Friday 1 March 2013

Far behind


Round 34: February 2040 (Summer)

Connor Novak is 27 and Josh Royce-Nihill is 26. 
(Araminta is 77, Sophie and Lila are 27, Elspeth is 26 and Oliver is 24)


Narrated by Josh Royce-Nihill

Working 9-4 is definitely preferable to the pre-dawn shift I had when I was first at the newspaper. I actually have the energy to do things after work now!



I still have to envy Connor though. I wouldn’t mind working from 1 to 7. Starting late enough to sleep in but still come home early enough to go out and have some fun sounds good to me.

Connor says he could handle a pre-dawn shift with no problems and he’s probably right. He gets up at 5 every morning anyway.

Connor was promoted recently and is now in some sort of supervisory role. He doesn’t talk much about work, because there’s a lot of sensitive information he has access to. He can't give me any details.

He did tell me that it’s kind of like his field’s equivalent middle management and that he’s now Oliver Gentry’s superior.

He loves that. It really put his nose out of joint when the SCIA recruited Oliver right out of college while he had to work his way up to it.

With Lila living with Sophie and Sophie dating Oliver, Connor ends up having to see Oliver a fair bit outside of work.

They get along better now Connor doesn’t feel so threatened by Oliver at work but I don’t think they’ll be hanging out voluntarily any time soon.

I’ve hung out with Oliver a fair bit and he’s not a bad guy. Connor probably would have liked him if they’d met under different circumstances.

Connor is climbing the ladder pretty fast at the SCIA but I’m happy to linger here on the bottom rungs at the paper, at least for a while.

It’s kind of nice to be a bit invisible and not have anyone be too concerned with the job you’re doing. You’d think working in research would be a little more valued but I work in the gossip section. A lot of the journalists just make stuff up anyway.

It would be nice to get a real office though, or even a cubicle. Mine’s really just a wall.

Elspeth is much more ambitious than me. She didn’t really decide on game development until she was almost done with uni but she’s so into it now.

She’s been made the lead designer of the game she’s working on now, which is a third-person action-adventure.

Elspeth is the only woman on her team. Some of the guys weren’t keen that she was chosen to head up their team but she didn’t take long to sort them out.

Most people learn pretty quickly that Elspeth isn’t one to be messed with. She gets a little thrill when anyone tries though!

Elspeth and I spend most of our non-working hours together these days.

We’re usually here at my place, having got in the habit when things were still a bit awkward with Lila. That’s all calmed down now but we’re still here more than there.

When we were friends as kids, we tended to spend more time at my place than at hers, so I don’t know her mum as well as she knows my parents. Her mum has been complaining, so we’ve been attempting to amend that lately.

Araminta seems to like me. She’s very glad Elspeth and I are finally visiting with her a bit more often.

We really don’t have much excuse, seeing Araminta lives her in Exeter as well, not far from me or Elspeth.

As I’ve been getting to know her a bit more, I’m realising how different Elspeth is from her mother. Elspeth is so bold and Araminta is a lot more reserved.

And I love Elspeth but I’d never call her sweet, yet her mother definitely is.

Even though Connor can be such a fussy old man at times, he’s a good roommate overall.


You probably wouldn't guess it to look at us but we do share plenty of the same interests, so we don't clash over things too often.

He does completely monopolise the computer but I can usually deal with that.

Soon though, he’ll be moving out and buying a house with Lila.

They go to open houses just about every weekend, looking for something they like that’s in their budget.

They’ve found a couple of places recently, so Connor may be moving out sooner than I thought.

Which will leave me with a bit of a dilemma. I wouldn’t really mind living alone for a while but I don’t know if I can afford it.

And as well as Elspeth and I have been doing together, I’m not sure I feel ready to take that leap and set up house with her.

We’ve been friends for years but we’ve been together romantically less than two. I don’t know if we’re ready for a marriage-like situation yet.

The other night, Elspeth offered to have me move in with her and Sophie.

Once Lila moves out of their place and goes to live with Connor, they’ll struggle with the rent too and an extra person would help.

Elspeth said Sophie would be fine with it, which I’d believe. Sophie is pretty laid back and we’ve never had any problems getting along.

I’m considering it. We’d still be living together but with Sophie there too, it might be less pressure. Like living together lite.

Nothing is decided yet but hopefully, I’ll have something sorted out by the time Connor is ready to leave.

Notes:
  • Title is from Far Behind by Eddie Vedder.
  • I've been trying to get one update per week out since I started playing again and I kind of failed at that this time! I had a minor setback, so I had to go back to a back-up. I won't bore you with the details of it but it meant I had to recreate a few of the families I'd made (none of the ones I'd played with) and redecorate Connor and Josh's apartment. And then there was the Oscars, and then I was kind of uninspired. But I'm all caught up again now, so all is well. 
  • I'm still without many lots that I need, so I'm improvising. Josh's work place is actually the library and the place where they're playing basketball is the police station. I need to find that sports park I had before! That was a handy lot! 
  • I'm thinking we've probably seen the last time Oliver will ever be outpacing Connor at work. Connor is already prepared for his next promotion. Josh is too but I'm using the Stopinator on him and letting him take it easy.
  • Not completely positive what I'll do with Josh post-Connor. I think he'd be happy enough living alone but I'm not a huge fan of playing sims living alone. And rent will definitely be an issue for him too. So I'm thinking about it. 
  • I'm still looking around for a house for Connor and Lila too, though the many sims I have still living in my sim bin are more of a priority! They don't show up as visitors to community lots until they're actually in a house or apartment, so it's going to help me feel like the town is more alive to get that all sorted out. 

14 comments:

  1. I bet he is more comfortable around Oliver now since he's his boss ha ha

    Can't wait to see what Conner and Lila get. I was working in my hood the other day and found some old starter homes I had built but never uploaded and I thought of you.

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    1. Ha, yes, that's probably the only reason he's more comfortable around Oliver! Connor isn't the kind of guy who could really let something like that go!

      Well, I'd definitely take a look at those starters, seeing I have so very many sims to house now! Connor and Lila probably will get something a bit larger than a starter though. Between them, they've got about $35000. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  2. Can't wait to see Connor and Lila living together! I think it would be good for Josh to move in with Elspeth and Sophie even if they aren't ready to live together as a couple.
    It sounds like Connor is really powering ahead in his job! Not that that surprises me...
    I hope Sullivan will be fully up and running again soon! I'm sure once all your sims are housed it will feel a lot more like it used to!

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    1. I'm looking forward to getting Lila and Connor in their own place too. Connor's promotion bonus will come in handy once they move in together, so his success at work is definitely happening at the right time for him.

      I'm definitely leaning towards moving Josh in with Elspeth and Sophie. It's going to be the most fun for me and will also mean I'm not adding an extra household to the play schedule when I don't have to!

      It's going to be a while before Sullivan is fully up and running again, because I'm missing so many vital community lots. But you're right, just getting them all in houses is going to feel like a big accomplishment!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  3. It's good that Connor finally got that promotion. I'm sure he will be glad to finally be 'above' Oliver :)

    I'm looking forward to seeing Connor and Lila living together. I'm looking forward to seeing their house :)

    I'm curious to see what Josh decides to do. He and Elspeth might not be ready to live as a couple just yet, but with Sophie there, it won't be. And it would be nice for their financial situations as well.

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    1. Yes, Connor is quite pleased with that turn of events! It's the way things should have been from the beginning, as far as he's concerned. ;)

      I'm not quite as excited about decorating a place for Lila and Connor as I would be with a ton more CC in! But maybe I'll have a bit more in by the time I get around to it and there'll be a bit more variety.

      Josh moving in with Elspeth and Sophie is definitely the most likely solution at this point. It'll be the same kind of set-up I have with Edward, Lucy and Chris. Although Edward and Lucy are a different kind of couple than Elspeth and Josh, I think it will work well for them too.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  4. Will Blogger eat my comment?

    I'm so happy to see those two again. I knew Connor would eat up the fact that he's Oliver's boss now. Look at that grin.

    I completely forgot that Connor and Lila were moving out together! Will they have a place by the time you come back to Josh?

    It's so weird to see some of them with such different hair. I had the same issue when I had to reload Newtopia Heights. I still can't find Rainne's original hair.

    I've been having issues with one update a week too; things keep happening. If you're off by a day or two, or seven, we'll understand. :)

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    1. Heh, your comments weren't eaten! I've turned on comment moderation for posts older than two weeks, so they don't appear right away. I've had a few people post more than once thinking the first one didn't go through.

      Ha, yeah, Connor's loving it! I don't think Oliver really cares so much but that's not important to Connor. ;) And yes, Connor and Lila will have their own place by the time I get back to Josh. I don't know how long it's going to take me though! I have an awful lot of sims sitting in the sim bin right now, lol.

      Yeah, the hair! It's weird for me too. My rule is I don't add the hairstyle until I need it for one of the "main stars" of the update. Until then, I have to use an approximation. The good news is I know where Elspeth and Lila's hairstyles are, so fortunately, they will eventually look just as you remember them. :) I will probably change Araminta's permanently, but I'm not sure to what yet. Not that one, lol!

      Heh, thanks! One a week is definitely tricky sometimes. If I wasn't rebuilding, I could manage it easily but in the midst of a rebuild, it's a bit more difficult. I know already that the first uni update won't be up by Friday! I have to decorate an entire dorm before I play and move all the college kids to campus, which is a bit of a process when you use a base hood uni. I also have to cheat them up to where they were with their studies when I left off with them. But I'm looking forward to getting started with them all again anyway. I really love the current college kids!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. Carla, Connor is such a cutie.

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    1. Connor is a sim I downloaded a long, long time ago and added to my adoption pool. I think I added the freckles myself but I've always thought he was pretty adorable. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  6. Haha! "Living together lite", I guess that's one way of seeing it. ;)

    I'm sad that their days of being roommates is coming to an end. They seem to get on pretty well! It's like a passage to adulthood... moving into serious relationships, getting married, etc... the end of an era! /wistful sigh

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    1. Josh and Elspeth are not quite at a point in their relationship where they're ready to set up house. So having Sophie with them might be a nice way to ease into that sort of thing for them. :)

      Well, no one's getting married just yet! ;) But yeah, ending these roommate households always makes me a little bit nostalgic. The good thing about this hood is that I have a pretty much constant stream of fresh college graduates to make new roomie households with!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  7. I like the shots of Connor and Lila house hunting. I'm looking forward to seeing them living together, but will be sad to see him and Josh not as roommates anymore.

    I'm curious what josh will choose for his living arrangements. Too bad he doesn't have a friend to live with for now. I like the look of his place too.

    Funny on the library office, I like that look nook. And love Eddie vedder!

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    1. I still don't have all my pose boxes in, so the house hunting shots were not quite what I wanted. But I like them anyway. I pretty much just like Connor and Lila, whatever they happen to be doing!

      I'm still leaning towards Josh moving in with Elspeth and Sophie. I like roomie households and I don't know if I've ever had a one guy/two girls set up. So that'll be fun. I should probably put their apartment building back in, so I can decorate though!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete