Friday 9 March 2012

Super-connected

Round 33: July 2037 (Winter)
Caleb Moretti is 55 and Cara is 48.
(Nick is 34, Sarah is 32, Josh is 23, Anthony and Veronica are 20, Xavier is 16, Thomas is 6, Ryan is 5 and Catherine is 3)

Narrated by Caleb Moretti

These days, Cara and I are doing extremely well for ourselves. Cara has almost 15 years experience in obstetrics and gynaecology now, so her pay is quite high.

And as for me, my catering business just keeps growing and growing.

I haven’t done much advertising at all. It’s all been word of mouth from my customers.

And some members of my very large family, of course. I can’t lie and say that doesn’t help!

You run a business for long enough and you learn what makes money and what doesn’t. Unfortunately, at Delizioso, the coffee doesn’t. I don’t know why but it doesn’t seem to be what my customers come in for.

Xavier was a little worried when I told him I’d be getting rid of the coffee. He’s worked here for two years now and he likes the extra income.

But I was hardly going to fire my own nephew, much to his relief. I still need help in the store and Xavier is a great employee.

He’s still getting used to the cash register but I have confidence he’ll pick it up soon. I was a bit confused myself at first.

It’s very nice being my own boss. If I want to take the day off, I can. And now that it’s just me and Cara at home, a day off is actually relaxing.

Even when I’m not at work though, I’m usually cooking. Sometimes I’m testing out new recipes for the business and sometimes I’m just having fun.

Cara, who doesn’t get nearly as much time off as I do, gets to enjoy the fruits of my labour when she gets home.

Cara loves her job but a day off is often not really a day off for her. She’s on call a lot of the time. She’s often received a phone call and had to leave in the middle of the night to get to the hospital.

I think I hate it more than she does. Cara just accepts it as part of the job.

Cara’s work hours mean that when we do have time at home, we try to make it count and spend it together.

The nature of her job means she does miss things sometimes though. When Nick and Sarah last came over for lunch, Cara had been called in for an emergency c-section.

Cara was definitely missed but we had a nice lunch together anyway. I try to do something kid-friendly when the children come over and they seemed to enjoy the spaghetti this time.

Sarah had some big news; she’s been made a partner in the architectural firm she works for, which is quite the achievement.

They’re currently in the middle of designing a new drama faculty for the university, so it’s extremely busy for Sarah at work at the moment.

The promotion means more money for the family and Thomas and Ryan have their own ideas on how to spend that.

They’re angling for a dog - a huge one - and can’t think of anything they’d rather use the money for.

Nick and Sarah have told them to just wait and see. I know they’re hoping they’ll be able to squirrel that money away so they can move house and possibly have another baby.

Both Nick and Sarah have always seen themselves with a big family but finances haven’t made it a realistic idea so far. I wanted a fourth child too, at one point, so I understand.

Cara arrived home at about six o’clock, just in time to see the kids for an hour or so before Nick and Sarah took them home.

Cara pulled out an old toy piano for Catherine, which once belonged to Anthony and Veronica. She’s trying to encourage a love of music in someone in the family and she’s given up on Thomas and Ryan.

Either Catherine is too young or she’s just not going to be interested either. She spends more time chewing on the instruments than anything else.

Anthony and Veronica are in their junior year now and so far, we’re doing pretty well at keeping up the tradition of Wednesday night dinners at home. Cara can’t always join us when she’s on call but the twins still come over and see me.

I was very glad she could make it this time, because we finally managed to nag Veronica enough so that she’d bring over her “new” boyfriend, Josh.

Cara and Josh seemed to get along just fine…

…as long as they didn’t talk politics. Josh’s mother is the governor and let’s just say Cara didn’t vote for her. Cara is, understandably, passionate about health care and that wasn’t a big platform for the governor in the last election.

I was impressed Josh was so good-humoured about Cara’s political critique of his mum. Maybe he gets it a lot, I don’t know.

I don’t know Josh well yet but I think I like him so far. He handled Cara like a pro, he’s smart, he’s got a good job.

And Veronica seems to like him a lot, which is the most important thing.

Cara still isn’t quite as enthusiastic about him but she hates the idea of being one of “those” mothers, so I know she’s going to try to look past any differences she has with Josh.

Now if only Anthony would bring a girl home to meet me and Cara. I know he must be dating somebody, because he’s not the type to stay single for long but damned if we can get him to bring her over here!

I don’t even know anything about her. What’s the big secret?

