articles. Or term papers, if you prefer. The money they get from them will be like the equivalent of the grant money real college students get in the game. Once their papers are complete, I'll decide on a major for them and that Sim will now have all the benefits of being a college graduate. It's a work in progress - I'll reduce or increase the number of articles if it's too hard or too easy. I'll keep you updated on how it works out, of course.
  • Next update, we move right into Winter 2013, seeing there are no birthdays until Spring!

12 comments:

  1. Oh, I love the idea! That is awesome. Keep us updated on how the correspondence thing works out. I'm sure Kendal won't mind being the guinea pig for it.

    And awww! Something about happy step families really warms my heart. I love the picture of Patience, Calvin, and Troy playing chess together.

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  2. I really love the idea of adult education! Right now I don't have any sims in the same position, but if that comes up, and it works out ok for you, maybe I will use it too!!

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  3. I love that idea of adult education. I know so many people IRL who go back to school. Hell, I never went to college but I do have two "lower" degrees. Do you mind if I snatch that idea? I don't have any sims in mind at the moment but I might try it later on someone.

    Yay, I'm glad things are going so well between Kendal and Lake.

    May I ask WCIF Kendal's top? I'm assuming it's a separate top since the skirt looks like one of Xandher's.

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  4. I LOVE the idea of home correspondence classes for my simmies - I don't like making all the generations complete all four years. I can't wait to hear how you make it work...loving that idea.

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  5. Glad that Kendal is getting something a bit more permanent, she's been alone for a long time.

    LOL on not wanting to play an elder home. They aren't *that* bad. I usually bring in the grandkids, throw a party, etc.

    I like your idea of correspondence for college. I set up (but haven't had the need to use it in my storyline) a "college" in Millwood, that is apartments with an education center for the commons. The apartments have 1-2 bedrooms, so small families could move in as well. Cara would have gone there with Rachael if she didn't join the military.

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  6. Echo the above comments about what a fabulous idea. I can't wait to see how it works.

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  7. Thanks everyone. I really like Kendal and Lake as a couple. Who would have thunk it? Not me, that's for sure!

    This will be the first step family I've had in Sullivan, possibly ever. All my other Sims who've remarried/moved in with a second partner after being widowed or divorced have moved in with someone childless, so I've never had step-siblings before! Kendal has the want to get married (because I gave her the Family secondary this round - it's the one that fits her best). Lake still rolls the fear of marrying her from time to time but it's not there more often than not. So we'll see what happens come Spring!

    I'm glad you all like the correspondence course idea. I'm excited to get it going and start it out. It probably won't be an option I use frequently but I'll be glad to have it, especially for former townies like Kendal.

    Cissie, you can go ahead and use the idea if you like. I don't mind at all. MTS is down now but luckily I went looking for Kendal's shirt last night and it's here: http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=314335 (along with some other nice recolours). Her skirt *is* by Xandher. I love those skirts but I wish the pantyhose were different colours. Kendal's are green but you can't quite tell on her skin. I'd love it if someone did recolours with sheer and black hose only.

    Ha, Maisie, elders are *totally* that bad for me! It's my least favourite age stage. I just can't abide them. I have done all the stuff you do to try and make them interesting and it just doesn't work out for me! I just like multi-generational houses, I guess, even though they're not exactly typical for where I live.

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  8. Carla, thank you so much for the link! I knew I'd seen these tops somewhere before but couldn't remember where it was.

    I agree with the pantyhose colors. I've been meaning to *try* recoloring them but I'm so obsessed with playing that I haven't gotten anything done lately. If I ever get them done I'll upload them somewhere.

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  9. Oooh Carla, you've got a great idea here! I might just snatch it for myself! It makes such sense and doesn't feel cheaty at all! Thanks for sharing this with us. I'm happy for Lake and Kendal. I really am. I am looking forward to seeing what she chooses to do with her career. I guess she was tired of what she was doing, she certainly let you know it. LOL!

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  10. Well, Cissie, if you ever get around to doing that, I'll want to be the first to know!

    Simmington, I'd love to see the idea in action in some of your hoods one day so I'm glad to share it.

    I'm really happy for Lake and Kendal too. They got together all by themselves. I never would have thought to pair them because the chemistry is not particularly high but it seems to work! Kendal getting the want to quit her job was quite nifty too. I like the unexpected wants that don't quite fit in with a Sim's aspiration.

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  11. Aw, I'm glad Lake and Kendall are moving forward in their relationship. Hopefully Lake will stop being so scared of remarrying once they've all moved in. ;)

    Love the idea for the correspondence course!

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  12. Shana, I'm hoping for the same thing! I moved Kendal and co. into Lake's house, seeing as it's spring in my game now but I forgot to check his wants and fears. I remember he was scared to marry Ottilie too, so clearly I don't see the fear of marriage as an impediment to making my Sims get married anyway! I try to wait for it to roll away but some people get married even though they're scared and I lean more towards fulfilling wants (in this case, Kendal's) than avoiding fears.

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