New Beginnings

Katie, ‘this lot’, as we termed it, will be finished as soon as Mr Popularity sim (who hasn’t been made yet) gets a visit from the Grim Reaper. I was only going to get them through college then forget them, but I decided to follow them through their sad little lives.

Well, hello there!

I don’t know why my mother insisted on calling me Josella, it’s such an odd name. Typical of mothers though, I suppose, and I prefer my name over hers. My maternal grandparents were Michael and Elizabeth Payne, and what do you think they named their only child? Deliverance. They named my mother Deliverance Payne. I bet she got teased about that while she was at school. My grandfolks must have thought it was a great joke, and you can understand why my Ma insists that people call her Del. Anyway, enough about my Ma.

I wasn’t intending on going to college, but my Ma scrimped and saved after Bucky Playton, my dad, got her pregnant then tookoff, you know, she worked so damn hard to get me here in the first place. I feel a little bad about it, because Ma wants me to a doctor, so I’m studying Biology, but I don’t want to be a doctor, I want to be an athlete. I know I’m going to have to tell her eventually, but I know it’ll upset her a great deal. Ma also wants me to come home after I graduate, but I don’t want that, either. I want a big house with statues and fountains, paintings and expensive furniture. Maybe I want to be rich because we were quite poor when I was a child.

I’ve met a few nice people since I’ve been here, people who don’t refer to me as ‘Raggedy Ann’, which has been a blessing. It wasn’t my fault, or my Ma’s, that we were poor, but the other kids in our town just don’t understand that. Or maybe they did understand, and they just enjoyed teasing me. But I’ll show them! They won’t think its so funny when I start making more money than they do!

Heck! I better run, or I’ll be late for my Freshman midterms!

Catch Ya!

(Well, there’s our Fortune sim underway. I want her to be rather materialistic, but not too greedy. Our Popularity sim will be underway in a few days, too. Also, is everbody happy with the little side-stories? They’re a doing great job of keeping the boredom at bay. Shall we start another round of voting when this lot’s finished?)

I swear I never thought I could hate anyone as thoroughly as I hate Dorian Whateverhisnameis! He’s the mascot for the rival school, Saint SwotnSnots, and he always seems to be over here, causing havoc of some kind. You know, belching at people like some kind of uncouth pig, throwing water balloons at everyone, using those stupid and childish hand-buzzer things, and that was just the day before yesterday!

Yesterday, however, seemed to be Dorian’s crowning achievement:

Yes, the horrible so-and-so set off all of the sprinklers in the dorm. Our TV Room got almost completely flooded out, which soaked all the books and blew up the TV, and the cafetaria looked like it had a lake in the middle of it.

Gerald opted to sit on the floor to do his daily assignment, and he parked himself outside my door (I did offer him the use of my desk, but he waved it off) rather than get his feet wet sitting at a table in the cafetaria. We’ve also had a few problems writing our term papers, because the computer in the TV Room shorted out along with the television. Our Dean was furious when he found out, and an official complaint has been lodged. Hopefully, Dorian will get expelled, then we won’t have any more of these problems and disruptions right before exams.

I’ve also met the mysterious ‘other girl’ that lives in our dorm.

Her name is Maura Hourvitz, and the reason she doesn’t really mix with us is because she’s a scholarship student from a poor background, and she was a little afraid that we would snub her. She seems to be going out of her way to talk to me lately, and she is rather nice, incredibly down-to-earth. The funny thing is, I think she might like me!

Well, I must go, it’s time for my last exam for Freshman Year.

(Nick likes Maura too, two lightning bolts! Heh, what a good boy he is, picking out his own future spouse! Let’s just hope he doesn’t run into Little Miss Maneater. Oh, and, the next victim, if I haven’t already mentioned, will be Fortune. Katie, you’re absolutely right. When one starts issuing death threats to one’s sims, the Writing Is On The Wall! Even if Finn did threaten me first!)

Well!

It’s definitely true what they say, there really is no honor among thieves! Here I am, a man who was once the Greatest Criminal Mastermind who ever lived, and some little idiot has the utter gall to try and rob me!

Thankfully, nothing was taken, but that’s because one of the local pi… cops actually put down his donut and drove over when my burglar alarm started wailing. How dare that Jessica Ebadi even contemplate coming in here, how dare she! Doesn’t she even know who I was? I was the Greatest of the Great! If I was still running things, I would have fitted her with the latest accessory: a bullet in the forehead! Honestly, I have never felt so, so, insulted in all my life!

Oh, but don’t you worry, I still have my connections, and she won’t get away with that at all. I’ll make sure of it, and you have my word on that! (Erm, Finn, are you sure you really gave up that Criminal Mastermind position?)

What? Of course I did! Don’t you trust me? (Sure I trust you. I trust you about as far as I can throw a piano…)

What? How dare you insult me like that! I’ll have you fitted with a pair of cement shoes for that! (You even try it, and I’ll make sure you have an encounter with a cow-plant. Okay folks, if I don’t reappear in a week, you’ll know my pet psychopath made good on his threat…Honestly, the boy’s gone bonkers.)

I don’t understand!

My newest conquest, a fella named Ash, came around at the appointed time, and everything seemed normal.

I did the usual thing, told the usual lies, and moved in for the kill…

…and he rejected me! I just don’t understand why, I mean that’s never happened to me before! (Ha ha!)

Well, fine then! If he wants to pass on the chance to spark the most beautiful person (me) here at this crummy place, he’ll have to live with it! I happen to know that he’s engaged to a girl who is rather plain-looking and fat, so I think I’ll start a malicious rumor about Ash. Hmm, I think I can even doctor a few photos. Oh, this should be a giggle!

Now, who is he going to be caught cavorting with? A stripper? Nah, too middle-of-the-road. Me? No, that’s silly. If I do that, he’ll know it was me. One of the Profs? Nope, too easy for him to wiggle out of it.

Ha! I know! One of the rival school’s cow mascots!

This ought to be good for a few laughs, even though I’ll have to give up my conquests for a while. I can’t concentrate on my classwork, ‘Operation Get Ash’, and my conquests too. There just isn’t enough time in a day for all that. Unfortunately, I’ll have to give up my painting as well. Goodbye, hot tub. Never mind, I’ll teach that no-good dirty rat to spurn me!

(God, I got the giggles when that flirt got rejected! Katie, NL stuff will be making an appearence cos I really like that stuff, and Pleasure sims are kind of fun, too.)

(First off, Katie, Christchurch is the name of a city in the South Island here in New Zealand. The highlight for some people is the walk up to the viewing platform at Christchurch Cathedral, but hey, I walked the 1oo-and-something steps once, and that was enough. Sorry, I should have made that a bit clearer )

Friends, I need some advice.

It was my Katie’s birthday today, and her mother and I are slightly anxious about whether or not she’ll make the right choices in life.

For starters, that outfit is, I believe, a little inappropriate, and secondly, she’s just a tad boy-cray… (Dammit! I rolled Romance for Katie, which is infuriating! One’s enough!)
I’m a little concerned about what she’ll get up to when she goes to college, and I’m sure Pops wouldn’t be too pleased to know that his second Granddaughter is man-mad. I feel like I must have failed him, and Katie, in some way.

Not even the fact that my boys finally brought home A+’s could cheer me up today.

It was Bescarum’s (Alkanet’s son) birthday today, and I must say, he’s picked a better path than my daughter!

Alkanet is pleased that he grew up so well, and she and Blake are both pleased that Bescarum wants nothing more complicated than having his own family.

It’s funny, isn’t it? The paths they’ve chosen, I mean. MC wants all there is to know, Katie wants boys, boys, and more boys, and Bescarum wants a family…

(Yee-ha! Cars, poker tables, and other Nightlife stuff may be making an appearence! For some really odd reason, when I have the Base, Uni, Nightlife, and OFB loaded, the computer whines at me, but when I have Doom 3 on the darn thing, plus all the old Sims 1 games, it runs faster…. Bizarre. And, I finally braved SimPE, so I could try Jade’s cool tutorial. Ah, projects!)

