Saturday 10 September 2011

Atomic

Round 32: January 2035 (Summer)

Augustin and Hanna Novak are both 80, Naomi is 60 and Owen is 58.
(Kirstin is 51, Adrienne is 28 and Malcolm is 25)

Narrated by Owen Novak

Naomi has been running Vestiti for 13 years now and I can probably count the number of times I've been in there on one hand.

I just know my place and it's not anywhere near fashion, at least not these days.

Once every couple of years though, Naomi manages to drag me in there to overhaul my wardrobe.

I hate buying clothes and I'm just not willing to go through it any more often than that.

Shopping is not my thing but a little after hours fun in one of the changing booths is definitely more my idea of a good time.

Naomi and I, despite being "old" now, are still pretty active.

Adrienne and Malcolm would prefer we weren't, I'm sure, at least when they're around.

It's so warm lately that we've been having the kids to come and visit for dinner after work.

Augustin makes great barbecued ribs, so he usually tosses a few of those on the grill for us all.

And who could resist the lure of our pool after a disgustingly hot day?

Our backyard is a pretty great place to unwind. Both Adrienne and Malcolm are working hard at the moment, so it's welcome.

Poor Adrienne is working 10 hours a day, desperate to get a new position with the fashion house she works for, this time as a stylist.

Naomi was a late bloomer in the fashion industry, so it wasn't so long ago that she was going through the same thing herself. I never expected it when Naomi first started designing but the hours can be brutal.

Malcolm's only working 30 hours a week at the moment. Sounds not too taxing until you consider that those hours are often in the middle of the night and that he's in med school on top of that.

He likes to spend most of his "down time" hanging out with friends or with Hope, which doesn't leave much time for anything else. Like sleep.

I had a complete absence of motivation to do much of anything when I was in my 20s (and 30s!) and I'm glad I haven't passed it on to Adrienne or Malcolm.

My sister Kirstin is several years younger than me but several years ahead of me, career-wise.

I think she gets a real kick out of being my superior at work, though she'd probably act like she was even if she wasn't.

I might have been more successful at my age but it's only in the last 10 years that I've really done more at work than the bare minimum required of me. I'm actually working hard for the first time in my life.

I'm feeling overworked recently though, so Naomi and I decided to head off to Cape Elizabeth for the weekend.

Naomi's parents haven't been away anywhere in a while either, so they came along too.

We own a house in Takemizu Village, so normally, that's where we go on vacation. We hadn't been to Cape Elizabeth since before we were even married though, so we thought we'd change it up a bit.

When we visited last, we stayed in Naomi's grandparents' holiday house (currently owned by her brother Eliot) but the hotel we stayed at this time was fantastic.

Unfortunately, the weather wasn't. We were having less rain back at home.

So we had lunch in the hotel restaurant instead of hitting the beach. Halfway through our meal, the sky cleared and it became beautiful and sunny outside.

Augustin, Naomi and I were all keen to get into the water.

Hanna isn't much of a swimmer, even at home in the pool, so she just lay out in the sun while we swam.

Hanna came out it unscathed but Naomi decided to join her and ended up with a nasty case of sunburn.

Sunburn excluded, we all had quite a relaxing holiday. I definitely feel refreshed enough to go back into work.

Notes:
  • Title is from Atomic by Blondie.
  • Owen narrated the Round 30 update but before that, the last time I wrote from his perspective was Round 21 - Malcolm was still a toddler! It was time Owen got another look-in.
  • A rather abrupt end to the holiday - sorry about that! I crashed while sending them to another lot (I'd had the game loaded for a really long time) and I could just not muster up the energy to load up again for a few more holiday shots. My game takes over an hour to load, so loading is a big deal for me! I often have the game loaded for two or three days.
  • Also finally, there were a bunch of enablers on Twitter yesterday who forced me to create a Tumblr for Sullivan. I'm having a lot of fun with it so far, so I guess I'll forgive them! ;) You can have a look at it here and the link is also in the welcome post in the side bar, if you lose it and need it again. I'm planning on using it for outtakes, favourite pics, sneak previews and general random fun. :) I'm also planning on figuring out how to customise my layout but one step at a time!

17 comments:

  1. After reading Starr's update and seeing your elders I got scared. I was thinking "Oh, no!" But I'm glad I read. Owen has always made me laugh, but I'm glad he's finally doing the "job" thing. Just some sims take longer to "get with the program."

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  2. Owen doesn't get a lot of limelight, I think that fits him too. He never seems too fussy for attention. Funny to see Naomi with gray hair before him though! They do have a nice set up in their backyard, I can see why everyone wants to come over and use it. I know I would, I'm a fish in the summer. :)

    I love that his sister accomplished more in her career then him and that he was a late bloomer in regards to career ambition. I actually anticipated both his kids being of that same nature, they've both surprised me in their work ethics actually.

    It was great seeing Amar! This is the perfect family for him! Theta totally be laid back about his personality and the like. Hope looks cute in her swim suit too.

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  3. I liked their vacation and to me it didn't end too abrupt.
    It seemed like they needed the weekend off, too bad the weather was better in Sullivan than in Cape Elizabeth.
    It's very realistic that Owen's younger sister accomplished more in her job than he has. I can see that happen to me and my sister as well since she has a higher diploma.
    I love how your stories are so real at times!

