Sunday 1 May 2011

Aveda

Round 31: March 2033 (Autumn)
last update/next update

Charlie Benton is 21, Camilla Sitko is 20 and Grace and Everett are both 3.
(Olivia is 36, Lila and Sophie are both 20 and Jacinta is 3)

Narrated by Camilla Sitko

Sometimes I wish I had been able to live in the dorms but it doesn't sound like I'd want to be there right now, from what Sophie's been telling me.

Lila just dumped Josh a few days ago and it's very tense over there for everyone at the moment.

Sophie is stuck in the middle. Lila is furious at Elspeth and Sophie's trying not to take sides.

I feel sort of bad for Elspeth but I'm certainly not going to say anything about that at the moment. Lila is my sister though and she wouldn't expect anything less than my full support.

Lila is moody at the best of times but over the last few days, she's really been something else. Sometimes I sit there and listen to her rant about what an asshole Josh is and what a bitch Elspeth is and how she never wants to talk to either of them again.

And then other times, she just cries. I keep telling her she shouldn't but she's feeling like an idiot right now.

I feel so awful for her and I can't really make it any better. Josh was her first everything, so this is a huge deal.

Sophie suggested we take Lila out on a girls' night, just to take her mind off things for a while.

A few drinks in and Lila relaxed a little.

Sophie even managed to talk her into entering a dance contest. It's so not Lila but that's alcohol for you. I sat it out but Sophie joined in as well.

Despite the fact that Lila's dancing really wasn't anything special, she won!

Sophie was a little bummed about losing.

She recovered in time to cheer on Lila and me and our karaoke performance.

No one else was watching, probably because we were awful, but it was fun.

It doesn't change what happened between her and Josh but I think Lila was grateful for a night away from it all anyway.

I had a pretty nice night out myself, even though I was completely wiped out when I got home.

I only felt a little guilty about leaving Charlie at home with the kids. Apparently, they had quite a night. Grace escaped her crib and Charlie had to chase her down and get her back to bed.

I'm hoping it's not a sign of what's to come when she's a teenager!

I try to get out of the house a little more often these days, both with Charlie and without. Since I started making that effort, Charlie and I are getting on so much better and we're all happier for it.

Everything feels a bit less stressful after I've had a break.

Grace and Everett are three years old now, which I can't believe.

Next year, the twins will be in pre-school, so I might even get more time to myself. It would be nice but we'll see.

The twins had their pre-school orientation last week, so Charlie and I took them down to the primary school. It was very strange being back there as an adult. Everything seems smaller than I remember.

We met Mrs Gray, who will be teaching Grace and Everett next year. I remember she taught Adelaide in pre-school, though she never taught me or Lila.

Grace and Everett will be two of only three pre-schoolers next year. The other will be Jacinta, who both kids seemed to get along with quite well.

Jacinta's mother is Olivia. She was really sweet. She works in fashion, which is an industry I'm thinking of going into once I graduate.

It was good to talk to someone who's already "in" and get an idea about whether it's something I'd enjoy.

Whenever I get the time after class, I've been practicing on the sewing machines in the textile room.

Even if I decide fashion isn't what I want to do, or if I can't do it, it's a useful enough skill and sewing is something I'm really enjoying.

If all goes to plan, Charlie will graduate at the end of this year. His grades have never been fantastic but he's working hard on all his classes and papers.

He's also been considering his career options very carefully. He's now thinking about joining the police force or the fire department.

He's been talking about finding a "sensible" job after graduation, ever since his dad kind of got on his back about it.

Charlie's been dreading it, thinking he'd be stuck in some office all day but he's actually getting excited about these options.

I have to admit to being nervous about it. I wish Charlie could get enthusiastic about some less dangerous jobs.

At the same time, I'm also proud of him. Neither is a job I would have chosen for Charlie but they're good, stable career choices.

Charlie has done so much growing up over the past few years and he's really thinking about our family.

