Wednesday 2 July 2014

Trees

Round 35: October 2041 (Spring)
Sam Whitney is 31 and Julia Gray is 30.
(Hope is 30, Lucy is 26, Adelaide is 23 and Zac is 7.)
Narrated by Julia Gray

One weekend a little while ago, Sam told me he had finally had enough at work and he’d be handing in his two weeks’ notice on Monday.


He’d been talking about being unhappy in business for a while now - about as long as we've been together - but I didn't think he’d quit without anything else lined up. 

I can’t say I was especially thrilled about that. We do have rent and other bills to pay here. 

Sam insisted that I didn't need to worry at all and that by the time his two weeks was up, he’d have something else in the pipeline.

I was a little dubious but he actually did get himself sorted out pretty quickly.

He decided he wanted to go into politics - not run for office or anything but still do something in that arena. He knew a few people who knew the right people from his time at NKL…

…and our neighbour, Adelaide, is a campaign worker, so she gave him a few tips as well. 

Soon enough, Sam was working as a lobbyist. He’s lobbying on behalf of some groups in Sullivan who are aiming for better representation for the arts and cultural events.

Sam is an amateur musician, so he’s working on something he’s passionate about now.

He’s been telling Zac all about his new job, although Zac doesn't really get it.

Politics, to him, is just “elections” and he doesn't quite understand how much else is involved.

Sam is so much happier these days after work, which is good to see. I have to admit to still being a little annoyed about the sudden decision to quit though. It worked out well but it could have gone so much worse. 

The pay isn't as terrible as I feared. He has plenty left over for our own expenses after he pays Zac’s child support every month.

Zac spends every weekend with us and Sam really tries to make the most of their weekends. They always go out and do something, rather than staying in.

Sometimes I’ll join them but I usually just let them have some father and son time. 

They need to have time on their own and honestly, I really need time to do my own thing anyway.

Lucy lives just next door, so I often have to go over and talk wedding stuff with her. Hope ended up eloping before anything was set in stone, so I've never been through wedding planning with anyone before.

I'm supposed to put together a shower for Lucy in the next few weeks or so but other than that, I mostly just have to show up to dress fittings. 

My dress is pink, which is probably my least favourite colour ever. Lucy has promised that when I get married, she’ll wear whatever I put her in, as long as I keep quiet about the pink. 

If I'm not with Lucy, more often than not, I'm with Hope. Of late, I'm usually complaining.

Until about a month ago, I’d thought I was a shoe-in for the next principal. Then Kendal calls me into her office to inform me that they would also be considering other candidates.

I was shocked. There’s no one more senior than me at the school and it didn't occur to me for a second that they’d look externally as well. 

So I had to interview and found out recently that I was unsuccessful. Kendal was all apologetic about it, not that it made it any better.

I was furious that I’d missed out. I had really built my hopes up about it. 

Poor Hope must be sick of hearing about it. She’s listened to me complain about this for so long now.

Sam too. He has to hear it every day. I think I was misled on this whole principal thing. I thought all I had to do was the Master’s and the job would be mine. I don’t know how I’m supposed to go in next year and be happy that Finn Romilly has the job that I was supposed to get. 

I can’t stop thinking about it. Sam has been trying to console me but it’s an impossible task at the moment. 

I appreciate the effort. It’s just not doing much good.

And then Sam did something that definitely took my mind off the job - he proposed!

I had no idea that he was even thinking about marriage. Actually, I’d be wondering if I should start nagging him about it, because I was getting a little worried that it would never happen for us otherwise.

He was very careful to say that he wasn't asking me just because of the job thing. He’d been thinking about it for a while already, before any of that even happened. 

He said he’d intended to ask me on my birthday, in March next year, but after everything at work, he didn’t want to wait that long. He wanted us both to have this to look forward to.

I truly am looking forward to it too. I can’t wait to marry Sam!

My mind still wanders to my job situation but it’s nice to be able to go back and daydream about the wedding, and my future with Sam instead. 

We've already set a date, because we didn't see any reason not to. We've chosen November next year, which should give us plenty of time to announce our news to everyone and then plan the big day!

