Sunday 13 May 2012

Malediction

Round 33: April 2038 (Autumn)
last update/next update

Emil Collins is 66 and Anna is 60.
(Tate and Trent are 68, Rob is 37, Rebecca is 29, Nathan is 28 and Hope is 27)
Narrated by Anna Collins

Nathan and Rebecca bought a house together a good while ago but it was only this month when we finally got a chance to visit their new place.

It was a bit of a fixer-upper, which is how they managed to get a 3 bedroom house for such a cheap price.

It’s quite small but it’s decorated beautifully and they didn’t go into debt renovating and furnishing it either.

The house is only a couple of blocks away from ours and Nathan seems like he’s very happy there.

Nathan made dinner, which he and Rebecca also used as an opportunity to announce their engagement.

It wasn't exactly a huge surprise. I know what Nathan is like. He's very keen to get married and have children. Once they moved in together, I figured it would only be a matter of time.

They’re not setting a date just yet, which did surprise me. I thought maybe that was Rebecca’s doing but they just want to save up enough money to have the kind of wedding they want.

That’s a good thing too, because from talking with Hope, I’m realising just how expensive weddings can be!

The deal Hope and Malcolm made was that once they were settled in their new house, they would get married. They’re still living with boxes all around but Hope couldn’t help herself and has already done quite a bit of research.

She’s hoping they can get their house organised in time for a Spring ‘39 wedding, so they can completely relax afterwards.

I have plenty of what I think are wonderful ideas for a wedding, not that Hope cares to listen to any of them. Like me, she has very specific tastes. She’s got notebooks and a binder, plus spreadsheets, web pages and inspiration pictures, all compiled just for this wedding.

When Hope visits these days, all talk is centred on the wedding. That’s about all she can think about at the moment. Emil started out faking an interest but he wasn’t very convincing. He really doesn’t care about dresses, flowers, cakes or anything of that sort.

So now, he just heads out after dinner and leaves all the wedding talk to me and Hope.

Emil has recently reconnected with Tate and Trent, two of his old college buddies. Trent is Rebecca’s father and with her and Nathan getting married, they have that one more thing to link them to each other.

Most of their nights are spent reliving their old university days, rather than talking about the kids though, I’m sure.

I’ve heard all these stories hundreds of times by now and didn’t start university until Emil had already been expelled, so the reminiscing is not something I care too much about.

Usually, I’m just happy to have Emil out of my hair for a few hours.

Once Hope leaves, I’ll read for a while before heading off to bed. Most nights, Emil is home by that time but it’s not unheard of him to still be out.

Las time he went out, I woke up to a phone call just a couple of hours after I'd fallen asleep. The police had picked up Emil for drink-driving.

When I hung up, I was fuming. Emil doesn’t usually take the car when he goes to a bar, so I don’t know what gave him such a stupid idea this time.

Bailing someone out of jail is what I’d expect to have to do for a teenager, not a 66-year-old man.

When the officer on duty took me to get Emil, he was sleeping it off. I didn’t think it was possible to be more furious but I still had some left in me once I saw him.

As we left, Emil was told about coming back for his court date and the charges that would be laid against him. He didn’t seem especially bothered, just grateful they were letting him go.

I didn’t talk to him the whole way home; I was just silently fuming and storing up what I’d say to him the second we got inside.

I really let loose once we were through the door. Drink driving was not even something we had to deal with when Hope and Malcolm were younger and I would have been furious enough about that. Emil is well old enough to know better!

And his reason? He didn’t want to walk home, because he knew it’d be too cold out. So he decided to drive.

He’s never heard of taxis, apparently. That’s how I had to get myself to the station to pick up Emil, along with my car.

Thank God he didn't kill himself, or anyone else. That is the only saving grace in this situation.

I’m letting him do all the running around calling lawyers and everything. His first call was to Nathan, who said he could recommend someone to represent Emil.

He put us in touch with Rob Ashton, who mostly specialises in personal injury but agreed to take on Emil’s case.

Rob went over all the possible defenses against a drink driving charge and none of them fit Emil. Given that, the best course of action is for Emil to plead guilty.

Prison time is a possibility but Rob thinks it is a very remote one, due to the fact that it is a first offense and that Emil has no criminal record and has had a perfect driving record for 40 years until now.

It's very likely that his license will be cancelled though - perhaps for as little as three months but maybe for as long as 10 years. Emil wasn't thrilled about that at all.

