Here I Go Again

Heh, warning, it's been awhile since I've bothered to blog about anything so you might want to grab a snack for this one.

So... who's Katy Perry? I'm not that old, but she really doesn't trip any triggers for me. Other than hearing the name, I really have no clue, nor care, who she is, what she does, how she dresses, or who wants to date her. Really. Don't care. Actually, there isn't any actor/actress, singer/songwriter, etc that EA could theme an EP after that would get more than a "hmph" from me. Yeah, I can be a wet noodle sometimes but c'mon EA, do your own thing. Basically what the Katy Perry theme news says to me is "We here at EA predict that the upcoming Showtime EP will suck so horribly that we felt we needed to try an emergency tactic of glazing over the suckiness by offering tacky, real-world, charmless content in hopes nobody will notice how little we actually put into this ourselves."

So yeah, color me unamused. I've got my copy pre-ordered, as usual, but there just isn't anything in this one for me. However, if you miss an EP, your game does odd things, doesn't work right, and their patches do nothing but make it worse. For my son, skipping EPs has resulted in his game becoming a bonfire you can see from space. The only way to fix it was to get all the EPs. So, Showtime is ordered for patching and compatibility purposes. Woo. Because really, we all want an EP with crap in it that is really leftover, unfinished crap that should've been in the Late Night EP, and probably Ambitions. The celebrity thing never made sense to me anyway because there isn't anything for our sims to really do that's impressive or worth being a celebrity for. Oh, you go to work every day. Yay for you! That justifies stalker fans and a butler. Better put that huge, ugly gate out there with a spikey fence around the entire perimeter of that little plot you call home because them big baddies are out there to steal your fame and fortune. You wild and crazy gravedigger, you. Or the bookstore clerk, spa specialist, wacky stylist downtown, whatever. I guess you could be in the "acting" thing but noone ever sees you on their TV. Heck no! The Sims 2 is MUCH more interesting to watch than what your sims of today actually do in their own jobs and lives. But now, with the Showtime EP, we can actually make our sims do celebrity-worthy activities that will still interest noone. At least that "go down in flames" option will go unnoticed.

And for the life of me, wait, let me get into character here... ahem...lalalalalalala... Maker's breath! Why can't EA get someone to write the details for the new Showtime EP that didn't write the publicity nonsense for Dragon Age II? By Andraste's flaming sword, people out there are ready to kill for jobs and they have the nerve to recycle marketing tripe for one of their other games, which, by the way, was also a huge failure. Honestly! You sons of a tied down... sod it... nug's uncle... cheaper than an Antivan whore... standing there, wide-eyed, like a brainless calf... and don't you forget that swooping is bad!

Ok, I'm done. Not blogging, just ranting, about that, I think. And pretty much all of that is from DA Origins because DA2 had nothing going for it. The underwear in Origins was even better. So were the sex scenes. What the heck do they think we play these games for? To get the good stuff our real lives lack. Life is always better if you make it up. Jeez, where did these people go to school at, a cloister?

Ok, ok, I'll stop. For a little while. On another note, I have been doing new lots but have just lacked the ambition to upload them here. I just don't feel like resizing all my screenshots to the new requirements and heck, I don't even feel like going in and scrolling around my lots to get the shots. I dunno. Something just isn't there for me to care. Nice lots though. Shame I'm too lazy, er, busy with real world activities, to share.

Now onto my gameplay review (rant). I've been saving up for you folks. Actually, I just haven't been much for communicating with the world the last few months and now that my foot is finally healed (12 very long, miserable weeks), my blood remains unclotted, and my life is again back in my own hands (although I'm sure lightning will strike me now that I've written this) I can get back to finding a job or getting my business up and running. I'm so out of the loop though so I have a lot of catchup yet to do and I was in the process of organizing my office for a new career when my foot snapped too, so I have to finish that. Really, I was on the verge of greatness when I was smited by fate, again. I am still simming, but it's starting to be restricted because of real life. Argh *shakes fist at real life*! But anyway, let me ramble on about my game for a bit and I'll be happy.

