Mesa Vista - My BaCC for fun: Week 5-20 Homeless
I bring another update :)
Welcome back to Mesa Vista and the Homeless Challenge lot...
*EXTRA! EXTRA! Spoiler Alert!*
After a four-RL-year-long pregnancy and numerous cameo appearances while shopping at Mesa Vista's various community lots, Gretchen Homeless finally gives birth!
But rewinding a bit, Carl and Gretchen Homeless were left at the end of Week 4 skilling, skilling, and moar skilling for Callista's illustrious custom Homeless career.
"Is this baby ever going to come?"
"Haha, no rest for the wicked, or should I say homeless."
No rest, indeed. After the skilling and gardening and clearing plates of gelatin, there were friends to be made.
(Hello back, Stan Shin!)
"So, you're homeless, but look on the bright side," said Michelle Tse.
"What bright side?"
"Networking promotion. Sweet!"
"I can't believe your cousin is my park bench supervisor, he taught me everything I know about squatting."
"For sure. He's a great guy once you get to know him."
Gol durn dogs...
"Hey, honey! I'm movin' outta the soup kitchen and into the dumpsters."
"Great news, sweetums! *Sigh* You're right, Michelle, that man never fails to brighten my day."
Add filling holes to the list...
"Gol durn dogs..."
*Gasp!*
"Finally! I thought you'd never get here..."
"Ohhh, I oughtta wait, maybe you'd better go back in for a while longer..."
"Just kidding!"
"Carl honey, come here and take a look at our little ticket outta here!"
(Not to mention an additional slot to place buy-mode objects! Hey, they'll take what they can get.)
"Gretchen, there's just beer bottles in... never mind, found it."
"Drink up, little man, what's a few more bottles to clean up?"
(*Leaves Carl to check something...*)
"Gretchen, what in tarnation are ya up to?"
"Hang on, honey, you'll see..."
"Ta-da!"
That's right, folks, Gretchen had moved in with a gold flower arranging badge *angel choir* and just made Mesa Vista's first snapdragon! (And the only one allowed on the Homeless lot.)
"This is so much better now, darlin'!"
Uh, guys?
"You said it, honey! We can make some real headway now."
YO! Guys!
EEK, GUYZ!!
"Don't worry, little man, I gotcha."
"There you go, here's a nice patch of grass to sleep on. Don't wanna waste a slot on a crib if we don't have to, no we don't! Now, Mama's got stuff to do, so let's give it the old college try, shall we?"
EEK FIRE!!
That was me panicking, not cool, level-headed, superdad Carl <3
"Heh-heh, superdad, that's me."
The skill requirements for the Homeless career are excessively grueling, so you can guess what most of the Homeless week was spent doing.
Can a baby get by outside without a crib? Yes, but they sure fuss a lot when they're tired, and understandably. The one snapdragon took care of Hunger completely and cut the need for diaper changes to approximately one third to one half of normal.
"Enough of this slacking off on maternity leave nonsense, it's time for your mama to get to work!"
Interestingly enough, the Homeless rules only say you can't cancel the carpool, nothing about using vacation days and maternity leave. So, put them to bed or to skilling before the carpool arrives, and voila, someone to stay home with the kid.
Now we were getting somewhere.
"Aw man, how does that happen when you haven't had a bottle for days?"
"Happy Birthday, little ticket!"
Under a beautiful (Sim)Nopke sky, Gretchen christened their little ticket "Will."
"Time for you to get to work now, Will."
Not only did Carl and Gretchen need to top the Homeless career, but Will would need ten scholarships to get into college and "break the cycle of poverty," via good grades, dancing and billiards in addition to reaching level 8 in the seven skills, if all goes well.
"Carl, we need more friends. One of us should go to town and see if we can scrounge up a cell phone or two."
"I know where we can get some..."
