Wednesday 22 December 2010

Bled white

Round 29: October 2030 (Spring)


Gordon Nott is 34, Lia is 33, Annabel and Georgina are both 6 and Gabriel is 3.
(Maia is 28 and Ethan is 24)

Narrated by Gordon Nott

This year, I finally took the plunge and enrolled in law school. It was a big decision, because it's a fairly significant amount of money that we're pouring into this.

We had to take out a loan, which Lia was nervous about. We've just pulled ourselves out of debt and it seemed almost crazy to put ourselves back in.

We decided that it was a good investment though. It's going to be hard but if we make a few sacrifices, we're both confident that we'll pay it off.

Well, I am anyway. Lia still has her reservations.

She's been very supportive though. There have been times when I've wondered whether I could get through this and Lia has been the one to talk me back around again.

All the cups of coffee have been nice too and really necessary sometimes as well.

We had Maia and her boyfriend Ethan over for dinner the other night.

Georgina and Annabel were very excited.

They both adore their aunt Maia.

Georgina is usually quite shy but she's taken a shine to Ethan. It was so cute.

We had Maia and Ethan over partly because Lia wanted to get to know Ethan, away from her parents.

He seems like a nice guy to me. He was very keen to hear about law school. I'm looking at getting into environmental law, so I doubt it it was his area of interested but he at least pretended it was.

I'll have to actually graduate before I start thinking about practising though. I'm trying to get into a study routine but I find it so much harder to concentrate. It's been difficult to get used to studying again, after over 10 years without it.

I've gone part time at work so I can concentrate on my classes, so I'm home a lot more. That also means I'm with Gabriel all day and he needs my attention as well. A nanny is a luxury we can't afford right now.

Gabriel is often a welcome distraction from my work though, so I can't complain too much. It's been nice doing the stay-at-home dad thing.

It's much easier to get my work done when Lia is around though. She usually has Gabriel settled before I even notice.

Annabel and Georgina fortunately both understand that I need to keep my mind on studying, so they choose quiet activities when I'm at the computer.

They even keep Gabriel occupied with games and songs.

I love that all three of the kids are so close. I was an only child, so it's not something I ever experienced.

Seeing me studying to have encouraged Annabel to start reading a little more as well.

I don't think I've ever seen Lia so happy. She's always loved reading and it bothered her that Annabel didn't seem to care about books.

I was trying not to worry too much about Annabel's grades, seeing she's still so young, but Lia was sure it was a sign of future academic failure.

Annabel loves reading aloud to us now.

So far, we've only seen a slight improvement in her grades but we're very proud she's putting so much more effort in now.

Unfortunately, now Georgina's grades are sliding, even though she's always so tried hard in school.

Annabel never really cared much about bringing home Ds but Georgina is so hard on herself.

She's a lot like Lia in that way. It's horrible to see her so upset. I hope she won't always be so critical of herself.

I'm hoping that now, things will be much easier for us on the money front. Lia just found out she's been promoted.

I'm biased, I suppose, but it's about time. She was instrumental in finally getting the governor to finish the library renovations and she's been running the place for a good while. Now her pay packet matches her job description.

I'm so proud of her. To be second in charge of the entire library system at only 33 is pretty amazing!

The bonus they gave her was enormous. I don't think either of us have ever seen that much money in our lives. We poured it all into the loan account, so we don't have a lot of it left. But it was enough to pay for all of my tuition for the entire four years of law school. It's such a load off, knowing we won't have to worry about that any more.

Notes:
  • Title is from Bled White by Elliott Smith.
  • Annabel was like a little skilling machine this round. so her grades went up a little. Georgina was more interested in playing with her siblings which, while adorable, does not really help one's grades. She did manage to max out her creativity though. I'm not sure what's up with her grades. It might be the element of randomness that's supposed to be a part of Harder Harder Grades.
  • Lia was promoted twice this round. She was promoted to Area Manager first, just because she was due (all skilled up, with good work performance). Then she was promoted again due to a hobby chance card. I almost always fail those and even when I pass them, I get something boring like more enthusiasm or they'll bring some annoying townie home from work with them. So an actual promotion for a family who needed it was an awesome change! I really hesitated to let Gordon and Lia take out a loan for law school, because I wasn't sure they'd be able to pay it back. Gordon obviously knew better than me though, because they're completely debt free now.
  • I'm not sure anyone would notice except me but I am aware that I am due for another election in Sullivan. I usually do them in spring but I'm going to put this one off until after Christmas. So I'll probably finish up this round after Christmas (only two more families to go) and then put the poll up.

