Tom Freshe: Week 1

Tom's and Ellen's Senior Year at uni is here.

We're staying in Veronaville, now at # 101 Via Veronaville.

This house backing onto Veronaville Market has recently been bought by Tom Freshe.

He has just graduated and is now ready to tackle the next chapter in his life, and his lifetime want of becoming City Planner.

Before he can start to make plans for the city, though, the house needs planning. When Tom moves in, only a cheap line of kitchen units is already installed as well as a bathroom and separate toilet.

Because Tom has been saving his student grants, he now has almost 12,000 Simoleons to play with. As a Fortune Sim, no doubt he will be having many "buy me" wishes, and I will fulfill them within reason.

Now is the time to ask his college sweetheart over - not just to visit, but for good.Ellen Frost doesn't need to think twice and moves in right away.

Both have majored in Economics and now intend to make their fortune together, Ellen as Veronaville's Head of SCIA. Of course she brings money as well, and they start buying the first indispensable items for the house.

Soon they can have their first meal together and happily raise their glasses of champagne.

Ellen's wardrobe is meager (Tom's isn't any better), and since she shows the wish to buy new clothes, they walk to H&M.

While Ellen chooses and buys outfits in their prefered colours (Tom likes purple, and Ellen is into black, grey and white)...

...Tom is drawing quite a crowd with his freestyling for tips.

Back home, the two of them are winding down on their first day after graduating.

By the way, Ellen has already found a job as Rookie Field Agent and will start on Wednesday.

Tuesday is off to a studious start.

Ellen also wishes to buy a sculpture, and after I have recently read on Twoyys4me's blog about the stealing (and stealing back) of the garden gnome, this was the obvious choice from the catalogue :-)

Tom's search for an opening in the architecture career has not yet been successful, and so he has the afternoon and evening to himself. Two of their friends from uni are invited over, and because Tom has been diligently pouring over his cook books, he produces a batch of delicious hamburgers for Marla Biggs, Emily Lee and himself.

The ladies then hog the chess table and their host is pretty much left to his own devices. He waits up for Ellen, who returns from work at 10:00 pm (with no promotion, because she lost a logic skill point due to a chance card), after he says good-bye to his guests.

Once he improved his cooking skill, Tom started to roll wish after wish about kitchen items, counters and so on. This is the result, and I think it looks quite nice.

On Wednesday morning, not only does Tom find a job as a Draftsman; also, the drafting table is delifered instantly, and set up in the one room of the house that was left empty until now.

Tom can't wait to sit there and start drafting, but of course he has to put in a good day's work at the firm before. He is made Architect right away, even though the shabby car pool doesn't hint at his success.

Ellen has had a good day, too: She is promoted to Field Agent.

Both Ellen and Tom now need several skill points for their next promotions, and on Thursday morning they buckle down with a book about mechanical and at the chess table.

Ellen is sent home early from work, though not because of a promotion. On the contrary; a bad decision with a chance card has lead to her domotion back to Rookie Field Agent. She can't let that smudge her good reputation at work and heads right back.

Many hours later, she relaxes into a hot bubble bath with a smile - she has won her former positon back and is a proper Field Agent once more. 

Tom returns from work early on Friday. Meet the latest Architectural Partner at the firm!

Ellen won't return from work until 10:00 pm, but Tom is hungry and wants to tell someone about his promotion. He invites Alan Riley, a former co-student, over for a chat and a burger.

Alan "thanks" his host and friend by stealing the garden gnome!

And Tom steals it back right away. (Sorry for the dark pictures, but this happened at night.)

Ellen and Tom have Saturday off, and since they have both been wishing for a car almost all week, a drive is built and a car bought, which Ellen promptly takes for a spin. (I was hoping for the option to have Tom join her, but there was no such option.)

When she's back, they both change into snazzy outfits, and Tom gets busy in the kitchen while Ellen invites over some of their best friends. 

Tybalt Capp, Emily Lee and Phineaus Furley arrive... 

...at the same time as Marla Biggs and Chris Cho. Of course they all went to uni together, where we have met them, and since graduating they all live in Veronaville.

Tom is very proud of his Crêpes Suzettes. The serving platter looks almost as colourful as his outfit!

Ellen catches up with the girls...

...and Tom has to explain to a very interested audience exactly how the crêpes are made.The party ends a roof raiser, and Tom and Ellen go to bed tired, but happy.

Over breakfast on Sunday morning, Ellen suggests they go for a holiday after Tom's next promotion.

Winter has only just begun, but already there has been heavy snowfall in Veronaville, and Ellen is glad that Tom is picked up by the car pool and does not drive himself to work.

He returns as a Master Architect - that can't be far from City Planner, I think!

The week ends with them going to bed early, snuggling under the cosy duvet while outside the snow keeps quietly falling.

It was nice playing Tom and Ellen, even though most of what they did was career-related, working towards their lifetime wants. But they also spent time with friends, visited a community lot and were a good team as a couple.

Phineaus Furley is next.

Emily Lee: Senior Year

Welcome to this dorm at Veronaville's Académie Le Tour, where we have already spent three full semesters, thanks to a number of playable students with different surnames. 

We have just managed to catch up with Emily Lee before her time at uni ends: This is her Senior Year - and everybody else's, too, apart from Tybalt Capp (far right) who is the only Junior right now. 

Emily is a Knowledge Sim and an aspiring Game Designer. According to her Maxis-written bio, she "is excited about starting school and very interested in learning the history behind the Academy." 

