Monday 7 April 2014

Tribulations

Round 35: May 2041 (Autumn)
Lake Draper is 84 and Kendal is 65.
(Tatiana is 58, Rob and Finn are 40, Julia is 30, Chris is 26, Curtis is 2 and Gemma is 3 weeks old)


Narrated by Kendal Draper


Since Gemma was born a few weeks ago, Lake and I (along with the rest of the family) have been lapping up all the time with her that we can. 


We've already had a couple of huge gatherings, with everyone in attendance. 

It would be overwhelming for some babies, I’d imagine, but it doesn't seem to bother Gemma in the slightest. She seems quite content among the chaos. 

She’s quite different to Curtis, who still prefers Aaron or Calvin to almost anyone else.

He does seem to really like Rob a lot though and he will regularly approach him for cuddles.

Rob is only too happy to give him back when he starts getting grizzly though. Only one of his dads can help then. 

When Gemma’s old enough, I think she and Curtis might be good playmates. 

He shows a lot of interest in her but he’s already getting a little frustrated that she can’t play with him already.

Chris came along too - alone, as always. 

I know he’s dating Veronica, because working with her at a very small school didn't make it too difficult to figure out. 

He knows I know but he doesn't see what the big deal is.

It’s not a big deal at all. I just don’t see why he can’t bring her over to meet Lake, given it’s all out in the open now anyway.

Much as I’d like to see Chris get married, I'm wise enough to not expect it any time soon. Bringing a girl home for dinner doesn't mean the next step is engagement, for goodness’ sake!

I would think Lake would be dying of curiosity but he’s quite content to wait until Chris is ready. His nonchalance drives me a bit crazy, to be quite honest!

I think I drive him just as crazy though. He thinks I’m a little obsessed.

I can't obsess about Chris and Veronica all day though, now that I have someone else keeping me busy. Lake and I recently decided to adopt a dog, Rudy.

Or, I should say, Lake and I discussed whether or not we’d get a dog and then Lake just went out and adopted one! I wasn't expecting to come home from work and find a Doberman in my house. 

Lake is such an animal lover and he saw Rudy’s picture online and just had to go out and get him that day.

I’d be more annoyed if Rudy hadn't turned out to be such a sweet dog. 

He was already housebroken, he doesn't chew everything and he’s not at all aggressive, like I feared a Doberman would be. 

Lake and I have both fallen in love with him. 

He’s good company for Lake while I'm at work too.

Lake would like some human company during the day though, especially mine. He’s been at me to retire for a little while now.

I would like to retire at the end of the year but I do need to make sure the right person will replace me as principal before I leave. 

The final decision will actually be Tatiana's, seeing she's the education rep for the hood council but she wanted to consult with me about it as well. 

For the last few years, it’s been assumed that Julia Gray will replace me once I retire. She’s the most senior at the school, so she seemed like a natural choice.

I've been doubting whether Julia is really the best choice though and talking to Tatiana really strengthened those doubts for me. 

It was nothing Tatiana said about Julia specifically. She doesn't know her all that well. We just got to talk about various situations that have cropped up during our principalships, with parents, teachers and students and how they all needed some degree of diplomacy to solve. 

The problem with Julia is that she’s not great with diplomacy. She knows her stuff and she gets good results from her students but her people skills leave a lot to be desired.

And honestly, she’s just not that experienced yet. She’s been teaching for 8 years, which is a long time but not a long time at all to go from teacher to principal.

Tatiana has decided to look around at other possibilities and her top choice right now is Finn Romilly.

He teaches the older grades at the primary school right now but Tatiana thinks he might be willing to make the switch to high school, if it would further his career like this would. 

We decided to meet with him in my office, mostly so I could get to know him a little.

I was very impressed. He’s been teaching 10 years longer than Julia, so the experience factor is not an issue. 

I think Finn would be an honest and fair principal. He seems very even-tempered, he’s a great teacher and he’s well-liked by students and staff. 

So of course, we asked him if he would consider interviewing for the top job at the high school, once I retire.

He didn't say no but he didn't immediately say yes either. 

Finn is happy where he is but he said he isn't necessarily opposed to advancing his career either. He asked us for some time to think it over. We’re not in any rush, so of course, we were both happy to wait for his response. 

I feel really good about the possibility of Finn replacing me. I truly think he’d be perfect for the role.

I'm a tad nervous about Julia’s reaction, when she learns she’s not the shoe-in she thought she was. 

We have to think about what’s best for the school and the students though, not just what Julia wants. I'm just glad I won’t be the one to tell her!

I do really hope it works out with Finn. Until Tatiana hears from him, Lake will just have to put up with all my fretting about it!

Notes:
  • Title is from Tribulations by LCD Soundsystem.
  • I can never resist those damn family gatherings! I went into this session fully intending not to have one...and then I had to give in. 
  • I'm not even making up Kendal's obsession with Chris's love life! She rolls all these wants to talk to Veronica and her speech bubbles are almost always about marriage or engagement. It's pretty funny!
  • N99ers may have seen me alluding to some work drama for Kendal and this would be it. I've been thinking about Julia as principal and I'm just not sure about it. She was the easy choice, rather than the best choice. Julia is nowhere near as crazy as she once was but she's still not the most cool-headed sim out there. So I thought of Finn moving over (there are enough teachers at the primary school to cope if he left and I think Georgina will end up there when she's done with uni as well) and it seemed like a good idea. I can totally see him as a principal and I don't think switching from primary to secondary would ruffle his feathers too much. I'm still thinking about whether it's something he'd want to do but I'm leaning towards yes so far. 

