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Re: Homeless Sim - Stories

Posted: 09 Nov 2013, 19:19
by Hufflepuff Karen
Rolanda's Dilemma - Day 3

Rolanda had a good day at the CC! Some friends came by to do some wood working and she was able to gather up some more scraps of wood and bent nails, and the CC wood working skills teacher (who also happens to be her friend Charlie) had heard about her problem. As a fire fighter, part of his job is to do inspections for safety issues and he, unfortunately, had been the one who had to file the notification with the city that her housae was unsafe. He feels very badly about this and he talked to her and wondered why she had not come to seek help from her friends. Rolanda told him how embarrassed she was about being taken by the bad contractor and falling for the mortgage fraud (plus not paying attention to her mail for almost a month!)
Charlie offers Rolanda some advice.
Charlie offers Rolanda some advice.
Charlie told her that she could use whatever supplies she needed to make whatever she wanted for the craft sale and that he would keep track of the supplies so that she could pay him back out of her sale proceeds. Charlie also told her that several of his firefighter friends did some contracting work on the side. Since they all work shifts, some of them have picked up skills like plumbing, laying tile, cabinetry and even roofing. He will ask them to help her find a good licensed contractor and some of them might even be able to help her with the smaller repairs for less money. This cheered Rolanda up considerably!

After working all day and well into the night at the CC, Rolanda was very happy with the results of her labors. She made 4 statues of SimTown founder Will Wright, 3 pine oakio dolls, 5 fine sculptures, 4 Sammy Splinter dolls, 5 dragons, 3 weird ornaments, 1 hammer, 1 SimCity replica turbine and even a very fancy Ragtime Runaway doll! Charlie thinks she could sell all of those things for about $3,735!
Going through the mail.
Going through the mail.
Before going to the snow park to grab some food and sleep, she stopped by her house to gather up the mail. Charlie told her to be sure to find all of the violation notices so that they can all be listed on the permit application. She doesn't want to miss any or the fines will keep accumulating on any that she forgets to list under the permit.
Another restless night on the snow park sofa!
Another restless night on the snow park sofa!
Around midnight, she went to the snow park, raided their fridge, cleaned up in the sink and took a nap on the couch, but she was very restless. She finally dozed off, hoping for a successful day at the community craft sale in the park tomorrow.
Rolanda's condemned house - from code enforcement aerial photo archives.  Local haunted house on adjacent lot (gray roof)
Rolanda's condemned house - from code enforcement aerial photo archives. Local haunted house on adjacent lot (gray roof)

Re: Homeless Sim - Stories

Posted: 10 Nov 2013, 15:32
by Hufflepuff Karen
Rolanda's Dilemma - Day 4
On arriving at the park to set up her sale table, Rolanda gets a hug from an old friend, Lee.
On arriving at the park to set up her sale table, Rolanda gets a hug from an old friend, Lee.
It has been a very successful day at the Community's Craft Fair and BBQ / Chili Cookoff! Rolanda is very happy - she sold all of her projects and even has orders for several dolls and dragons (some visitors from another town stopped by - their high school mascot is a dragon, so they were particularly taken with those).
Nearly everybody in town stopped by for the craft fair and BBQ / Chili cookoff!
Nearly everybody in town stopped by for the craft fair and BBQ / Chili cookoff!
After paying Charlie back for the supplies he gave her, paying her usage fees for the CC and for visits to the Snow Park, Rolanda has $4,695 to use toward fixing her house! She's almost half way there!

Many people attended the fair at the park. Nearly every person in town stopped by at some point during the day. The firefighters were a little disconcerted to have to respond to a fire alarm right in the middle of their Barbecuing a truckload of pulled pork, so Charlie asked Rolanda to man the BBQ while they were gone and she was happy to help. They were only gone for a couple of hours, but at least everybody had dinner!
Rolanda takes over for Charlie and finishes his pulled pork BBQ
Rolanda takes over for Charlie and finishes his pulled pork BBQ
As darkness fell, nearly everybody went home. Rolanda stayed in the park to clean up and pack up her empty boxes to use for her next batch of projects. She also didn't want anybody to go home with her, to see her house with the "CONDEMNED" sign on it. As she was leaving, a nice young man, came up to her and said he had been in the park earlier that day, but hadn't really gotten a chance to look around town. He told her he had just moved into town when he was adopted by Mr. Diggory and his name was Cedric. He had been walking around town, visiting different places and saw her in the park.
Cedric comes across Rolanda as she is cleaning up the BBQ and putting out the fire.
Cedric comes across Rolanda as she is cleaning up the BBQ and putting out the fire.
She offered to show him where the snow park was and said they could grab a snack there and he could see all the fun things that he would be able to do there when he wasn't in school. So Cedric walked her to the park. He would love to go snow boarding and was surprised to hear that two famous Olympians live in town. They had a snack together and then Cedric went home. He offered to walk Rolanda home, but she told him that she was tending bar that evening and wasn't going home until later.
Rolanda pretends to tend the bar, so Cedric will go home.
Rolanda pretends to tend the bar, so Cedric will go home.
Rolanda spent another night at the snow park, with plans to spend Sunday at the CC, working to fulfill the orders she received at the fair. Then on Monday, she will go apply for her permit and pay her fines and then she is going to ask Charlie for some names of roofing contractors that his firefighter friends might know. She can't wait until they take the "CONDEMNED" sign off of her house so she can stay there without worrying she will be thrown off the property because it is unsafe. Every time she visits, she is afraid the police or the code enforcement inspector will find her there. She sure doesn't want to end up in jail!