It seems more than fair to me. He has a court date in a couple of weeks and we’ll find out then what the exact penalty is.

Notes:
  • Title is from Malediction by Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks.
  • Emil rolled the DUI ROS this round. The ROS specifies license cancellation for 10 years but that seemed rather steep to me, once I looked up the DUI penalties here in New South Wales. To get a 10 year cancellation, it would have to be at least a second offense and you also would have had to tamper with the results of your blood alchol test or refuse to submit to one. None of that applies to Emil but seeing Rob and Patience are up next, I'll tie up the loose ends of this ROS in their update.
  • Nathan and Rebecca have had the want to get engaged for a while now, so I just let them do it. They haven't rolled a marriage want yet but I'm expecting that at least Nathan will. We'll see what happens next time I play them.
  • As for Hope and Malcolm, I think I can manage decorating two rooms by Spring 2039. That's all I have left of their house, lol!

24 comments:

  1. Oh my!!! I can't believe Emil rolled that ROS!!! I'd be livid too if I were Anna! Reliving the glory days a little too hard there Emil!

    I'm looking forward to the weddings! Lots of celebrations coming for Anna and Emil. They are such a good fitting pair, I like them as elders. Im excited to see how they behave as grandparents when that comes around.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Of all the Sims who could have rolled that ROS, I was sort of glad it was Emil. I can see him being somewhat reckless, as much as he's calmed down in recent years!

      I'm looking forward to the weddings too, though I haven't picked out anything for either of them, lol! That's the fun part though. Hope's will happen well before Nathan's, if things go to plan. :)

      I think Anna will be very interesting to see as a grandparent. She's not very nurturing and she's not the type to yearn for grandchildren.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  2. I love how you wrote in the ROS and Anna's anger, yikes. Nathan and Rebecca's place is amazing, I didn't recognize it thanks to all their work, wow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, you don't want to make Anna mad! I think Emil will be paying for this for a while. ;)

      So glad you like Nathan and Rebecca's place. I didn't change the structure at all but it looks quite different from its original state, as well as the first makeover I did on it for N99. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  3. OMG, you wrote that ROS in perfectly!! You are always so creative with these things!
    I would have been as furious with Emil as Anna was. What was he thinking?! On the other hand, he does seem like the type of guy to do something like this.
    I love the bar Emil went, it looks nice.

    I can't wait to see Hope's wedding after all the planning she's done.
    And congratulations to Rebecca and Nathan on their engagement!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Tanja - I wasn't really sure about this one, so I'm glad you enjoyed it.

      I would definitely not be happy with my husband (or any relative, really) who did something as irresponsible as drink-driving. Hopefully he learns his lesson. Anna will be watching him like a hawk from now on.

      Hope strikes me as the kind of girl who will make sure everything about her wedding is just as she wants it. It should be nice, once I finally plan it!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  4. 66 and driving while intoxicated? That's enough to drive anyone up the wall, and I think Anna actually let him off easy. I can't wait to see the reaction from their kids - they're never going to let him live it down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Emil is definitely more than old enough to know better! I'm sure Anna isn't quite through with him. ;) I'm not sure how much we'll see of Hope and Nathan for the rest of the round but Nathan would definitely be giving his dad an earful about this as well!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  5. LOL! Emil is lucky Anna didn't clean his clock after a stupid decision like that. Drinking with the guys is dangerous business. ;) Looks like he'll be bumming rides or taking the bus!

    Hope really has everything together for the wedding she wants--hopefully they can afford it! I'm so glad I didn't go into debt for my wedding. I don't understand why people do that.

    I love your ROS entries! It just makes me want to throw ROS into Aperture Valley sooner than I planned, but I'll sit on my hands and wait. I also really like how you made an elder couple interesting by tying in the rest of their family. It was very 'true to life!' It took me a moment to realize these were two older people on their own!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Taking the bus, if Anna has anything to do with it! She's not going to be chauffeuring him around, that's for sure!

      Malcolm and Hope are both quite sensible with money, so hopefully once they actually have to start spending, they'll both be be realistic about it.

      ROS are a lot of fun! I always dread rolling them every round though, in case there's one I don't want to do! I'm due to roll them again soon, actually. :0 I always try to get the kids involved with my elder couples - it's really the only thing that keeps me playing them. They're still not too exciting to me on their own!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!!