Extras:
Charlie was like a single dad this round, because I had Camilla out at so many community lots! It's a wonder I got him graduated at all, because he ended up having to miss a few classes. ;)



Notes:
  • Title is from Aveda by Hot Hot Heat.
  • Lila was the Sim who rolled the "Participate in Dance Contest" ROS this round. It was some seriously sad dancing but I guess she was still the best contestant!
  • Charlie has a 3.2 GPA; Camilla has a 3.7.
  • I love playing with Harder College Grades! I really like it that graduating with a 4.0 is so much rarer now. Of my college students right now, Connor is the only one on track to graduate summa cum laude (excluding Chris and Edward, who haven't had a chance to prove themselves yet). Then I have my good students like Lila, Camilla and Elspeth and my bums like Charlie and Sophie. It's awesome.
  • Charlie will be finished with uni next year but I'm going to keep him and the family in this house for an extra year. They can save up some more money and maybe buy a house once they get back to the main hood.
  • According to the career criteria I use, Charlie is really well suited to the fire or police service and he is actually really poorly suited to Entertainment. If Entertainment ever shows up for him on the computer, I'm not sure if he'll take the job or not. I'm considering keeping him in his "sensible" job long-term but I'll see how I feel about it once he gets out there.

18 comments:

  1. I'm glad Camilla has been able to get out of the house more and I can't believe that the twins are 3!!!! Time flies in your hood, I remember thinking that Charlie and Camilla were so young when the twins were born and now they will be in school soon. Yikes!

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  2. Wow it doesn't seem like its been that long! I'm also glad that Camilla got out of the house, everyone needs a break now and then. I can actually kinda see Charlie as a police officer. Not all of them are the serious uptight jerkoffs that usually give out speeding tickets lol. That would be kinda cool for him. I'm glad Lila is feeling a bit better about that whole Josh situation, she's young, there will definitely be other guys!

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  3. Oooh, your textiles room is to die for!!! Have you shown that before?

    And LOL, I always get ridiculously giddy over my college students getting bad grades too! I don't use harder grades for mine, but they still manage to fail anyway, lol!

    Glad to see these guys doing well! :)

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  4. Apple Valley, poor Camilla, she really needed to start taking breaks more often. It's really helped her!

    Charlie and Camilla are still so young and they're about to have two kids in pre-school and they'll still be in their 20s when Grace and Everett age to teen! I can't quite believe it myself.

    Thanks for reading!

    Mizzgin03, time has flown by, hasn't it?

    Charlie actually worked in the law enforcement career as a teen, so it's something he might be vaguely aware of the realities of. I'm still tossing up between fire and police but at the moment, I'm leaning towards the latter. I can kind of see Charlie as a police officer myself. ;)

    The Josh situation is a big deal for Lila at the moment but I think in the long run, she'll realise that it's not. Hopefully, she can patch things up with Elspeth as well but things are a little too raw right now.

    Thanks for reading!

    Laura, hmmm, I don't think I have shown the textiles room before, actually. I wish I'd had it when Olivia was at college - she would have loved it. But thanks, I'm pretty fond of it as well. It's part of the Faculty of Art lot, which is an edited version of a building Simtopi did originally.

    I think Sophie and Charlie's GPAs are still better than mine was at uni! I was the very definition of mediocre. But it's fun to mix it up a bit with Sim students, lol. Harder Grades just makes it so that they can't earn a grade higher than a B+ unless they do a term paper, even if their meter is filled completely. Seems quite realistic to me.

    Charlie and Camilla are doing pretty well these days. I wasn't sure what they'd be like together long term but I've been pleasantly surprised.

    Thanks for reading!

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  5. I'm so glad things are going better with Camilla and Charlie. She's obviously learned the importance of getting out of the house every now and then and that it doesn't make her a bad mother but quite the opposite.

    It's nice that Camilla and Sophie took Lila out so she wouldn't just dwell in her misery. A friend in need is a friend indeed. Ha, I'm full of clichés today!

    I installed Harder College Grades a while back too and I like having it in my game. I got bored seeing the 4.0 GPA for all my sims, even those that weren't so studious.

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  6. I'm just so happy that things are going well for these two. I was a bit worried when Camilla first got pregnant, but Charlie has stepped up. I can't wait to see how life will turn out for this little family.

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  7. Carla, I'm finally getting over here to read up on your blog! I'm kinda starting at where it is now and reading back to get the full storyline. GREAT "STUFF" you have going on here!!

