Round 5: October 2011 (Autumn)
Narrated by Mei
It's my last year of high school and since I'm not going to the university, I'm finding it harder to stay focused in my classes. My grades are still good, but I'm glad that I can just cruise through my final year of high school.
I'm a little bummed that I'm not going to be going to UCC but dad needs me to start helping on the farm and working full time at the store next year.
Grandma is happy that I will be helping with the family business and is hoping that I'll want to take it over completely when my parents retire. My grandparents have had the store for so many years and they'd be crushed if they had to transfer the business to someone outside of the family.
I definitely want to honor their wishes, so I'll be enrolling at the technical school to get some sales training at the end of the school year.
Xia still has 2 more years of high school but you'd think she was entering college tomorrow. She always has her nose in a book, but she's working hard to get into the
honors program at the university. It'll really help her out when she enters the work force after she graduates.
She'll have no problems getting into college or keeping up with the honors program when she gets there. She loves learning new things and is always either reading up on them or asking someone to teach her.
An is more like I was in primary school. She doesn't mind school or doing her assignments but she waits until the last minute to complete them... like an hour before school starts.
Since Halloween was getting closer, I asked mom if I could throw a costume party. I thought for sure she would say no since she doesn't like having a lot of people around the house but she actually agreed to it. As long as I invited some of An's little friends, I could have the party.
Xia and I drove all over Summit Heights looking for costumes but we ended up just going to the mall. Xia ran into her boyfriend there so I ended up having to shop by myself after that.
To my surprise, the whole family went all out for the party. I don't know where they found their costumes but grandma and grandpa's costumes were my favorite!
They did get a little embarrassing, though, with all their smooching. We're used to them being all over each other but not when we have company over.
Mom and dad didn't help the situation at all, either.
By that point, the party was in full swing and everyone was having a good time.
An's friends had a lot of fun, too. I wasn't sure if they would with so many older kids, but they were off doing their own thing most of the party.
One of the
older girls mostly tried hanging around us older kids. She'll be starting high school next year so I guess she's trying to make some friends before she gets there.
But she has a little attitude on her. If that's her way of trying to make friends, she's not going to have many in high school. I'm glad I won't have to deal with her. I'll be done by the time she gets there.
Spam!
I took a bunch of pics at the Halloween party and here are the rest.
Everyone had a blast, even the dog!
Notes:
-We're starting the round off right away with an ROS. Mei rolled the
Errands ROS but I failed on this one. I didn't take pics on the different lots (ainly because they were full of Maxis blah-ness but also because it was rather boring. You didn't miss anything interesting.
-I think I'm going to redo my trade school. I gave a tour of it over at N99 sometime last year but I built it before I really got the hang of my new storytelling style. The building is a lot smaller and cramped compared to how I would build it now. So it will be hard to get pics in there when I send Mei.
-I finally figured out what I'm going to do with the honors program. I put the details in my
Higher Education post to keep the notes here shorter. In summary, instead of having an honors program in high school
and college like I thought I wanted to do in the Hu's last update, I'll only have it in college. Those in the honors program can start at a higher level in their field than those not in the honors program. I also added the other changes I made to higher education in that post (like minimum skill requirements).
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Question for you all: How do you let your college students get jobs? Do you let them start at the bottom? Start a little higher than entry level? I'm thinking of letting them start at level 3 or higher depending on the career, higher than that if they're in the honors program (or they get first priority if another sim is going for the same job).
It depends on the career. Say, for instance, it's someone who earn a biology degree and wants to be a doctor. If they had steller grades, then I would put them into the career manually; if they had average to below-average grades, then they will have to wait until it comes up on the computer. I would begin them at the Intern position, no matter how good their grades are.
ReplyDeleteSo basically, if they had top grades, they get directly placed into the career (at the lowest level for college education). Others will have to wait until it comes up on the computer. The military career is my only exception. Everyone begins at level one.
Correction: my criminal career also starts at level one.
ReplyDeleteThe party was so much fun, I love how you used those crazy Maxis outfits.
ReplyDeleteFar as jobs, like Laurel Crossing it depends on the career and if they had an internship during school. For instance-Ming Wuu is interning as an accountant, so she'll be offered a full time job there. Benjamin on the other hand wants to play pro ball, so I'll wait until that career comes up since he isn't the "best" player at the "best" athletic school. For the most part my students have internships or some sort of ROTC deal, but I think with Bill I cheated and manually placed him in the lowest level of his career. Hope that makes sense
So did Mei not want to go to college or she didn't get in or you're just not letting her so she can take over the business? I love the contrast between her and Xia - one having trouble listening in class at all and the other with her nose stuck in a book all the time.
ReplyDeleteAnd dammit, I am still so jealous of your high school! ;)
Ha, the smooching gorillas are too funny! And LOL, Alyssa with an attitude? I just won't believe it! :lol The party looked like heaps of fun.
Do you mean how do I let my college graduates enter their careers? I actually don't adjust that at all. Whatever level comes up on the computer, that's the level they start at. I find that it's easy enough for Sims to get promotions once they start working, without me giving them that extra boost.
Oh, and WCIF Mei's outfit? I've never seen that one before.
Thanks for reading and commenting everyone and for your career suggestions!
ReplyDeleteLaurelCrossing, thanks for the info. I was thinking of doing something like what you're doing with your sims. That's a good way to get some variety in job levels. And I agree with criminal and military starting at level 1.
Starr, the party was fun for them (they had more fun than I did lol). It was nice to finally put those Maxis outfits to use for once. I was a little disappointed in the lack of outfits for teenaged boys, though. Every other age had plenty of silly outfits except them. I had to do some shopping, which I wasn't too disappointed about ;).
Good point about the internships. I haven't thought much about internships yet except for doctors, teachers (student teaching) and architects (as an apprentice), so I'll have to think about adding those for other careers. Thanks for the info!
Carla, Mei would have the want to go to college one day and then it'd roll away the next. So I don't think she was really sure what she wanted. But her LTW is to own 5 top businesses, so she really doesn't need to go to college for that. And yea, she and Xia are very different when it comes to school and studying and I like the contrast, too. It's a little surprising, though, because Mei's the serious one of the 2, but she's a Popularity sim. An's most likely going to be just like Mei when she ages up.
LOL, thanks again for the compliments on my school! I hope to work on it a little more tomorrow.
I really loved seeing the grandparents smooching in their gorilla costumes lol. And dancing. Ping's got some moves for a 70 year old... or maybe her back gave out. Ha, Alyssa with an attitude. Who would've guessed? :)
Yea, I was wondering if you all let them look on the computer (which usually starts them at a higher level), in the newspaper, or if you just use a cheat to get them into their career. I'll probably just decide on a sim-by-sim basis. Thanks for the info!
Mei's outfit was made by krehata at MTS. http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=371747 :)
Oh, if you all read my Higher Education post earlier today, I forgot to add that I made 2 "requirements" to remain in the honors program at the university to add a little challenge, if you're interested. Those requirements are: Must maintain a B+ average
ReplyDeleteMust submit a thesis (write a novel) by the end of the first semester senior year.
I love the Halloween costumes! I just started doing my rounds by months instead of seasons so hopefully I'll get to do fun stuff like that soon :). As far as job placement, it depends on the career and their grades. If they graduate with honors, they get placed in their career field right out of college. I have different degree requirements for different levels so it just depends on the requirements for that career when it comes to what level they start out.
ReplyDeleteMizzgin, thanks for commenting! I started doing my updates by months last round but I stupidly didn't even think to do holidays lol. But the Halloween party was different and fun and I look forward to doing more holidays. :)
ReplyDeleteI think there are a few bloggers who do as you do with students who graduate with honors which got me thinking about how I should do it. Seems like a lot of you take the actual career into consideration which was the way I was starting to go. Thanks for the info!
Party looks fun! Lol at the grandparents' costumes!
ReplyDeleteBtw, I have a new blog but I'll continue following you and hopefully you'll come and visit! :)
I loved that halloween party! And seeing yours makes me realize I didn't have halloween in SimsVille :) I didn't grow up with it, so it's easy to forget for me :) I don't think I will be adding halloween soon though!
ReplyDeleteAnyway back to the party ... Every one seemed to have had a great time, and it was nice have different ages at one party.
University isn't for every one, the fact that the want rolled away that fast maybe was a clue that she didn't felt the need to go.
I'm looking forward to seeing Mei as an adult, and what will become of her :)
It's 5AM here, and I just now realise that I haven't answered your question.
ReplyDeleteSo here goes :)
I just let my sims looks for a job on the computer or in the newspaper and when they haven't found one the next round I play them I'll cheat them into the career they want, but I don't adjust the lever they are in.
Diana, thanks for commenting! They had a great time and I loved seeing the grandparents in their gorilla costumes lol. Thanks for letting me know about your new blog!
ReplyDeleteTanja, thanks for commenting and letting me know how you do your careers! Yes, I remember reading that Halloween isn’t very big (or big at all) in other parts of the world. So it would be easy to forget something you’re not used to yourself. I don’t know if you played Sims 1 but you could always have a plain ol’ costume party like they could with the costume trunk that came with House Party. That was always fun. Anything to get use out of those silly outfits until there’s a suitable default replacement :).
I bet Mei would have had a lot of fun in college but like you said, it’s not for everyone. And I bet she was also torn since she knows her family needs her around to help out with the business. She can’t give them 100% if she has class to go to and assignments and term papers to do. I’m excited to see how she will be as an adult, too! :)
A costumed party is the best way to use those silly EA outfits! *lol* What a nice party it was! Your Sims seemed to have a lot of fun withit! :)
ReplyDeleteSandy, thanks for reading and commenting! I think this was the first time I've ever used those silly outfits and it won't be the last lol. There certainly a lot of them! But the sims had fun and I had fun dressing them up, so look out for more costume parties in the future :).
ReplyDeleteWhat a great Halloween party! I wish I got to more themed things in my slow moving hood.
ReplyDeleteI feel for Mei and not getting to go to college. She could have gotten a Business degree and still take over the family store.
HC, thanks for reading and commenting! Glad you enjoyed the Halloween party. It took me forever to incorporate real holidays into my game (I’ve been playing TS2 since it came out in ’04 and I’m just now doing holidays!) but I’m glad I started. It can give you something fun to focus on if the family isn’t doing anything particularly interesting :).
ReplyDeleteI feel bad for Mei, too, especially after I aged her up the other day. She started crying because she didn’t go to college :\. I struggled for a while with the decision to send her or not to. If it was another sim, they might have gone, but every sim and their situation is different. I can see her getting her business smarts from her parents and grandparents since they have done it for so many years. For her sister Xia, who wants to be an architect, none of her family members have any expertise in it, so she’ll have to get a formal education. So I think it'll work out ok for Mei in the end.