Wednesday, December 31, 2014

End of Week 6 Stats


Playable Sims: 51
Households: 13
- Tam: $58k
- Cooke: $47k
- Ramaswami: $75k
- Roseland: $60k
- Long: $28k
- Traveller: $100k
- Picaso: $8k (rental)
- Ottomas: $33k
- Tam 2: $46k
- Centowski: $29k
- Barrett: $9k
- Bruty/Tellerman: $15k
- Bruenig: $5k (rental)
Unused CAS slots: 5 (1 carryover + 4 new)

Community lots: 21 (+1)
- Serenity Library (library, Megan Tam): Rank 3
- Tam Arcade (video arcade, Scott Tam): Rank 10
- Cooke Grocery (grocery store, Julien Cooke): Rank 10
- Lonely Hearts Club (nightclub, Jan Cooke): Rank 10
- Juliette's Flowers (flower shop, Juliette Cooke): Rank 3
- Cooke Family Restaurant (restaurant, Jerome Cooke): Rank 1
- Three-Quarter Time (music venue, Sanjay Ramaswami): Rank 7
- White Lotus Boutique (clothing shop, Priya Ramaswami): Rank 10
- Ramaswami Dance Studio (dance venue, Anand Ramaswami): Rank 0
- Domesticated Beasts Inc. (pet store, Cyd Roseland): Rank 5
- Christy's Cosmetics (salon, Christy Stratton): Rank 1
- Serenity Park (park, Ivy Long): Rank 3
- Ben's Box o' Fun (toy store, Benjamin Long): Rank 2
- Firefly Class (camping supply store, Trent Traveller): Rank 5
- Trisha's Treats (pre-made dessert store, Trisha Traveller): Rank 2
- Matt's Sporting Supplies (sporting goods store, Matthew Picaso): Rank 0
- Nooboo (baby/child supply store, Jessica Picaso): Rank 0
- Kuzco Sports Bar and Grill (bar/restaurant, Ethan Barrett): Rank 2
- The Sugar Bowl (bowling alley, Komei Tellerman): Rank 3
- Serenity Station (military base, NPC)
- Hera Historical Center (museum, NPC)
- Westview Athletic Center (athletic center, NPC)

Fires: 3
Burglaries: 3
Electrocutions: 1
Graves: 1

Careers:
Adventure: 1 (Benjamin Long)
Architecture: 3 (Cyd Roseland, vacant)
Athletic: unlocked (Sharla Ottomas, vacant)
Business: 4 (Derrial Tam, Christy Roseland, Simon Tam, Meadow Tam)
Criminal: 1 (Trent Traveler)
Education: 1 (Marsha Bruenig)
Entertainment: 6 (Peter Ottomas, vacant)
Gamer: special (Scott Tam, Malcolm Tam)
Law Enforcement: 2 (Samantha Ottomas, Komei Tellerman)
Military: unlocked (Matthew Picaso, Jessica Picaso, vacant)
Music: unlocked (Sanjay Ramaswami, David Ottomas, Sandy Bruty, vacant)
Science: 12 (Ivy Long, Orlando Centowski, vacant)
Slacker: 1 (vacant)

Business Districts: 0

Downtowns: 0

University Taxes collected: $63,620
Universities: 0

Sim Multiplier: 5
Population: 255

Monday, December 29, 2014

Bruenig Week 6: Apartment life

Near the end of this round, the Sim Goddess purchases and installs Apartment Life, and Marsha Bruenig becomes our test subject.

Marsha is a Knowledge/Family Sim (LTW Education Minister) who inhabits the friendzone of nearly all the Tam brothers. For the time being she has no romantic interests.

Marsha has a very good job in Business, but that's full up at the moment, so I make her quit and take a job as a Test Subject. According to the rules it would be "fair" to make Derrial Tam quit, since he's the lowest in rank, but whoever said life is fair? Where is that written?

Marsha quickly befriends her older coworker, Ivy Long.

They remain friends ever after, but not coworkers--according to my calculations the population is high enough to allow one slot in Education, and on Wednesday morning Marsha snatches up a job as a substitute teacher. (River Centowski is the other aspiring educator in town, but she wasn't able to find a job during her turn.)

The rest of Marsha's week passes uneventfully--she does invite Simon and Meadow over, but they don't do much other than talk about the weather.