      Delete
  6. Wow, this was too funny! Love how you wrote it. Emil is lucky he didn't hurt anyone or himself. That was such a "guy" excuse. Idiots LOL. The cold probably would have sobered him up a little bit. I'm sure Anna will give him plenty of hell for a long time.

    Congrats to Nathan and Rebecca! I'm so glad things are still going so well for them. Looking forward to their wedding and, of course, Hope and Malcolm's. Their place looks great so far! Can't wait for the tour.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was definitely a supremely stupid decision for Emil to get into his car (or Anna's car, rather!) after drinking. Anna will not let him hear the end of it for a while yet and the law will hand down a punishment too, so he'll hopefully learn his lesson.

      Two weddings to plan - that's pretty exciting for me. The last one was Camilla and Charlie's but it feels like so much longer ago! I probably won't do a tour of Rebecca and Nathan's place though. I only really changed the kitchen, living room and master bedroom and the rest of the rooms are in the tour at N99. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  7. Two weddings coming up for this family!! Things are gonna get pretty hectic. Still I can't wait to see them both- your weddings are always so beautiful! And tut tut Emil he is in BIG trouble. Haha so funny! Still at least no one is hurt and he will be suitably punished by Anna I'm sure...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I enjoy doing weddings, so it'll be fun for me to do two more. I don't know what timeframe I'll have for Rebecca and Nathan's though - it could be quite a while.

      Emil was very lucky he didn't hurt someone. I cannot imagine the reaction Anna would have had if he did, let alone what the law would have had to say about it!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  8. All I can say is ROFL ROFL ROFL (well type). Of all the sims to get that ROS he get's it! Emil is going through a elderly life crisis! Glad no one got hurt that, so that's a huge plus!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, if anyone was going to get busted by this ROS, I'm glad it was Emil! I remember Laura rolled it for Leila (I think?)and mentioned that she thought it was kind of out of character for her to do something so irresponsible. I didn't have that problem with Emil!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  9. Oh Emil, how could you?! It makes sense though, he's always been a wild child and seems to continue to be that way even in his senior years. I can see why Anna was fuming, I would've ripped his head off if it was me! He's lucky he didn't hurt anyone.

    I'm looking forward to the weddings. It looks like Hope has pretty much planned hers already :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, Emil has unfortunately still got a little of that rebellion in him. Anna has always been the more sensible one, even when she was younger. Emil's lucky his head is still attached to his body. ;)

      Hope's had the details of her wedding in her head for a long time now. Getting them down on paper and actually being on the way to setting them in stone would be really exciting for her.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  10. LOL. As much as Emil has changed since his younger days, he's still got that streak of "What were you thinking?" left in him. I can just imagine Anna spouting off at him as soon as she slams the door shut, and it makes me lol. I was wondering if I'd missed Nathan and Rebecca getting engaged, but you make it sound like I didn't so I don't feel so bad now. My cousin's getting married and as soon as planning details start getting discussed, my eyes glaze over, so I sympathize with Emil.
    Rebecca and Nathan's house looks AMAZING.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A streak of "what were you thinking?" is probably a good description! Anna once had it too but as she's got older, she actually acts like a Sim with 3 outgoing points and has "grown up" a lot. So a stupid decision like the one Emil made here has really enraged her, as well it should!

      No, there was no post where Nathan and Rebecca got engaged, unless you count this one. I did it behind the scenes this time.

      I was a bridesmaid in a wedding which took about three years to plan, due to extreme disorganisation and indecision on the part of the bride. :\ Looking at wedding stuff is fun for me but I can sympathise with those who are over it before it starts as well!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  11. Oh wow! I would not have been surprised for Emil to pull something like this as a young chap, but certainly not as a senior citizen! No wonder Anna was furious! More weddings in the future--how exciting!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Emil was obviously reliving his younger days just a little bit too much and he's paying the price for it now!

      It'll be a busy round for the Collins family next round. I don't think Nathan and Rebecca will tie the knot yet but they'll definitely be starting their planning process. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  12. For once, I 100% supported Anna letting loose on someone. She's right, Emil could have killed himself or someone else. Thankfully, that didn't happen. I think losing his license for ten years would be getting off easy compared to Anna punishing him for ten years, lol.

    Also congrats to both Nathan and Hope on their new homes and upcoming weddings!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, it's very hard to be on Emil's side with this one! And I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of either the legal system or Anna, so this was a pretty bad move all around for Emil. ;)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete