Sunday 10 October 2010

Radio cure

Round 29: March 2029 (Autumn)
last update/next update
Rebecca Kirby is 20.
(Trent is 59, Megan is 57 and Susannah and Nathan are both 19)

Narrated by Rebecca Kirby

At the beginning of this year, I decided to move out of the dorms and find a little place for myself on campus.

I'm not anti-social or anything, but I just got sick of never being alone. I like having my own space, where I can do whatever I want.

I like being self-sufficient, making my own meals and everything. Mum made sure we could all cook something before we left home but I've always been better at it than my sisters.

My parents came to visit not long after I moved in. I think Mum wanted to "approve".

Of course, she started looking for something to pick at right away and gave my windows a once-over.

I told her off about it and she said she was just trying to help.

Yeah, okay. I'm a bigger neat freak than Mum is, so I challenge her to find a single speck of dirt in my house. I clean all the time.

Dad thought the place was great. He probably went a little overboard in his praise for it, actually because it's nothing special. Just a very tiny rental house.

I love it though, but I'd rather be rooming with Tessa. That's probably what we would have done this year. I still miss her so much.

Tessa being gone makes this whole living alone thing a lot lonelier than it would be if I could just pick up the phone and call her.

Susannah and I have been hanging out a lot since Tessa died and we've become closer. We were mostly friends through Tessa before.

It's not the same as being best friends with someone since kindergarten but it's nice to have somebody to confide in.

Right now, Susannah is pretty depressed. Her mother died in a car accident last month and on top of what happened to Tessa last year, she's not doing so well.

She says talking it all out with me helps but she's also seeing a counsellor on campus as well, just for someone impartial and professional to talk to.

I'm hoping that I can be that person for someone one day. I've decided that after I graduate, I'm going to use my psychology degree to go into counselling.

This year, I started volunteering at the women's room on campus. It's not actually counselling but I figure the experience might be helpful one day.

We direct students to family planning and counselling services that might suit them, so at the very least, I'm becoming familiar with what's out there.

And when it's quiet, which it often is during regular class hours, I can use the computer to study.

I'm really busy at the moment because I've taken on a couple of extra classes. I want to go on and do a Master's after I graduate and I'm trying to get some of the prerequisites out of the way, before I have a thesis to worry about on top of it.

I like it but I do feel like I'm always studying.

I usually end up running into Nathan whenever I go to the library. I think he might be the only person here who studies as much as I do.

We get along a little better these days and he actually talks to me now, instead of creepily watching me like last year. I'm pretty sure he still has a crush on me, but I'm really not interested.

I've been seeing Lucian, who I've had a crush on since freshman year. He started flirting with me last year but I didn't really feel like dating anybody back then.

But we became friends and we hung out a lot. I was also tutoring him. He's a psych major as well but he's struggling, while I'm getting straight As.

Then one night, Lucian invited me out. I was so excited and I hoped I didn't sound too dorky on the phone when I accepted his invitation.

I thought it was a date but he ended up bringing a bunch of female friends along.

You could say I was a little annoyed.

After some cursory greetings though, Lucian didn't really pay much attention to anyone but me.

And he was really flirty, all night.

I invited him back home with me, but we didn't go further than making out that night.

Mum has sufficiently guilted me out of the idea of jumping right into bed with a guy on the first date. It's not really my style anyway.

Since that night though, we've been spending a lot of time together. Whenever I'm not up to my eyeballs in books and term papers, that is.

It's way too early to be thinking too far into the future about this but I'm feeling good about Lucian so far.

Extra:
I've been doing family portraits lately and I finally finished them all! I had to do 15 in total. I'll be including them as extras at the end of relevant updates, so today, it's Rebecca and the rest of the Kirby clan. I don't know what I'll do with these pics, or when I'll do updated ones - I just like having them! Maybe I'll hang this one up somewhere in the farm house.

Notes:
  • Title is from Radio Cure by Wilco.
  • Rebecca is still holding onto her 4.0 GPA. She might be able to keep it until graduation, as I don't think she'll need to roll up a skilling want again and she's a Knowledge Sim, so she loves doing her term papers and assignments.
  • Lucian has been pursuing Rebecca quite eagerly! I was going to let them start dating this round anyway but just as I was about to teleport him in, he called and invited her out on an outing. Then he called the next night for a date. So thanks for saving me the effort, Lucian!
  • Rebecca hasn't dated since high school, so this is a long time coming for her. ;) She's Pleasure secondary, so she's been rolling up date wants a lot. It didn't make sense for her last year, to be thinking about boys right after she lost her best friend. And Lucian was playing hard to get the year before that.