And on Friday she finishes a string of promotions by attaining a post as University Guest Lecturer.












Progress toward challenge:
Taxes collected: $1500/$63,620

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Bruty/Tellerman Week 6: Sugar rush

Our next new household (we sure have a lot of them this round!) includes Komei Tellerman and Sandy Bruty, who fell in love at Scott's arcade. (They have only one bolt, so we'll see how things go.) 


Komei is a Fortune/Knowledge Sim with a job on the Vice Squad, which he will be allowed to keep. (Especially since his LTW is to become The Law, impossible in this 'hood without a college degree.) 

Sandy is a Romance/Pleasure Sim with a job as a Specialist (medical), which she won't be allowed to keep. That's okay since she wants to be a Rock God anyway.


On Tuesday morning, Sandy is lucky enough to find a job as a Coffee Shop Sound Engineer.


The pair pass the next few days getting lots of promotions and having lots of woohoo. Midweek they move to a new, trendier-looking house and acquire a Siamese cat named Asta.


They decide to start a venue named The Sugar Bowl, which will eventually be a coffee shop/bowling alley combo, but right now is nothing but a bowling alley. Well, two alleys. On the grass. It reaches Rank 1 and then Rank 2.


On their last day of work the pair have good luck with chance cards. First Komei becomes SWAT Team Leader due to yelling really loudly...


Then Sandy gets promoted to Roadie due to picking a little-known but talented band.











Progress toward challenge:
New community lots: 1
Taxes collected: $2050/$62,120

Saturday, December 27, 2014

McGaw/Barrett Week 6: Whirlwind

In order to understand our next new household, you must read Cooke Week 5.

All caught up? Great. Here's Julien's paramour, Katy McGaw, along with Beasley, a chocolate lab she acquired while waiting to be played.

Her first day in the new place, Katy meets Ethan Barrett, who is 1 bolt more attractive than Julien and NOT MARRIED. He tells her that she's the coolest Sim he's ever met. (It's just an AL reputation interaction, but I think it's adorable in context.)

Omitted: Pictures of them falling in love and getting engaged.

 I don't remember if Ethan brought money or a job. At any rate, he and Katy open up Kuzco's Sports Bar and Grill, which right now is just a bar. And a TV.

Julien is less than pleased when he discovers that Katy Barrett is a woman he used to know. (In a Biblical sense.) We're going to remind our readers that it was Julien who was married at the time of their relationship and Julien who decided to stay with his wife.

Back at their new house (I moved them out of the generic ranch and into a little place with a pond), Ethan asks Katy if she wants to spend part of their golden years traveling. Katy says she would rather go shopping for new shoes.

But they still have a long way to go before they have enough money for traveling or retail therapy. By the end of the week Kuzco's has reached Rank 2 and acquired a toilet and some barstools.









Progress toward challenge:
New Sims: 1
New community lots: 1
Taxes collected: $1100/$60,070

Friday, December 26, 2014

Tam/Centowski Week 6: Down to a science

Here we have another "new" household, founded by Simon's twin sister, River Tam (Family/Knowledge).

River invites her fiance, Orlando Centowski, to move in. He brings only $2000 but has a job as a Top Secret Researcher.

They waste no time getting married. (On the left is Dora Ottomas talking to best man Neil Cameron. Dora and Orlando have three bolts, but nope. And then she died anyway before I could hook her up with someone her own age.)

Simon makes the second toast, since Juliette Cooke got food poisoning and had to stand down as maid of honor at the last second. (Read: I completely forgot to invite her.)

River thinks she must have drank too much during those toasts, since within 12 hours she's thrown up three times. Poor thing.

Turns out it wasn't the drinking after all! Charlotte Centowski is born in the wee hours of Friday morning.

(Note: I realized after I named her that Charlotte shares a full name with a character in Lakeside Heights. Oops!)

I leave this family for a while and when I come back Orlando and River both want to woohoo in bed. I let them.

As a result, Charlotte is going to be a big sister!

(This baby is due before Simon and Meadow's first baby. River must have stolen her brother's fertility or something.)

Oh, and Orlando does have a job to support all these babies. Here he is getting promoted to Theorist.

And we'll close out the week with Charlotte becoming a toddler. Her personality is 6-9-6-4-9 (Aries)--definitely a Popularity Sim in the making!