Notes:
  • Title is from Trees by Pulp.
  • So this will be Finn's last year at the primary school and he'll take over as principal of the high school next year, when Kendal retires. I hadn't completely decided until this session, though I was probably 95% leaning towards Finn. But looking at Finn's experience and general demeanour versus Julia's, well, he seemed like the obviously better choice. And the primary school is a little overloaded anyway, honestly! I have no need for more than three staff there. 
  • I think Sam had the marriage want in Sullivan 1.0 but it took him until now to roll it in 2.0. Julia had an engagement want from pretty much the moment I got her and Sam together again and rolled a marriage want this session. So it was time, I thought. ;) That makes three weddings this round - it's feeling like Sullivan again around here!
  • Business has never been a very good match for Sam and I think I've written in stuff about him being unhappy in it before, maybe even when he was still with Susannah. He fits my new Political Strategist career really well though, so he'll be working in that with Adelaide. He's a level ahead of her but given he's older and knew some of the right people, that seemed to fit. It was just the level the game put him in when he took the job. 
  • Also, I just have to thank Pru at N99, who very kindly finished the Political Strategist career for me. She wrote the job descriptions and some chance cards, after I was idly whining in a thread that it was never going to get finished because I'm so damn lazy! I wasn't expecting anyone to take on the task, so she is extra awesome for doing it. :)

16 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness, I love the part where Julia says she was wondering if she was going to have to start nagging Sam about marriage. Now I'm imagining her having a checklist of Nag Topics and just going down the list periodically.

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    1. Ha, I can imagine Julia having a list of Nag Topics! She's probably a little disappointed she didn't get to nag Sam about the job situation and she's now had yet another topic taken away from her, lol!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  2. That was a nice morning coffee read for me, thank you for providing it :-)
    Every time I read about your 'hood, I resolve to make my New Maximiliania a bit more organised after the end of this and before the start of the next round.

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    1. Well, I'm glad I at least give the appearance of organisation. ;) I haven't felt very organised at all since my rebuild!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  3. I can see why Julia wasn't too happy with Sam quiting his job without having a backup. And it seems fitting for Julia to still not be happy about it, even though he found something else so fast.
    I'm looking forward to seeing this career in action! You've send it to me some time ago, but I haven't had time nor the right sims for it, to really see it in action, and I really want to :)

    I feel kind of sad for Julia not getting the principal-job. She seemed to have worked really hard for it, and she though she had done anything for it. It must have been very hard on her.
    I'm a Finn-fan though, and I can really see why they went with him instead of Julia, he suits the job very well.

    I'm looking forward to their wedding, and the possible babies of course! ;)

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    1. When Sam was with Susannah, he wanted to quit without knowing what he wanted to do next, so this is a step-up from that, at least. Still, Julia hates being wrong!

      Do you have the finished version of the career? I feel like it's not really mine any more seeing Pru finished it for me. All I did was the structure and the titles! But I bet she wouldn't mind sharing this version with you, if you ask her!

      Finn is definitely the better fit for principal but I do have sympathy for Julia as well. From her perspective, Finn being considered for the job came out of nowhere and it would suck. Maybe another opportunity will come up for Julia in the future. Who knows?

      I'm sure there will be at least one baby after the wedding!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  4. Julia and Sam! Excited about a wedding, I was reading this update and wondering when they were going to make it official. They play a family unit pretty well, and it's nice that she lets Sam and Zac have some free time on the weekend. I can see why she's upset not getting the position, she really did work hard for it, and it's not like she's guaranteed to eventually land the position, because Finn isn't *that* much older in the terms of career and retirement, he could go quite a long time, and then younger blood will be teaching and possibly better equipped (and last longer at the position). So I do feel for her, I remember her working hard towards it.i

    Excited about all these weddings!! Sam seems much happier in his new career, glad that Pru finished it up for you!

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    1. At first I thought maybe this was too many weddings in one round...but then I remembered I've definitely had three weddings before, so why not again? It hasn't been for a long time though, so it feels very Sullivan and very strange at the same time!

      Julia enjoys her "me" time, so stepping back when Zac is around sometimes is not such a sacrifice for her. ;) It's probably still a bit weird for her to be in a stepmother kind of role, though it'll soon be official!

