The Burb Family: Week 1

We're back in Pleasantview for a week with the Burbs. I have given them the same house they had in New Maximiliania, but I don't plan in repeating their story all over again. Speaking of story - there are no pre-made pictures for them, but Maxis have written a family bio: "John, Jennifer and young Lucy have decided to trade the fast-paced city life for some fresh air, and hope to make a nice home here in Pleasantview." The Burbs have returned to Jennifer's roots in moving back to Pleasantview; her brother is Daniel Pleasant. That makes the Pleasants' teenage twin daughters cousins to the Burbs' daughter Lucy.

Here they are: Lucy and her parents Jennifer and John. Lucy is about to start her first day at school and by rights should not have a lifetime want - and yet she wants to become Professional Party Guest. Maybe that's what Maxis had in mind when they wrote her bio: "Little Lucy has a knack for getting into trouble, but she's so cute and friendly that most people never notice." Her Mum is a Fortune Sim and aspiring Business Tycoon, which does not quite match with her bio: "Jennifer used to dream of being a soccer superstar, but now she's quite happy to focus on being fashionable and stylish instead.". John's aspiration is Popularity and (oh no!) he wants to raise 20 puppies or kittens, in spite of Maxis saying about him that he "John Burb fondly remembers the hours he used to spend weeding and watering his parents' garden; he hopes to continue the tradition."

The house is small and comes with only the most basic amenities. Downstairs are a kitchen, open plan dining/living area and a toilet. A back door leads to a small patio. 

Upstairs are two bedrooms, but only one is large enough for a double bed. The smaller bedroom has access to a tiny balcony. A toilet and shower have to be shared. With just above 5,000 Simoleons left after they bought the house, the Burbs will need to be careful when it comes to furnishing and decorating - at least until Jennifer's career takes off.

To fulfill their first wishes, a bookcase and settee are bought. Jennifer is lucky in that the paper yields a position in her coveted career: She can start right away as a Mailroom Technician, leaving John to acquire a cooking skill point. None of them have skills to write home about, and Lucy has none at all.

Friends will be important, and so John does not hesitate to greet Lisa Ramirez, Darren Dreamer and the Oldies. The latter three are actually the welcome committee, while Lisa just happened to walk by. The Oldies are related via Jennifer's brother; his wife, Mary-Sue Pleasant, is their daughter.

Poor Carol Oldie suffers aspiration breakdown right there on the Burbs' front lawn. (You can see Mr. Humble has delivered his pink parcel; for now, the computer is put into John's inventory.)

Is the visit of a stray cat named Kim a hint for John to start working on his lifetime want?

Lucy returns from school at the same time her Mum comes back from work. After pushing up their fun with several rounds of Red Hands, Jennifer helps her daughter with her first homework.

It's Tuesday, and of course that means that a bundle of bills is delivered and wants paying. John sees to it and spends the rest of the morning doing house work and some rope skipping for his fitness and some fun.

Jennifer had considered herself so lucky in finding a job in the business career on her first day in the new house, and expected a promotion today. Instead, the wrong decision with a chance card had her "resign her position", and she is really unhappy about it.

Lucy has brought class mate Tessa Ramirez home from school, and John invited passersby Malcolm Landgraab in. The company helps to get Jennifer into a better mood again.

On Wednesday, John spots a stray dog near the house and rushes out to meet him. Fred is not overly friendly but can be persuaded to take a few treats and finally accepts being stroked. John has not forgotten his lifetime want, but unless his wife starts to earn money again, he can not really act on it. At least a chewing bone and a pet food bowl are set up outside, to facilitate making friends with Fred (or other stray dogs and cats). 

Jennifer has not found another position (or gotten her old job back) today, but she sees Mortimer Goth walk by and greets him. Having grown up in Pleasantview, of course she knows the Goth family, albeit from a distance.

Lucy brings home her first A+ report today, much to her parents' delight. So much for her Maxis-written bio that she gets into trouble a lot! I have yet to see that.

Jennifer gets her former job back on Thursday. Phew! 

With both his wife and his daughter out, and (yet) no pets to take care of, John does everything that needs doing in the house and then sits down with a can of juice for a mid-morning snack.

Lucy and Jennifer return from school and work at the same time, and Jennifer is really happy - she has been promoted to Executive Assistant! 

A white wolf by the name of Alabama comes visiting on Friday.

It is also another promotion today for Jennifer - meet Pleasantview's latest Field Sales Representative! While the Burbs thinks that's worthy a glass of bubbly along with their vegetable soup, Cassandra Goth (who happened to walk by and was of course asked in) seems less enthusiastic.