Progress toward challenge:
New Sims: 2
Taxes collected: $1300/$58,970

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Tam 2 Week 6: The baby business

Our next new household is not exactly new: Simon Tam (Family/Pleasure) has moved out of his parents' house and into his own little place. He has a job in the Business track but does not actually own a business.

Once he gets back from work, Simon dresses up and invites over his girlfriend, Meadow.


After dinner and dancing (pics not included for the sake of brevity), Simon asks Meadow to become his bride. She accepts, naturally.











Meadow moves in, bringing $18,000 and a position as a Senior Manager in Business. Simon sleeps on the couch the first night, since they're not married yet.

On Tuesday evening we have the wedding. The best man (Malcolm) and maid of honor (Marsha Bruenig) are talking about how hot the groom's sister is, while Derrial plays computer games inside wearing his everyday clothes. Maybe Derrial's not as over Meadow as he claims to be?
But it's too late for anyone to protest the wedding now!
During the first dance, Malcolm is nervously practicing for his upcoming toast, while Marsha remains carefree about the whole thing.

The rest of the week is occupied by the two Family Sims unenthusiastically racking up promotions and enthusiastically (but less successfully) trying for a baby. Here's Malcolm after becoming an Executive.
And here's Meadow after becoming President.

On Saturday morning, Meadow begins to suspect she is finally pregnant. Simon thinks she is just under the weather.

Soon, he figures it out and is just as overjoyed as she is.

Progress toward challenge:
New Sims: 1
Taxes collected: $1300/$57,670

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Ottomas Week 6: Death and taxes

Our first new family for Week 6 should be familiar to all Simmers. The Ottomasses move in next door to the Ramaswamis, in an almost identical house.

The Ottomas family starts out with six members:
Dora, Family elder with a LTW of Six Grandchildren
Peter, Romance adult with a LTW of Becoming Celebrity Chef
Samantha, Family adult with a LTW of Becoming Captain Hero
David, Popularity teen with a LTW of Becoming Rock God
Sharla, child
Tommy, toddler

David is the only one who is allowed to keep his job, since it is in the Music career. Fortunately Peter manages to also get a job as a record store clerk. This family owes a lot to Sanjay Ramaswami.

To bring in a little extra money, Dora starts writing a book about childcare.


On Wednesday morning, Daniel ("Danny") and Andrew ("Drew") are born! This brings us back to the boy-heavy status quo after the Picaso house.

Shortly thereafter, Samantha finds a job as a security guard. I should have had her search a few hours sooner; then she would have gotten maternity leave. Fortunately there are enough other competent people in this family to take care of the twins while she's at work.

Middle child Tommy has been largely ignored in this crazy family, but he still manages to grow up in plat on Wednesday night.

Peter was doing well in the Music track, having gotten promoted both Tuesday and Wednesday. However, there is a chance card at Level 3 that I always seem to answer wrong, and Peter is fired on Thursday!

They really needed that money, too, for the twins' toddler stuff!

Danny reveals himself to have a personality of 3-8-9-10-1 (Sagittarius).

Drew (pictured) has a personality of 3-5-10-7-10 (also Sagittarius).

I for one would not relish being the parent of twin boys who were BOTH sloppy, active, and playful.

On Friday evening, Peter manages to fix the computer and find a job as a stand-up comedian.


By then I had apparently gotten tired of taking birthday pictures, because there are none of Sharla becoming a teen. She is Rom/For with a LTW of Business Tycoon (perhaps wanting to rise above her poor origins?), turned on by blond hair and cleaning skill but turned off by charisma.

All the Business jobs are taken, so Sharla gets a job as a waterperson on Saturday afternoon.

About an hour later, Dora is just getting off the phone when she feels strangely tired...

Poor Dora's urn gets stuck in a corner somewhere until I get the chance to build a cemetery. Meanwhile life goes on and Sam gets promoted to Patrol Officer.

Meanwhile, David is promoted to Coffee Shop Sound Engineer, the top of the teen track, just in time to become an adult.

There are no pictures of his birthday (of course), but you can see his adult look in this family portrait. (Pretend it is cropped so you cannot also see the OMSPs.) From top left we have Sharla (14), Peter (41), Samantha (40), David (26), Danny (5), Tommy (9), and Drew (5).

Progress toward challenge:
New Sims: 2
Graves: 1
Taxes collected: $1800/$56,370