    ~Dee~

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  8. It's lovely how well their little family is doing nowadays, especially with the fact Charlie is definitely thinking about sensible careers and putting the effort into schoolwork. I hope he doesn't regret not going after an adventurous career though! Great update as usual. ;)

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  9. First thing's first: Grace and Everett are the cutest toddlers I have ever seen! I seriously can't wait to see them as children!:)
    Poor Camilla, having to choose sides like that. I don't feel for Elspeth or Josh at all, but Lila...poor girl. I hope she can get back up on her feet soon.
    I'm glad Charlie's excited about his career options, even if they aren't his first choice.
    Great update!:)

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  10. Sari, it's good to see Camilla and Charlie finding their places, I think. It's only really been this round where they've both felt content, finally.

    LOL, but it's true! And it was just as good for Camilla to reconnect with Sophie as well.

    Yes, the stream of 4.0s is very boring. I'm glad I've got some variety now.

    Thanks for reading!

    Riverdale, Charlie definitely had a steep learning curve but he was pretty determined to do a good job. He was not the most mature 17-year-old when Camilla got pregnant but he's doing well now.

    Thanks for reading!

    Deelee4952, nice to see you around here! Please don't hesitate to ask questions if there's anything in the story you don't follow. There's 30 rounds of history here and I wouldn't expect anyone to read all of it!

    Thanks for reading!

    Shake, well, police and fire service work can still be pretty adventurous! But Charlie can always go for his dream job later on. He just knows now isn't the time.

    Thanks for reading!

    coolkat2, I wasn't too sure how Camilla and Charlie's genes would mix but I really do love Grace and Everett. They're both little cuties.

    This Josh/Elspeth thing is dicey for Camilla (and for Sophie). Lila is her sister, so she's supporting her but she's been friends with Elspeth since high school, so there's some loyalty there as well.

    Thanks for reading!

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  11. That's a tough spot for Camilla (and Sophie) to be stuck in. It's hard to show support for both sides when everyone's so close. But I'm glad the girls had a great time out.

    I'm so happy Charlie and Camilla are doing well. I really like them together with their adorable kids. They seem like an old married couple and Camilla's not even 21 yet!

    I've only had Harder Grades in for 1 college semester so far and I definitely like it. No 4.0s where they're not "earned". Definitely more realistic and it really shows who the hard working students are.

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  12. I'm glad that Charlie and Camilla are doing better now. It's good that Camilla take some time to enjoy herself away from being a mom every now and then. She puts a lot of pressure on herself to be a good mom, but taking breaks will help her refresh and relax.

    And Lila definitely needed a girls' night out. Maybe winning the dance competition will cheer her up, lol!

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  13. I'm glad these two are doing better, and making time for themselves as well as solo time. Also nice that Camilla could be there for Lila. There girls night out looked like a lot of fun, and yay that she won! That's a nice boost to ego, it's like the ROS knew she'd need that.

    I can understand why Camilla might be a bit wary of his chosen career path, I would be too. I can't believe the twins are so big already! It'll be crazy have them in school, while Camilla still is going, which makes sense since she was so young when she had them.

    And I can't get over how much I like Sophie, she has such a great, unique look. Kind of that full, cute, shapely face, reminds me of my sister and cousin. I wish I had a sim like that for a face! I swear, I look at your sims and go, man I wish I had that feature, and that one, and that one. :p The same with Jack! And he was an adoption sim!! I have adoption bin envy too! <-- who thought that was possible!

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  14. It's a good thing Charlie and Camilla are getting out a little bit more. I think it was well needed in their relationship!
    The outing with Sophie and Lila seemed like a lot of fun and maybe just what Lila needed at the time!
    It's nice to see that Lila can rely on her sister in times like these. I know my sister would be the same :)
    I love the pre-school orientation! You're giving me so much ideas that I want to do in SimsVille as well :) It was a nice way to meet the teacher and the other parents and it's great for the children to meet before school starts!
    I can't believe Grace and Everett are almost ready to go to school!! It seems like only yesterday Camilla came home with the news that she was pregnant!!

    I'm having a hard time letting go of my sims, and playing the game according to their wants, especially when it comes to grades, and skills and college, but this harder college grades seems interesting, I'm still doubting though :)

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  15. I wonder if Lila will ever forgive Josh or Elspeth...it's so funny contrasting the drama over there with Camilla taking pleasure in something as simple as being able to leave the house once in a while without a child in tow.

    Wow, Charlie as a firefighter or police officer is interesting--not something I'd have seen him in, but maybe it is a better fit.

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  16. Danielle, it is difficult and at the moment, Camilla is wary about showing any support at all for Elspeth, because Lila is so sensitive, so she's kind of on the outs with everybody. I thought I was done with Elspeth for the round but she wedged herself into the next update as well. I won't say too much but she's feeling a bit isolated.

    Heh, two kids will do that to you, I guess! There are a lot of things they need to think about that haven't even crossed their peers' minds and may not for many years to come.

    I realised last night that Audrey actually has a 4.0 as well, which I wasn't expecting! She rolls a lot of skilling wants for a Popularity/Family Sim!

    Thanks for reading!

    Shana, Camilla is very hard on herself. I wonder what she would have been like if she hadn't become pregnant. She's got a lot on her plate and is very keen to show she can balance it all. She's only just starting to see that relaxing once in a while actually helps her do that, rather than hindering her.

    Well, Lila got $500 for winning, so that had to cheer her up at least a little! It would put a smile on my face for at least a while.

    Thanks for reading!

    Maisie, ha, yes, the win would boost the ego for sure, at a time when it was probably pretty low. I wasn't too impressed with this ROS at first (I rolled it before Josh kissed Elspeth) but it ended up fitting in perfectly!

    Camilla is predisposed towards worrying anyway, so in the back of her mind, she'd be hoping that Charlie keeps looking and that maybe a less dangerous job will spark his interest.

    Oh, thanks! I love Sophie too. She's such a pretty mix of Wade and Amelia. And Jack...I was a bit worried about leaving it to chance when Tate and Zelda adopted, but I'm glad I did! Who couldn't love Jack? LOL.

    Thanks for reading!

    Tanja, I seem to be solving lots of problems for my Sims just from nights out, lately! But it's true - I usually feel better about whatever's been bothering me when I've had some time to unwind. And Camilla's a good sister. Lila can be nasty but she'd do the same for Camilla, in the same situation.

    Glad you liked the orientation. I can't believe I'd never thought of it before! I used to do play dates for my three-year-olds so they could all meet but if the parents don't know each other, it's more realistic that the kids would meet at orientation. For Charlie and Camilla, they don't know any other parents, so it's good for them as well, especially Camilla.

    I was like you for a long time and I didn't really want to leave things to my Sims. I was sure they'd all fail! But as you've seen, the vast majority still graduate and it's nice to see some pass with flying colours and some scrape in by the skin of their teeth.

    Thanks for reading!

    Rachel, yeah, I'm not sure. Once Lila sits down and thinks about it more rationally, Elspeth might be in with a fighting chance but I think that will depend on what Elspeth's next move is. Is she going to run to Josh now that he's single or will she move on? Josh will have a harder time, if he wants Lila to forgive him - no matter what his next move is.

    Camilla is in a completely different place than her friends! She really appreciates it when she's able to go out for the night, which is something Lila and Sophie take for granted. They don't need to organise anything before they go - they just go!

    I wouldn't have thought of police officer or firefighter for Charlie either but once I started narrowing down the jobs and those two came out on top, they seemed perfect for him. The same thing happened when I figured out Jacob should be a firefighter.

    Thanks for reading!

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  17. I'm so glad Camilla is getting out of the house. Although she has to worry about Charlie and the kids, they really will all feel better if she gets some downtown and some contact with other people.

    Poor Lila. That first heartbreak is like the end of the world, misery with no end in sight. Josh...well he just needs to grow up some. It's normal to make mistakes at that age. I can't see Lila forgiving him.

    Either of those jobs would be perfect for Charlie!

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  18. S.B., I think Camilla probably doesn't have to worry as much about Charlie being left alone with the kids as she thinks she does but she's a bit of a control freak! These days though, Charlie is pretty competent.

    Yes, that's exactly how Lila is feeling right now and worse because she feels betrayed by Elspeth as well. :\ Josh definitely does need to grow up but then, most 19-year-old guys could do with a bit of growing up. I think it will come but it probably won't endear him to Lila at all!

    Heh, still tossing up between police and fire service for Charlie but now I'm leaning towards the fire service. I've only got one Sim in that career but I have a few cops. Hmmm.

    Thanks for reading!

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