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  4. Riverdale, oh, I didn't think anyone would be scared by the mere presence of elders, lol! It's been a while since one has died, so I guess you guys are going to get jumpy, especially after Starr's update!

    LOL, Owen took until his 50s to finally get with the program. It took him that long to roll the want to earn a skill point so he could be promoted. I'm glad he made it but some people just don't hit their prime until they're older.

    Thanks for reading!

    Maisie, yes, that's true as well. I don't think Owen would mind staying in the background a lot of the time. And he can enjoy his relative youth while it lasts, because he'll be joining Naomi in the grey hair brigade next round!

    Adrienne and Malcolm surprised me a little too, especially Adrienne! She was just all Romance, Romance, Romance and then once she got pregnant, her Fortune side came out to play. Really interesting how that worked out.

    I definitely think this is a good family for Amar to fit into! I can't imagine certain other parents would like him so much, like say Jace and Magdalena!

    Thanks for reading!

    Tanja, I'm glad you didn't think it ended too suddenly! I guess it was just because I was so conscious that the vacation was much shorter than I was originally planning.

    That's true, there are many sibling sets where the younger one is more accomplished than the older one in some way (or more than one way). It's nice to have that sort of variation in the hood.

    Thanks for reading!

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  5. My laptop won't let me comment.....?! Well anyways, too many posts since I last commented so I'll just say that every post is amazing, keep them coming! :D Can't wait for the next birthdays post, I think I look forward to those the most! :D Owen and Kirstin are funny, how the younger sibling ends up higher in ranks! Haha, reminds me of when my younger brother and I used to play all sorts of games, and he would be almost double the experience I was, lol!

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  6. Anna, no plans to stop posting at any time in the future, so no worries there!

    Well, Kirstin has worked a lot harder than Owen ever did, so it makes sense that she'd zoom ahead of him. It happens!

    Thanks for reading!

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  7. That picture of Adrienne and Malcolm cringing at their parents reminds me of one of your old avatar pics. It was Audrey Lachance and one of her brothers. It made me LOL. The vacation didn't seem abrupt at all. You wrote it well enough that I didn't notice.

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  8. LOL! Love that they're so "active" in their older age. They should be on one of those commercials :P

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  9. Fini, oh, yes, that avatar was Audrey and Edward, horribly embarrassed by their parents! I actually had to restage this one a couple of times and at one point, Adrienne and Malcolm both nodded and smiled instead of cringing and their queue icon said "approve". I don't know who would do that at anyone flirting or kissing in front of them, least of all their parents! The cringing seems more realistic, even as cartoonish as it is!

    And good! I guess I was worried for no reason. I'm my own harshest critic.

    Thanks for reading!

    Apple Valley, LOL! You mean like Viagra? So funny. I don't know if Owen would be willing to appear in an ad that suggested he needed help in that department though!

    Thanks for reading!

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  10. Yeah for more holidays! Your Sims are going to make me wishing for holidays! I love how your elders are always so active, (and not only in the meaning of Appley Valley! ;))

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  11. Sandy, this holiday came so soon after Olivia and Steve's that I felt like this round was full of holidays before it even started (and there is actually a holiday with another family a little after this one, so maybe I was right!)

    Heh, I get bored with elders if I don't get them out doing things. That's probably why I still have quite a few working. :D

    Thanks for reading!

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  12. Naomi is one stylish granny! I love her leopard print skirt. It was nice to hear from Owen again. Poor guy has been neglected for so many years lol. That's so cute that they're still so in love with each other and loved the pic of Adrienne and Malcolm being grossed out. That's great that he's finally getting motivated to start doing some work. I wonder what sparked that fire under his butt.

    Anyway, that's too bad that you crashed while they were on vacation but it looks like they had a great time anyway. Man, I really want to get my vacation hoods in order.

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  13. Danielle, Naomi doesn't look too bad for 60, huh? I've been waiting for someone to use that leopard print skirt on.

    Sigh, some Sims end up like that - they get a big neglected and overshadowed, like poor Owen. I'll have to keep giving him more of a look-in in the future. It seemed quite fitting though that he gets to be back in the spotlight now that he's finally working hard! I'm not sure what I would have written for him before.

    This poor family...it's like they never went on a vacation at all! They've still got all these vacation wants in their panel. Sorry, Augustin, I don't think you're going to be taking that guided tour, lol!

    Thanks for reading!

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  14. It's nice they were able to go on holiday--it's so weird seeing Naomi with that hair, lol. Too bad about the sunburn!

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  15. Rachel, they'd been annoying me about going on holiday for a while, so I finally gave in. It's just a shame I crashed and it didn't really happen!

    I'm still getting used to Naomi with white hair myself. ;) If I'd changed the style as well, I don't think my poor brain could have taken it!

    Thanks for reading!

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  16. I keep thinking how lucky Naomi was to still have both her parents by the time she turned 60.

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    Replies
    1. She did all right with that, didn't she? Though her parents were very young when they had her, so it's not so surprising. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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