Well, I did get that out of him at least. He’s got some sort of thing going with Veronica’s much-loathed roommate, Janette and doesn’t want his sister to find out about it.

I had to laugh at that. He and Veronica live in the same dorm and she is bound to find out sooner or later.

As luck would have it, Veronica overheard part of the conversation, stormed over and demanded to know what Anthony was talking about.

You can’t fob Veronica off when she’s made it her mission to find out something, so Anthony had to confess.

Veronica didn’t explode like I thought she would but I could tell she wasn’t happy at all.

She told Cara she feels "betrayed". She’s being just a tad dramatic, but that’s Veronica for you.

I wouldn’t want to be Anthony when they get back to that dorm. Veronica will cool down and get over it, but probably not before she blasts Anthony a new one.

It was definitely the most drama we’ve had at our family dinner in a while. We’re hoping that’s the end of it but who knows?

Notes:
  • Title is from Super-Connected by Belly.
  • So Veronica knows about Anthony and Janette now. The dorm will be a little quieter next time (Mitchell will be moving out), so I can hopefully focus on the older students a bit better and deal with Veronica.
  • Now that I'm having all my doctors specialise, I think Cara and Malcolm will be the worst hit, hours wise. Emergency medicine and obstetrics are definitely 24/7 type disciplines. My other two doctors, Josie and David, will have it a bit easier.
  • I really wish EA had made it so that the retail items worked better together. Nobody ever approaches the coffee counter unless I take control of them and force them to. This is not like real life! People love coffee! But I'm giving up on that with Caleb's business, at least until someone makes a hack to fix it.
  • I know you enablers all want to see Nick and Sarah have another baby and it may possibly be possible. ;) When I play them, I'll have to check their total household worth and have a look at how much a new house would cost them. Sarah is a Hoarder and she wouldn't take out a loan.

22 comments:

  1. Cara and Caleb are one of my favorite couples. It's good to see things are going well for them.

    Good for Josh for sticking up for himself. I think in the end Cara will probably appreciate him more for taking a stand than just nodding along to anything she says. He's already won Caleb on his side so he's halfway there anyway.

    Ooh, I can't wait to see the drama in the dorm next year! Veronica will probably give Anthony quite a hard time before she can accept his girlfriend.

    I think it's a great idea to have your doctors specialise in different area. I only have two doctors at the moment so the poor things have to do everything but I might borrow that idea in the distant future.

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    1. I've always loved Cara and Caleb too, from really early on. :) They're very sweet.

      I think that's a good point about Josh and Cara. He showed her that he can hold his own in a disagreement and in a respectful manner. Cara can surely appreciate that.

      I'd like to update on Janette/Anthony/Veronica a bit earlier than the next college update, if I can. This is a disadvantage of deciding on the story pretty much session by session - I often don't know the best way to schedule things so that I can deal with plots that crop up in a more timely manner. ;)

      I'd always considered doing the specialisation thing and now I wish I'd done it earlier. It's kind of fun having different sorts of doctors for different areas of medicine, just like in real life. It would be great to see the same thing in Wellington, once you have enough doctors!

      Thanks for reading!

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  2. I'm glad that Josh was able to take Cara's harsh words. If not, it would have made for an incredibly tough dinner and some tension with Veronica and Josh.

    I can't wait to see Veronica or Anthony's point of view in terms of the Janette situation. I can kind of see where she's coming from but I agree with Caleb, she's being way melodramatic.

    Sometimes I wonder how people are able to handle having a spouse who is on call 24/7. I'm happy that they're able to find a happy medium. I wonder how your other doctors will handle things, especially when you've given them specialization.

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    1. I was surprised at how well Josh handled Cara. I didn't know he was so level-headed! Maybe he's growing up finally.

      Veronica is a bit of a drama queen, unfortunately for Anthony. It's usually best to just let her get her way to avoid it, but that hasn't happened this time.

      It must be frustrating to have a spouse on call like Cara is. For me, it wouldn't even be the time they spent away but the uncertainty of it. It would be difficult to plan anything if you were never sure if your partner was going to be able to make it.

      Thanks for reading!

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  3. Wow--poor Cara, being on call all the time! At least Caleb can be at home to entertain the family and keep Cara in the loop about it.

    I love that you're making Nick and Sarah wait a bit before having the next baby--three will keep them busy enough for now!

    The situation with Anthony and Janette is hilarious! I can't wait to see what comes of this. :)

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    1. Being on call would definitely be tough for both Caleb and Cara but it does unfortunately go with the territory for her job. They manage!