Will was a Sagittarius 1/5/9/9/1 - sloppy, somewhat outgoing, very active and playful, and mean. If he wasn't tied to the Charisma bunny, he crawled after his parents, asking for attention. Pretty cute if you ask me :)
Potty training was a waste in this challenge, since the toddler potty is a waste of available buy-mode objects allowed at the same time on the lot. Walking, on the other hand, could prove useful for being able to crawl out of the crib (though Will never did).
Anyway, Smart Milk, Fall and a thinking cap made short shrift of learning how to walk.
After Carl bought three cell phones from the library (thanks to Gretchen's move-in funds of §14000, they could easily afford them) he headed to Zach's Hoops, where he knew there was a toilet and shower, as well as one of those oh-so-nice hot tubs. He called a couple of acquaintances to join him. Lol the guy who declined!
Kinda nice that someone else, the founder of Mesa Vista no less, cleaned up after him.
Carl waited.. and waited... as the twelve-hour limit before he'd inevitably be run off the lot fast approached.
While the customers, including a faked-out Nemo, dithered over the ticket machine, like they had alllll the time in the world. Well, to heck with that!
Carl pulled the dandy Bust A Move out of his repertoire and made a quick friend of Nikki Zhang.
"Okay, Carl, time's up."
"Next week though, right?" Zach called as Carl took his leave.
"Uh, sure. I guess."
One new friend, the cell phones, plus some new contacts - all in all a good 12 hours. Like the good Homeless Sim that he was, Carl skedaddled on home...
Where he and Gretchen went on the one date per week they were allowed.
"Good luck!"
Level 5!
*tsu!*
"Huh, what was that?"
*tsu!*
"Are you cold? Don't wanna take a chance, better do somethin' 'bout that."
Winter was postponed for a few more days, since I've successfully playtested a child in the winter without any shelter, and the rules allow manipulation of the seasons as long as there is one Summer and Winter in a cycle.
*tsu!*
I've never had a toddler sneeze before, and that's the best picture I could get of him doing it.
Carl needed another friend for his next promotion. Cora Korben seemed an unlikely candidate, but it never hurt to try.
Well... Cora took a real shine to Will, and she stayed.
And stayed.
And stayed.
And stayed.
"You can sleep or whatever, I'll take care of him. I've had a lot of practice with my sister, but she's old now."
Easiest friend ever made!
After ten or so hours, I guess Cora's arms finally gave out.
"That Cora was a stroke of luck, eh? Here, let me tidy you up."
Level 6!
His parents weren't the only ones making strides. Will had reached Level 8 in Charisma so he moved on to Mechanical with the activity table, which builds skill fast. Like he reached 6 or 7 in one day! That ought to be the worst of the skills taken care of before he becomes a child.
New friend Nikki Zhang: "Oh, aren't you the cutest little thing?"
"Can we have him back?"
Okay, enough with monopolizing the toddler! It's cute and all, but it also keeps Will from fulfilling his role in winning the challenge.
"Very well, you make your Daddy proud, hear?"
While Will headed back to work, let's check shopping bags!
Avoiding selling interactions with Gretchen was a bigger success than I thought, though she managed to finagle a bed from Nemo's Slumberland, a baked Alaska from Just Desserts, the celebration junk from Party Palooza seen in the last update, but also nothing from Desert Flower Nursery in the same update. The rest of her inventory was stuff they needed and switched out to use on the lot.
Carl had a networking gift and purchases from Holly Days, Shin's Orient and Meadow's Art Gallery, plus a photo taken at Fast Lane Bowling. Fun!
Here's a cute pic to end the update :)
To sum up, the week was a lot of strategizing and skill grinding (39 points total out of 60 required for the two adults plus 15 for Will), along with a couple of pleasant surprises: Gretchen's snapdragon <3, Cora becoming friends with Will <3, and the activity table's fast skill building. I'm more optimistic about beating the Homeless Challenge, though not entirely confident yet.
Callista's Homeless Challenge rules and her custom Homeless career can be found here:
http://boolprop.net/viewtopic.php?f=218&t=3047
BaCC quick stats:
Playable Sims: 92 (91 + 1 grave) Will born
Sim Multiplier: 35 (no change)
Population: 3220
Thanks for reading and Happy Simming!
Welcome back to Mesa Vista and the Homeless Challenge lot...
*EXTRA! EXTRA! Spoiler Alert!*
After a four-RL-year-long pregnancy and numerous cameo appearances while shopping at Mesa Vista's various community lots, Gretchen Homeless finally gives birth!
But rewinding a bit, Carl and Gretchen Homeless were left at the end of Week 4 skilling, skilling, and moar skilling for Callista's illustrious custom Homeless career.
"Is this baby ever going to come?"
"Haha, no rest for the wicked, or should I say homeless."
No rest, indeed. After the skilling and gardening and clearing plates of gelatin, there were friends to be made.
(Hello back, Stan Shin!)
"So, you're homeless, but look on the bright side," said Michelle Tse.
"What bright side?"
"Networking promotion. Sweet!"
"I can't believe your cousin is my park bench supervisor, he taught me everything I know about squatting."
"For sure. He's a great guy once you get to know him."
Gol durn dogs...
"Hey, honey! I'm movin' outta the soup kitchen and into the dumpsters."
"Great news, sweetums! *Sigh* You're right, Michelle, that man never fails to brighten my day."
Add filling holes to the list...
"Gol durn dogs..."
*Gasp!*
"Finally! I thought you'd never get here..."
"Ohhh, I oughtta wait, maybe you'd better go back in for a while longer..."
"Just kidding!"
"Carl honey, come here and take a look at our little ticket outta here!"
(Not to mention an additional slot to place buy-mode objects! Hey, they'll take what they can get.)
"Gretchen, there's just beer bottles in... never mind, found it."
"Drink up, little man, what's a few more bottles to clean up?"
(*Leaves Carl to check something...*)
"Gretchen, what in tarnation are ya up to?"
"Hang on, honey, you'll see..."
"Ta-da!"
That's right, folks, Gretchen had moved in with a gold flower arranging badge *angel choir* and just made Mesa Vista's first snapdragon! (And the only one allowed on the Homeless lot.)
"This is so much better now, darlin'!"
Uh, guys?
"You said it, honey! We can make some real headway now."
YO! Guys!
EEK, GUYZ!!
"Don't worry, little man, I gotcha."
"There you go, here's a nice patch of grass to sleep on. Don't wanna waste a slot on a crib if we don't have to, no we don't! Now, Mama's got stuff to do, so let's give it the old college try, shall we?"
EEK FIRE!!
That was me panicking, not cool, level-headed, superdad Carl <3
"Heh-heh, superdad, that's me."
The skill requirements for the Homeless career are excessively grueling, so you can guess what most of the Homeless week was spent doing.
Can a baby get by outside without a crib? Yes, but they sure fuss a lot when they're tired, and understandably. The one snapdragon took care of Hunger completely and cut the need for diaper changes to approximately one third to one half of normal.
"Enough of this slacking off on maternity leave nonsense, it's time for your mama to get to work!"
Interestingly enough, the Homeless rules only say you can't cancel the carpool, nothing about using vacation days and maternity leave. So, put them to bed or to skilling before the carpool arrives, and voila, someone to stay home with the kid.
Now we were getting somewhere.
"Aw man, how does that happen when you haven't had a bottle for days?"
"Happy Birthday, little ticket!"
Under a beautiful (Sim)Nopke sky, Gretchen christened their little ticket "Will."
"Time for you to get to work now, Will."
Not only did Carl and Gretchen need to top the Homeless career, but Will would need ten scholarships to get into college and "break the cycle of poverty," via good grades, dancing and billiards in addition to reaching level 8 in the seven skills, if all goes well.
"Carl, we need more friends. One of us should go to town and see if we can scrounge up a cell phone or two."
"I know where we can get some..."
Will was a Sagittarius 1/5/9/9/1 - sloppy, somewhat outgoing, very active and playful, and mean. If he wasn't tied to the Charisma bunny, he crawled after his parents, asking for attention. Pretty cute if you ask me :)
Potty training was a waste in this challenge, since the toddler potty is a waste of available buy-mode objects allowed at the same time on the lot. Walking, on the other hand, could prove useful for being able to crawl out of the crib (though Will never did).
Anyway, Smart Milk, Fall and a thinking cap made short shrift of learning how to walk.
After Carl bought three cell phones from the library (thanks to Gretchen's move-in funds of §14000, they could easily afford them) he headed to Zach's Hoops, where he knew there was a toilet and shower, as well as one of those oh-so-nice hot tubs. He called a couple of acquaintances to join him. Lol the guy who declined!
Kinda nice that someone else, the founder of Mesa Vista no less, cleaned up after him.
Carl waited.. and waited... as the twelve-hour limit before he'd inevitably be run off the lot fast approached.
While the customers, including a faked-out Nemo, dithered over the ticket machine, like they had alllll the time in the world. Well, to heck with that!
Carl pulled the dandy Bust A Move out of his repertoire and made a quick friend of Nikki Zhang.
"Okay, Carl, time's up."
"Next week though, right?" Zach called as Carl took his leave.
"Uh, sure. I guess."
One new friend, the cell phones, plus some new contacts - all in all a good 12 hours. Like the good Homeless Sim that he was, Carl skedaddled on home...
Where he and Gretchen went on the one date per week they were allowed.
"Good luck!"
Level 5!
*tsu!*
"Huh, what was that?"
*tsu!*
"Are you cold? Don't wanna take a chance, better do somethin' 'bout that."
Winter was postponed for a few more days, since I've successfully playtested a child in the winter without any shelter, and the rules allow manipulation of the seasons as long as there is one Summer and Winter in a cycle.
*tsu!*
I've never had a toddler sneeze before, and that's the best picture I could get of him doing it.
Carl needed another friend for his next promotion. Cora Korben seemed an unlikely candidate, but it never hurt to try.
Well... Cora took a real shine to Will, and she stayed.
And stayed.
And stayed.
And stayed.
"You can sleep or whatever, I'll take care of him. I've had a lot of practice with my sister, but she's old now."
Easiest friend ever made!
After ten or so hours, I guess Cora's arms finally gave out.
"That Cora was a stroke of luck, eh? Here, let me tidy you up."
Level 6!
His parents weren't the only ones making strides. Will had reached Level 8 in Charisma so he moved on to Mechanical with the activity table, which builds skill fast. Like he reached 6 or 7 in one day! That ought to be the worst of the skills taken care of before he becomes a child.
New friend Nikki Zhang: "Oh, aren't you the cutest little thing?"
"Can we have him back?"
Okay, enough with monopolizing the toddler! It's cute and all, but it also keeps Will from fulfilling his role in winning the challenge.
"Very well, you make your Daddy proud, hear?"
While Will headed back to work, let's check shopping bags!
Avoiding selling interactions with Gretchen was a bigger success than I thought, though she managed to finagle a bed from Nemo's Slumberland, a baked Alaska from Just Desserts, the celebration junk from Party Palooza seen in the last update, but also nothing from Desert Flower Nursery in the same update. The rest of her inventory was stuff they needed and switched out to use on the lot.
Carl had a networking gift and purchases from Holly Days, Shin's Orient and Meadow's Art Gallery, plus a photo taken at Fast Lane Bowling. Fun!
Here's a cute pic to end the update :)
To sum up, the week was a lot of strategizing and skill grinding (39 points total out of 60 required for the two adults plus 15 for Will), along with a couple of pleasant surprises: Gretchen's snapdragon <3, Cora becoming friends with Will <3, and the activity table's fast skill building. I'm more optimistic about beating the Homeless Challenge, though not entirely confident yet.
Callista's Homeless Challenge rules and her custom Homeless career can be found here:
http://boolprop.net/viewtopic.php?f=218&t=3047
BaCC quick stats:
Playable Sims: 92 (91 + 1 grave) Will born
Sim Multiplier: 35 (no change)
Population: 3220
Thanks for reading and Happy Simming!