Abhijeet Cho's Household - Week 3

The first week with Abhi is here, and the second (Bella Goth's first week) is here.

We're in Strangetown for the first of several households with the surname Cho. The original Maxis-made playable Chos are of course Vivian and her daughter Etsu, but since then, former townies, NPC students and service NPCs with the same name have been moved in, and here is one of them.

Abhijeet Cho, or Abhi to his friends, was invited to settle in Strangetown by Circe Beaker. In his turn, he met, befriended (very quickly!) and moved in the elusive original Bella Goth - the official Maxis-made Strangetown version who is the "true" Bella Goth who disappeared from Pleasantview and has no memory or family ties whatsoever to her former life. 

Here in Strangetown, she dreams of the top of the Athletic career and ended her first week on the position of All Star. Like Abhi, she's a Romance Sim. His lifetime want is to have 20 best friends, and he already has 17. 

The two of them were 3-bolters to begin with, but now that Bella's fitness has increased a lot - a turn-off for Abhi - they are down to two bolts. At the end of their first week, Bella became pregnant, but so far, only you and me know it!

On this Monday, Bella is off to work and Abhi decides he wants to go for a swim. The public pool at No. 94 Road to Nowhere is only a short walking distance from his house.

It being relatively early, he is the first to dive-bomb into the refreshing clear water of the pool but is soon joined by Strangetowners. 

Swimming makes hungry, and a batch of hot dogs is quickly produced. Since none of the other visitors is of particular interest to Abhi, he leaves soon afterwards... and my game crahes :-( 

Back in the game and at Abhi and Bella's house, she returns from work with a smile - and a promotion to MVP. 

Abhi has just made his 18th best friend in Ajay Loner. By the way, while he has only two bolts for Bella now, he has three for ex-townie Jill Smith - and she lives with Ajay... Do I need to worry?

Bella's evening is spent working on her body skill, which leaves her unusually exhausted, and after a grilled cheese sandwich she is off to bed, not without having told Abhi how happy she is for him to have so many best friends for life. ("Yes, and you're one of them... I hope..." Abhi thinks to himself.) Should I be worried?

Just as Monday slips into Tuesday, Bella becomes aware of her pregnancy. She goes straight back to bed without even waking Abhi, as she is still very tired.

The baby in her belly does not stop her from working on her body skill, and she is off for a gentle round of jogging by mid-morning. Abhi has just paid today's bills when an attractive lady walks by, and he stares after her. Do we have reasons for worrying?

After a shower, a good long sleep and a well-filled bowl of Abhi's chili con carne, Bella manages to maximise her body skill, a big wish of hers and also a requirement for her career.

"I'm getting bigger by the minute," Bella thinks when she wakes up shortly after midnight on Wednesday. This time, she does not go straight back to bed, but decides to read a while until she is tired enough to sleep.

Getting up at 6:00 as usual, Abhi shows that he is still very much attracted to Bella - no immediate need for worrying about their relationship, then! 

While they have lunch together, Abhi gets a big aspiration boost when Ajay Loner becomes his best friend for life.

Just after 2:00 am on Thursday morning, Bella goes into labour... unlike what is so often the case with our Sims, not in the bathroom, but in the kitchen. 

A little girl with Bella's brown eyes and her skin tone is born! Something deep inside Bella makes her want to give the baby the name Sandra... no, wait... not Sandra... not Alexandra, either... but Cassandra! Yes, that's it - her heart settles on Cassandra; that name somehow, strangely, feels completely and utterly right for her little girl.

A few things are shifted around to make room for Cassandra's crib in the bedroom, and the bathroom is extended a bit to accomodate a changing table; also, instead of the shower, a bathtub is installed. 

With the baby peacefully asleep, Bella settles for some reading. She keeps wondering why it is that she feels so entirely certain of her daughter's name. 

When she finally retreats to bed, Abhi takes over. He is a proud and caring Dad; after he has given little Cass her bottle, he also changes her nappies. 

Bella's lifetime want is within close reach, and over a late breakfast with Abhi, she mentions that she is hoping for another promotion next time she goes back to work. 

Abhi tells her he is sure she will, and lovingly reaches for her hand. It seems like the "downgrade" from three to two bolts doesn't affect their love for each other, even though I thought otherwise at the start of the week. 

Spring has progressed into summer, and Bella can wear her original strapless dress again. 

On this Friday, the promotion she was talking about the day before comes true: She is now a Superstar! 

Abhi helps her celebrate - burgers & bubbly, not the worst combination :-) 

It is Saturday, and Bella returns from work earlier than expected - thanks to the right decision with a chance card, she is promoted to Assistant Coach. She heads straight back to work for her first shift not on the field, but from the sideline.