      Yes, Julia is unlikely to ever be principal at the high school. By the time Finn retires, she'll be close to it herself. Her LTW is not a career one though, so I don't feel compelled to have her teach forever anyway. I think she's content with it now but I may decide to have her move on if it feels right once she's older.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. No wonder Julia was annoyed during this update…Sam just up and quit his job…but he did move quickly on getting another one! But Sam’s move makes so much sense, lobbying for music (and arts), since he is an amateur musician.The Political Strategest career sounds really great, Pru is amazing!!
    By the way, Julia does not seem like someone who *would* like pink.
    I really feel for her, working to get her Master’s, and thinking she was a “shoe-in” and then not getting the principal job, although it does irk me a bit she thought she would be the only acceptable candidate. I wonder if she would be able to carry out the political aspect of being principal though—my new principal in Simdale Valley has no nice points and she’s making a lot of enemies quickly, including teachers.
    Wow, another wedding in Sullivan! So exciting! And it will be neat to see what kind of wedding Julia plans.

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    1. I must have just stuck Sam in Business at random, because it really never suited him much. I think he's going to be much happier doing what he's doing now. And Julia will get over the sudden quitting eventually!

      Hmmm, it's not that Julia thought she'd be the only acceptable candidate. It's just that she was under the impression that she was literally the only person in the running and that they wouldn't even be advertising the position or looking beyond her. So hearing Finn was in the running as well was quite a shock! And honestly, the political part of being a principal is something she'd struggle with. That was one of the reasons I started to think about Finn instead. She is also more inexperienced than he is but Finn's personality is really what gave him the edge over her.

      A pink-free wedding for Julia, I'm guessing. ;)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  6. These two are an interesting couple. Sam's grin makes him look really cheeky, cute, but cheeky! And poor Julia is not having a good run at the moment is she. :( Can't blame her for complaining a lot and looking cranky. lol I feel for her though. At least something good came out of all of it, a proposal. :)

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    1. Sam does have a cheeky grin! I'll be curious to see if that's his mouth Zac has ended up with. I wouldn't mind. ;)

      No, the engagement is good but her job situation isn't making Julia especially happy right now. It's nice for her to have something to take her mind off it though. She's the kind of person who will live inside her own head and just fume about things, if given the opportunity!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  7. I'm not surprised Julia is pissed. It seems no matter how good things are going, she needs something not quite right to balance things out. I'll admit, I'm like her occasionally. I don't know how the husband deals with it, LOL. I can see her moving on eventually from teaching, though, just like Joanna did.
    I can imagine she's having fun with helping to plan Lucy's wedding though, especially since all she has to do is the shower and the pink! I totally agree with her on the pink. There was not a shade of it in my wedding; I did green!
    I am so happy for her though. Things are finally looking up for her... and she's officially a playable!

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    1. Yeah, Julia has a bit of a reputation for flying off the handle but she has had some pretty bad luck over the years, so it hasn't always been 100% her fault! We'll see about her future career. She may or may not stick to teaching but I can see her going either way.

      Julia has never been at all involved in wedding planning before, so Lucy's wedding is a lot of fun for her...despite the pink. Which I wouldn't have in my wedding either, incidentally. ;) I'm looking forward to doing a wedding for her and Sam too, though I have two more to do before then, so I'm trying to focus on those first!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  8. So glad Sullivan is settling back into its norm! I keep having to remind myself that you had to rebuild it. It's so easy to forget, given how everything has come back together so nicely.

    It sucks that Julia missed out, but I definitely agree on Finn being the better candidate! Perhaps after some time and experience, Julia will get everything she needs to eventually try for it again... or maybe she'll just be happy popping out kiddos. It's always hard to tell with sims!

    I can't say I'd be overly keen on wearing pink, either. It's my least favorite color!

    Quitting without a job in the wings would give me a heart attack! She certainly handled it better than I would have. I'm a total 'Fortune Sim', though. Don't mess with my dollars!

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    1. It's a good feeling to be at the point I am now! Only one more house to decorate and that's not for a little while. :) I like decorating but wow, I've been doing a lot of it lately!

      Yeah, the better person got the job but that doesn't make it less disappointing to Julia. I don't see her ever becoming principal, quite honestly, but I don't necessarily see her sticking with teaching for life either. I can see her possibly moving onto something else eventually, though I'm not sure what that could be.

      Yeah, me either. Pretty sure my sister will make me wear pink though, when she gets married. The best I can do is hope for a more tolerable shade, lol.

      Julia definitely was not thrilled with Sam quitting without something else to go to but in this case, I guess he really knew what he was doing after all. She's had to concede that a bit. I think admitting that she's wrong would bother her more than the initial quitting. ;)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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