Friday 1 July 2011

Fly

Round 31: February 2034 (Summer)
Liam Weaver is 71, Jonas Lachance is 56, Tatiana is 51, Audrey is 22 and Brendan is 11.
(Susannah is 24, Jack is 22 and Edward is 19)

Narrated by Audrey Lachance

The last week or so has been a really busy one for our family. Mum has the flu and she hasn't felt up to doing her share of the chores lately, so I've taken on a lot of them.

Mum has never been the most domesticated woman on Earth, so she's been happy for me to take over.

Though I'm sure she would rather it be for a better reason. She's really not feeling well at all.

Just like Grandma Arianna, Mum never cooks. Dad or Grandpa do it all. So far, I think I might be taking after Mum and Grandma, because I'm pretty hopeless in the kitchen as well.

So I've been helping out where I can instead, like making sure Brendan does his homework.

He's not too bad with getting it done on his own most of the time but he's still 11 and he will try to wriggle out of it if he can!

Mum has been trying her best to stay away from us all but unfortunately, Grandpa still got sick.

He was on doctor's orders to stay in bed, which he was not happy about at all. He's generally still quite active, even after his retirement.

Mum was lucky enough to recover quite quickly but Grandpa just wasn't showing much improvement at home, so he was hospitalised.

We all took turns staying with him in the hospital, including Mum, once she was well enough.

He was in pretty good spirits most of the time - talking and smiling while he was awake - so it wasn't too scary.

Still, it was such a relief for all of us to be able to bring him home again.

I've been living back at home since I graduated and I don't think anyone is more thrilled about it than Mum.


I don't want her to get too attached to the idea, so I've told her several times that it's just a temporary arrangement.

She knows; she just missed me while I was away at college.

Even though I definitely want a place that's more my own, I really missed everybody too. I've been relishing being back with my family again.

I went down to visit Dad's arcade, seeing I hadn't been in there since high school.

It looks exactly the same but Dad told me it's bringing in so much more money now.

Opening it near the high school was a good decision. Dad's whole customer base is teenagers and college kids.

Edward comes around a lot when he doesn't have any classes on. It's a good way for him to kill time until his girlfriend gets off work.

Dad offered me a job at the arcade but I turned it down. I really want to focus on my dance career.

I still go to campus a lot just to practise, seeing it's the only place remotely close to here with a dance studio. If I get an opportunity to audition for a ballet company, I want to be ready!

No auditions so far but I did recently get the chance to start teaching some Jazzercise classes at the gym. It's not what I want to do at all but it's more money, so Jack and I celebrated the occasion anyway.

We've been talking about maybe taking a little trip together, once we've got the money, so every little bit counts.

I was nervous about finally getting together with Jack but it felt really right almost immediately. We've been so happy.

We kept it quiet for a little while but we're all out in the open now. Everybody knows. I don't really like keeping secrets like that, so it's nice.

My parents were very happy when Jack and I started dating. We've been friends since we were kids and they've always really liked Jack.

And they never said anything but I could tell that Dad especially was not so fond of Connor. He and Jack get along really well though. Jack loves video games, so Dad has someone to talk to about the arcade for hours on end now.

Apart from Grandpa's hospital stay, things have been going pretty well for me in general lately. I just need a place to live!

Soon enough, that might be sorted out as well. Susannah is moving out of the place she shares with Rebecca and she asked if I would want to take her room.

I most definitely would but I had to ask why. I thought Susannah and Rebecca were pretty happy with their living arrangements.

They are but right around New Year's, Susannah found out she was pregnant. There's no room for a baby in the apartment and Susannah doesn't want Rebecca to have to move, so she was hoping I'd want to move in.

I'm pleased to have a place to live besides my parents' house but now I'm worried about Susannah. She's trying to stay positive about this pregnancy but she must be so scared. A baby was definitely not in her plans so soon!

Notes:
  • Title is from Fly by Veruca Salt.
  • Tatiana and Liam were both victims of my Flu Epidemic ROS. I think I'm halfway through now!
  • Liam took forever to get better! He had that glitch where the soup cures them but then they get sick again immediately afterwards (I let my Sims suffer for 24 hours before they're allowed the soup), so I wrote that in with the hospitalisation.
  • I have come to the conclusion that the dance career sucks. I've never played close attention to it before but it really does. We go from Backup Dancer to SimJazzer Instructor and then with Audrey's next promotion, she'll be a Pop'n'Lock Dancer. And then when she gets to Level 10, she'll be a World Class Ballerina, after years and years of dance jobs completely unrelated to ballet. Dumb!

27 comments:

  1. I was scared I thought Liam might die. You scared me. LOL Glad everyone is better know.

    I agree with you on the dance career it does suck. Why oh why would the make it like that?

