Wednesday 23 February 2011

God help the girl

Round 30: January 2032 (Summer)
last update/next update

Julian Sitko is 82, Caterina is 77, David is 50, Kirstin is 48 and Adelaide is 14.
(Camilla and Lila are both 19, Oliver and Sebastian are both 16 and Veronica is 15)

Narrated by Adelaide Sitko

Right at the end of last year, Grandpa decided to retire. He really loved his job but he couldn't handle it physically any more. Caterina has been hoping he'd retire since before they got married, so she's happy.

And I've loved having him around so often as well. With the diner, as well as his office job, he was gone a lot before.

Half the time though, he's seemed almost depressed at being home. He didn't really want to stop working.

He hasn't been feeling well at all and Mum has been really worried about him.

I've been scared that we'd have to take Grandpa to hospital.

That never happened but we did lose Grandpa. He just went to sleep one night and didn't wake up.

Caterina was obviously the one who discovered him and she has been distraught ever since.

But then, we have all been really upset and just missing Grandpa.

Even when he wasn't feeling that well, we always used to go outside when I got off school to toss the football around. I guess that probably seems like a silly thing to miss, to some people, but it's not to me.

Before he died, Grandpa mentioned that he'd really like to see me go to college. I really want to make that happen for him but I'm not very confident. My grades are just barely average and I'm not in any danger of earning any scholarships any time soon.

My sisters are both away at college right now but they came home for the funeral.

Camilla and Lila came back to our house for dinner afterwards and it was so good to see them both, especially Lila. I've always felt closer to her than to Camilla.

We even tossed a football around before dinner, like we used to when we were kids.

Dinner itself was sort of depressing. Very quiet as well, which doesn't happen often in our house.

Nobody said much at all, except for Dad and Lila, occasionally.

I've had the biggest crush on Sebastian Gentry for at least a year now and have been begging Veronica to maybe set up a double date or something. She's dating his brother Oliver and it would be so easy for her to do it but so far, she keeps "forgetting".

So of course, she had to pick the worst possible time to finally set something up!

Grandpa just died; I don't really feel like going out and trying to impress a boy right now.

Veronica was really annoyed by that. "Do you know how much effort I went to to organise this?"

I don't know how hard it could have been. All she had to do was invite Oliver and Sebastian out bowling or something.

But Veronica doesn't take no for an answer, so over the next couple of days, she wore me down and I agreed to ask Mum and Dad.

I thought maybe Mum would be angry at me for even asking so soon after Grandpa died but she was okay with it. I always knew Dad would be a hard sell though.

He's always been protective of us but he's been worse since Camilla got pregnant.

The only reason I was allowed to go was because it was a group situation and because Uncle Caleb was going to pick us up and take us back home.

When we sat down to eat at the bowling alley, stupid Oliver took the seat next to Sebastian, which kind of pissed me off.

But we got to talk plenty after dinner, so that kind of made up for it. Sebastian's a musician. His parents just bought him a synthesiser for his 16th birthday but he's already saving up for a guitar.

We did actually bowl, as well and I almost embarrassed myself by falling over.

But then I redeemed myself by getting a strike. I was hoping Sebastian saw and he did! He even clapped for me!

Once we finished bowling, Oliver and Veronica basically started ignoring me and Sebastian.

I didn't really feel like watching them make out all night, so I took advantage of having Sebastian to myself instead.

I really like Sebastian - he's very charming.

Dad says I should watch out for the charming ones but I think Sebastian is really sweet.

He even kissed me goodnight, luckily before Uncle Caleb came to pick us up! He would have told Dad.

And Sebastian wants to go out on a date with just me, without Veronica and Oliver tagging along. I'm so excited - that will be my first real date!

While we were waiting outside for Uncle Caleb, I filled Veronica in on all the details. She doesn't find any of it nearly as exciting as I do but she's my best friend, so I still wanted to tell her.

I had to admit that I was glad I gave in and came. In the back of my mind though, I felt almost guilty for being so happy. I hate to admit it but I'd almost forgotten about Grandpa.

The next morning at breakfast, Caterina announced that she was making plans to move in with her daughter.

Dad was surprised and thought maybe Caterina was feeling unwelcome here, now that Grandpa was gone. She insisted it wasn't that though; she just wanted to spend some more time with Olivia and her family.


Olivia had visited the day before with Ramona and Jacinta and asked Caterina what she thought about the idea and Caterina decided she liked it.


I guess it makes sense that she'd want to get to know Ramona and Jacinta, the same way she got to know Josh and Jessica when she lived with her son.

I don't really remember either of my grandmothers, so Caterina has been the closest thing I've had to a grandma. We get along so well and I almost forget we're not related.

She's not moving that far away and she says we can still visit and call each other but it's not going to be the same.

It feels like everyone is leaving. Camilla and Lila are away, Grandpa's gone and now Caterina. I'm going to miss having her around here.

**********
Julian Sitko, 1950-2032

Julian Sitko, Sullivan business tycoon and owner of The Greasy Spoon, died in his sleep early on Thursday morning. He was 82 years old.

Julian Sitko moved to Sullivan in 1978 and fell in love with his future wife, Collette.

Just one year later, he married Collette in a ceremony in their backyard.

Marrying Collette also made Julian a stepfather to Collette's son, Owen.

A few years later, Collette gave birth to Julian's first and only biological child, Kirstin.

When Julian wasn't spending time with his family, he was busy running The Greasy Spoon, one of Exeter's most popular diners.

Two years after the death of his wife Collette in 2023, Julian began dating Caterina, who was also widowed.

After dating for two years, Julian and Caterina married at Sullivan Town Hall.

At the time of his death, Julian was living with his daughter Kirstin and her family in Sullivan.

Julian leaves behind wife Caterina (77), daughter Kirstin (48), stepson Owen (54) and granddaughters Camilla and Lila (both 19) and Adelaide (14).

Extras:

Pretty sure Caterina was a little more than Julian's friend, SimCity Insurance Company! They've given her the same payout spouses always get but she's still listed as a friend. I think that probably has something to do with the fact that Julian and Caterina's marriage was a bit buggy. I think he still considered himself married to Collette and Fix Dead Romances (batbox option) didn't work on him. So, um...a bit of weirdness there!

On Twitter last night, I posted that I'd been completely uninspired with my town hall (one of Kirstin's election promises was to refurbish it) but was finally making some headway. I have a little sneak preview for you.

These offices are the ones I imagine the lower level workers are in - the campaign workers, the interns, etc. There's two desks in each room, as I don't imagine they'd have their own offices). The higher level workers will have much larger offices upstairs.

Notes:
  • Title is from God Help The Girl by God Help The Girl.
  • So Julian is gone but it was unfortunately just his time to go. So far, I believe he's my longest living Sim (though I have Sims around now who will live much longer), so at least he had a good run, unlike poor Henry!
  • I had him die at home mainly because every time I clicked on Julian while he was selected, he'd "jump", so I knew I wasn't going to be able to get a lot of posing done with him.
  • The Greasy Spoon, if you're wondering, is now owned by Kirstin but that's temporary. It will eventually be transferred to Camilla.
  • I somehow suspect David will not be very fond of Sebastian. He's a Romance Sim and his grades are even worse than Adelaide's. She gets low Bs, he gets low Cs or high Ds. I've decided that David is letting them date very reluctantly. ;)
  • Next time we see Olivia, Caterina will be living with her. It just seemed to make more sense to have her live with them. She can take the spare bedroom and Ramona and Jacinta can be roomies.

19 comments:

  1. Another bites the dust. It's still sad though. Adelaide should be happy that her dad is letting her date. Some parents would be super scared that another one of their daughters could get pregnant.

    I think it's good that Caterina is moving in with her daughter, time to get to know her grandbabies better.

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  2. Evil!! *pouting*

    Sigh, I suppose it makes sense for Caterina to move with her family but if I was Adelaide I'd feel unhappy about it too. Just seems too sudden. like oh Julians gone I'm outta here to be with my own family. :-/

    How do u pronounce Camilla? I go back and forth when I read it from pron it Spanish and English! lol

    Your offices look great! I'm going to keep this in mind whenever I get around to that... No time soon!

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  3. Riverdale, two elders down and sadly, still one to go!

    I don't think the privilege of David actually allowing her to date is lost on Adelaide. Thankfully, if Adelaide goes all the way with Sebastian, they would have to be spectacularly unlucky to get pregnant - they're both neat enough to use BC.

    Caterina hadn't even met Jacinta until this session (in my head though, they would have met soon after she was born), so I'd like her to get to know her granddaughters a bit more too.

    Thanks for reading!

    Maisie, LOL, I knew you wouldn't be happy! You've always been a Julian fan, haven't you?

    I think that's definitely how Adelaide is feeling at the moment as well. There are a lot of changes happening around her and she's not happy with most of them. It'll be a few more months before Caterina moves out though, so she has some time to get used to the idea.

    Oh, I always forget Camilla is pronounced differently in Spanish! I use the English pronunciation - cah-MIL-lah.

    Thanks about the offices - heh, our to-do lists never end, do they?

    Thanks for reading!

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  4. Is it terrible that I think Julian went in as kind a way as possible? If I had to choose, I'd probably want to go that way. Poor Adelaide. At least she has great memories of her grandpa.

    I know that David has good reason to want to keep Adelaide on a tight rope but hopefully she'll prove that she won't follow in Camilla's footsteps.

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  5. Poor Adelaide, it's like she's losing two grandparents at once. I'm sad to see Julian go but at least he had a long life full of happiness.

    I was surprised that David let Adelaide go on a date with Sebastian. I thought he would lock her up in her room until she turns 25, lol!

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  6. Another death, I wanted to hug little Adelaide when she felt guilty about having fun. Everytime I read anything with her I think about the city Adelaide and how I want to move back there. It makes sense that Caterina would move, but I had the same thought as David that she felt unwelcomed.

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  7. Awww. Another passing. I like how you show snippets of a life at the end. It seemed it was a life well lived, that's all anyone can ask for. And Adelaide was cute, on her double date. Don't blame Camilla for moving in with her daughter, she needs time with her own family.
    Nice shots of the town hall!

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  8. Poor Adelaide, it seems like everybody in her life is leaving. It makes sense for Caterina to move in with her daughter though, but I hope she keeps in contact with Adelaide. I just wanted to hug the girl.
    I'm glad she eventually agreed on going out with Veronica, it's been a good way to set her mind off things. And it worked out great as well.

    I was sas there was another dead in Sullivan, even thouse Julian had a longer life it's always sad to have to say goodye.

    I like Caterina's outfit, do you remember where you got it?

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  9. Choco, no, I don't think that's a terrible thing to say at all. I actually agree with you. It's preferable to dying after spending weeks in hospital, for everyone involved, really.

    David was keen on keeping his daughters on a tight leash even before Camilla got pregnant. That just strengthened his resolve. David will be watching Adelaide and Sebastian as closely as he can.

    Thanks for reading!

    Sari, yeah, it really is. Of the three girls, Adelaide was the one who took to Caterina right away when she and Julian started dating. Camilla and Lila are both old enough to remember Collette and maybe even Maria, so they didn't have the same need for a grandmotherly figure.

    David thought Sebastian and Adelaide's "date" was as controlled a situation as it probably could be, so he allowed it. He obviously hasn't heard there's a photo booth at that bowling alley!

    I know it's probably going to be someone's next though, so I'll say that Adelaide has woohoo turned off for now. Sebastian, Oliver and Veronica have it on but none of them tried to enter the photo booth. They all behaved themselves this time. ;)

    Thanks for reading!

    Apple Valley, that's a hard thing for Adelaide at the moment, because she does still want to do regular teenage stuff but is naturally still down about her grandpa as well.

    So funny that the name Adelaide makes you think of the city and I live in Australia and it never does! I've never been there but next time I travel within the country, that will probably be my destination.

    What I don't think I've mentioned is that Caterina is David's aunt (Filippo was his dad and he was Caterina's brother), so she's still "family". It was a while before I actually remembered that! But being a family Sim, he likes to look out for his relatives. He would be upset if he'd made anyone of his family feel unwelcome.

    Thanks for reading!

    Drew, yes, yet another one! I enjoy doing the obituaries - any excuse to go through my older pics! Julian had a good life, it's true.

    Caterina hasn't spent much time with Olivia's family, compared to living with Max for however many years that was. This will be nice for her, though Adelaide is going to miss her as well.

    Thanks for reading!

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  10. Tanja, I was still writing my comment when you posted, so I missed you!

    Caterina will keep in contact with Adelaide. She is as fond of Adelaide as Adelaide is of her.

    I doubt Veronica was thinking of anything other than her own inconvenience but the double date did let Adelaide think about something other than her grandpa for a while.

    I'll have to check on Caterina's outfit for you. I downloaded it only recently, though I think it might be an old outfit.

    Thanks for reading!

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  11. Tanja, I think Caterina's outfit comes from this creator at TSR:

    http://www.thesimsresource.com/artists/olcia_olivinea/

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  12. Thanks a lot for looking it up for me, I'm going to check it out later today!

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  13. No problem! Hope you find what you're looking for. :)

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  14. Aww...Julian has been around for so long! It will be strange without him around. Veronica is so pushy, but it is probably good that she did get Adelaide out of the house. I'm not sure how I feel about Sebastian myself...

    I can see why Caterina would want to move in with Olivia instead, but I do feel bad for Adelaide.

    I am loving those town hall offices! They look so realistic.

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  15. Rachel, I know! It almost feels like Julian was born in game, he was around so long. There's a gap in the hood now.

    Adelaide would probably do well to be at least a little wary of Sebastian. He was previously very interested in Veronica, despite the fact that she's dating his brother. But he's also still young, so he might turn around. It's hard to tell with these Romance Sims. Some are the cheaters you'd expect them to be and some never really stray.

    Caterina and Adelaide will miss each other but they'll keep in touch. It'll be nice for Caterina to spend some time with Jacinta and Ramona now.

    Thanks about the offices! I'm getting there with my town hall. I have all these ideas but am coming up short on some of the appropriate CC. Unfortunately, the stuff I need is not anything I can make myself, as I'm definitely not planning on trying my hand at meshing any time soon.

    Thanks for reading!

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  16. Aww, :( RIP Julian. I completely forgot he wasn't born in the game. It definitely felt like he was around much longer. I feel sorry for Adelaide, too. Everyone's leaving. But it is time for Caterina to spend time with and get to know her other grandkids.

    I'm glad Adelaide decided to go out anyway and she ended up having a great time. I hope Sebastian doesn't hurt her, though.

    I really like your town hall offices. I was thinking about my town hall the other day because I was rolling around ideas in my head for my next update for the Reids. But then I remembered that I don't even have a town hall lol. So I'm going to have to find a place to stage some scenes if I'm going to take some of the shots I was thinking of. But doing a whole building will have to wait until some of my other projects are done. I hope you can find some suitable cc for the building and look forward to more pics!

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  17. Danielle, heh, it's only when I remember that Julian didn't have any parents that I remember I created him in CAS! He was definitely a long-time resident.

    Veronica's motivations to get Adelaide out of the house were selfish ones but I think Adelaide is glad she went too. She got her first kiss and a date with the boy she has a crush on out of the deal, so it can't be all bad. ;)

    Oh, I hate when you have scenes in mind and then realise you have no suitable lot to carry them out in! I think I downloaded this town hall in a fit of panic over something like that!

    I'm still coming up short on the CC for it, unfortunately! I'm working around it instead, because I just want to get it done, so I can focus on the music faculty. I really just need a long 4-tile table. I'm sure I've seen one out there.

    Thanks for reading!

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  18. Aw. It's always sad to see them go, but I love revisiting their life.

    That boy does look like trouble! But he certainly does look cute!

    And your city hall is looking good.

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  19. Lunar, I'm glad everyone else likes the little rundowns as well. I always come across pictures I've forgotten!

    Sebastian is cute but we'll see how serious he is (or isn't!) about Adelaide, I guess. I can almost guarantee that David won't like him!

    I need to get back to that city hall! I took a break to do my music faculty (which I'll post a lot tour of eventually) but no excuses now. I must finish it!

    Thanks for reading!

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