15 comments:

  1. Rebecca looks so much like her father. I love that her Mom was cleaning the windows, how did you get her to do that?

    So sad on Tessa, the picture of her on the bed/photo on the wall, was sad. :( Made me miss Tessa all over again, and poor Susannah, I'm glad that she has Rebecca to talk to and a counselor.

    I really liked the women's clinic photos, and all that studying! She better have a 4.0

    Lucian eh? He's no Rob... but we can't all have a Rob I suppose.

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  2. Aw, poor Rebecca! I'm glad to see that she seems to be coping pretty well though, and it's good to see her comforting Susannah.

    Maisie's right, she's like a little Trent 2.0! I'm glad that she got the Kirby nose, it's a neat little staple of their family, sort of like the Clarke cheeks!

    And yay! You finally got to use your Women's Room!

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  3. I love the family photo, I use mine all the time hanging in my homes. I use the photo studio and quickly add them to the BV photo (yay for ALL its options).

    I can see Rebecca as a counselor, how great...though it is sad that Rebecca is gone and now Susannah is dealing with all that loss and grief.

    I'm not keen on Lucian, who brings other women on dates?

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  4. I'm glad, too, that she's coping well and glad she's there for Susannah. I'd definitely seek professional help with all that death around me. Hopefully Susannah's grades won't suffer.

    I can't remember if you said it before but glad to know that Rebecca will be your first psychologist in the hood.

    That family photo should definitely go up in everyone's house somewhere. They're a cute family. And yea, Rebecca looks more and more like Trent every day LOL.

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  5. Thanks for your comments, guys. :)

    Maisie, LOL, Rebecca is totally Trent in drag! I don't know if she got anything at all from Megan - not even her complexion or hair or eye colour!

    Megan actually started cleaning the windows herself, which is just so Megan! But if you turn all menus on, you'll get the option if you click on a window. I just tried it then and it worked even on custom windows. I think it's a base game interaction.

    Everybody's still missing Tessa but they're all at the point where they're getting back into the swing of things without her. Betsy's death is still very fresh for poor Susannah though.

    Oh, if only we could all have a Rob, eh? ;)

    Tessa, Rebecca's doing okay. She's got plenty to focus on, though it would be harder in a house all by herself. Her mind would wander back to Tessa a lot.

    I am not quite as fond of the Clarke cheeks as I am of the Kirby nose, lol. I think the Clarke cheeks are pretty dead at this point, as I surgery-ed them away!

    I've actually used the women's room before, when Adrienne got pregnant. But it was nice to get to use it again, as well as my library, which I adore.

    Apple Valley, thanks. You know I'm also a big fan of family photos all over the place!

    I think Rebecca would be a kind of no-nonsense counsellor, which is exactly what some people need. I'm looking forward to playing out her post-grad degree, to see how it plays out.

    LOL, well, Lucian actually invited her on an outing, which Rebecca assumed (or hoped?) was a date. But apparently, he just couldn't help himself because he ignored everyone else on the outing in favour of Rebecca. So I guess it kind of turned into a date!

    Danielle, yeah, I think I'd be wanting some professional help too. Losing a close friend and your mother within a year!

    I don't think I'd revealed my career choice for Rebecca here on the blog (it wasn't a secret, I just hadn't worked it in) but I'd mentioned it a couple of times at N99. But I'm looking forward to trying out Shana's counseling career. :D

    I love that family picture too. I know a couple of you have mentioned that Claudia and Rebecca look really alike and in this picture, I can see it!

    I also just got to thinking how Victoria looks like she's Claudia's older sister as well, with two kids and a husband!

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  6. I'm glad that Rebecca is starting to get over Tessa's death and has started going out. Wow, still a 4.0 GPA! Maybe she channeled her grief into studying even harder.

    Poor Susannah, it hasn't been the easiest times for her. It's good that she's able to talk about it though instead of burying her feelings inside.

    I've been wondering who is that mysterious councellor-to-be ;)

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  7. Lucian's cute, but what kinda outing was that? LOL! Maybe he was testing her? When he saw how jealous she was, he knew she was interested in him, lol.

    Oh, I didn't even think about Tessa and Betsy. It was in the back of my head, but oh poor Susannah. She's probably close to aspiration failure!

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  8. In a way, it's nice for Rebecca to have someone to talk to who's going through a similar situation.

    I can see her being a great psychologist!

    I just love those family photos. I don't know if I would have the patience to do them but every Sim looks so cute so I might try, lol!