Hey, guys.

Sorry, no update today. Ma and I went to ChristChurch (a three hour drive from where we live) yesterday to do some Christmas shopping, and we didn’t get back until late. I’m exhausted!

Also:

Fortune - 2
Popularity - 1

Good afternoon!

My name is Nicholas David Ryan, the only son of Richard and Melinda Ryan. My father has sent me here to Dollar University because he thinks it will be a good place for me to find a respectable wife. When your father owns one of the largest shipping companies in the world, that sort of thing is important, and so is producing a son to carry on the family name. As for me, I want someone I can spend the rest of my life with. My father understands that, which is why he’s breaking family traditions by letting me pick my own wife, instead of picking one for me from a line of eligible heiresses. I don’t want any of those, I want someone down-to-earth, a marriage based on love, rather than money or convenience. As well as that, I am expected to get good grades, which will enable me to get a good job once I leave. I will, of course, be inheriting Father’s company, but he believes that we all must follow our own paths through life before the convenience of being born to wealthy parents taints us. Also, he wants me to have a little fun while I’m at college, even if it doesn’t seem to be anything more than an overgrown Summer Camp for the offspring of the wealthy. Every one of us here is heir, or heiress, to some kind of business, or large fortune, but that doesn’t mean we are all spoilt brats. Some of us are, of course, but they seem to be the minority around here.

Most of the people in my dorm are of the down-to-earth variety, which is very good, and I get on well with Weldon (heir to a banking empire), Kendal (heiress to a railroad fortune), and Gerald (his father is an eminent biochemist). There is another young lady here too, but I am unsure of her name. She doesn’t seem to mix with us at all, whether from shyness or snobbery, I do not know.

Now, if you’ll kindly excuse me, I must get an early night because I have an exam tomorrow morning.

(Well, there’s Mr Family Sim underway. I was gonna ask my dad to get me Pets for my 24th, but when I was talking to him on the phone the other day, he reckoned he was broke. Ah, well, I guess I’ll have to wait until Christmas.)

Righto, so far we have:

Fortune - 2
Popularity - 0

I had a bit of a scare the other day, and decided that a career change was in order. To cut a long story a tiny bit shorter, one of my minions was a mole for the local cops, who had been collecting information on me for some time. I was extremely lucky that this particular minion was rather low on the food chain and had never seen my face, otherwise I’d probably be looking at the inside of a jail cell right now, instead of looking at my wonderful library. Anyway, I followed The Code to the letter, held interviewsm and chose my successor, then I packed up and went home. I was at a bit of a loss for the first couple of days, before I finally decided what I wanted to do with the rest of my working life.

I settled on the Medical career as a new starting point, even though the pay as a Paramedic wasn’t as much as I was used to. I pulled a few strings, and called in a few favors until I was promoted to Resident in no time at all. It’s a lot harder than I’m used to, I can tell you that much, and I’m hoping to get another promotion soon. I would, in fact, like to go all the way to Chief of Staff, and I think I’ll be able to. Then the law wouldn’t dare try anything! Besides, who wouldn’t want to be one of the most respected men in town (other than that stupid do-gooder Mayor and the local Captain Hero, that is?)?

I haven’t actually been doing that much else lately, just working, reading, painting, and transferring a great amount of my wealth into untracable accounts, which has been rather bothersome, to tell you the truth, but my little tale of having just moved here (nobody at work had ever seen me until I started working with them) might be questioned if I didn’t.

On a lighter note, I’ve finally learnt how to make my favourite meal:

There isn’t anything in the world like a good fish dish, and salmon happens to be the best!

(Ick, fish. Well, the new victim will be Family. Katie, Maggie isn’t a random sim, I created her, and, although I don’t like her that much, she’s still a hell of a lot of fun, not uptight like most of my sims! Tickle in your throat indeed! Righto, we’ve got

So roll up, roll up, and cast your votes folks! Voting ends on the 25th!)