      Heh, Nick and Sarah are mostly waiting out of necessity. If she got pregnant right now, they have literally no money to buy another house, which they would definitely need. It'll work out easier this way though, because Catherine will be in school by the time #4 comes along.

      I'm without a computer right now, so Anthony and Veronica's drama, along with everything else, is on hold. I'm do keen to get back to it though, so I hope it's not too long for me to get set up again!

      Thanks for reading!

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  4. I'm glad these two are doing so well, with no kids I thought it might seem kind of odd, but they got their grandbabies, and it's not like the twins don't come back to visit, which I think is great. I just adore these two, Cara is such a cutie, I know she'll be adorable as an elder. They both just have those stunning, bright eyes.

    I think it's funny what they think of Josh, I sure do hope that Josh doesn't decide to settle down, hmph! And Nick and Sarah seriously need another baby, ok. So now is the time! I wonder how Veronica will be once back at college with Anthony... wouldn't wanna be him! I can understand too though, where she's coming from. Who your siblings marry matters SO much, it can seriously ruin a great dynamic... And can cause such rifts. Here's hoping Anthony and Veronica find new loves, cause the ones they are with now, just aren't gonna work, so sad. ;)

    Hope your new computer arrives swiftly!! Can't believe the timing!! You really knew it was about to kick it eh?

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Caleb and Cara have adapted pretty well to their empty nest. They never really had true newlywed time alone, because Caleb already had Nick. So this is actually quite new to them.

      LOL, I knew you'd be the loudest voice in support of a baby for Nick and Sarah! I'm going to see what I can do about it definitely. I don't know what they've done with all their damn money, but hopefully they can build some up again now.

      Very true about siblings - it can cause such problems when they don't get along with your partner. Fortunately, Anthony is nowhere near settling down. Josh and Veronica are not looking that far ahead either.

      I wish I'd realised how *soon* my PC was going to die! I have a backup of Sullivan but I've lost all my Scrivenor notes, as well as all my full size pics from this round. :/ I never really backed up thinking of a computer crash. I was always imagining transitions voluntarily to a new one or the tame screwing itself up somehow. Frustrating. Can't wait to get my new one, so I can sort everything out again.

      Thanks for reading!

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  5. I have the same problem with no one buying coffee in my cafe - its frustrating paying a barista and no one buys!

    Oh, dear, that was a dramatic dinner! Looking forward to hearing Veronica or Anthony's points of view on the situation.

    Hope you have your new pc soon!

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    1. Ah, you too? It seems like to get Sims to buy coffee, you need to have the coffee counter and nothing else on the lot! I have a couple of restaurants (downloaded) with a coffee counter and they don't buy coffee from those either. :\

      It was a rather dramatic meal...or a dramatic period after the meal, anyway! Veronica will get over it but she'll want to make Anthony suffer for it for a while first. ;)

      Thanks for reading!

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  6. SO Veronica bringing Josh home to meet the family ... She must be kind of serious about him then... I'm still wondering about these 2, and I'm anxious to read more about them!
    Poor Anthony, I don't think it's going to be easy for him now Veronica knows about him and Janette, but then again, he could have told her himself instead of waiting for her ot overhear it somewhere!
    It seems like forever that we sad Nick and Sarah again, and I'm glad they made an appearance here! I really want to have another baby, but I franckly want every couple to have another baby, so maybe I'm not the best reference here, lol! But seeing they both want it, I'm getting my hope up here :)

    I'm glad Cara and Caleb are doing so well withou the kids in the house. With work and grandkids, and the kids dropping by, it seems like they have enough to keep them busy.
    I said it before and I'm going to keep saying it, but I love how your empynesters still have such full and rich lifes!

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    1. Well, bringing Josh home was more Caleb and Cara's doing than Veronica's. They've been nagging her about it. ;) I think Josh is a little more serious than she is, due to the fact that he's older (and doesn't have a Romance secondary pushing him to stray).

      It may have gone better if Anthony had told Veronica about Janette himself but maybe not. She really hates that girl, lol!

      It has been a while since we saw Nick and Sarah - probably the last time we saw them all together was in Jesse and Abigail's last update. I wouldn't mind seeing them have another baby either, so we'll see what happens.

      Caleb and Cara are quite content at the moment. Their kids all come and visit frequently and in the mean time, they get to have the honeymoon period they never really got when they first got married. :)

      Thanks for reading!

