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lorinsv60Welcome to the start of Week 4 of Mesa Vista!
To recap:
Zach Adams, the founder, and his Business Tycoon wife Nikki and three boys (plus one in the oven) are ready for a bigger house.
Diane and Stephan Shin had a baby boy, Stan, after the first baby was lost in a game crash. Stephan also found a job in Business.
Kerie Ng was working her way up Medical and her son Noah wasn't happy that his Uncle Brandon (London) moved into his own place.
Marie Sims won a contest with her famous berry pie and then opened up a little bakery.
Neil Cameron passed away, leaving Madeleine Mazza to raise their infant daughter Nellie.
Carl Homeless did a little better last week, though that isn't saying much.
Nemo and Ciel Outside and their four kids: Nemo was almost a City Planner, and their two oldest girls were about to become the first college students from MV. Ciel also snagged a job in Business as she waits for her kids to fulfill her dream of having 3 College Grads.
So, that's where we left off in a nutshell! Now, on to Week 4...
First up, I used one of my earned CAS slots to play the Messie Messlot Challenge. It can be found at MTS along with aelflaed's wonderfully horrid "Derelict Dreamhome - Starter for the Brave."
Challenge: http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=335040
House: http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=268417
Meet Tracy Messlot: 10 Neat points per the challenge rules and Fortune aspiration. The story goes that a slob named Jack was the previous owner and had let the house go big time, but in Tracy's case, it was worse than that. Her grandparents' home (God rest their souls) had wound up in Jack's grimy clutches after they'd had no choice but to sell due to their declining health.
Tracy was not only sad, but understandably angry to see such neglect of the place she had spent her summers as a child, in particular her grandmother's garden, which had once been the pride of the neighborhood.
Gardening wasn't exactly her strong suit, but she couldn't allow the home of her beloved grandparents to continue in this sorry state one moment longer! Plus, her Environment score would tank should she leave for work in its current condition, so she held her nose and started pulling weeds by the smelly trashcan.
And the longer she pulled, the more she found. The entire lot was covered with them. No wonder her grandparents couldn't keep up with it at the end. The bushes were a sorry lot as well. A big lot.
Tracy heard voices in the front yard and took a welcome break to greet her visitors.
"Welcome to Mesa Vista, I'm Zach Adams. It's always good to see new faces around here. Looks like you've got your work cut out for you."
"Thank you, and yes I do."
"Mind if we take a look inside?"
"As long as you don't mind that I keep weeding."
Marie Sims and Zach Adams had stopped by to say hello, as much to see who would buy a place in this condition, and if it was as bad on the inside as the outside. The answer was an unqualified YES. Broken, filthy plumbing plus dishes, pizza boxes, cans, trash, ashes and puddles were everywhere.
The main concern was roaches from the piles of trash. Marie felt sorry for Tracy after hearing her plight and offered to help with some of the cleanup. Zach checked the TV to see if it worked. It did. Very good, his work was done...
For Marie, it was as good a time as any for testing an old Jedi mind trick.
Tracy cooked dinner as a thank you to her new neighbors. It was hard for her to cook on such a grimy stove, but she was starving after pulling weeds all day.
"I know it tastes terrible. You won't hurt my feelings if you don't eat it."
"Nonsense," Marie said absently as she rooted daintily for edible pieces. "Mm, you'll probably have to buy a new stove, though."
"Yes, my goal is to replace everything with only the best. I want this place to be really special, my grandparents deserve that."
Some time later, Marie had gone, leaving Tracy alone with Zach.
"So," he opened casually, "you wouldn't be interested in taking a job in Criminal or Military, would you? There are several openings available."
"Thanks for the tip, but no, fixing up this place is my priority. If I get desperate, maybe, but only if I can't find one in Architecture."
"I would make it worth your while, Tracy."
Tracy blinked. "I'm sorry... what?"
"Didn't you say you want only the best for this place? Well, the best costs money. Lots of money."
"Yes, I need money," she admitted, pride making her stand up a little straighter.
"And I need a favor. I'm proposing a simple arrangement: take a job in either Criminal or Military and I'll return the favor financially."
She swallowed uneasily. She didn't like this, not one bit. "And if I don't?"
Was he really so desperate for Intelligence to open that he'd sink to frightening a newcomer, a young woman on her own, at that? Apparently so, and he was disgusted with himself for it. Plus, another option, two actually, suddenly occurred to him...
"I'm sorry. Nothing will happen, you have my word. I didn't mean to... forget I said anything."