Re: Homeless Sim - Stories

Posted: 13 Nov 2013, 03:34
by Hufflepuff Karen
Rolanda's Dilemma - Day 5

After another night on the Snow Park sofa, Rolanda raided their fridge again, cleaned up in their facilities and headed home to check on her house. Her pile of mail is still there and her pile of dirty clothes. She was surprised to find a cat sleeping in her laundry pile! Not because he was sleeping in her clothes, all cats do that, but because she doesn't own a cat and the only buildings nearby are the art museum and the abandoned house next door (which is supposed to be haunted).

She made friends with the little cat and if he is still there tomorrow, she'll see if he wants to stay there and will try to find a dish at the thrift store and some food (although he might be able to catch some mice). It feels nice to have somebody to talk to.
Well, hello!  Where did you come from?
Well, hello! Where did you come from?
Rolanda went to the CC to start making some things to fill the orders she got from the craft fair, but she had some trouble as one of the wood lathes was apparently down for maintenance or repairs and the one doll she started making did not come out right. She wasted some expensive materials, but she's going to take it apart and use what she can and remake the other parts. While she was waiting to see if somebody was going to come fix the tools, she ran into Charlie's son Arthur, who was there practicing his ballet, so she watched him perform his routine for the upcoming recital. She doesn't know Arthur very well, but he seemed very excited that his Uncle Aberforth and Aunt Rosmerta adopted a little girl that is just his age. He's going to see if she wants to come to the community center and learn ballet or karate.
Rolanda watches Arthur rehearse for the upcoming recital.
Rolanda watches Arthur rehearse for the upcoming recital.
After her not so productive day, she went home to check on the kitty (he was still there and he brought her some "gifts" - a dead mouse and a $5 bill! He may be trying to earn his keep!).

Re: Homeless Sim - Stories

Posted: 13 Nov 2013, 05:52
by SIMazing
Mugsy, Days three through seven:

The next morning, Mugsy decided to go for a walk around town. Maybe he could find out where Mint lived. As he walked, he noticed a familiar vehicle parked In front of somesim's house. It belonged to Joe, a member of a bad group of sims called the Caffeine Gang. Mugsy was just a teenager when he tried to join them. They had been fraudulently collecting ghosts, and claiming to restrain them in containment units. The townsims paid them a lot of money to get rid of the ghosts, and Mugsy wanted in on the plan. Before he ever had his first hunt, some of the other young sims saw the fake ghost hunters opening the units and letting the ghosts out for more chases. This way the gang was always in supply of ghosts to hunt. When Mugsy realized that they were discovered, he hid. But he couldn't stay hidden and was eventually questioned about who was involved. Because he was still a teen, hadn't actually participated with the gang, and was willing to give up all their names, he was let go much sooner than the rest. Lightning Java, the leader, was livid when he learned his plan had been foiled. Mugsy still remembers what he said as he was handcuffed, "We would have gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been for those meddling teenagers!" (Or was that from a TV show? :lol: )

Years later, Lightning Java was still in jail, but Blaze Cappuccino, Joe Macchiato and Serene Espresso had been set free. Mugsy, an adult now, has been on the run ever since that daunting day. He had even sold his ghost hunting equipment in another simtown to a non-profit organization for a measely s100. The last thing he wanted to do was to run into these sims from his past. He stayed at the sidewalk and peeked in the window to see if really was Joe. What he saw shocked him. There was Joe and Mint in an embrace! Coming up the street was Serene. He had to get out of there before getting caught.
Joe & Mint embrace at Mint's house
Joe & Mint embrace at Mint's house
Mugsy hurried back to the shed and tried to come up with a plan. He only stopped once, at a yard sale, and picked up an old radio. He converted it to use as a police scanner. For the next few days, he listened to the scanner (and occasionally a pop tune that would phase in), and kept careful watch over the abandoned lot (which would make a nice hiding place for the caffeine gang if they decided to stay). When he couldn't stand the hunger any longer, Mugsy decided he would have to take a chance run in with one or more of the gang, because he needed some food.

