Tuesday 11 May 2010

A daisy through concrete

Round 26: Winter 2024

Narrated by Magdalena Novak

When Maia first came back home, she was quite down on herself. Her tuition fees were a lot of money for us and she felt guilty that we wasted all that money. Jace and I were disappointed that she was expelled but we really just want our daughters to be happy and fulfilled. I don't think Maia is feeling that way right now, which is the main reason I worry about her.

She ended up jumping into a job she's not suited for, because it was offered to her and she couldn't find anything else. She's desperate to find something else but isn't having much luck so far.

On the other hand, Tessa got an after school job this year and she's really enjoying it so far. She mainly brings the staff coffee, does mail runs and a bit of photocopying but she's happy.

It was my nephew James who got her the job and he's taken Tessa under his wing. Tessa keeps saying this is what she wants to do when she finishes school but she should probably get a real idea of what it will be like before she decides for sure.

I'm glad Tessa can drive now, because it means we don't have to worry so much about her getting home by public transport in the dark. Of course, now I just worry about her driving!

She and Maia are currently sharing the car, which has led to a fair amount of disagreements over who needs it more.

Jace and I both thought the girls were a little old for us to step in as mediators in their disagreements and eventually, they worked it out. Maia usually drives Tessa to where she needs to be and then drives on to wherever she's going.

Maia's best friend Aaron and his boyfriend Calvin don't graduate until the end of this year but they still hang out with Maia quite a bit. They meet each other halfway; Exeter is about equal distance away from the university and our home.

I'm glad Aaron is such a good friend to Maia and I know she only just broke up with Nick a few months ago but I admit that what I'd really like for Maia is for her to meet a nice guy and settle down. She's not showing much interest in dating again yet.

When she's not at work or hanging out with Aaron, she's generally slumped on the couch feeling sorry for herself. So at the very least, I'm thankful that Aaron manages to drag her out of the house.

Which was the main reason Jace decided to start taking her to the shop with him on the weekends sometimes. Lia really tried with the shop when she was younger but she found all the customers overwhelming and holed herself upstairs making the flower arrangements instead. Maia seems to cope with customers pretty well though and she's not bad with the flowers either.

Jace would love it if Maia took over the store one day. He still loves it but he's not sure how long he'll be able to keep it up. He's starting to think about retirement. Tessa might do well with the shop too but it's going to be a lot longer until she's ready and she's got a little more direction than Maia does.

Of course, it's up to Maia. But I told her it's something she should keep in mind for the future.

Tessa turned 15 this year, which was the age Jace said she could start dating. I think he regretted telling her that when she came to him less than a week later with ideas of dating this boy named Nathan.

Jace was very reluctant but he decided he'd stick to his word, as long as he could meet Nathan beforehand.

I think Tessa probably would have agreed to anything to be allowed to date, so she was very excited.

So we met him. Honestly, I'm not fond of him. He just doesn't seem very polite, or even friendly. I wonder what Tessa sees in him. She's so outgoing and bubbly but I guess she's still at the age where Nathan being "cute" might be enough.

Neither Jace or I were sure if we trusted this boy, so Jace laid down some rules before he'd be allowed to take Tessa out. Tessa must be home by 11 and not a minute later and they need to tell us exactly where they will be going.

Nathan does seem to really like Tessa though, so it may be that he's not all that bad.

I hope if it turns out that he's not right for Tessa, that she manages to see that without going through too much heartache.

So far, so good though. After their first date, they were on our doorstep at 11pm on the dot.

I know, because Jace was hovering around the foyer from 10:30 onwards, making sure!

Maia found a new job. I wish I could be happy about it, because she says she likes it better. I just don't know what's "better" about working the 12-8am shift at a convenience store.

Maybe what's "better" is her co-worker who she seems so fond of. His name is Conrad and he's come to visit a few times.

I'm pretty sure they're just friends but I can hope, can't I? He seems like a nice guy.

Maia doesn't even roll her eyes at me any more when I start asking her about dating. She's so used to it.

Jace and I had a little family party recently. It served two purposes; one was to celebrate our anniversary but the other was to introduce our two granddaughters Georgina and Annabel to the family.

Jace and I were both thrilled when Gordon and Lia had twins but I think Jace was beside himself. All he's ever wanted was grandchildren. To be blessed with two at the same time was like all of his Christmases had come at once.

