This is the house originally assigned by Maxis to Connor Weir and his friend, Geoff Rutherford. Things have changed 'round here, however; Geoff has long since married Lavender Greenman (one of Rose Greenman's plantchildren) and moved to another place with her. Connor was unhappily in love until he finally met his 3-bolt-lady while holidaying on Twikii Island: native Carla Reamon, who became the first (and so far, only) non-Maximilianian allowed to become a playable. Eventually, when Carla rolled the wish, the two of them were married, and Connor took Carla's surname.
All this happened a long time ago, and now the two of them enjoy their elderhood together. Both are on Permanent Platinum, and so there are only a few incidents where I control them: When another New Maximilianian walks by, I make one of them go out and greet them, and I make sure the bills are paid and the fridge is stocked. Very rarely, I will also accomodate one of their wishes.
Carla is still in her 50s when this week starts.
Connor is considerably older than his sweetheart; he is now 74. What does this week have in store for them?
Carla makes omelettes for breakfast on her own accord.
When it comes to personal hygiene, she is not that good if left to her own devices; more often than not, she will rather just brush her teeth when actually she could do with a bath or shower.
Their 3 bolts changed to 2 when they turned into elders, but Connor and Carla are still as much in love as before, and often hug and kiss.
Connor likes to spend time at the computer; he gives financial advice or simply chats with someone (I like to think it is his with his old friend Geoff).
On this wintery Monday, first Dina Caliente...
...and then Cherry Capp walk by and are duly greeted.
Once she is outside, Carla starts building a snowman. For this native from sunny Twikii Island, snow is still a novelty, after all these years! She can't cope with the cold very well, though, and heads back indoors before the snowman is finished...
...straight to the bar to warm up with a stiff drink.
Later, she has just decided on cleaning the bathroom, when in their bedroom...
...Connor is approached by a guy in a hooded cloak, wearing a flower garland, and two ladies who look as if they were relatives or Carla's. Well, they have nothing to do with Carla - it is of course Mr. Reaper and his Hula Girls, come to hand Connor his very last cocktail. He was 75.
Carla grieves the love of her life. Now she is a widow... what will she do? If it was possible in the game, I would have her retire to Twikkii Island, but you know she can't live there anymore, only acquire a vacation home. But I have a different idea.
Carla's original LTW was to have 20 best friends, and so she still has many best friends in the neighbourhood. Some of them are elders like herself, and have no family or business responsibilities. She invites two of them over: the Larson twins. Jason and Jodie accept her invitation to move in with her. That's three single elderly Sims on Permanent Platinum in the household now.
And there is a fourth Sim joining the group: Sharon Wirth. Do you remember her sad story? Sharon used to live with her sister, Hannah Bell, and Hannah's family - husband Issac and son Daniel. One day, Daniel's computer broke, and when he tried to repair it, he was not only electrocuted, but the computer burst into flames. When his father tried to rescue Daniel, both perished in the flames. Hannah was so depressed that she lost the will to live and died not long afterwards. Sharon had some affairs, but never found "The One" for her.
With her and the Larson twins having joined the already wealthy household, this becomes the first household in New Maximiliania to have more than 1 million Simoleons!
The new housemates get along well. There could even be something in the air for Jason and Sharon.
Even Jodie, who always has an air of aloofness, makes an effort to be part of the new "family".
Dina Caliente is still there. She has witnessed Connor's death and the move-in of Carla's friends. Maybe she is waiting for an invitation extended to her? But she is not good enough friends with any of the household members.
Early Tuesday morning, Carla takes out the trash.
Here we go again! It looks like she has never overcome the traumatic experience of the previous round, when a bug infestation dominated the Reamons' lives for most of the week.
Sharon can cook perfectly well, and the fridge is of course full, but she prefers stale omelette.
Jodie diescovers Connor's guitar on the patio.
The Larsons have brought their portraits with them when they moved in. I am pleased to see that the portraits of Jodie, Jason and Ajay Loner (who was Jodie's partner) have survived the move.
Carla spends a lot of time at the piano these days. Well, better that than at the bar!
Jodie does not cook, either, but at least she clears up the dirty dishes.
Dina Caliente is back. Maybe she has not given up yet on her plan to become friends good enough to be asked to move in.
Perseida Powers is next.
On Wednseday morning, I find Jason and Sharon in conversation... this looks good!
But then Sharon decides she rather clean one of the bathrooms, and their relationship does not develop any further.
Yes, it's another bug infestation!
Isn't that young girl cold in her sleeveless dress? Carla seems to wonder about Dora Dreamer.
This Wednesday afternoon, Sharon dies at the age of 77. Maybe it is better that Jason never got involved with her romantically; her death would hit him much harder then, I think.
Dora has had a very good upbringing. She was taught to help others when she can, especially if they are elderly people and clearly unable to cope with their housework. Jason greets Tara Gieke.
And he is intelligent enough to put the trashbin upright again! (Too late to avert the bug infestation, though.)
Poor Carla! Within three days, she has lost her husband and her close friend.
On Thursday, Jason discovers the bar.
Carla greets Gallagher Newson.
He seems to know more about dealing with bugs than Carla, and gets a can of spray out. However, he does not spray long enough for the bugs to die.
Look at what a mess the garden is on Friday morning! Weeds everywhere, overgrown shrubs and hedges, and a hole dug up by a stray dog - not to mention old newspapers and bugs, which you can't see in this picture. Inside, the house does not look much better. Since Sharon's death two days ago, nobody has done any cleaning.
Olivia Ottomas walks by and is greeted by Carla.
Later, Carla has her first shower in days!
On Saturday morning, a magic lamp is left on the patio. Everyone here is on Permanent Platinum anyway, and there is more money than they will ever need, so the lamp will simply sit there.
The first thunderstorm of the year sweeps through New Max in the evening, and unluckily, Carla is hit by lightning. Now all her needs are bright red or orange. What will she do first?
Head to the bar, of course - what did you expect!
I am sure if I had been hit by lightning, a drink at the bar and brushing my teeth would not be my first actions.
Neither would be playing fetch with a wolf.
It takes her until Sunday before Carla finally has a bath.
That was one strange week! Apart from the omelettes on Monday morning, nobody cooked a meal all week. Jason and Jodie still work and so had their meals at work. Carla dealt with her hunger by having one drink after the other. When first Connor and then Sharon died, she seemed to lose the ability (or the will) to behave reasonably, as if she was thinking "who cares".
Jason and Jodie are now 80, and I'm afraid they won't last very long into the next round. What will Carla do when she will be left on her own once more?
Welcome back for another year at the Pinenut Plaza Dorm here at Sim State Uni. We are here to accompany...
...Ramon Ramirez through his first two semesters.Gone is the shaggy haircut of his teenage years; he age-transitioned into this one but kept his beard and his sideburns.
Who else is here? Nigel Newson, who is currently the only Sophomore at the dorm...
...Prezioso Picaso, Charlie Cho and Martina Martin...
...Prezioso's twin brother Pablo Picaso...
...and Hailey Hart, who can't seem to get enough of the dorm cook's great food :-)
Charlie is the only Senior Student here right now. The other four - Hailey, Martina, Prezioso and Pablo - are Juniors.
The synthesizer in Charlie's bedroom is still one of the most popular objects in the house.
Ramon gets rid of his sideburns - they don't join properly with his haircut - and starts wearing a watch and an earring.
Prezioso opts for a can of juice when he is very hungry one morning, in spite of there being several plates of pancakes ready on the cafeteria counter.
Every now and then, someone even remembers to take out the trash.
(I've explained my way of playing uni before, so simply skip this if you already know: I control my students only until they have gained the necessary skills and written their term papers for the current semester. After that, they are pretty much left to their own devices, except for me making sure they pay the bills and ring their friends and family back home occasionally.)
The dart board is another very popular object here.
Ramon decides on the Economics Major a few days after his arrival. (If my Sims roll the wish for a specific major, that's the one they'll take. If no such wish comes up, eventually they'll be automatically assigned the Philosophy Major by the game.)
Umm... Hailey, if I were you, I'd not stand there and wait for that dart to hit me between the eyes!