That was a smart move! She is promoted for the second time today and has now replaced her team's former coach as the new coach. 

It is funny - every time Bella is promoted, she looks sky-wards, as if to say "Thank you" to what or whoever is up there, looking out for her :-) 

Abhi and Bella share another celebratory meal. "Galoush!" 

Had she come by a bit earlier, DJ Verse could have joined her friend Bella clinking glasses. This is the first time this week anyone is paying the couple a visit on their own initiative.

Late that night - her parents had already been asleep - it is time for little Cassandra to grow up to a toddler. 

I am actually quite relieved that there is only Sunday left to play here before I'll move to the next household, thus breaking up the toddler "years"! But I am sure it'll be mostly smooth sailing for Cass, what with her stay-at-home Dad and her Mum being close to reaching her lifetime want. 

I have only two pictures for Sunday, but they are both important: 

First, by having a phone conversation with General Buzz Lee (formerly Grunt) and then with former dorm cook Zaitrarrio Lee, during which he makes best friends with both men, Abhi reaches lifetime want of having 20 best friends. 

He is 9 days from Elderhood and will spend the rest of his life on Permanent Platinum. Congratulations!

Second, I decide to change Cassandra's hair to pigtails... now, where did I get that idea? ;-) 

Little Cass is very close to her Dad now; hardly surprising, since her Mum is out for work a lot. Here, Abhi teaches his daughter to walk. 

This was an interesting week with Abhi and Bella! At first, it seemed that Abhi wasn't all that interested in Bella anymore. Then, he started to roll romantic wants about her again. By Saturday, though, he wanted to flirt with Jessie Pilferson... I suppose that's Romance Sims for you. 

Bella's daughter simply HAD to be named Cassandra. And now Bella is just one Charisma point and one promotion away from reaching her LTW. We'll be back here in the not too distant future, when it is time to play the letter "G" on my list. 

Cornwall Capp's Family: Week 2

Click here for the 1st week with this family.

This house at No. 19, Chorus Court is the last of the Capp households in Veronaville, in terms of alphabetical order. 

Regan, Consort Capp's daughter, lives here with her husband Cornwall, who took her last name when they married. Regan's brother Kent lived with them here for a while, but he married Bianca Monty - the first "inter-clan" marriage in Veronaville! - last round. 

Maybe you remember from their first week that it took both Regan and Cornwall until the end of their week to find the jobs they wanted, and therefore money has been rather tight for a while. Now that Regan is working her way up in the Business career with the goal of following in her father's footsteps as a Business Tycoon, and Criminal Mastermind-to-be Cornwall is looking to make money in any dodgy way possible (currently as a Bagman), they are better off although still far from wealthy. 

On this Monday, Regan is off to work while Cornwall has a day off. After he has spent the morning pottering about, Carl Cho and Cornwall's "nephew in law" Tybalt Capp happen to walk by and are invited in. Cornwall and Tybalt are good friends, but he has never met Carl before, who has moved to Veronaville not long ago. 

Regan returns from work with a promotion to Executive. The career rewards object is now hers, as is the bonus. With now over 6,600 Simoleons in their bank account, the Capps can make some more home improvements.

After their guests have left, the couple celebrate this great start of the week :-D

Only a few hours after she has left for work, Regan's car pool pulls up in front of the house again on Tuesday. 

What happened? Has she been feeling unwell and went home? Was she fired? No - quite the opposite: Thanks to a clever decision with a chance card, she has been promoted to Vice President of the company, and been allowed to take the rest of the day off to celebrate!

And celebrate she does... by walking over to H&M, where she buys herself several outfits worth a total of 1,000 Simoleons. She also meets and greets her brother-in-law Albany Capp as well as Tom Freshe (not pictured). 

The new clothes were a wish of hers, by the way, and certainly not the worst she could do with part of her promotion bonus.

With Cornwall out for work all night, Regan spends good part of the evening getting herself acquainted with her career reward. She knows that more than anything, charisma will bring her to the top.

Wednesday is a day off for Cornwall, and he decides to change his look a bit. This beard suits the shape of his face a lot better, doesn't it! 

And he is quite happy with a pair of specs, too! (It is one of Regan's turn-ons, and I really do find the new look much better on him.) 

The only thing needed to complete the "new" Cornwall is a new outfit... or three. Like his wife yesterday, he makes his way over to H&M where, apart from investing 1,000 Simoleons in new clothes, he also meets good friend and sister-in-law Goneril Capp as well as Oberon Summerdream, known to almost everyone in Veronaville although not yet friends with Regan and Cornwall. 