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  7. I had to giggle when I saw the burnt pork chops in the retail shop, LOL! I wonder how much those are going for :P Dinner was a bit dramatic with the twins but I admire that they are able to have consisent dinners with their children, one of the perks of living near family.

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    1. LOL, yeah, I always make Caleb sell burnt items - just like I make my Sims eat the food when they burn their dinner! I should check to see if the price for burnt food is less. I can tell you that Sims don't seem any less likely to buy it though. ;)

      Veronica is fairly dramatic, so some drama every now and then is to be expected, I guess. Caleb and Cara are still happy to have her over, warts and all.

      Thanks for reading!

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  8. I figured I would take advantagr of your computer hiatus and try to get caught up again! Thank goodness for Google reader on smartphones!

    I would love to see them have another baby... bit I am such a "breeder" anyway! I love TS2 genetics!

    Anthony and Veronica 's opposing views on Janette should make for some interesting times coming soon... ;)

    Doctors having specializations is definitely a great idea. I am having to take a lot of liberties in TS3 since careers are so bland!

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    1. Ha, when it comes to Sims, I'm a bit of a breeder myself! But even I'd probably draw the line at intentionally knocking up a 48-year-old. Though Araminta did get pregnant of her own accord at 51, so who knows?

      There'll be some tension between Anthony and Veronica as a result of Janette but Veronica should thank her lucky stars that they're not really serious. Anthony isn't ready to settle down and Janette is, shall we say "well-known" around campus! They're probably not ever going to be sitting across the table from each other at Christmas. ;)

      I actually think TS2 careers are pretty bland too, when you take them as is. I was never very interested in them at all until I started doing this blog and had to think a little bit more about what all those job levels would actually mean for a Sim's life.

      Thanks for reading!

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  9. Chiming in one hating that no one buy coffee at my coffee shop. Luckily, Half Cafe sells other stuff and does okay or I would have to shut it down.

    I love how you play your empty nesters and have family dinners. It makes it look like a "real" family. I can't tell you how many of my sims never met there grandparents until they were toddlers or children.

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    1. Do the coffee counters work any better without anything else for sale on the lot? Say if it was just the coffee counter and tables and chairs? I'd like to have an owned coffee shop one day! It's a shame the coffee area of Caleb's shop doesn't work so well (or at all).

      I had TONS of families like that before I started blogging. I can't even tell you. I used to have the kids leave home and the relationships with their parents would drop to zero. Really sad! One of my aims with Sullivan was to have close family relationships that extended past the one household. If I've been successful in anything with Sullivan, I'm happy to at least have been able to do that. :)

      Thanks for reading!

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  10. I’m glad that things are going well for Cara and Caleb and their careers. That's tough that Cara's on-call so much but, like she said, it's part of the job. I also wish EA would have testing some things out a little better, like the espresso machines in OFB businesses. That would have been a good way to make extra money. I guess they don't have coffee shops in California and that's why they didn't think of it *rolleyes*

    Thomas an Ryan are just too cute for words. I love their big plans for Sarah's extra money. What is it with boys and big dogs? Maybe they think they can ride them like horses? LOL

    Haha, Anthony's busted! He better sleep with one eye open lol. I'm curious to see how Veronica and Josh's relationship goes now that he's met the parents.

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    1. Yup, obstetricians are paid quite well but they do sacrifice a lot of their personal time for that. Cara's only 48, so she's probably got another 20 years or so of these kind of hours before she retires. On the plus side though, she and Caleb will be financially set once they do retire!

      In my experience with little boys, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them did try to ride the dogs like horses, lol! Big dogs are a lot of fun though, so I can understand wanting one. They're just not practical for a lot of people.

      I still haven't had a chance to get back to Anthony and Veronica and the whole Janette thing but I guess that'll be coming up soon, now that I'm in January 2038. I fear for Anthony!

      Thanks for reading!

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  11. OMG, the future drama with Veronica!! I can't wait to see how things are going or went! I like how she's not easy! *lol*
    Caleb and Cara are so sweet!
    Yeah for another baby for Nick and Sarah!!! (with a big dog at the top! ;))

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    1. LOL, yeah, Anthony's in for an earful once he and Veronica get back to the dorm! I don't envy him. I don't know how Caleb and Cara created such a child, lol!

      Heh, Thomas and Ryan are still after a pet and I actually forgot to give them one! I'll have to see about that, as well as a baby for Nick and Sarah. ;)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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