I don't think any of my girls could make anything but beautiful babies but Georgina and Annabel are really gorgeous little things.

Maybe it was becoming a grandfather or maybe it was when Gordon and Lia got married but Jace has softened his stance on Gordon somewhat over the past year or so. They actually have friendly conversations now, without Jace trying to stare him down or otherwise intimidate him.

I think we're all relieved, but none of us more than Lia. I don't think she minded Jace's over-protectiveness so much when she and Gordon first got back together but once they got serious about each other, it started to really bother her.

Gordon was just as keen to start a family and Lia tells me he's been a wonderful dad so far. From watching him with his daughters, I'd have to agree.

Lia is very tired, naturally, because the girls are still only three months old but she's enjoying parenthood. She's wanted a family for so long.

As much as we love being grandparents though, being around babies again has made us really glad we didn't have a fourth child! When you're in the midst of baby fever, you kind of forget the disgusting parts!

I'm going to go ahead and call our anniversary party a success. Georgina and Annabel kind of stole the show but seeing Jace and I were probably the worst offenders in that respect, I don't think we can really complain!

Notes:
  • Title is from A Daisy Through Concrete by Eels.
  • I'm kind of surprised Maia hasn't rolled the want to go on a date yet, seeing her secondary is Pleasure. But I guess it fits that she wouldn't be quite ready yet either. She and Nick were together for 3 years, which is a pretty long time, especially in close quarters like they were for their whole relationship.
  • I think Maia will probably be the one to take over the shop eventually. She's close to a silver badge in Flower Arranging already and she's a Nature Sim, so it seems to fit. Flower Arranging is an arts and crafts activity, officially but damn it...it should be both! When she can scrape enough money together to get her own place, I'll have Jace sign it over to her.
  • Maia and Conrad - one bolt of chemistry but no romantic wants at all. She rolls up lots of platonic wants for him though.
  • I forgot to say so in the birthday post but Gordon and Lia are some of the best Sim parents I've had. I'm talking autonomous nappy changes, people! And they're always going in to the nurseries and playing or cuddling the babies. Really cute. And that was just in the roughly 8 Sim hours I played them.
  • The anniversary party means that Magdalena has now completed her LTW. She rolled up a new one of Graduate 3 Kids from College. I never bother with the second ones (seeing I often don't even bother with the first!) but I thought it was kind of funny that she'd roll that, after Maia's flunking out.

14 comments:

  1. Lol, I see you took LaurelCrossing's suggestion from the last post :P It would be nice to see Maia take over the flower shop. Tessa and Nathan are adorable together, I adore his freckles 8D

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  2. The title was perfect. That's how I see the world for Maia--she has got a lot to contribute, but it's just not the typical graduate-and-start-a-career-and-family mold. She's having to break it. I love nature sims though.

    Oh, maybe she could run a camp for kids?

    What did I tell you?? Gordon is a super-dad in my game, too.

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  3. Tessa, you know, I went back over some old entries while I was writing this one and I was considering Maia for the flower shop when she was a teen! Apparently, I just forgot. LC reminded me.

    Nathan's a cutie. His freckles are two different masks by Corvidophile layered over each other. I do the same thing for Hope, Anna, Betsy, Jesse and Mitchell - it's a family trait!

    Francesca, glad you liked the title. It seemed to ring true for Maia although I couldn't articulate why. I think you did a pretty good job.

    There are probably a lot of things Maia could do but she's one I don't see finding her niche for a while. I think she'll own the flower shop eventually and she'll keep it but there may be something else out there for her too.

    And yes, I was very excited to see that Gordon seems to be just as devoted in my game as he is in yours! He and Lia are too adorable as parents. Gordon will go in to tend one of the twins and Lia will follow and just stand there grinning at him. And vice versa. They've really taken to parenthood!

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  4. Hmm, maybe Maia and the flower shop would work. For some reason I see her as a rock star-I have no clue why ^_^

    Poor Tessa, sharing a car with your older sister. At least they worked out an agreement. Thanks for showing a peek at Tessa's job as well.