"Forget? Easy for you to say! You know what? I would never take your money, so please leave. I'm not comfortable with you here."
Zach left and Tracy was too hyped up to sleep, so she got started on the trimming...
She was just finishing up the back rosebushes when she heard the front doorbell. At least something around here worked!
"It's looking much better out here," Marie said with an encouraging smile.
"There's still a lot to do, but I can really use a break."
"How did that get here?" Marie asked, indicating the twisted piece of metal in the corner.
"Just more junk that was left here."
"That is more than junk, my dear, I know a hunk of satellite when I see it. You can get good money for those things."
*Kaching*
"Thanks, Marie!"
"Not bad," Marie said after taking a bite of her sandwich.
"My plan is to avoid the stove, I'm pretty sure it's on its last legs anyway."
"Good plan."
"Can I ask you something? How do you like Zach?"
"I've known Zach a long time. He's okay, why?"
"....."
"Hey, I said he was okay, but he and I would hardly be considered confidants. What happened?"
"He was acting very... odd last night after you left."
"Odd as in..?"
"He was pushing me to go into Military or Criminal. He... I don't know, it made me uneasy."
"Zach is different, I'll give you that. He's Fortune and his wife is Family, yet he stays home with his kids while Nikki works. Frankly, he doesn't seem at all like the house husband type to me. Sometimes I..." Marie tapered off.
"Go on, please?"
"I get the feeling he has some close-kept secret... or secrets... and it... makes him seem more ruthless... dangerous?... than I think he really is. He's an enigmatic guy, for sure."
"And yet, you feel safe in Mesa Vista?"
"Oh, it's fine here. I had a burglary, that was unsettling, but we should be getting a real police force soon. And as for Zach, I think he's a good guy, though not in a perfectly good way, if that makes sense. If push came to shove, I like to believe he would give someone in need the shirt off his back."
"I guess I can live with that. I really don't want to give up on this place, I'd like to see it through."
"I promise, you have nothing to fear from Zach Adams."
"If you say so."
"Oh, you're going to be just fine!"
Tracy felt better after her talk with Marie and she determinedly went back to work on the house. The counters had been no match for her mad cleaning skills, but the broken sink was being very stubborn, and unless she got it fixed, the kitchen would remain a miserable place to be in.
Whew, finally! Now she could get to the fun part.
The sink took forever to clean, too.
All right, now she could serve food without getting completely grossed out! Granted, the fridge was still hideous but it ran fine, and there were more urgent issues to be dealt with first.
Tracy enjoyed cleaning inside much more than working in the yard.
The last bastion of filth in the kitchen was her other nemesis, the stove.
Yeah! Neat Sims are so cute.
There's nothing in the rules that prevent you from getting rid of the shrubs and flowers, though it is encouraged to get them in good shape before selling them off. I'm keeping them for now, just because I don't do this kind of gardening very often in my game. I did learn that flower beds go dormant in Winter, but shrubs still need to be trimmed. Boo!
Despite the progress she was making, Tracy was beginning to wonder if Architecture would ever show up in the job listings. What if she had no other option than be stuck with a career in the military or *gulp* a life of crime?
Nah, all that worrying was for naught.
Tracy's place was surprisingly happenin', all things considered.
Though my theory was the sheer novelty of watching someone try to beat back all that filth was irresistible. The house sort of reminded me of the Deltas' in Animal House.
George Stompel decided to pick a fight with Madeleine Mazza for no good reason and got his eyes gouged out in the process. Toga! Toga!
Too bad he won in the end. How low can you go, George, don't you know Maddie is still grieving!
Tracy was plagued financially by days off, but it did give her time to write a novel, or rather, a how-to on fixing up fixer-uppers. It received poor reviews, but she still got a couple of grand in royalties. She wouldn't give up, though! Her new book would be a work of fiction set in a small town headed by an mysterious patriarch...
By now, she had enough Mechanical from fixing (or trying to) and unclogging plumbing to be pretty good at fixing her computer.
Here's the reason Tracy didn't replace anything in the kitchen yet. She was never able to fix the tub and shower (that issue was brought up in the challenge thread), so she saved her money until she could simply replace them with this. The toilet will have to wait until next week.
D'oh! and I just noticed that light bulb needs to be replaced!
The interior still looked terrible, but Tracy can vouch that it's spotless!
She had enough money left over to switch out the doors and clean up the windows. (Stupid hedges...)
Everything around back was mostly trimmed and ready for Tracy's second week in the Derelict Dreamhouse.
That's all for now. Next up will be another new CAS addition in Mesa Vista.