Hailey's LTW is to have 20 simultaneous lovers - so far, she has only one, Pablo. But here, it looks like she is not averse to a second man joining her in the bedroom! (Of course this is not what happened - you know this is not possible in the game, at least not without a hack. But my Sims sometimes have a strange way of choosing where to sleep.)
Hailey surrounded by a bunch of young men - that is how she likes life! (Again, nothing "happened" here. They just all seemed to want to be playing with the synthesizer at the same time.)
Charlie returns from his winter exam. For him, the final semester has just begun.
The others - except for Ramon - follow a few hours later. Now it is time for me to check on everybody: what skills they need, and making sure their needs are taken care of until each has written his or her term paper.
For some, a body skill point is required. Have you ever watched your Sim working out in front of the telly? Most of the time, what your Sim does has nothing to do with the exercises shown on TV.
The coach appears. i wonder whom she will target. Ramon is the only unfit Sim here.
But she does not even look at Ramon. Instead, she makes a beeline for Pablo. "You sure, Mrs. Coach? I am in the middle of gaining the skill I need for my next exam," he tells her.
Ramon finishes his first semester the following day. He does not feel too well.
Someone must have been interrupted while they were emptying the trash compactor. This pile of rubbish has been on the floor for one or two days already, with nobody thinking of picking it up. Hardly surprising, soon we have a bug infestation in the cafeteria.
They all hate the bugs, but does anyone think of getting rid of the rubbish? No!
I can't remember ever having seen the dorm cook sit down for a meal, have you?
After the dorm cook has left and the lights are out, only Nigel is still there. He fell asleep over his meal, and all his needs are very low.
Meanwhile, Prezioso shares Hailey's bed. Wait a minute, hasn't she something going with his twin brother? She has, and Prezioso and Hailey sleep in the same bed like "friends only" - they don't even have pink hearts for each other.
A few days later, I've had enough of watching my Sims trying to stamp the bugs in the cafeteria. One of them is given the task to ring the Exterminator.
After the bugs are dealt with, Pablo on his own initiative gets the dustpan out to get rid of them for good. But he doesn't touch the pile of rubbish. Soon, the bugs will be back!
But - wait, what's this?! I can't believe Prezioso has FINALLY woken up to the fact that piles or rubbish mean bugs! Took him long enough to work that one out...!
Nigel is still asleep. Not even the antics of a streaker wake him up.
Prezioso and Martina are still an item, and now that it is spring, for the first time this "year" they start romantic interactions with each other. Martina seems to know that Prezioso only "happened to be" in Hailey's bed the other night - or maybe she does not know at all.
Oh look, a fire! But don't worry, it is still raining, and the fire is quickly put out with no Sim coming to any harm.
Charlie has just graduated Summa Cum Laude in Philosophy... and in his ballet outfit :-)
His parents, Etsu (formerly Cho) and Hal (formerly Capp) Riley, come to his graduation party as well as friends Tina Traveller and Deirdre Dreamer.
Meike and Sally Riley are there, too.
All of a sudden, Nigel wakes up. He has been asleep over his dinner bowl for DAYS, with all his needs in the bright red.
The party is in full swing with a lot of wild dancing :-)
Afterwards, Charlie gets into the taxi back to New Maximiliania. Next time we'll see him, he will start working on his LTW of becoming City Planner. Interestingly, the first wish he rolled after graduation was to marry a rich Sim.
Ramon has finished his Freshman Year with an A+.
By the way, both Nigel Newson and Pablo Picaso are now on Academic Probtation - something that happens very, very rarely in my game! They both slept through what should have been their end-of-year exams, so now they need to repeat one semester each.
When I started this "year", I expected a rather boring time. But it wasn't boring, what with two students suddenly finding themselves on academic probation and other unusual events. By the way, this is now at least one of the first times (if not THE first time) I have a household of students who were all born in-game. All of the original Maxis-made students have long left university, and even those Sims who were toddlers, children and teens when Maxis created them, have moved on. Well, it's been nearly six years since I have started New Maximiliania!
There are six students left at the dorm now. Who will fill the two empty slots?