So, Pets, how's it hangin'? Scratch that. Um, so...anyone strike a heroic pose lately? Yep, I can. Well, my sim can, with his trusty steed. I've decided my horseman is really just a horse pimp. Yeah buddy. Putting that stallion up for stud. But seriously, why is there such a long waiting period? Animals can have sex all day long, just like everybody else. Sheesh. I'm really surprised there isn't bush sex, pond sex, garage sex, under the back porch sex for animals. They just do it anywhere. Just watch National Geographic episodes. Oh, that might date me. Well we did when I was a chitlun! This nonsense needing a special "house" or place for them is just... well... nonsense! My parents get a fresh litter of kittens in their alley a few times a year and it's not because Ma and Pa cat were committed and romantic one night. Sheesh. Fairytales. Our sims don't need a special place, really. I mean, it's just plain common sense to do it in the treehouse, where your innocent children have feasts and dream of knights on white horses. Or in a haystack the horse regurgitated in. Or in bed, anyone's bed, even the neighbor's. And everyone loves good clean fun in the hot tub and shower! Don't mind that it's a public shower, in the local gym, at 2 a.m. And now we know what that smell is in the elevator at the apartment complex down the street.

I want to know, has anyone at EA ever had a cat? Because we've all been told cats own people, we don't own cats. This is true. Cats could give a crap less. They sit on you when they want to sit on you, where they want to sit on you, and when they want to sit on you. Cats don't need social. If they want it, they come and get it. Social to a cat is rubbing on your legs when you come home from work. They don't need much. If they do they let you know by plopping on your hands as you try to type that last email of the night, or chase the lasers across your monitor when you're online with the guys playing some mindless shooter, or jumping out from behind the shower curtain for a funny surprise when you're taking a poo on the loo. But basically they'd prefer to spend their time snoozing in the sunbeams from the window, which sim cats do not. And where's the "play with litter" interaction? Hmmm...? What cat doesn't play with its own turds caked in litter? And where's the catnip toys? And why can't cats sleep on your sim's head? Don't your cats sleep on your head? My son's cat sits on his face when he wants to wake him up. We are their pets. Resistance is futile. Why don't they sleep on top the TV? Attack the stereo? Or play in the kitchen sink? I just don't see sim cats doing the wacky stuff real cats do. They're kind of boring. But much better than the dogs. The dogs are plain stupid. They make better rocks than dogs. Mostly what mine do are block the routing of my sim. Either by sleeping in front of the fridge, standing in a doorway glassy-eyed, tail wagging, or following so close they merge with the sim as fur slippers that impede progress totally. Or the best is when I tell them to guard the house and they dutifully watch the burglar break in, wake the family, and then when the cops show up, they bark wildly and watch the fight. So much for a guard dog. Doggie, bite the bad man. He's wearing black with stripes. That's bad. And he thinks he's a racoon, those are also bad. Bite the bad doggie, bite the bad.

Horses aren't too annoying. They require little care and pretty much amuse themselves with that horrid ball. The happy horse ball? Are you serious? I have my sim winning races and putting him up for stud to make money. Not a bad racket. Pretty leisurely. If I wanted to bother with babies I guess I could get him a mare and do that too. I'm not really a horse person so I don't get too into it. I just wanted to try the new profession. I like my sims to do stuff from home. They lead happier lives working from home. I do know that sim horses are way LESS work than real ones. If you have horses they're your life. I can't say I've ever seen my aunt's playing with a giant ball though. She has other crap they'll kick around. They usually enjoy kicking their owners over playing with tin cups or balls. It would be kind of cool if EA would add a buggy to the game. Then our sims could take the whole family out for a stroll. The eco-friendly sims would love that. And notice that gardeners can use horse manure but that there is actually no manure in the game. I guess all those heaping piles of steaming waste would be unsightly. Maybe that would be too real for EA. Because we all know sex in the shower, bed, or tent never happens. Ah, fairytale dreams.

Woohoo makes the world go 'round.

Home Again

Aaahhh...there's no place like home. Truly. I am home again. My parents moved me back about a week ago. You'd think they could let go of their baby but no, neither one wanted to move me back. It's nice to be loved but really, I'm 37 and a mom myself. I need my space and privacy.

So it's been good being home. I missed my bed a lot. I have a lot of stairs in my townhouse so that's been a challenge with a broken foot. I'm not fully recovered from the whole blood clot thing either. I get winded going up the stairs. I'm lugging a huge walking boot on my foot though and that isn't light. But, all in all, I'm doing pretty well. I'm walking on my own now with the boot instead of hobbling around like an old lady with a walker and crutches. A few more weeks and I can wear regular shoes and start driving. I broke my right foot so it's been so frustrating asking people to run errands and stuff for me. I've always been overly independent so something like this is just killing me. I hate asking for help.

I'm still spending time with my sims. No holiday stuff for them. Kind of pointless without seasons, which, by the way, was one of my favorite things about Sims 2. Autumn is my favorite season and my sims lived it every day. The heck with summer and winter is such a drag. C'mon, I live in Illinois. We don't have nice winters here. Like I really want to see that crap in my game too. I do wish the gift giving was more involved in Sims 3. One sim pulls a box with a bow out of his butt and gives it to another sim that holds it, says thanks, then tucks it in their butt. You could give them vomit and they'd be happy. What's it matter what's inside? They never open it. I basically use it to pass stuff back and forth between sims. It's seems extra loving that way. *cough*

I've decided I'm deleting the stupid imaginary friend dolls from now on. Ugly things. And they cancel my sims queue all the time to pillow fight. I just want them to go away. I have a household with 6 kids in it. Four have the dumb dolls that are now walking sacks of s**t. I'll just make them real when the kids move out and kill them off or something. They have horrible traits and I bet if you make them real they're fugly as well. I'd have to cheat and take them into CAS and edit everything to make it tolerable. One kid has a particularly mean one. It stalks the house, waiting to pounce on him from behind to scare the living daylights out of him. What kind of friend is that? That one is dying an ugly death. I think fire will do nicely. Or a long, agonizing stent of starvation in the garden. He can be fertilizer. Probably kill my plants though.

Oh, and here's something I've been wondering. Why did EA make the new dishwasher that matches the new cowboy cabinets the crappy cheap one? I have a lovely kitchen that my sims can't stand to be in because of that thing. It looks gorgeous! But that dishwasher. They all have to pile in and complain about the noise. Thank you all, just leave the room. Leave. The. Room. Don't you think those cabinets are classy enough that the matching dishwasher should be a really nice, QUIET one? Ugh.

OK, well I suppose I should shut up about my sim pet peeves and go do something constructive with my life, like laundry. It's so nice to be home.

Going Home

I thought I should post an update for you all. I'm still at my parents' hobbling around on my broken foot and recovering from my massive blood clot episode. But I go in for a followup tomorrow on my foot and maybe I'll be able to start walking on it with one of those ugly boot things. I plan to return home this coming weekend once all the Turkey Day festivities have died down. I can't wait. I miss my bed, my TV, my food, my bathroom, my privacy... everything. With that will come a return to devoting time to my business so that will be less time for sims. I've been having a blast over this time period with the game though.

Some odd things I've noticed that scream "PATCH ME" are pets sending wedding gifts. That's just creepy. And my sims happily write them thank you notes back. What? You can't just walk over and pet the dog to say "thanks"? Do animals shop online? Maybe that's why horses run amok all over town. They're doing wedding shopping. Ah, makes perfect sense now.

Does the imaginary friend thing creep anyone else out? I'm sorry. It's got "Chuckie" written all over it. It's a bit odd when they're a teen size sack of crap standing there whining about playing this that and the other thing. And they have bad traits. Like kleptomaniac. Wonderful. Just what I need. Imaginary thieves. The burglar comes to my lots nightly the way it is. I guess they think it's Walmart or something. The guy gets beat up thoroughly every night by the cop, the butler, or the brave homeowner. Not to mention the dog chasing him around and the horse coming out stamping his feet too. Sheesh. Get a clue buddy. You're NOT going to get away with it.

Does anything bad happen if you just delete the stupid dolls? I have a household with six kids and 4 of them have annoying imaginary friends that have the wonderful talent for cancelling EVERYTHING in their queue repeatedly so they can have pillow fights. STOP IT! I want them dead. All of them. I'd hate to scar the kids by deleting their buddies but they're annoying. I hate them. Who's stupid idea was that anyway? We all need more disturbed children in our lives. Really. My sims take great pride in knowing all their kids are insane and talk to themselves and pantomime different activities. It's even better when the kids skip school because the stupid "friend" cancelled their queue.

Does every kid get one of those dumb dolls? One of my households has six kids and two never got one. My other household has two kids and one didn't get one. I really don't want any of my kids getting them. It's stupid. Get a real friend, not some make believe pile of crap from a Disney nightmare. And I love their names. Boinky, Buddy, Pal, Wiggles, Hesper, Patches, Peaches and Lord knows what else has come in my mailbox. And every one has looked different. Amazing. So much time and effort put into such an annoying addition to the game. Someone at EA needs to be shot. It's as much fun as the pranking in Sims 2 that ruined every relationship I ever built. I'm not a big hack user but I did have to get the one that removed that so my sims could live normal, happy lives instead of having flaming thought balloons of every sim they encountered. How many people carry around an endless supply of water balloons anyway? Who even carries ONE around? If you stick it in your pocket and it breaks you look like you peed your pants. Not cool.

Um, anyway, things are moving along for me as far as recovery is concerned. I'm spending my obscene amount of freetime playing Sims and Rift. The violent side of me needs to be nurtured too.

I'm Terrible, I Know

OK, I'm just gonna get this out there because I'm still laughing from my visit to EA's site this morning. New kids' clothes. I'm not sure where in the world kids dress like that (probably California or New York) but it ain't happenin' here in the Midwest. Yes we're boring but people do stick with the trends, they just don't go weird. The new clothes for kids at the official site are weird. I think they should've named it Lil Hoodlums and Harlots. What is with the jacket crap?! We wear jackets here for warmth because we have seasons. They're not a fashion statement. They're bulky, cumbersome, often noisy depending what they're made of, and downright unnecessary if it ain't raining, snowing, or freezing out. Maybe because we do have seasons here in Illinois, when the weather lets us strip off the layers we do. We don't layer year-round. We don't wear 3 shirts to be "cool". We don't wear legwarmers. Legwarmers? My mother made me wear those in the 80s and it's only because I walked to school both ways, uphill, in winter. They were for warmth, not some sick fashionista's fantasy. T-shirts and jeans folks. And sneakers. I dunno, maybe I'm just old and stupid but I play my game for fun and a creative outlet, not to see my sims wearing ridiculous clothes nobody in their right mind would consider. You folks on the coast make Japan fads look tame. Sheesh.

Sorry, just had to get that out. I'm still giggling from the obsurdity. I've never been a fan of atomic age stuff either. That's another set at the site for November. I don't like it when it's free let alone something I'm expected to pay for. I watched the Jetsons and ya know, that's where it stayed. With Astro and his automated dog-walker and Jane with her weird hair and way wide skirts. I don't see the charm in melting furniture and adding rings to everything. Eck!

So on to some more Pets fun and frivolity because I know you guys come here to giggle. I get enough PMs to know that. Horses. I've dabbled in horses lately. I made a sim with a trusty steed and loyal mutt. I made Artax from The Neverending Story. I liked that horse and it's a crime in had to die in the mud with nothing but a scrawny brat screaming at him for a farewell. Ah, Artax. So I have Artax and a border collie. Still not a dog fan but at least I like the way those look. Don't know why I'm shying away from cats right now. I've had cats all my life so maybe I'm saving the best for last. Anyway, horses. Um, have any of you given them a horse ball to play with? It's HUGE! And my horse, and I'm sure all horses, does this weird, um, well... retarded thing on it. I took some screenies because I laughed so hard when I saw it but didn't upload them here. Long story, don't feel like telling it. The horse just sort of lays on the thing. Like it's dead or suddenly had a seizure and is unconscious. I swear I can almost see the drool running down the ball from the horse's mouth. It's really disturbing. Buy a horse ball and watch your stallion suddenly become impaired. It's worth a giggle or two.

Something I did notice, and it's really hard not to, is my pets are smart. Yes, they are, for the most part, considering they are still pets. So far I've only meddled with the premade in-game animals. They're incredibly stupid and messed up. My horse taught himself the jumping skill and the racing skill, puts himself in the barn for the night, pees where he's supposed to without training, and is generally a non-issue. Except now he's getting into my garden and I have to scold him. All my sim really has to do is fix the hygiene now and then. And learn to ride. He is such a sad, sorry sight right now. What a dork. My dog taught himself the non-destructive trait. I really didn't do much reinforcing. A message just popped up one day that he learned it. Wow, nice. He brings my sim the paper every day, sleeps in his doghouse without being directed, and doesn't do anything with his pee and has always peed where proper without direction. No drinking the pee. No playing in the pee. He doesn't even play in the horse's pee. And, I just have to mention this. The horse's get a censor when they pee? I... really don't know how to take that. The dogs don't, male or female. Yep, Rex just lifts his leg and wizzes. No censor. But my horse stands there and just goes, in a censor blur. It's a horse. What is the big deal? Is there really something there EA? Shame on you if there is. This is Barbie World ya know! What are ya doin'?! Rotting our kids' minds with unfit visions of horse paraphenalia? I'm shocked and appauled. Not really, just wanted to be stupid.

Oh, one last thing. Ben Schmidt for cute babies and Gavin Pinkerton for EXTREME FEATURES!

Holding Off

The whole Pets thing has me holding off on submitting. I think about everything I have for CC is fixed now. I think I'm still waiting on some beds but otherwise it's looking good.

I've taken some time to fiddle with the Pets EP. OK, one observation... do the puppies really have to play in the pee immediately after Mom or Dad goes? Really? I guess maybe they like it while it's still warm. Damn those puppies though. Can't take your eye of them for a minute or they're splashing in pee puddles. Honestly. Disgusting. And isn't it a bit odd to have six wild horses grazing in your back yard in the middle of town? Not shy at all I guess. And does everyone trip over sleeping raccoons? I mean my sims can't take a stroll through the park without coming across one sleeping in the grass for all the world to see. They don't even hide. Sheesh. And they just sort of spontaneously nap by my mailboxes. Waiting for a package are we? I know there are sims in Appaloosa that own cats yet they never go to the cat park. Well, I have seen their cats there outside the fence mewing to get in. Pining away for that scratching post in the corner. There are usually just random, petless sims, hanging about reading books. Really? You have the urge to read in an empty cat jungle? Seriously? There's absolutely no better smelling place you'd rather be? Ugh. And I want to know, is it just me, or are the dogs incredibly stupid. I mean stupid to the 10th degree. They drink their pee, they chew constantly even as adults and they'll be damned if they'll use the chew toy. No, there's a perfectly good baby crib over there to gnaw on. How rude. They sleep everywhere they shouldn't. Like... right in front of the fridge so nobody can get to it and all my sims pile in on top of each other to complain about it. Just kick the stupid mutt people. Or, I mean, gently carress it awake, give it a smoochie, and then pat in on the rear to send it to the other room. I'm not a dog lover by far but these EA dogs seem really, really, really dumb. And once they're trained and have solid good behaviors they still do the same old stupid stuff. A dog learns the non-destructive trait yet continues to gnaw on the nightstand, dresser, couch, newspaper, and what not. Um... o...K... I can give them the best behavior reward and they still piss all over the house even though they've been trained to go outside. And guard the house. Sure puppy. My dog always gets that want and I have it do it at night. Oh yeah, it growls at every imaginary baddy but lets the raccoon raid the garbage can right NEXT to where the dog stands. Good doggie. You've proven totally useless. I'm so glad I've investing so much time training you. Woof. And why won't they bite the paparazzi? They're annoying. They hang out on my deck talking to themselves. Do you guys have the doggy gnomes? I have a house with a bunch of them loitering all over the place. I'm tripping over them too. Poof! One more. Poof! Another one over there. What is amusing is how they spook the actual dogs in the house. LOL I love that.

Obviously I've tinkered most with dogs so far but I'm watching the cats in town. I don't get the horses. Who let's their horse out to go downtown? They're always running around without anyone on them. Like they want to go to the spa or pick up a rubber duckie. Doesn't anyone in Appaloose have something called... a fence? Just as thought. Damn. It's bad enough I have herds of wild horses and frolicing fawns running through my yards and leaping over my parked cars. What friendly wildlife we have. If my brother was a sim we'd be having bambi for breakfast and plenty of glue for the school. Hmph. I did pick up a cute goldenfinch and stick it in a cage. It was happy and sang nice. My sim liked to play with it. It gave the maid something to clean.

Oh, speaking of maids. Seymore Cole. I was really disappointed this wasn't Seymore Butz or something more humorous. I get him or Bea Bright. Well, if she was so bright I don't think she'd be a maid. She came to a party my sim threw once and she was dressed really... interesting. Also, on one of my jaunts downtown for my staple rubber ducky I bumped into a chick on her horse in her raunchy undies and thigh high stockings. Nice. Oh right, this is a family friendly children's game. Silly me.

I did treehouse woohoo and got splinters... and triplets. Bad treehouse, bad. I did haystack woohoo and was so annoyed by the country hodown that I'll never do that again. How painful is it anyway? Hay. Has anyone tried this in real life? Splinters are nothing to having hay stuck up your butt and... other... orifices. My vote is for shower sex. At least you come out clean, like nothing happened. I'm all for less laundry, even though my sims don't do laundry. Why would I want to do real life chores in a game? What sort of sadistic madman wants to make their virtual people do laundry? Mwhahahahahahaha, just wait until the lawnmower comes out my pretty! Just kill them if you're that way. It's kinder. These are the same people that enjoy shoveling snow, washing dishes, and waxing their car with their tongue. Wax on, wax off! Ew.

Um, anyway, I'm having fun exploring the fuzzy side of sims and I'm so glad my sims aren't wolfing out this time around. Back hair is so uncool. Nasty. Well, back hair, butt hair, stomach hair, forehead hair...

Worse for Wear

I don't even know where to start. I'm on day 10 of an unexpected hospital stay. Absolutely going stir crazy. Well enough to go home but have to stay until blood thinners get to an acceptable level for the doctor. Gah!

Here's the skinny. I broke my foot Sept 26. That turned into being on my butt and hopping around the house on one foot. I moved in with my parents so I'd have some help as living alone wasn't working out so well. After a week there I end up unconscious on the bathroom floor. I could barely breathe and was in shock. 911 and an ambulance ride later and I'm in ER fighting for my life. I know, so dramatic. Turns out several blood clots went through my heart and into my lungs. Usually it stops at the heart for most people. It's not common to live through it. My right leg, the one with the broken foot, has a huge clot the length of my leg. I can breathe again, I'm on oxygen and blood thinners, and I'm hobbling around with my bad foot. All in all, I'm doing pretty well.

After 10 days in the hospital and much whining from me, my family finally decided to give me my laptop. Bless their hearts. I'm catching up with emails and other stuff. I'm not sure when I'm going home. I did a lot before going into the hospital but never got the screenshots and stuff done to upload it before the epic event. So that is sitting on my desktop for now. Once I get home I can get back to my games and recovery. It will be a long one.

I just thought I'd check in to let everyone know why I've been absent. My copy of Pets is due to be delivered today so that will mess a lot of stuff up. Ah well. It wouldn't be a Pets EP if it didn't totally screw over every piece of CC for everyone. I've never been an advocate of the Pets EPs. Aside from screwing up every object ever made, it usually just ushers in more unwanted lag. Yeah, a cat is nice, but I can live without it. I get the EP for all the cool stuff included with it. Pets are just another household object to me. I know, so cold. Well, if they didn't cause all sorts of problems and lag I'd feel a bit differently. This EP always causes so many problems. Once they're cleared up everything is fine again, but it's the community-wide frustration and fuss that makes me sad. It really shouldn't be that hard. EA loves to cause problems. And why they just don't include the furry critters in the base game to eliminate this mess later eludes me. The months/years of whining from pro-pet community members is enough to kill enthusiasm for the game. It's all about money. Charge more for the base game then. I don't care. Just get it right the first time for a change.

That's enough grumpiness from me. I'm stuck for now but hope to be home soon. I'll have the time to do some new lots I suspect.

 

Woe is me!

What an awful week. Just awful. I broke my foot on Monday and have been miserable. Went to an orthopedist Friday and any hope I did have of a quick recovery were dashed. Wouldn't you know, I break my foot in the worst spot possible and it's going to take longer than the typical 6 weeks to heal, IF, if it heals at all. WHAT? Yeah, I'll get a screw in my foot if it doesn't heal. And now, since I live alone and in a townhouse with multiple floors, I'm back home with my parents for awhile. Thankfully they have a huge house (my childhood home) and are retired so they have all the energy and time in the world to dote over their youngest daughter. It's just been awful trying to get around. It's my right foot so I can't drive. I have to stay totally off of it so it's a hassle getting anywhere. Ugh. The good news is I'm forced to stay on my butt and have a lot of freetime on my hands. I haven't been able to get at my computers since the incident but now that I'm at my parents and I have my computer and a nifty wifi card to entertain myself again. I had started a new lot before I broke my foot. Now I can get back to it. So far it's looking like another TSRAA attempt and it's coming along nicely. I think. If I remember right. Doh. You know, it's times like this that you learn you can really only count on family. I've always depended on me and only me and it kills me to ask for help. Honestly, I have no choice now. I'm thankful I have some place to go to help this long recovery go better.

New Avatar

I thought my avatar needed an update. It's a shot of my self-sim in shock because Jared Frio had the nerve to give her flowers after speaking to her once. He was deflated by her reaction. LOL Apparently my self-sim is quite happy being alone and neglected. I thought it was funny so I made it my avatar for now. It's also my Facebook profile image.

I am on Facebook and Twitter now. Ugh. I'm not a terribly social person so I never did anything with social networking sites. But, it's been fun and I reconnected with a bunch of my old sim pals. Now we play Sims Social together. I'm the newbie so they're all WAY ahead of me. LOL My internet has been really sketchy for the last week or so too. It works for about 20 minutes and then is dead for hours. *sigh* I don't even want to talk about Comcast.

I'm also putting a lot of time in on my business. I'm not doing business yet but I'm working on a website, writing some stuff, and making some phone calls. Plenty of internet research too. Illinois is such a stupid state. Don't move here. Don't even come visit. The stupid may rub off and the world doesn't need any more Illinois stupid running amok and breeding.

That's all I have to report right now. I better go do a few more things online before my connection dies again.

TSRAA Lot

Here I am again! My latest lot is due out tomorrow. I'm really excited about this one. It's my first and probably my only lot using TSRAA content. I tried to keep track as I worked on it so I wouldn't forget to credit anyone. Hopefully I didn't miss anyone. There's also some store content in there too. Rowen seemed to be well received so I thought it wouldn't hurt. I say this might be my only lot utilizing TSRAA content because in my sorting of my CC I've come across some stuff from non-TSRAA artists. I hate to lose it because it's stuff I frequently use. But it kind of makes it harder to keep track of "safe" content and stuff I have to go track an artist down for permission. A hassle to say the least.

Garahel is a renovation of my Ayesleigh lot. I don't know if any of you remember, ages ago, I said I wanted to do a better version of it and put my spin on the architect's design. I never had time until now. Being unemployed is wonderful, even if it keeps me up at night worrying about money. I recently had to gut my game because, well, I don't know why. It just refused to work one day. Huh, worked just fine the day before. Anyway, I dumped my folder, generated a new one, and started adding back CC. That's when I decided to do a TSRAA lot because I had to reinstall all my CC anyway. Garahel would've been up sooner but I had a real bear of a time getting it uploaded. It just wouldn't go. I tried for days and finally it went yesterday. Sheesh. So it's a little delayed. I think I fixed everything I didn't like about the original. Some stuff just bugged me. Especially the roof. I altered some walls and gutted the entire upstairs so I could redo the roof again. I think this version is much better. A better roof, a little more room upstairs, a basement, lots of landscaping (which I usually don't do a lot of since I like stuff very simple and uncluttered), huge pool, reworked the master suite, and many little other tweaks to get it just right. I'm still not sure if I'm game for my orange master suite but I stared at it a lot and nothing screamed "redo me I'm gawdy". So orange it stayed.

I don't have plans for anything new yet. I'm still sorting stuff in my office from back when I moved. Always the last room to be done. I haven't found my house plans and written ideas yet. I might just go looking for inspiration online. So much paper to go through. And I hate doing it. I'll spend days sitting on the floor going through this stuff. Yuck.

I put my sim into the game and plan to collect some screenies. Maybe I'll update the look of my minisite with new graphics. Dunno. I do like the cookies. They make me drool. I'll leave you with that thought.

Winds of Change

So... been awhile since I've had a presence on here. Mostly because the last several times I tried to update my blog my post got eaten by the techno monster out there or something. I gave up for awhile.

You might notice that I have another lot coming out soon. Yeah, believe it? Well, I quit my job of 11 years at the end of July so I have some free time right now. I'm not working at the moment. Not sure what I'll do. I hope to make a go as an independent graphic designer. Just trying to get my stuff in order to do it. Anyway, new lot due out the 31st and I'm working on another one.

I was playing RIFT for awhile. That took me away from sims. The summer didn't improve online gaming so I cancelled that sub the other day. It was fun for awhile, until all the kiddies signed on this summer. Now it's just annoying. So I'm happily spending some of my free time getting back into sims. I've got lots on the backburner. Stuff that has been bugging me for a long time and just never had the time or desire to fix the problems. My new lot, Rowen, is a good example of little irritants that finally got stamped out. It's an overhaul of my Teagan and Eamon lots. Just some little stuff I didn't like. It's also my first lot using CC. I used a lot of stuff from The Sims 3 Store. I have it. Why not? It'll just go poof if people don't have the stuff when they install the lot. And, this version is all pumped up with stuff from all the new EPs and stuff packs.

My next lot, or at least the one I'm dinking with right now, will be my first shot at a TSRAA lot. Should be a good lot when I'm done. After that I want to do some new lots. I still don't have my office organized so I have no clue where all my house plans are, but I've got the time now to clean it up so maybe it will get done once I'm tired of being a kid and playing with all my toys.

I'm loving unemployment. Such a nice break. I never took more than a day or two off at a time when I would take some time, but never anything to really get a break or relax. And I haven't been on vacation since I was a kid. I do hope to make it on my own though. I don't relish working for some snot-nosed, spoiled brat, witch again. Or really anyone.

Life sucks. Go play.