Thanks for reading and Happy Simming!
To recap:
Zach Adams, the founder, and his Business Tycoon wife Nikki and three boys (plus one in the oven) are ready for a bigger house.
Diane and Stephan Shin had a baby boy, Stan, after the first baby was lost in a game crash. Stephan also found a job in Business.
Kerie Ng was working her way up Medical and her son Noah wasn't happy that his Uncle Brandon (London) moved into his own place.
Marie Sims won a contest with her famous berry pie and then opened up a little bakery.
Neil Cameron passed away, leaving Madeleine Mazza to raise their infant daughter Nellie.
Carl Homeless did a little better last week, though that isn't saying much.
Nemo and Ciel Outside and their four kids: Nemo was almost a City Planner, and their two oldest girls were about to become the first college students from MV. Ciel also snagged a job in Business as she waits for her kids to fulfill her dream of having 3 College Grads.
So, that's where we left off in a nutshell! Now, on to Week 4...
First up, I used one of my earned CAS slots to play the Messie Messlot Challenge. It can be found at MTS along with aelflaed's wonderfully horrid "Derelict Dreamhome - Starter for the Brave."
Challenge: http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=335040
House: http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=268417
Meet Tracy Messlot: 10 Neat points per the challenge rules and Fortune aspiration. The story goes that a slob named Jack was the previous owner and had let the house go big time, but in Tracy's case, it was worse than that. Her grandparents' home (God rest their souls) had wound up in Jack's grimy clutches after they'd had no choice but to sell due to their declining health.
Tracy was not only sad, but understandably angry to see such neglect of the place she had spent her summers as a child, in particular her grandmother's garden, which had once been the pride of the neighborhood.
Gardening wasn't exactly her strong suit, but she couldn't allow the home of her beloved grandparents to continue in this sorry state one moment longer! Plus, her Environment score would tank should she leave for work in its current condition, so she held her nose and started pulling weeds by the smelly trashcan.
And the longer she pulled, the more she found. The entire lot was covered with them. No wonder her grandparents couldn't keep up with it at the end. The bushes were a sorry lot as well. A big lot.
Tracy heard voices in the front yard and took a welcome break to greet her visitors.
"Welcome to Mesa Vista, I'm Zach Adams. It's always good to see new faces around here. Looks like you've got your work cut out for you."
"Thank you, and yes I do."
"Mind if we take a look inside?"
"As long as you don't mind that I keep weeding."
Marie Sims and Zach Adams had stopped by to say hello, as much to see who would buy a place in this condition, and if it was as bad on the inside as the outside. The answer was an unqualified YES. Broken, filthy plumbing plus dishes, pizza boxes, cans, trash, ashes and puddles were everywhere.
The main concern was roaches from the piles of trash. Marie felt sorry for Tracy after hearing her plight and offered to help with some of the cleanup. Zach checked the TV to see if it worked. It did. Very good, his work was done...
For Marie, it was as good a time as any for testing an old Jedi mind trick.
Tracy cooked dinner as a thank you to her new neighbors. It was hard for her to cook on such a grimy stove, but she was starving after pulling weeds all day.
"I know it tastes terrible. You won't hurt my feelings if you don't eat it."
"Nonsense," Marie said absently as she rooted daintily for edible pieces. "Mm, you'll probably have to buy a new stove, though."
"Yes, my goal is to replace everything with only the best. I want this place to be really special, my grandparents deserve that."
Some time later, Marie had gone, leaving Tracy alone with Zach.
"So," he opened casually, "you wouldn't be interested in taking a job in Criminal or Military, would you? There are several openings available."
"Thanks for the tip, but no, fixing up this place is my priority. If I get desperate, maybe, but only if I can't find one in Architecture."
"I would make it worth your while, Tracy."
Tracy blinked. "I'm sorry... what?"
"Didn't you say you want only the best for this place? Well, the best costs money. Lots of money."
"Yes, I need money," she admitted, pride making her stand up a little straighter.
"And I need a favor. I'm proposing a simple arrangement: take a job in either Criminal or Military and I'll return the favor financially."
She swallowed uneasily. She didn't like this, not one bit. "And if I don't?"
Was he really so desperate for Intelligence to open that he'd sink to frightening a newcomer, a young woman on her own, at that? Apparently so, and he was disgusted with himself for it. Plus, another option, two actually, suddenly occurred to him...
"I'm sorry. Nothing will happen, you have my word. I didn't mean to... forget I said anything."
"Forget? Easy for you to say! You know what? I would never take your money, so please leave. I'm not comfortable with you here."
Zach left and Tracy was too hyped up to sleep, so she got started on the trimming...
She was just finishing up the back rosebushes when she heard the front doorbell. At least something around here worked!
"It's looking much better out here," Marie said with an encouraging smile.
"There's still a lot to do, but I can really use a break."
"How did that get here?" Marie asked, indicating the twisted piece of metal in the corner.
"Just more junk that was left here."
"That is more than junk, my dear, I know a hunk of satellite when I see it. You can get good money for those things."
*Kaching*
"Thanks, Marie!"
"Not bad," Marie said after taking a bite of her sandwich.
"My plan is to avoid the stove, I'm pretty sure it's on its last legs anyway."
"Good plan."
"Can I ask you something? How do you like Zach?"
"I've known Zach a long time. He's okay, why?"
"....."
"Hey, I said he was okay, but he and I would hardly be considered confidants. What happened?"
"He was acting very... odd last night after you left."
"Odd as in..?"
"He was pushing me to go into Military or Criminal. He... I don't know, it made me uneasy."
"Zach is different, I'll give you that. He's Fortune and his wife is Family, yet he stays home with his kids while Nikki works. Frankly, he doesn't seem at all like the house husband type to me. Sometimes I..." Marie tapered off.
"Go on, please?"
"I get the feeling he has some close-kept secret... or secrets... and it... makes him seem more ruthless... dangerous?... than I think he really is. He's an enigmatic guy, for sure."
"And yet, you feel safe in Mesa Vista?"
"Oh, it's fine here. I had a burglary, that was unsettling, but we should be getting a real police force soon. And as for Zach, I think he's a good guy, though not in a perfectly good way, if that makes sense. If push came to shove, I like to believe he would give someone in need the shirt off his back."
"I guess I can live with that. I really don't want to give up on this place, I'd like to see it through."
"I promise, you have nothing to fear from Zach Adams."
"If you say so."
"Oh, you're going to be just fine!"
Tracy felt better after her talk with Marie and she determinedly went back to work on the house. The counters had been no match for her mad cleaning skills, but the broken sink was being very stubborn, and unless she got it fixed, the kitchen would remain a miserable place to be in.
Whew, finally! Now she could get to the fun part.
The sink took forever to clean, too.
All right, now she could serve food without getting completely grossed out! Granted, the fridge was still hideous but it ran fine, and there were more urgent issues to be dealt with first.
Tracy enjoyed cleaning inside much more than working in the yard.
The last bastion of filth in the kitchen was her other nemesis, the stove.
Yeah! Neat Sims are so cute.
There's nothing in the rules that prevent you from getting rid of the shrubs and flowers, though it is encouraged to get them in good shape before selling them off. I'm keeping them for now, just because I don't do this kind of gardening very often in my game. I did learn that flower beds go dormant in Winter, but shrubs still need to be trimmed. Boo!
Despite the progress she was making, Tracy was beginning to wonder if Architecture would ever show up in the job listings. What if she had no other option than be stuck with a career in the military or *gulp* a life of crime?
Nah, all that worrying was for naught.
Tracy's place was surprisingly happenin', all things considered.
Though my theory was the sheer novelty of watching someone try to beat back all that filth was irresistible. The house sort of reminded me of the Deltas' in Animal House.
George Stompel decided to pick a fight with Madeleine Mazza for no good reason and got his eyes gouged out in the process. Toga! Toga!
Too bad he won in the end. How low can you go, George, don't you know Maddie is still grieving!
Tracy was plagued financially by days off, but it did give her time to write a novel, or rather, a how-to on fixing up fixer-uppers. It received poor reviews, but she still got a couple of grand in royalties. She wouldn't give up, though! Her new book would be a work of fiction set in a small town headed by an mysterious patriarch...
By now, she had enough Mechanical from fixing (or trying to) and unclogging plumbing to be pretty good at fixing her computer.
Here's the reason Tracy didn't replace anything in the kitchen yet. She was never able to fix the tub and shower (that issue was brought up in the challenge thread), so she saved her money until she could simply replace them with this. The toilet will have to wait until next week.
D'oh! and I just noticed that light bulb needs to be replaced!
The interior still looked terrible, but Tracy can vouch that it's spotless!
She had enough money left over to switch out the doors and clean up the windows. (Stupid hedges...)
Everything around back was mostly trimmed and ready for Tracy's second week in the Derelict Dreamhouse.
That's all for now. Next up will be another new CAS addition in Mesa Vista.
Thanks for reading and Happy Simming!