Well, her "starting school" (shouldn't it say "uni" or "college"?) days are long over, but she is still very interested in learning, and not just about the Academy's history. 

Sharing the dorm with her are (from left to right) Chris Cho, Ellen Frost, Phineaus Furley, Chaz Whippler and Marla Biggs as well as Tom Freshe, who is not in the picture, and Tybalt of course.

Exams make hungry, and Emily sits down for a late breakfast with Chris first thing. 

Then she proceeds to skilling, like almost everybody else - unless they are too tired and I send them straight to bed.

Marla Biggs is first to finish her Term Paper this semester. 

One by one, the students write their papers. Chaz is lucky in that the Campus Coach arrives to pester him in to working out only after he has finished his paper. "She just can't leave me in peace, can she," he wonders. After having worked so hard on his paper, he would love to just kick back a bit for the rest of the semster. 

Emily has just pressed the "send" button on her Term Paper. 

Talking about it to a friend on the phone, she plays it down, pretending it "really was nothing, you know - I could have written this in elementary school." Knowledge Sims!

Marla and Ellen are engaged in an animated conversation in the cafeteria, blissfully unaware of being in the dorm cook's way. 

A bit later in the upstairs common room, Ellen watches her boyfriend Tom and fellow student Tybalt dancing away to the stereo - she finds it hard to decide who of the two has the better moves, but of course she favours Tom.

Too late for the show, as Marla and Emily realise a bit after the boys have stopped dancing. 

Phineaus is last of the group to finish his Term Paper. From now on, everyone is largely left to their own devices, save a few phone calls to maintain their friendships.

Emily surprises me by taking it upon herself to clean one of the upstairs toilets.

After their return from class, she and Marla share some juicy gossip about one of their professors.

It is Exam Day the next day, and I have made sure everybody got enough sleep. Whether they sit their exams in their nightwear or decide to have a shower and dress properly is up to them; Emily here chooses the latter. 

Just as they are all off to their exams, Mitch Indie appears and rummages the dorm's rubbish bin for something edible... successfully :-P

A decent night's sleep has obviously helped: All eight playable students return with A+ and their full grants. For everyone but Tybalt, their very last semester at uni has begun!

For all but Tybalt, their very last semster has begun! And for really all of them, a round of skilling starts. Everyone seems to be needing charisma this term, and so an extra two mirrors are installed, one in the dorm's library and another one in the communal bathroom where so far there had been only one mirror. 

The dorm cook watches a fight between a cheerleader and a Cow mascot. I don't know whether her thought bubble means she wants the cow to win, or lose - I suspect it was the mascot who set off the sprinkler and caused the cook to have wet feet, and extra work to mop up the water. 

Phineaus finishes his Term Paper before everybody else. He will now never have to write anything like it ever again. 

Emily enjoys the peace and quiet at the empty cafeteria - a little earlier, and she would have witnessed the fight. 

Ellen and Tom are an item, but that does not mean that she can not find other guys attractive, such as Tybalt here. As long as she does not cause scenes of jealousy, I'm fine with that. 

Emily gets up the next morning, thinking that she won't be sleeping in this tiny room for many more nights. 

She needs to improve her logic, and Chaz joins her at the chess board until I send him painting - he needs creativity.

It must be PJ Day today! Marla, Tybalt and Ellen are all coming for breakfast at the canteen in their nightwear.

Emily has just finished her VERY LAST Term Paper EVER when a fight breaks out in the room. Is it a mascot and cheerleader again? 

No... the sworn enemies (for whatever reason) Tom and Meredith. This time, she wins. 

Emily spots Edwin Sharpe walking by and greets him.

Inside, Chaz can't believe he has finally made it and handed in his last Term Paper!

Ellen has never changed out of her PJ all day, but the others are decently dressed when the group meet at the canteen for their evening meal. 

Emily loves the pinball machines and has become pretty good at playing.

Of course, no semester is complete without at least one sponge bath. Actually, two are happening today; first it's Chaz and then Tom who can't seem to remember the way to the showers.

And all of a sudden, Exam Day is here - the FINAL exam for all but one of our students! Different students have different ways of calming their pre-exam nerves: Emily tries to lighten the mood by telling Ellen one silly joke after the other. 

Tom and Chaz prefer a pillow fight... 

 ...and Tom also thinks an extra portion of rapdily eaten syrup-drenched pancakes will give his blood sugar a high helping his performance later. 

All their strategies have worked, when a few hours later the group return with a complete round of A+ and full grants. 

Emily, Ellen, Marla and Phineaus have graduated Summa Cum Laude, while Tom and Chaz are still happy with their Magna Cum Laude diplomas, and Chris achieved Cum Laude. (Tybalt, of course, has another year to go before he, too, will graduate.) 

Emily gets to throw a graduation party. Most of her friends are still here, and she has no family to invite; it is a rather low-key event, just having fun with her fellow students and dorm mates.

After two of the students had moved out, I was hoping for Phineaus and Marla to ask their NPC student friends Alan Riley (front) and Carl Cho (back) to take over their rooms at the dorm, but although I was able to click on "propose" and then "move in", the action disappeared as soon as I had clicked it. Strange, that! 

Anyway, Emily and the other six original playable students have now all moved to Veronaville, where I have to find places for them to live. 

Tybalt is now the only playable Sim at this large dorm. Who is going to join him, and how/when/by whom will Alan and Carl move in?