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  9. I still miss Tessa. *sigh* So I can imagine how Rebecca feels. Nice little place she's got there too! And I'm also glad that she's found someone to spend time with on the romantic front. Just don't take it too fast. Nice and slow. LOL

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  10. Sari, maybe she did. Everyone deals with grief differently and throwing yourself into study would make sense for a Knowledge Sim.

    I think this is especially hard for Susannah, because she's away from her family. So Rebecca is a good substitute for that and the counsellor is helping too.

    Heh...now you know!

    Lunar, there's a thought! Maybe he was too nervous to ask her out for real, seeing she turned him down last year.

    Yes, poor Susannah. Both my recent ROS deaths have affected her quite harshly and I actually didn't realise that until after I'd already killed Betsy off.

    She's not close to aspiration failure but only because she, like most of my Sims, is perma-plat (semi perma-plat, really, with the hack I use). AL makes it absurdly easy to get lifetime platinum and I think Sarah and Susannah both reached it in their teens! I'm getting the feeling I'll never see the aspiration failure animation again!

    Shake, it usually helps to talk to someone who's going through the same thing you are, so I'm sure Rebecca and Susannah both appreciate that.

    These sorts of family photos are frustrating if you're just starting out, but if you have any experience posing at all, they're not so hard. A little tedious sometimes but not really difficult. Wait till I post the HUGE one I did of the Moretti clan - that one was hard but mostly because I was trying to fit everyone in frame.

    Riverdale, aw, I miss Tessa too. I'm visiting Dominic again soon and it's him I'm really worried about, actually. I hardly ever let one-bolt couples get married but Dominic was so keen and I probably would have given in.

    Rebecca's not thinking marriage with Lucian just yet, so I guess she's taking your advice. ;) She's focusing on her studies and having a little fun in her spare time.

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  11. OMG, LOL Megan, right at the windows! She SO would!

    Oh, but how awful it must be for them all to move forward without Tessa :( I'm so glad Rebecca and Susannah have each other.

    LOL @ everyone talking smack on Lucian! He's a very pretty boy, but awww, why doesn't she like Nathan? With all those adorable freckles! So what if he's a little stalkerish... it could be endearing, right? lol!

    Awww, I love their family portrait! And wow, I don't think I ever noticed how pale those girls are! They could use a little sun! ;)

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  12. LOL @ Megan, immidiatly going to clean the windows!! It's so something Megan would do!
    I like it that Rebecca has put through with the original plan of moving out, even without Tessa. But I imagine it being very hard on her, without her best friend.
    I'm glad she found a new friend in Susannah, but I get her when she says it's not the same. Unfortunatly it will never be the same I guess :(
    That "date", well that did't exactly turn out the way she planned, did it? I'm glad there were others after that one too.
    I like Lucian, but I agree with Laura here, why can't she like Nathan, they would be sweet!

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  13. I'm glad to see Rebecca's getting along okay. Working a the woman's room is a fantastic idea. She seems to be staying really busy which I think is a good thing.

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  14. I'm glad that Rebecca and Susannah have each other to talk to after all they've been through. But I know it's not the same and she'll still miss Tessa a lot. :(

    I think Rebecca would make a great psychologist! Let me know what you think of the career when you get to try it out. I've been wondering if maybe I should have made the skill requirements a little more difficult. ;)

    I love the family portrait at the end!

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  15. Laura, I love it when Sims act just as you expect them too!

    Lucian is pretty and I've been hoping one of my Sims would take a liking to him, just so I could write him in and take pictures of him. ;) But yeah, she's not into Nathan. I don't think she knows what she's missing but I will wait patiently and hope!

    Claudia and Victoria have my complexion. Well, not quite as I'm a tiny bit darker! But I can sympathise with them, lol.

    Tanja, I think Rebecca would have moved out but it really just worked out well for me for my play schedule! It means I can stick, Jack, Charlie and Audrey in the dorm next year and still only play two uni households. ;)

    I think the date went much better than Rebecca was expecting it to when it started! She's happy enough now, so maybe she'll forgive Lucian for bringing a bunch of friends along without telling her.

    You and me both! We'll see what happens but so far, the interest has been completely one-sided and she rejects him if he tries to flirt with her via ACR.

    gallowaytownship, well, that's Rebecca's theory. It's better than wallowing, though she's allowed herself plenty of time to just miss Tessa as well.

    Shana, there was a lot of history with Tessa and Rebecca that she obviously won't be able to regain with anyone. So she's just going to have to focus on the positive stuff now, as there's nothing that can be done about that.

    I'm so excited to try out your career! I'll let you know if it's too easy or anything. I haven't tried it at all yet, even to test. :)

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