Mugsy got as far as the community center when he saw Joe and Serene driving down the street toward the snow park. He ducked inside the community center, and quickly hid himself upstairs. He watched out the back window to see if they were going to stay. They did. So Mugsy occupied his time by making more wooden art. Every once in a while his stomach would remind him of their mission, and he would peer out the window to see if he could leave yet. As evening came, Mugsy decided that he had to be brave. He left some money and a note on the center's manager's desk for the used materials and consignment arrangement, and a note for Mint.

To Mugsy's surprise, the snow park was empty except for the two old acquaintances. They were having a snowball fight and didn't even notice him going by.
Joe & Serene have a snowball fight
Joe & Serene have a snowball fight
Mugsy ate very quickly, washed up, and then kept lookout for awhile. When the two left, Mugsy warmed himself by the fire and then took a nap in the corner. Although he was heartbroken and wanted someone to talk to, he knew he had to stay hidden as long as possible. The snow park would have to do for the night.
Mugsy makes himself at home
Mugsy makes himself at home

Re: Homeless Sim - Stories

Posted: 13 Nov 2013, 18:43
by Hufflepuff Karen
SIMazing wrote:Mugsy, Days three through seven:
SNIP
To Mugsy's surprise, the snow park was empty except for the two old acquaintances. They were having a snowball fight and didn't even notice him going by. Mugsy ate very quickly, washed up, and then kept lookout for awhile. When the two left, Mugsy warmed himself by the fire and then took a nap in the corner. Although he was heartbroken and wanted someone to talk to, he knew he had to stay hidden as long as possible. The snow park would have to do for the night.
SNOWBALL FIGHT?!?! I didn't even know the Sims could DO that?!!? LOL! Learn something every day - I had to go look at my Snow Park to see if I had the snowball fight! Jeekers, first it took me 2 weeks to notice that you could snowboard as well as toboggan and now I find out my kids could have been having snowball fights! Oh man, I can't wait for my teens and pre-teens to get out of school and go try it out!

Is Mugsy afraid to talk to old friends because he hasn't been able to bathe regularly? Rolanda washes up in the sink at the Snow Park, sometimes she cleans under her fingernails, because wood working all day can make you pretty grimy :) It cuts into her earnings, but she's been visiting every evening - she's been sneezing an awful lot, hope she's not getting sick, but she hides outside when the cleaning crew comes and it's cold! At least she gets a hot meal (or two, if she manages to hide in the bathroom until they lock up the place for the night so she can sleep on the sofa), and it's warm in there.

I love your names - took me a minute to realize they were all "Caffeinated" (I'm not a coffee drinker).

Re: Homeless Sim - Stories

Posted: 13 Nov 2013, 19:40
by SIMazing
Hufflepuff Karen wrote:SNOWBALL FIGHT?!?! I didn't even know the Sims could DO that?!!? LOL! Learn something every day - I had to go look at my Snow Park to see if I had the snowball fight! Jeekers, first it took me 2 weeks to notice that you could snowboard as well as toboggan and now I find out my kids could have been having snowball fights! Oh man, I can't wait for my teens and pre-teens to get out of school and go try it out!
There are actually two places at the snow park to do the snowball fight. Both take two hours. I don't use them very often. In this case, I had a goal to do the snowball fight, so it was perfect timing. :D
Is Mugsy afraid to talk to old friends because he hasn't been able to bathe regularly? Rolanda washes up in the sink at the Snow Park, sometimes she cleans under her fingernails, because wood working all day can make you pretty grimy :) It cuts into her earnings, but she's been visiting every evening - she's been sneezing an awful lot, hope she's not getting sick, but she hides outside when the cleaning crew comes and it's cold! At least she gets a hot meal (or two, if she manages to hide in the bathroom until they lock up the place for the night so she can sleep on the sofa), and it's warm in there.
Mugsy was the snitch who helped the whole gang get caught. He's hiding because he's afraid that they are in town to seek him out for revenge. I hinted at it in the opening paragraph of Day Two. ;)
I love your names - took me a minute to realize they were all "Caffeinated" (I'm not a coffee drinker).
Thanks! My hobo is actually named Mugsy Folgers in my game. I actually removed Lightning Java when one of my couples wanted another baby. To keep the caffeine pouring, I named the baby boy Maxwell House Sanders. He wakes up perky every morning. :lol:

Re: Homeless Sim - Stories

Posted: 13 Nov 2013, 20:23
by Hufflepuff Karen
SIMazing wrote:Thanks! My hobo is actually named Mugsy Folgers in my game. I actually removed Lightning Java when one of my couples wanted another baby. To keep the caffeine pouring, I named the baby boy Maxwell House Sanders. He wakes up perky every morning. :lol:
Ohhhh, noooo, a punster! :lol: Perky Maxwell House! Have you got anybody named Chock Full O'Nuts yet? My aunt used to be the Chock Full O'Nuts Jingle girl on the radio back in the 1940's, stupid song still goes through my head whenever I see it in the store :)