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  2. Yes, the dance career sucks. I just try to imagine that it's a bunch of different jobs to audition for, not a steady career like being employed with a ballet company. I adore your arcade, did I ever tell you that? I do. I love the details of the little prizes and stuffed animals. How do you play that business lot? With the ticket machine? Do you sell the animals? Also glad to get an update with Susannah and the baby, for a minute I thought that Audrey would get pregnant with the ROS. Now if I see a couple making out I assume they'll get pregnant with your ROS :P

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  3. Riverdale, well, in the past, going into that hospital hasn't been such a good omen, lol! That's why I've been sending some Sims in for non-fatal things, because my doctors were seeming more like butchers!

    Who knows why EA did a lot of things, eh? So many of the careers don't make any sense at all! I use Pru's overrides for some, which make them a lot better.

    Thanks for reading!

    Apple Valley, yeah, I guess that's sort of how I'm looking at the career too, for the meantime.

    I don't know if you ever told me you liked the arcade but thank you! I'm a little disappointed that I've had to remove all the custom arcade games I had in there. They caused major lag every time a Sim tried to play one. :\ At least it still looks good? LOL.

    But yes, there's a ticket machine set up outside. Jesse runs the register so Sims can buy the "prizes" but the ones behind the counter are just decorative. I didn't want Sims walking behind the counter all the time to browse.

    LOL and nope, not Audrey! The pregnancy ROS is still to come. There will be a more detailed updated on Susannah either tomorrow or the next day. I have the pictures done - just have to write the words. :)

    Thanks for reading!

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  4. Oh phew, I also thought he was going to die...so glad he didn't. Dance career sounds indeed bit silly but guess better to have one than not have it at all right?!
    It is unfortunate that Susannah has to move out, and seems she is still pretty taken back about the pregnancy, which is understandable...I wonder if she has told him yet and how he responded. I'm sure we shall find out soon enough.

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  5. I too thought Liam was a goner! Glad to see I was wrong! A lot of the maxis careers have silly levels. I think it's because they didn't have in mind that people would actually consider the levels, just attempt to get to the top lol. The arcade still looks good without the custom games!

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  6. I'm so glad to see Jack and Audrey finally together. They make such a cute couple. I'm also happy Liam survived the flu!

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  7. Awwwwww, I'm in love with Audrey and Jack! They are so cute together and I'm glad that Audrey's parents approve as well.

    I never realized how much the dance career sucked. In all my sim years, I don't think I've ever played with it!

    I'm glad both Tatiana and Liam got better. The flu ROS really is a scary one!

    Great update!:)

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  8. Speechless, LOL, I don't know about that. I guess if EA hadn't made a dance career, some creator would have and they probably would have done a better job!

    Susannah is still getting accustomed to the idea that she'll have a baby soon enough. I've put a little update up on Susannah just a minute ago, in which you will find out Sam's reaction.

    Thanks for reading!

    Mizzgin03, no, we'll have Liam with us for at least one more round. ;)

    I think EA just never considered that people would want to tell stories that actually made sense with this game, so they sort of just threw everything into the careers. Probably partly that was an attempt to please everyone too. If they did a dedicated ballet career, some would have complained they didn't include hip hop dancing or tap or whatever. Oh well.

    Thanks for reading!

    Rosa, you and me both! Jack and Audrey certainly took their time! I was actually planning on letting them get together a couple of years before they did but then Connor and Audrey started up autonomously and I decided to let them play that out. I think it worked out well anyway.

    I'm happy Liam survived too. I wasn't sure he would for a while!

    Thanks for reading!

    coolkat2, I'm quite in love with Jack and Audrey myself - they're very sweet! Audrey's parents were probably expecting it to happen one day.

    I haven't played with the dance career much either. I threw Magdalena into it and never paid much attention to it and Liam was already in it when I married him into this family and I didn't pay much attention with him either. Audrey's the first Sim who I put into the career because I really wanted her to be a dancer, so I'm scrutinising it a little more closely. And it's pretty sucky.

    Sigh, the flu ROS is scary and I'd also forgotten how tedious it can be! I think 10 infected Sims is a good number but wow, it takes a long time to get through them all.

    Thanks for reading!

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  9. Glad that they all made it through the flu in this household without any casualties. Worked out nice to have Audrey here to help with Brendan, and I'm glad she got to come home to spend sometime, I like when that works out for some sims. I never realized how much Tatiana and Audrey looked alike, love that! Honestly, I just love the genetics all around, when daughters look like mothers, when they look like fathers, when they look like random relative.. haha.

    I think it's great they have little Brendan still in the home, it's nice for Tatiana to have someone to focus on while she's still not that old. I think she'd be awfully lonely to be an empty nester, though she isn't a spring chicken. Can't believe she's in her 50's! She's the oldest sim whose teen years I remember quite clearly.