22 comments:

  1. Since I don't really play seriously, and when I do I cheat at things like grades, I don't know what the problem could be with the falling grades. Poor Georgina, she looks devastated!

    It was nice to see Maia, and adorable to see Georgina flirting with Ethan!

    I love the family photos you have all over the house. Such a charming touch!

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  2. I too love all the family photos, makes me want to put more up! I'm glad Gordon was able to go to law school and I'm sure he'll do fine. Poor Georgina, I'm sure she'll pull those grades up in no time! I'm curious to see if my Lyria Nott is going to look anything like these three.......

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  3. S.B., I did feel sorry for poor Georgina! I had to set up the picture of Gordon comforting her, but she really did cry that often. :( There's a little bit of randomness built into Harder Harder Grades, so I'm hoping this was just a bit of bad luck for her.

    She did love Ethan though, didn't she?

    Gosh, I just realised how many family photos are visible in this update! Makes it worth it to have them hanging around when people notice, so thank you. :)

    Mizzgin03, oh, you should! I always notice them in other people's updates and I always love seeing them.

    Gordon's halfway through now. I had the poor guy chained to the computer for most of the update, because he had to finish his "papers" (novels).

    Oh, it'll be fun to compare your Gordon's and my Gordon's kids as they grow up! I would say Annabel is the one you most want to watch to compare with Lyria, as she looks the most like Gordon. Georgina and Gabriel are both more of a mix, though their colouring and noses make them look more like Gordon than they actually do. But Annabel is her dad almost all over.

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  4. Good gracious, when did the twins turn 6! For that matter when did Lia and Gordon hit thier 30s! Yikes, time is flying by. That was really lucky with the bonus to pay off law school, even though seeing them struggle with the loan would have been interesting. And I agree, the family photos are great.

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  5. I'm with Apple, I can't believe the twins are 6 already! For some reason I was thinking they were all a year or two younger, but man Gabriel is a tall youngster! Soon he'll be a big boy too. If I recall, they aren't having anymore, and that's kind of sad to me! They are such a cute family, Gordon seems more laid back, and Lia is so not the way, a nice balance.

    That's great that they got their debt paid off! Didn't incur much interest ether. Poor Georgina though. :( I have no clue on the grades. I have this issue with Rachael, but she's getting a B. No matter how she gains skills, and does her homework, she can't get higher. But a B is a different story over a D though.

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  6. I'm glad Gordon took the plunge and enrolled in the law program. And they are so lucky to be able to get out of debt so quickly! If only real life were that way.

    Aww, I see you have your own 6 year old who's hard on themselves when it comes to school. Her and my Angel would get along, I think. They could be study buddies! It probably is the randomness with harder, harder grades that made her grades drop. I think that happened to Angel and then later to Xia when I popped into their house to finish harvesting crops.

    I also like seeing all of the family photos all around. I've been trying to get more in my shots, too, but I don't have as many yet. I'm glad this family is doing so well. I rarely have any luck with those hobby chance cards either and it's usually either gain or lose enthusiasm as the reward/punishment. So it's nice that it happened to a family who could use the extra money.

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  7. Apple Valley, I know, I kept having to check the twins' birthdates to see if they were really six! And yep...they're six!

    If you think it's crazy that Lia and Gordon are in their 30s now, would it blow your mind to hear that Finn and Victoria (and co) turn 30 next year?!

    Yeah, it's fun to play a struggling family sometimes. I'm sure I'll have plenty more of those in the future though!

    Maisie, these kids all grow up so fast! Yes, Gabriel is off to pre-school next year. And yes, Lia's ideal is 3 so they're stopping with Gabriel. I just unlocked their baby wants last session and they both rolled away. They haven't rolled back, so I guess they're happy with their 3 for now (even though Gordon's ideal is 6, which won't be happening, lol).

    Gordon and Lia are a nice balance for each other. He's a calming influence on her and she reminds him of things he probably should be worrying about, as it's not his natural inclination.

    I've been saving the game before Georgina goes to school each time, just in case she gets an F and the social worker comes! If that happens, I'll reload and bump her grade up a letter before she goes to school. Where I come from at least, social workers don't take kids away for doing poorly in school!

    Danielle, I'm keen for Gordon to finish now but that won't happen until the round after next! So he's got a while to go.

    Aw, I forgot about your Angel! Yes, there are some definite similarities there. Angel is a shy one too, isn't he? I'm actually wondering if Georgina might need some logic skill points. Even if that's not the base skill, I think you need some for a raise in grades and I'm not sure she has any.

    I have more family photos than I know what to do with, lol! Lia had a ton in her inventory when they were living in their old place because there was just no more room on the walls!

