Our next stop in TS4 is this house. Who lives here?
It is this somewhat discouraged looking man: Steve Fogel. You wouldn't guess from his facial expression that his aspiration is to be a Joke Star! He is a Young Adult, and one of his characteristics is that he is a Foodie. Foodie Sims are always happy to discuss recipes, talk about food, prepare food - and eat food, of course. Steve's belly is there for a reason, I believe :-)
On Monday morning, I leave him up to his own devices for a bit to see what he is going to do. Steve first makes scrambled eggs. Then, instead of eating them, he makes grilled cheese. And again, instead of eating either of the two meals already prepared, he chooses a bowl of yoghurt. Maybe he thinks he should start a diet, and skips the richer meals for a change.
Travis Scott knocks on the front door. He shows up as a friend in Steve's relationship panel.
A little later, Bob O'Malley follows suit.
In TS4, bills are delivered on Mondays, instead of on the Tuesdays and Thursdays we are used to in TS2. After Steve has paid his, he has 1.248 Simoleons left.
He wishes to meet someone new, and since there is a constant stream of passers-bys walking along the road, I have him say hello to Dennis Kim and Geoffrey Landgraab, two of the playables we are going to meet further on.
Tuesday morning sees Steve cleaning up the dishes from last night's impromptu party.
He then ventures out of his house to harvest whatever he can find. As a Foodie, he will find the wild sage useful...
...as well as the wild strawberries...
...and the onions.
One female Sim shows as a friend in Steve's relationship panel, and she decides on visiting him today: Myra Loyd, a townie. She is as sad as she looks here. In TS4, you can always tell the mood of the other Sims, too, not just of the one you are currently playing. Your Sim can then try to do something to influence the other's mood, such as telling them a funny story when they are sad.
On Wednesday, Steve bumps into Myra - and Don Lothario. It almost looks as if those two have been going for a run together.
Bob O'Malley, who is another of Steve's friends, comes visiting in the afternoon. Giulianna Riley has joined the men when Steve invited her in as she was walking by.
On Thursday, Steve has a lone breakfast of garden salad.
After breakfast, I send him out first to harvest wild plants again and then to dig up whatever he can find. Such pieces of rock can be found all over the neighbourhood, and the Sims can "dig" there. Sometimes they find a "MySims" statue, sometimes a mineral or a fossil. As Steve does not have a job, and I don't particularly want to fill his house with unnecessary objects, I sell what he finds immediately.
That day, he rolls wishes about physical activity a few times. Here, Steve is doing push-ups in front of his house.
Myra Loyd appears for another visit. Steve wishes to travel to the park, so he asks her along.
This is Desert Bloom Park.
Alexander Goth does not look very happy, does he?
Looks like Sims can now sleep (or at least nap) on community lots.
While Steve and Myra have a chat in the café, I spot a very young looking Malcolm Landgraab. He is another of the Sims we will meet further on.
On Friday, Steve meets Eliza Pancakes, fulfilling another wish to "meet someone new".
He then has a chat with his friend Bob O'Malley and young Alexander Goth, who now looks much happier than when we last saw him on the playground at the park.
This "pre-historic hoof print fossil" is something Steve dug up today. It is not very valuable, and so I decide to have him keep it on top of the wardrobe in his bedroom.
On Saturday, Travis Scott pays his friend another visit.
Steve spends the evening on his own, reading.
Sunday morning, Travis is back.
He shows Steve his new mobile phone.
The last thing Steve does on Sunday night before going to bed is repair his broken toilet.
Will Steve need a job eventually? Is he going to see Myra again, or is there someone suitable for him among the playables?
Next on the alphabetical list of 14 household names in TS4 is Da Silva. This is the house:
When we arrive at the lot, it is dark, though. We meet the only member of this household outside: Andre Da Silva. Like the majority of Sims we have met so far, he is a Young Adult. And just like Travis Scott from the BBF household, Andre's aspiration is that of a Computer Whiz. He has one friend already: Emma Bowser.
The small house is fully furnished, but not expensively so. Look at that tiny telly! No wonder Andre has to sit so near. It is one of his wishes to watch the Kids Network on TV (typical for a Sim who is childish, according to Andre's description), and so I have him watch it for a while.
Later that Monday, Emma Bowser drops in for a visit.
It is already Tuesday, and Andre has not gone to bed yet. He wanted to hack something and create a plug-in, and so he does that.
All this makes for him getting up really late that day - it is nearly lunch time when he gets out of bed.
And just in time to meet and greet a townie by the name of Giuliana Riley! Now you alreaday know from my TS2 stories that I have a soft spot for the Riley family in that game, what with us having the same surname, and of course I can not let this Riley-Sim pass by without getting to know her better.
Giuliana and Emma talk like old friends (although it is the first time they have met), with Andre listening from his computer chair and joining in the conversation every now and then.
He loves playing The Sims! Can you see what is going on in his game right now? A house fire.
And sure enough, although it is of course just a coincidence, on Wednesday morning, my playing this household could have all been over already when Andre sets the kitchen stove (and himself) on fire while making breakfast. I did not want to have a firey death so soon into my TS4 experience and therefore had Andre extinguish himself.
Thankfully, all he needs after the flames have died down is a shower.
He is still very hungry, though, and so he resorts to a quick meal in the shape of a bowl of yoghurt.
As mentioned before, Andre is a childish Sim. This means that he likes being around children (in a totally innocent way!), and so I have him run out and greet Olivia Spencer-Kim-Lewis and Alexander Goth when they walk past his house across the road. We will meet them both again further on this round, as they are part of the 14 Maxis-made households.
Emma Bowser comes visiting yet again. She really seems to like Andre very much, but so far, neither of the two has shown any romantic inclination towards the other.
On Thursday, Andre reaches a milestone after 5 hours of programming and 5 hours of playing at his computer.
On his own initiative, he cleans the kitchen counter after having prepared and eaten a meal.
He then invites Giuliana Riley over, and after a pleasant conversation, he asks her to move in.
Giuliana has the Mischief aspiration just like Nina Caliente. She is 59 years old and adds 20.000 Simoleons to the household account - meaning that Andre won't have to look for a job anytime soon.
Friday is as good as event-free at the Da Silva-Riley household. With Giuliana's contribution, the two of them are able to purchase a stereo (both showed the wish to dance to stereo music) and replace the tiny telly with a big one.
The first night after Giuliana's arrival, they have no problem sharing the only bed in the house (in all chastity, I may add). But maybe Andre snored or something, because afterwards, Giuliana refuses to get into bed when Andre is already there. She has no choice but to sleep on the settee.
It is Saturday afternoon when Andre meets and greets Katrina Caliente and another lady we will meet further on: Vivian Lewis. She is, I believe, Olivia Spencer-Kim-Lewis' grandmother (Olivia was the little girl Andre met earlier this week).
And of course Emma Bowser is back again!
For the first time since she moved in, Giuliana wants to cook a meal. She is not very successful!
Good job Andre is near and already has some experience with operating the fire extinguisher!
On Sunday morning, it is Andre I find kipping out on the settee. Gentleman-like, he has relinquished his bed to Giuliana.
He prepares green asparagus for breakfast - one of my favourites!
It wouldn't be a proper day without Emma Bowser popping in, would it?
Giuliana meets Cassandra Goth. The rest of Sunday goes by with nothing particular; they watch telly, dance to music from the stereo, chat and talk to some of their friends on the phone.
Are Giuliana and Andre going to move to a place better suited to their living arrangement? Will Andre complete another milestone soon, and is Emma going to keep up her daily visits? Is Giuliana going to find more than a friend?