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  5. Oh Jace, putting down an age limit... sneaks up faster then you expect!! He should have said, when he felt she was ready, lol.. coudl be college for that one! Funny that Nathan didn't make the best first impression, I wonder if it was him genuinely, or just Jace's experience with Gordon/Lia in the past.

    But a big yeah for Jace warming up to Gordon now! About time! Now he can focus on Tessa's dating life, and intimidating those young men.

    As for Maia, I really like the idea of her taking over the shop. very fitting, I think, especially since she doesn't have any great ambitions.

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  6. LOL, poor Jace, that dating age snuck up on him a little too quickly! I love the shot of him watching through the window.

    I just now realized how surrounded by women Jace is: his wife, three daughters, and now two granddaughters! He'd better start making friends with the guys the girls bring home if he wants some more testosterone around there. ;)

    I like the idea of Maia taking over the shop. And I agree, flower arranging should count toward nature too!

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  7. Apple Valley, it's funny to read different professions others think Maia would suit. Everyone seems to read the same Sim quite differently.

    I like to show Sims at their jobs where I've got a workplace for them, so I'm glad you liked that. I just need more workplaces, lol!

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  8. I was a dumbass and hit publish before I was done! LOL.

    Maisie, yeah, I think Jace is probably wishing he never told Tessa an age. But Lia (somehow) had her first kiss when she was 13 and Maia started dating when she was 14, so Tessa had considerable ammo if her request was refused!

    Jace has plenty of other things to focus on besides Gordon now! His granddaughters, plus any boys Maia and Tessa decide to bring home!

    Perhaps Maia just needs an ambition thrust in front of her face. I think the flower shop might work for her.

    Shana, yeah, 15 doesn't seem as far away as it did when Tessa was 12!

    I've long thought about that, how Jace is completely surrounded by girls! He's friendly with Gordon now, at least, so there's that! He'll either have to make nice with future boyfriends or wait until Lia pops out a boy if he wants to get some more testosterone around the place!

    I was disappointed when I discovered flower arranging was an Arts and Crafts thing. I had some Sims I discovered were Nature early on and I was bummed when I figured out that flower arranging didn't boost their enthusiasm. I don't always pay attention to the hobbies now anyway. I can't remember the last time Luc did anything sports related but his music enthusiasm is maxed.

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  9. It's about time Jace warms up to Gordon! It would be just plain stupid to hold a grudge against him still after all these years.

    I think it's cool that Maia hasn't really found her place in the world yet. As Francesca put it, it's not the typical mold. Some sims (and people) take their time before they find out what they want to do.

    I love seeing glimpses of your community lots. I've been meaning to an office building for Wellington but I never seem to get going.

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  10. Sari, I agree! I'm glad Jace is going a bit easier on Gordon now. He's been a good boy for the past 4 years he's been back together with Lia, so I think he's proven himself.

    And that's all very true. I think people like Finn and Josie, who know what they want to do from early on and stick to it until adulthood are fairly rare, so it's nice to have Maia mixing things up a bit.

    I keep meaning to go and build more workplaces. I've downloaded stuff to build an aquarium for the Oceanography career (which I have Victoria in) but...lazy! And uninspired. LOL.

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  11. What a full family update! Everyone got an equal chance to be in this update. I loved seeing Lia and Gordon with Jace, lol. Mostly those darn bear hats really are too adorable.

    But poor Maia. Given some time, I'm sure she'll start rolling up those normal pleasure sim wants sooner or later.

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  12. Lunar, yeah, I guess I did manage to cram everyone in here, didn't I? LOL.

    I think Maia will perk up soon enough. It makes sense that she'd be in a bit of a slump right now. Flunking out and breaking up with Nick - even though that was the right decision, it still would suck for both of them.

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  13. Very nice update and great cameo of Lia, Gordon and the twins :).

    I always seem to get so many ideas from your blog, from either you or the comments lol. I wrote down a kids camp ground and an aquarium for Oceanography to work on in the future. I hope you post pics of the aquarium whenever the mood strikes to build it!

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  14. Danielle, thanks! I just aged the twins up last night, so you're around 9 months behind now! ;)

    I get so many ideas from other people's blogs as well. If I ever do an aquarium, I will definitely post pics but you should go and check out the aquarium the writer of The McTavishams built for her latest update. It's inspiring and intimidating all at the same time!

    http://the-mctavishams.livejournal.com/23427.html

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