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  8. Yay for Gordon and his law school dream being realized. He and Lia are so cute together--he's so supportive of her and she's supportive of him. I thought it was too sweet when he was a bit indignant on her behalf about her previous lack of a promotion.

    It would be hard to watch your child try their hardest to do well in school, and still fail to see results. The difference between the sisters in how much they care is interesting. :)

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  9. Rachel, I love them together too. Gordon had a lot of growing up to do before he got married but they provide a good balance to each other now.

    Poor Lia has been trying to get that library done since Athena was in office. Gordon would have been watching that unfold all these years, so he knows the promotion is well-deserved and overdue.

    It's actually hard for me to see something like that as a teacher, so I know it must be even more difficult for the parents. Annabel and Georgina are very interesting to me in general. They're very different but there's so much affection and closeness as well.

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  10. Congrats to Gordon for finally starting law school. I hope he'll do well and start earning some serious money soon :)

    Oh, that's so unfair that when Annabel finally starts getting better grades then Georgina's grades start dropping. Hopefully it's just the randomness of the hack. Zach from Wellington apparently has some stuck homework and would fail his class if I didn't cheat his grades higher. I have Monique's auto-homework hack and he always gets three homeworks in his queue but two of them drop off immediately. Very annoying.

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  11. Sari, I was looking at the pay rates for law vs. journalism and Gordon would probably get paid better eventually if he stuck with journalism! But you have to follow what you really want to do and he's not into journalism.

    How strange about your Zach! I've never noticed my Sims getting more than one homework in their queue. I wonder if it's something the hack does? It's not one I use.

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  12. Awww! Poor kid! She looked so sad about her grades. It's cute that she's so like her mother.

    This family is going through a somewhat tough time right now, but their future is definitely bright!

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  13. Lunar, I know, poor baby. The twins are getting to an age where I'm noticing their personality differences a little more. I find it funny that Georgina is the one who looks more like Lia and she's very much like her in personality as well.

    And yes, hopefully, Lia and Gordon are on their way to some very good things. They have the debt out of the way at least, well before the girls are ready for college. :)

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  14. Oh wow, I really felt for Georgina. I can see why she is so upset. I had a child start crying for no reason, at least no reason I could see. As you can guess, I am not used to children in my game, LOL!

    Nice homey touch with the photos, And what an adorable family, hope it all works out~

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  15. Drew, me too. Georgina really does try hard. She faithfully rolls a want to do her homework every afternoon but it's just not working for her right now. :(

    I have a whole folder, separated by household subfolders, full of pictures I intend for framing. I'm that nerdy with this. ;)

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  16. I'm way behind on commenting, I know, I'm sorry! I hope to get some of it done today before work ....

    I can't believe Lia and Gordon are in their 30's already! It seems like only yesterday they graduated!

    I hope it all works out with Georgina's grades! She looks so sad with the bad grades, I can understand that Gordon found it horrible.

    It really seems like Gordon knew better about the loan, so it's a good thing they got one :)

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  17. Tanja, I know, all that college drama doesn't seem like it was so long ago for Lia and Gordon, does it?

    We'll have to see about Georgina's grades. I was having a similar problem with the Lane twins last night but didn't write it into the update. It's set at Christmas time, so they weren't even supposed to be at school, lol!

    I've been checking out all my Sims using Apple Valley's money styles post and Lia and Gordon both came out as bingers, which basically means they're good with money but they're willing to spend it on things they want too. But Lia is a born worrier, so I think she'd still worry a little. Gordon isn't the type to worry much about anything.

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  18. I FUCKIN HATE YOU CARLA THIS IS SO WIERD WHY DO YOU SHOW PEOPLE YOUR SIMS THEY AINT THAT NTARASTING YOUR ALL BASTERDS AND BYTCHES IF YOU READ THIS BULLSHIT I THINK U SHOOD BE HUNG UP IN HELL
    UNSINCERELY
    NONEOFYOURFUCKINBUISNESS

    P.S GO FUCK YOUSELF AND STICK A DAFFOLDIL UP YOU ASSHOLE

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    Replies
    1. Hi Carla
      The above writer cleary des not know about if you don`t have anything nice to say don`t say anything at all.
      Lots of love
      Amy

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    2. Wow, someone's obviously on their period LOL! I didn't realize The Sims could make someone so angry! Eat some chocolate and be happy.

      Delete
    3. MIND UR OWN BEESWAX BITCH

      Delete
    4. Thanks Dani and Amy. :) You'd think this anonymous charmer would find something else to do with his/her time, rather than leaving abusive comments on blogs they don't even like. It's a bit sad, really.

      Delete