And another highlight today is Lucy's birthday! She is now a teenager, and while her lifetime want has not changed, my dice decided for her aspiration to be Family, 

The weekend is here, and Lucy is happy to spend a leisurely hour or two browsing the paper, still in her PJs.

Father and daughter go to the shops; Jennifer's career is too important for herself and her family to miss the opportunities she has as a Field Sales Representative on a Saturday. 

While John stocks up on groceries... 

... Lucy tries to get acquainted with the girl behind the counter, Brittany Love (it's of course her surname that made me send Lucy over to talk to her). However, the conversation does not go well, and soon Lucy walks away. Brittany will be sent to college, where we will meet her again. 

It is not often that a Townie decides to grill something for everyone, is it! John waits for the hot dogs, but when he realises they are all burnt, he opts out.

Instead, I fulfill a big wish of his by sending him and Lucy on to Sue's Secret Kitchen, where his steaming hot freshly made Grandma's Comfort Soup wins the coveted blue ribbon - even against Sharlene Royce's Baked Alaska!

To celebrate, the two Burbs help themselves to plates of said Baked Alaska - still very nice, even though it did not come first in the contest.

Back home, John affixes the ribbon to the kitchen wall. He is justly proud of his achievement, the fruit of hard work.

The white wolf appearing by the house is not Alabama again, but Webster. 

Lucy has invited her friend Tessa Ramirez over. They may not be in the same year at school anymore, but are still best friends.

Jennifer is promoted again and will start as a Junior Executive on Monday. Relieved at having Sunday off AND a bonus, the family spend a bit of money on a better fridge (John's wish) and a telescope so that Jennifer can acquire logic.

For Sunday, a family day is planned. But first, an unwelcome visitor appears!

"Hmm... not much to take here," he muses, obviously not seeing the computer.

 He grabs Jennifer's precious telescope...

...and - no!! Please, not John's First Prize from the cooking contest! 

Yes, he takes that, too :-( That's really mean!!

He also takes the cheap bookcase and then makes his way upstairs, where he enters the bedroom and takes the cheap wardrobe before running off.

John and Jennifer finally wake up from the creaking of the stairs, instantly realising what has happened.

"You are still the best cook, John, with or without ribbon," Jennifer smiles. "The burglar may have taken my contest prize - but he has not taken you, the best prize ever!" John smiles back, and Jennifer leaps into her husband's arms (she really did that out of the blue). Good job she has been earning some money this week; the wardrobe and bookcase are easily replaced, and the telescope will wait until she needs another logic point. As for John's prize, I don't know - he may want to enter another contest. 

Jennifer invites her brother Daniel and his family over. Soon after the Pleasants have arrived, a lively game of kicky bag is under way. Much to my delight, Mary-Sue and Daniel have several romantic interactions during the visit. But the twin girls are having one slap fest after the other. Lucy is trying her best to talk to her cousins individually and distract them from each other. "If I had a sister," she thinks, "we would NEVER argue!" 

Later, she sits with her uncle and aunt. "We are so happy that you moved near us," Mary-Sue says. 

A good week with the Burbs comes to an end. Thanks to Jennifer's hard work, the family account shows 3,110 Simoleons - still not much, but alright for now. Is Lucy going to go to college? Will John adopt pets and start on his lifetime want? How long before Jennifer's next promotion?

Ty Bubbler: Freshman Year

Busy times lie ahead! We are at Sim Sate Uni of Desiderata Valley, and this dorm has no less than 14 rooms. It is going to be the home of seven playable students, two of which I have made so by sending townie teens with "playable" surnames to college.

Here they are, left to right: Jimmy Phoenix, Jack Kim (ex-townie teen), Ty Bubbler (the reason we are here, as he is the next Sim on my alphabetical list), Sam Thomas, Jared Starchild, Toby Scott (another ex-townie teen) and Erik Swain. Sam is the "head" of this household, at least according to Maxis. The household bio reads: "How can Sam, the girl next door, and two guys coasting their way through school possibly get along? Will they find some common ground and become friends?"

Let's have a look at the dorm now. There are five bedrooms on the ground floor as well as shower rooms and toilets, a computer room and a canteen. Wisely, Maxis have built a generous staircase. A chess table and easel are on the patio.

More bedrooms are upstairs as well as more showers and toilets. One bedroom (top right corner) sticks out in that it sports more "feminine" colours - I act according to Maxis' obvious idea here and assign this one to Sam, the only playable girl here. This floor also has a tiny common room with a book shelf and TV, and I take some of the 3,815 Simoleons of the dorm's account for a second easel. A chess table is already here.

