Monica Bratford - Week 1

Monica's Senior Year is here.

Strangetown's Road to Nowhere is our next stop. Monica Bratford bought the nice looking brick house at No. 59 after graduating from La Fiesta Tech. 

The cheap furniture must go, and since Monica has saved some of her student grant money, her account shows a healthy balance of over 8,000 Simoleons in total. Of course she won't spend it all at once but still makes sure she has around 4,000 left after she has bought some better things to make herself more at home here.

Monica did well at uni and now wants to enter the Medical field, with her ultimate goal being Chief of Staff at Strangetown's General Hospital, a typical lifetime want for a Knowledge Sim like her. 

Also typically, two of her first wishes are about skilling... but two are also about former fellow student Matthew Hart, who is actually her best friend and sorority sister Sarah Love's boyfriend. Since their attraction is (to my knowledge) not mutual and the two of them aren't three-bolters, I won't encourage Monica's wishes in that direction. 

Mr Humble's computer is immediately used for a job search, but no suitable positions are available. 

To welcome her to the neigbhourhood, Ajay Loner and Vidcund Curious turn up. Monica makes hamburgers and sits down with her guests, but they mostly talk to each other, and she is not particularly interested in either of them.

At 6:00 pm her phone rings, and who but Matthew Hart should invite her to meet him - and a bunch of other friends from uni - downtown at the FM! 

Behind the taxi you can just about make out DJ Verse and Matthew Hart. In front of the taxi, from left to right we have Sarah Love and Jessie Pilferson, Tiffany Riley and Guy Wrightley. The ladies were all part of the Tri-Fruhm-Sorority like Monica, and she is happy to see them.

A karaoke duet with DJ later, and she is ready to head back home. 

My game crashes, but when I restart it, Monica is just getting off the taxi in front of her house, so the game has saved the evening out with her friends. 

On Tuesday morning, for the second time in a row Monica finds that someone has kicked her rubbish bin over. She has many friends and no enemies, as far as she is aware. Who did this, and why?

The "who" is revealed not long after she has cleaned up the mess: An unknown townie by the name of Trista Shaw is the culprit! But what does she have against Monica? I am just as puzzled as Monica. Checking her memories, I discover that Trista is indeed her enemy, and has already won two fights against her! Why, though, is still a mystery. 

There is not much else to do for Monica today. She has paid the bills, eats when she is hungry, talks to one or two friends on the phone and then spends some time doing yoga. 

Wednesday does not yield the desired result with the job search, either, and therefore Monica has time to greet Lola Singles when she passes by. The two women have lunch together, and for the rest of the day Monica takes advantage of it being autumn when skilling is easiest. 

In the early hours of Thursday, a thunderstorm brings lightning striking one of the bamboo plants close to the house. Fortunately, the rain keeps falling and so the flames are extinguished without Monica even being aware of the potential danger. 

Still not lucky with her job search, Monica seriously considers starting work in a career other than Medical. She is not yet desperate for money, but of course bills will want paying today, and her savings won't last forever. 

Lazlo Curious walks by and is invited to have lunch with Monica, who has just finished making a pot of chili con carne. He introduces himself as one of Vidcund's brothers, who came to welcome Monica to the neighbourhood at the start of the week. 

At the sorority, Monica was well known (and popular) for making sure everyone ate healthy, home-cooked food and not just the free pizza that was available 24/7 to the girls. 

On Friday, she attempts to bake a berry pie, but as you can see, is not met with success. She still (and rather stubbornly) eats a slice and puts the rest in the freezer for "later" (or, "whenever"). 

She spends most of the day skilling and is now able to do some impressive tricks with the skipping rope. 

On Saturday morning, Monica finally lands a job at the hospital and can start right away as an Intern.

She invests her first earnings in a chess table and chairs, and happily increases her logic skill the same evening. 

Leaving the house at 8:00 am and returning at 6:00 pm does not leave her with much time for other things, and she is really glad that she was so diligent at uni and spent so much of her spare time studying further after she moved here.

Although it is Sunday, Monica is up before daylight - she has work to do, real work! 

Her zeal for the job is rewarded by a promotion to Resident. It is 6:00 pm, and her first shift as a Resident starts... now!! So instead of spending Sunday evening at home, maybe inviting some of her sorority friends over, she heads straight back to work.

It is actually already Monday when she returns from her night shift at 1:00 am. Although she is very tired and wasn't promoted again (in spite of having all the skills and friends required), her smile says it all: She is really happy about finally making some headway towards her lifetime want! 

The week with Monica was quiet but not boring. Although she only got into her dream career at the end of the week, she used her spare time well. Seeing her friends would have been nice, but there will still be time for that later - and of course, they can always invite her over when it is their turn to be played. Romantic notions didn't play a role in Monica's life all week. But who knows; there might be that Mr. or Mrs. Right waiting for her somewhere in Strangetown.