Re: Homeless Sim - Stories

Posted: 14 Nov 2013, 02:24
by Lishws720
A Fairly Happy Ending... If you want to catch Eliana's story from the beginning, it's in Perturbee's original Homeless Challenge thread. Here is the conclusion to her brief saga:

After working diligently for more than a week and a half, Eliana Fioretti has made enough simoleons from her new woodworking hobby to buy the lot at 1 Museum Blvd. Town Hall would only allow her to connect to city electricity and water services if she built additions to the 3x3 shack on the property. With careful planning, she added a 3x3 hallway, a 5x5 bedroom, and a 6x6 kitchen/living area to hook up to city utilities. She was able to buy cabinets and appliances, furniture and bathroom items, and she even found a perfectly fine free TV that someone had left on the curb for garbage day (Progressive TV). With new flooring and walls in place, Eliana is ready to entertain and meet new friends.

As an added bonus, the Museum called and asked her to display some of her more intricate woodworks in a new show. She may just get her artist's job back! She hopes that with a steady job as an artist, and a continuing successful hobby in woodworking, she will be able to pay the back taxes and mortgage owed on her island Neo Tokyo home. No matter what, though, her humble house on Museum Blvd. will serve as a getaway or her permanent home. Her cat, ShaSha, is happy there, and the hall between the bedroom and bath is the cat's little retreat. Most of the grounds around the home are still trees and plants, giving ShaSha plenty of hiding and hunting opportunities. Eliana has learned that even though her world crashed around her, and she thought she would never recover, hard work and a willingness to learn something new has given her a new humble and grateful outlook on life!

Re: Homeless Sim - Stories

Posted: 14 Nov 2013, 19:14
by Hufflepuff Karen
Rolanda's Dilemma - Day 6

Rolanda completely forgot that Monday was Veteran's Day and Town Hall was closed! She spent part of the morning at her home site, spent a little time with her new furry friend and decided to name him "Turner" because her favorite actor, Tom Hanks, was in a movie called Turner & Hooch and she figured, even though Hooch was a dog and Turner was the person, it would be fun for her to be "Turner & Hooch" with her kitty.
Hugging Turner - he's a good kitty, he keeps finding money for her!
Hugging Turner - he's a good kitty, he keeps finding money for her!
Since the Town Hall was closed, she went to the park to see if anybody was there and found some homeless veterans preparing to protest in the park, as part of getting ready to march to the state capital and protest there about the poor state of the Veterans' Affairs offices across the country. They wanted to call attention to their plight on Veteran's Day because it is important to remember to support our troops all the time, and even more so when they come home and are recovering from injuries.

Rolanda understands - too many people take advantage of people who are elderly or sick or injured and make things worse instead of better when they are having problems paying their mortgage or maintaining their house up to safe standards. She even got up on the soap box and Warned Simanity that people need to be nicer to each other and take care of each other and support veterans who are coming home from deployment and help them get back on their feet, rather than putting obstacles in their path. She got so riled up that she ended up staying in the park all night and didn't leave until the veterans got on their buses to head for the march on the capital.
Warning Simanity to Remember our Veterans!
Warning Simanity to Remember our Veterans!
At dawn, she went home and slept on her park bench for a little while - she wasn't even hungry, because she had eaten so many hot dogs and hamburgers that the Veterans were cooking. She also spent a little time goofing off with her Sim Eating Plant - he jokes around and pretends he wants to box with her and then he'll look at his watch and stick his tongue out at her. He seems every interested in Turner and watches his every move.
Do I have mud on my pants?
Do I have mud on my pants?
Rolanda plans to go to Town Hall Tuesday morning, apply for her permit and pay as much of her fines as she can, then go to the community center and try to finish the orders she got from the craft fair on Saturday.

Re: Homeless Sim - Stories

Posted: 14 Nov 2013, 23:03
by Hufflepuff Karen
Lishws720 wrote:After working diligently for more than a week and a half, Eliana Fioretti has made enough simoleons from her new woodworking hobby to buy the lot at 1 Museum Blvd... snip
Glad to hear Eliana's homeless saga has come to a happy ending! Rolanda is still grinding through the red tape with Town Hall, but we're getting there! I think I am more tired than she is - it's hard to keep her motives up when I'm at work and if I put her on a long term carving project, she doesn't make as many things to sell... Hopefully by this weekend - if they grant her permit and she has enough after paying all the fines to hire somebody to make the repairs to her house. She's still short about 2,500 Simoleons to get everything she needs!