Back home, just as he is about to sit down to a bowl of leftover Mac & Cheese, Alan Riley walks by and his cordially invited to join him. Alan explains that he has moved to Veronaville only recently after having graduated from uni, and now hopes to make this town his home. 

At 4:00 pm, Regan returns from work with a colleague in tow (she gets rid of him immediately) and, much more important, a promotion: She is not Vice President any longer, but President of the company! That's not all that far off from Business Tycoon, her ultimate goal.

When a posh limousine pulls up in front of the Capps' house on Thursday morning to take Regan to work, it seems everyone wants to get a good look - the paper girl as well as the local penguin who is known to wander the streets occasionally. 

Funnily enough, when she returns from work that afternoon, it's not the limo but an old banger of a car - not Regan's fault, though. She has been promoted to CEO, but her husband is picked up at the same time as she is dropped off, and we can't have a humble Bagman ride to work in a limousine, can we! 

The times when the couple had to be careful about money are well and truly over; their account now boasts a very healthy 18,500 Simoleons, mostly thanks to Regan's efforts. 

More often than not, Thursday is an eventful day in a typical Sim's week. But for the Capps, this week it is the Friday that turns out to be the most eventful, starting at 1:00 am with Cornwall returning from work with a promotion to Bookie.

After he has slept for several hours and his wife has gone to work, he dresses in one of his new outfits and makes a few phonecalls before leaving for work, too.

But what's this? A helicopter landing in front of the relatively humble house on Chorus Court?

It's Regan's new "car" pool - she has done it again and been promoted thanks to a chance card! She didn't have all the required skills yet, but cleverly beating her boss at a friendly word game, she reaches the top of her career and is now Veronaville's youngest Business Tycoon! 

Well done, Regan, reaching your lifetime want 14 days before Elderhood. 

Like her husband this morning, she now takes advantage of the spring weather and changes into one of her new outfits. 

A stranger walks by, and when upon polite inquiry Regan learns that his name is Alan Smith and he is actually trying to locate some distant relatives of his in Veronaville, of course she invites him in, in spite of his weird way of dressing... or rather un-dressing. 

Cornwall comes home from work to find his wife in a celebratory mood. She has cooked spaghetti bolognese and serves them with glasses of champagne, something her husband appreciates very much. If only their guest would leave... (He does finally when Regan says good-bye to him, but by that time, Cornwall has long fallen asleep.) 

Regan has the entire weekend off, and after her husband has left for work on Saturday morning, she applies some lipstick and mascara and walks downtown.

The "Londoste", the poshest restaurant in town, is where she's headed for a lunch with two of her friends.

Titania Summerdream and Bianca Monty (yes, they are friends now!) are treated to a delicious lunch to help Regan celebrate her Permanent Platinum state. Of course, having champagne with their food feels entirely right - and isn't a problem, since all three ladies have come on foot.

Regan hasn't been home long from her lunch with the "girls" when Cornwall returns from work, proudly announcing his promotion to Con Artist. Now both husband and wife have the rest of the weekend off and can enjoy time together. 

Sunday morning sees the couple enjoying a leisurely breakfast of omelettes as well as a tender moment when Cornwall caresses Regan's hand and smiles at her: "I think we're the luckiest and happiest Capps in all of Veronaville!"

 little later, just as he takes out the old newspaper, Alan Smith happens to walk by. His wife has told him of this weird guy who walks about only half dressed, looking for his relatives, and now he can see for himself what she meant. But he fully endorses Veronaville's policy of welcoming strangers and neighbours alike when they pass, and so Alan is once more a guest at the Capps' house.

This coincides with Regan having a Family Sunday. Consort, her father, is the first to arrive, closely followed by her brother Kent and her sister Goneril (out of the camera's range). 

"My girl, I am so, so very proud of you!" Consort says when he hugs her. Yes, she has definitely proven that she can make it on her own, and has become a Business Tycoon in her own right, not just because she's Consort Capp's daughter. 

Although there is now more than enough money to furnish and decorate the modest house, Cornwall and Regan haven't gotten round to doing much, what with working, skilling and socialising. Therefore, Kent and is Dad eat at the chess table, while Goneril, always proud of her slim figure, politely skips the meal and spends that time upstairs at the computer. 

It's the end of the week for this household, and I am so VERY relieved to report that I was able to play it without too many crashes... not entirely without, but much better than what I last experienced with Consort Capp's family. 

It might have something to do with them (= their character files) or their house (= corrupt lot?), and I'll definitely try again to play them, but for now, skipping their household in favour of the next one on the list was the right decision.