    I like Audrey and Jack together too, does Audrey happen to have a blond recessive? Might make another red head, haha. I'm just going through guessing all your genetics, I miss my sims so much, I'm planning your generations out. :D

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  10. Maisie, it did work out well, although Audrey only moved in because I had nowhere else to put her! But she's close to her family and I can imagine her living at home relatively happily for a little while anyway.

    Heh, you know I'm the same with genetics! Audrey's so much like Tatiana. I think her jaw might be a little wider than her mother's but they're still very similar.

    I don't think Tatiana would enjoy being an empty nester, so it's definitely a good thing Brendan is around. Although eventually, one of the kids will move back home to take over the farm so she likely won't be an empty nester for very long.

    Oh gosh, Audrey has a RED recessive, so even better! It comes from her great-grandmother, Gina Clarke. So if Audrey and Jack had a baby, they'd have the same chance of giving me a redhead as Steve and Olivia and they gave me one right off the bat. If I didn't already love Audrey and Jack together, this may well have swayed me! ;)

    Thanks for reading!

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  11. Oh my god, you shouldn't scare people like that, lol! I was sure that Liam was going to die. I'm glad he and Tatiana both got better eventually.

    Audrey is such a sweetheart. She just seems genuinely the kind of person that would go to all lenghts to help her family and her friends if she can.

    It's great that Jonas and Tatiana like Jack so much. But then again he's very likeable so it's not a big surprise that he's a hit with the parents.

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  12. Sari, LOL, well, that's about how I felt through the whole play session, until Liam finally got better! I was sure he was a goner.

    Audrey is that type of person, though she probably has the potential for that to cross over into meddling. But she does really want to help people when her family or friends are in distress for whatever reason.

    Jack is almost like a member of the family, with the amount of time he spent at this house as a kid and teen. He sort of already had his foot in the door, so a slight advantage over Connor! But even without that, as you say, he is fairly likeable.

    Thanks for reading!

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  13. You always scare me when you take your sims to the hospital when they are sick, especially when they are elders. I'm always scared they are going to die! I'm glad both Liam and Tatiana are all better now!
    Audrey is such a sweetheart, I'm sure her mother will miss her even more now that has been back for some time. I'm glad she found a nice place to live though.
    I adore Jack and Audrey, and he seems to have found his place in this family as well.

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  14. I was worried about Liam, too! Glad they got through with no casualties.

    The Maxis dance career is kind of silly, although, yeah, the were probably trying to satisfy everyone with it.

    I think I saw a Prima Ballerina career somewhere (probably MTS) - if Audrey as the LTW to top the Maxis dance career, you could work her through to the top of the custom one, then switch her over to the Maxis dance career, she'd probably have most of the skills she needed to go straight into a high level and reach level 10/fulfill the want very quickly.

    I'm doing that with a couple of my sims - putting them into a similar custom career, as a different route to their LTW with the intention of switching them if/when they top the custom one, just to add some variety.

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  15. Tanja, I think I scare everyone, based on all your comments! But we have Liam for a while yet and we have Tatiana for a lot longer, obviously. ;)

    I've moved Audrey out into Rebecca and Susannah's place, so I would guess that Tatiana is already missing her. But Tatiana is lucky she doesn't have the kinds of kids who move out and never visit. They'll still see each other all the time.

    Heh, you already know how much I love Jack and Audrey!

    Thanks for reading!

    Blackcat, me too! I'll be glad when this flu ROS is over! I just checked and I have four more Sims to infect and hopefully cure.

    That's an interesting idea and it's actually something I wish I'd done for Luc and Asha. I've always pictured them as playing rock but the EA music career is so stupid, with those two classical levels near the top and then Rock God at the very top. All the other levels seem rock-oriented or at least, generic enough to fit into anything. But I didn't find out about the Rock Star career until long after I'd fulfilled Luc's LTW! Something to think about in the future though, so thanks!

    Thanks for reading!

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  16. I was getting worried about Liam. Those elders can be so fragile, and I can't always tell when they go in the hospital whether they'll come back out.

    Glad Audrey's doing well with Jack and congrats on her moving out, but where's Susannah going? And Sam had better be with her, wherever she goes.

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  17. Fini, true, just like in real life, hospital trips for the elderly are often worrisome. It all worked out okay this time though.

    You'll find out about what's ahead for Susannah and Sam in the next entry. ;) Audrey's a lucky girl to be moving into that apartment!

    Thanks for reading!

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  18. Ah good. I'm glad that your hospital has been having a good streak with curing people lol. I was worried about Liam but glad he's still kicking. So happy to see more Audrey and Jack. When they were younger, I was routing for her and Charlie but I actually like the way things turned out. I'm happy Audrey will have a place to live soon but sad that Susannah will be moving out. Can't wait to find out what's going to happen next.

    And yes, the dance career probably sucks the most of all EA careers. I'm glad someone over at N99 is working on an override.

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  19. Danielle, I'm starting to wonder if the hospital's good run is really going to stop anyone from freaking out any time my Sims go in! I have a feeling you guys will do that anyway, like I do when I see it at other people's blogs, lol!


    You know, at one stage, I was kind of hoping Charlie and Audrey would get together too, though I always suspected Jack and Audrey might be the ones to end up together. By the time Charlie took himself so spectacularly out of the running by knocking up Camilla, I'd already switched my allegiance to Jack. ;) I just went back and read the Benton post where we got the first hints of a Jack/Audrey/Charlie thing (when they were 8, lol!) and a few people were hoping for/expecting a Charlie/Audrey romance.

    I'm a bit sad Susannah is moving out too but I have a place for her now, so I am a little more okay with it. And I redecorated Susannah's bedroom for Audrey and that always makes me more excited about a living situation.

    Thanks for reading!

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  20. Most of the careers are ridiculous, aren't they? They hardly make any sense. I know I've heard a few in the medical profession that were a little miffed that "nurse" was one of the lower levels on the way to being a doctor.

    Aw, Jack meeting the parents in this new capacity is cute! I think I also remember people rooting for one of the boys to get with Audrey. But when they were kids, we didn't know that Jack would grow up and be so darn handsome, lol.

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  21. Lunar, they really are. I'm using overrides for some of them but I don't have one for all. I can imagine nurses being a bit miffed that their job is considered just a step on the way to becoming a doctor. I'm a bit annoyed myself that you can be promoted to High School Teacher from Elementary School Teacher. Uh, no. Some of us are happy at the elementary/primary level. It's not a promotion to change to being a high school teacher. Gah.

    But yes, it's cute to see this whole Jack and Audrey thing finally playing out! It was a long time coming and I'm sure Jonas and Tatiana have been expecting it for a little while now, or at least hoping. And that's true - Jack's 18th birthday was quite a surprise for us!

    Thanks for reading!

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  22. Yes, yes, YES!!

    My number one hate in the Maxis careers was the nurse-as-a-step-to-doctor thing! Really made my day when someone posted a nursing career on MTS, and a couple of my sims with a Chief of Staff want are now actually nurses on the way to Nurse Practitioner - if they make level 10, they'll fulfil the LTW via the brief career switch at the top, as I mentioned above.

    I figured that there would be things in the other game careers that would bother people in the profession in r/l just as much - thanks for confirming that its not just a nurses-are-too-precious thing! :)

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  23. Blackcat, oooh, a nursing career! I'm going to go and get that one.

    But yeah, it's not just nurses being precious! Teachers are just as miffed and I imagine there are other careers with similar annoyances. I just don't know enough about them to point them out!

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  24. Audrey came back home just in time to be a big help--that has to be nice for her family. I'm so glad no one died from the flu ROS!

    I'm still loving Jack and Audrey being together. :)

    What a good idea to have Audrey move in with Rebecca! It is too bad that Susannah can't stay there, though. :(

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  25. Rachel, Audrey's return was very fortunate indeed. Liam usually does a lot of the house stuff but I had him resting. I'm so paranoid about my sick Sims now!

    No, I'm still not sick of Jack and Audrey either. Love them.

    Susannah's pregnancy worked out pretty well for Audrey, I guess. I'm bummed for her that her carefree days were cut short a little prematurely though. But she's Family secondary anyway, and has rolled up the want for a baby, so she'll probably cope better than most.

    Thanks for reading!

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  26. Oh, Jack and Audrey! *whimsicalsigh* They're so lovely together! :)

    Oh, I know - how much of a mess is that dance career!?! It reminds me of the music one, which was like that as well, with like two symphony music jobs in the middle of a whole rockstar kind of career, lol! I'm glad TS3 does the music career in two branches (and does quite a few careers in two branches, actually) - which reminds me that I need to learn how to mod TS3 careers, lol!

    But anyway! How neat for Audrey that the new place thing will work out, though at Susannah's expense, I guess. Wondering where Susannah will go from here - guess I should read on and find out, lol! ;)

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  27. Laura, no, I'm still not sick of Audrey and Jack either! So cute...I just scrolled back up and noticed there weren't nearly enough pics of them though, lol.

    The dance career sucks, really. I wish they'd just focused on ballet, rather than trying to please everyone by having one level of tap dancing and then another of flamenco. Music sucks too, but not quite as much. I'm still going to use the Rock Star custom career for my next music Sim though.

    The branched careers in TS3 are a very good idea - who'd have thought EA would ever come up with it? I would bet they got that from the fans, actually. I've heard they go around to Sims forums and check out what people are saying.

    Susannah got knocked up at a pretty convenient time for me! Her old place is perfect for Audrey. Susannah will be living...elsewhere. You'll get a rough idea in March birthdays and then more details in her next pregnancy update. ;)

    Thanks for reading!

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