20 comments:

  1. Yeah, I can see Finn as principal. I would have suggested putting a poll up, but I think most would agree anyway.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wasn't expecting much objection to the idea of Finn as principal, no! I hadn't considered a poll. Maybe if I have a much tougher decision like this in the future, I'll keep it in mind. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  2. I am glad you did have another family gathering - they are so great to look at, and you describe them so well!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed it! I guess I just like to make sure my sims keep in contact with their families. There's not much danger of my sims falling out of contact, at this point, but I pay a lot of attention to that, given it was a major goal for myself when I started Sullivan.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  3. I love your family gatherings, I have done that once or twice, but usually my families are way too big for one gathering. i do have wedding coming up so I might have to go big on that :) Finn would be brilliant choice as principal, can't wait to see that resolve.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The game thinks my families are too large for big gatherings but I just tell the game to go screw itself and teleport everyone in anyway, lol! More fun that way.

      I can picture Finn as a great principal. I have to wonder what Keira would think though. If he does this, he'll start as principal at the same time she'll be entering high school!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  4. Team Finn, nothing against Julia but Finn is the best choice of the two. More experience, people skills, etc. does the principal need to have a masters? I remember you having a sim pursue a masters with a hope of becoming a principal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Finn definitely has the edge over Julia here. If he decides to go for it, he will get it, no question. The principal does need to have a Master's - Finn and Julia both have one. Julia was the sim who wanted the master's to become principal but on the plus side for her, having that also lets her progress past high school teacher in the EA education career (I think of those promotions as pay bumps). So it's definitely not a total waste.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  5. What everyone else said. Finn is really the best choice. I'm glad to see Lake will live another year at least. You are addicted to family gatherings, it's funny.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't laugh at my obvious illness, lol!

      But yeah, Finn absolutely has it over Julia for this job that he's not even sure he wants yet! It's his the second he decides he does, basically. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  6. I spent this whole update holding my breath in case Lake died. He's sure getting on in years.

    Also, I obviously wasn't paying attention during the birthday post because it took me ages to figure out that the little blond girl is Natalie Clarke. Definitely thought she was still a toddler.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha, you and Maisie, probably, when she gets around to reading this update! My sims' life spans allow for them to live until their early to mid 90s, so Lake might be okay for a while yet. ;)

      Oh, yes, Natalie is a child now! She hasn't appeared in any updates since birthdays though and the last January birthdays post was a big one. Easy for her to get lost in the shuffle!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  7. I love your family gatherings! I also think Finn is the best choice!

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    Replies
    1. Good to know Finn has so much support! I think he'd be an awesome principal. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  8. I think Finn would be a great principal. But I definitely wouldn't want to be the one to break the news to Julia! Ha.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think he'll be awesome too. Kendal should thank her lucky stars Tatiana will be the one to tell Julia. Tatiana doesn't need to have too much to do with Julia, so she won't be too fussed!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  9. Of course you couldn't resist a familygathering! They are the best, and I always love seeing those families together!

    I have to say 'poor Julia', because I really think it's sad for her. If she thinks about it though, it's reasonable to some one with more experience to over instead of her, but knowing Julia she won't take the news too well.
    Finn is an exellent choice! I didn't think of him since he's working in your elementary school, but I think he's the best one for the job!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you guys all like these family gatherings because I sure have a ton of them, lol!

      Yeah, this is going to be tough for Julia. She got the Master's degree thinking she would one day be principal and now it might now happen. She's still not the best choice but that wouldn't make it less disappointing for her.

      I can't even remember how I ended up thinking of Finn but it was only very shortly before I started playing this update. It was a sudden brain wave! I think he's be great too but we'll see what he thinks.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  10. haha, I immediately looked at Lake's profile before I started to read. I needed to be prepared in case it turned into a death post. SO glad it didn't, but good grief, Chris, bring that girl home before your Dad dies! It's only a matter of time at this point, though I do hope Lake is a solid ninety plus. He's such a cool, laid back kind of guy and Grandpa. And I love him with Kendal, such a cute couple. Their blended family really makes it work, and I loved seeing all the kiddos. It's a nice full house!

    Julia not getting the principal would suck. Especially since she went back to school for it. She wasn't promised it though I assume? But it still felt like she was led to believe it... But I think Finn would be more level headed... I just have a hard time seeing him at the high school level, he always seemed to shine and be happy with the younger group.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think of you every time I do one of Lake's updates, lol! Checking the profiles might not do much to warn you though, as I usually don't remember to update them until a few days later! But Chris really does need to bring Veronica home to meet Lake. Lake's too laid back about everything, lol.

      No, Julia wasn't exactly promised the role but she was asked if she would be willing to do it in the future when Kendal retired. She's definitely going to think she's been hard done by here and she wouldn't be totally off-base. The job has to go to the best person though, so if Finn is willing, he's going to have a massive advantage over Julia.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete