Alexandra O'Mackey: Week 1

Once upon a time in Riverblossom Hills, Gabe O'Mackey - Jason Greenman's brother - married Alexandra Teatherton. They had a daughter, Jules, and everything seemed fine. 

However, things weren't truly fine. Alexandra never loved Gabe the way he loved her (check her memories - she really has no memory of falling in love with him), although they were best friends and he is the man she had her first kiss with. 

At some stage during Jules' childhood, according to Maxis Alexandra "succumbed to the call of the sea and left her family to pursue her dream. Will living the Dread Pirate life be enough to keep her afloat?" 

She now lives at a small house at 115 Riverbend Road. So far, neither she nor Gabe have remarried, and Jules is a teenager, living with her father, not all that far from Alex. (Their household will be next.)

The house is modestly furnished. The front door leads into an almost empty hallway. A kitchen with cheap appliances and a table with just one chair are on the left. In the top left corner is a bedroom with a single bed and nothing else. A toilet and shower follow, and then a small room which is completely empty. 

With a fulltime job and almost 8,000 Simoleons in her account, Alex can certainly afford to spruce up the house.

Alexandra is a Popularity Sim. Her Maxis-written bio reads: "After liberating the Ginormous Gem of Summerville, Alexandra knew she would become a Dread Pirate. Will she get the recognition she deserves or end up swabbing the decks?" When the game starts, she really does work as a Dread Pirate - but having achieved that dream, she now wants to beome Captain Hero.

In her inventory are a collection of items that look as if they come from her job as a pirate. The blue vase is worth 4,000 Simoleons, the other items a lot less, and the career rewards object has no monetary worth but can be useful otherwise. For now, I only sell the large urn and sculpture, along with the complete contents of the house. 

That brings her cash up to over 12,000 Simoleons - enough to give her a good double bed, a better bathroom and kitchen as well as a nice (if small) dining table and three chairs. She still has over 2,000 Simoleons left after that, but so far there are no desk, no book shelf, no settee or armchairs, and no TV or other "fun" things.

After Mr Humble has left his parcel with the computer on Alexandra's door step, she quickly sets up a desk and chair in the empty room and searches the Simternet for a job in Law Enforcement; without success. 

Around lunch time, Morty Roth and Cleo Shikibu appar; the third person in the Welcome Committee is Nery Turner, but he is a Townie (or did I make him playable in this 'hood? I don't think so) and therefore is not greeted. Alexandra's first meal in the new house consists of grilled cheese sandwiches, shared with Morty and Cleo, who tells her how nice it is to meet her. 

They spend the afternoon fishing at the pond behind Alexandra's house, while she regals them with stories of how she came into possession of the sculptures in her study. 

Tuesday is another day off for Alexandra. Again, she does not find a job in Law Enforcement, but decides to take advantage of having so much time on her hands. In the snow, she walks to The Hills Community Center, hoping to meet a few neighbours and make new friends. 

Apart from Daisy Greenman (who is not a Plantsim anymore, as you may remember), however, everyone else here is a Townie and not all that interesting to meet.

Alex does a bit of skating and wonders about the Townie who is wearing only shorts and a vest on such a cold winter's day. 

Just before she heads home, she spots Stella Roth and greets her. "Your husband came to welcome me yesterday, that was nice," she says. 

Back home, Alex has a nap and then rings her daughter. Over the phone, the two of them have established a friendly relationship, but they aren't really close. 

Now that Jules is a teenager, she finds her Dad sometimes sooo hard to talk to - some things are easier to discuss with her mother. 

Not much happens on Wednesday. Alex gets up and peeps through her lace curtains to see how much snow has been falling during the night.

Before going to work, she does some Yoga to put herself in the right frame of mind. 

Then she dresses in her pirate outfit and heads for work. Back home in the evening, she makes a few phonecalls, resulting in Morty Roth being a friend now along with Cleo Shikibu and Andrew Martin, who became a best friend for life when I played his household.

After work on Thursday (still no job in Law Enforcement), Alex invites her daughter over again and asks Jules to bring along Gabe... if he'll agree. He does! Up until now, Alex has been enemies with her ex-husband. 

Gabe watches as his ex-wife serves Mac & Cheese. 

Then they sit down to eat... and manage to hold a conversation without yelling at each other. Alex admits she has not been a great wife or mother, but their marriage still meant something, didn't it? After all, Jules resulted from it, and they should both put her wellbeing first and not keep hold of the old grudge. 

By the end of the evening, they are not exactly friends, but at least they are not enemies any longer.

On her return from work on Friday (which is the first day of spring), Alex finds that someone has kicked her bin over. It comes with the job that not everybody has friendly feelings for her, I suppose! Maybe that is one reason why she now wants to become Captain Hero. 

Getting off the car pool with her was Morty Roth - I didn't know he works as a Dread Pirate, too! His household will be played a little bit further down the line.

All snow has gone by Saturday. When Alex spots the branches of the lemon tree growing heavily on the roof, she quickly gets her pruning shears out and cuts them. 

After work, she invites her daughter over, as well as her best friend Martin with his recently found 3-bolt-love Robin Hogan.

For the last time this week, on Sunday morning Alexandra searches the Simternet for a position in Law Enforcement, but her seach remains fruitless.

After work, she invites Cleo Shikibu over; the two ladies are now best friends. A balmy spring evening is spent fishing at the pond behind the house. 

That's the extent of Alexandra O'Mackey's week. Her daughter and ex-husband will be next. It'll be some time before we get back to Alex, unless she'll move in with someone during the rest of the round; I hope she has better luck on the job front next time. So far, there has been no romantic interest in her life, but her Popularity aspiration made her wish for friends a lot.