There is a third chess set in the rooftop room, plus a dart board. A cheap telescope and a couple of chairs are on the roof. Nothing in this dorm is of very good quality; all furniture and other equipment is cheap, but it is practical and will do for now.

While I am going to make sure all playables acquire their skills and write their term papers, my focus lies on Ty Bubbler. According to Maxis, he enjoys spending time with Allegra, Jared and Castor discussing his philosophical theories, but his favorite activity is watching the happenings around campus out on the quad.. His aspiration is Popularity and he dreams of being a Celebrity Chef one day.

Naturally, at a dorm with 14 Sims, there is always a lot going on, be it at the cafeteria... 

...or in the tiny common room.

Toby Scott, one of the two former townie teens, has a good skill profile. It is no surprise that he is able to write his Term Paper before anyone else.

Next are Erik Swain (front) and Jack Kim (back), the second former townie teen.

Jared Starchild (front) and Ty Bubbler (back) follow suit. 

Then it's Sam Thomas' turn...

...and last but not least, Jimmy Phoenix completes his Term Paper, too.

The next day, bills need to be paid and playable students greeted. Here, Jimmy greets Jane Stacks... 

...and Sam greets Martin Ruben.

Toby Scott has just declared his Major in Mathematics and now seems a bit at a loss as what to do. Maybe he feels a bit out of place - among the students at this dorm, he is the one with the highest skill profile and the only one wearing a suit.

Everyone else does not seem to have trouble socialising.

Ty is one of those Sims who think nothing of it when they walk around the dorm in just their PJ bottoms.

Toby Scott looks once again a little left out when Erik and Jared engage in a pillow fight. 

But then the young men share some juicy gossip about the dorm cook, and finally Toby feels like he belongs.

Ty even goes to his meals in the cafeteria wearing nothing but his PJ bottoms! Jared does not seem to mind.

Their first semester ends for all seven with A+ grades and spots on the Dean's List. The household accounts now boosts a healthy 10,995 Simoleons - enough for some improvements to the modest rooms, if I can be bothered :-)

The first part of their second semester is a blur of skilling and writing Term Papers for the Freshmen.

This time, Ty is the first to finish his Term Paper - and fully dressed, too!

Toby and Sam are next.

Jimmy has been skilling for hours, and by the time he could have a meal, the dorm cook's shift has ended. Good job there are a small fridge and microwave in the common room.

Jared's Term Paper has just been completed.

The next morning, Jared and Ty share a table in the cafeteria. Jared, whose turn it appears to be to walk around in his undies, thinks that his friend used to be chattier over breakfast.

Jack and Erik are the last ones to finish their Term Papers.

Now I can lean back (most of the time) and just watch what everyone gets up to. Sam and Ty used to be an item when I played them in New Max, if I remember correctly. Here, they are really good friends, but so far there have not been any romantic wishes or interactions.

Toby is being his usual grown-up self and takes care of the yard work without having to be told.

 By carefully monitoring everyone's schedules, I finally manage to send the seven Freshmen to a community lot. I intend to play each community lot in each neighbourhood (and each sub-hood such as affiliated campus etc.), and so I have the taxi to drop them off at 452-498 University Way.

Ty and Jared meet and greet Brittany Upsnott. Most of the other visitors here are NPC students.

Toby once again does the most grown-up thing by ordering a glass of bubbly for himself and Jimmy, who happens to be the only one at the bar right now. Then my game crashes... because the EA App wants an update!! grrrr... As soon as the game is up and running again, I find that everybody is back at the dorm with no memory of, for instance, having met Brittany, even though the pictures are there.

The campus coach makes his first appearance all of this "year". He tries to find someone who will heed his command to work out, but students are either hiding in the bathroom or pretending to need to go to class right now, and so he leaves after a while. (This really happened - nobody listened to him, and he left without success.)

Just as I was beginning to think no romance was going to happen among this group, Sam takes the initiative with Ty by tenderly carressing his face, and hearts are a-flying allover.

Ty seems to have just been waiting for her to make the first step, and jumps right into her arms. We have our first "item" among this group of students! (Only one bolt between them, by the way, but they have been best friends for quite a while now.)

Exam Day coincides with the first snow of this winter. Everyone has done really well again, returning a few hours later with A+ and their names on the Dean's List. Next time we'll meet these students, they will be Sophomores. And with their bank account showing a healthy balance of 18,771 Simoleons, I really should start on improving their modest rooms.