Archives/Technology: New Calendar and Blog Schedule

Li Yoo Sweeny

New Calendar
There has been much discussion about a new calendar for Apple Valley. Many residents feel that the #Season-#Simday isn't reflective of the dynamic nature of the hood. Also, some residents are pushing for 2 simday rotations instead of 1 simday rotations. The hood council discussed that if we move to 2-simday rotations, then households will have to wait longer for thier turn and this will throw the publication of the newspaper and other news off.

Right now we require all households to be on the same simday (ie simMonday, Fall Day 2) , but this might change when families start to move into the hood (now requiring that they move in on the start if a season, not simMonday as before).

However, to make sense of the dynamical nature of the hood (who would believe that during the rotation of Doe's home, John Doe has a crush on Jane Smith and they have a successful date, but during the rotation of the Smith home, Jane falls in love with John and they marry-all in the same simday!) Thus we will revive the ancient tradition of SimLonic Calendar.

The SimLonic Calendar
-8 months
-one or more household(s) will be featured each month

Season/Month/Info

Spring/Hapar/Month of Happiness
Spring/Lovar/Month of Love

Summer/ Patar/ Month of Patience
Summer/ Remar/ Month of Remembering

Autumn/ Havar/ Month of Harvesting
Autumn/ Resar/ Month of Resting

Winter/ Givar/ Month of Giving
Winter/ Peacar/ Month of Peace

The new calendar will go into effect immediately (simTuesday) with the year 2000. The only changes will be the dates in the newspaper and website will no longer say simday.

Blog Schedule
Families will not which month they are updating for and blogs will now be updated every 4 days in month order. We will try this rotation and schedule for a while before re-evaluating whether or not to move to one blog for the entire community much like Lakeside Heights.

New Move

The hood council ordained that all families had to move into these smaller gated communities so here we are in another home. It has three bedrooms and two baths (the girls share a room), small backyard, but otherwise is ok. It's still a bit smaller than our last home especially in terms of yard space, but now we seem to be closer to our neighbors and can interact a bit more.

I got the job!

Not only did I make the team, but my expertise-and the fact that they were desperate-earned me a spot on a crew that protects the coasts of Apple Valley, Apple Valley Metro and PU Campus. So now I spend my days in a ship circling the islands looking for bandits. Right now my post is the PU Campus...maybe eventually I'll work my way up.

Quick Jet To Kimikura

My older brother, Ray, came into town for a short visit with his girlfriend, Lydia. He had come into a bit of money and I convinced him to travel to Apple Valley so that we could go to Kimikura. Julio had found a great deal for four sims and it didn't take much convincing! We hired a nanny to watch the twins and we were off!

After checking into our hotel, we visited the hotel gift shop and brought some east asian outfits. Lydia and I kept picking the same kimono. I didn't realize that we both have very similar senses of style. We both LOVE the color brown-though I could live with orange as well.

After changing we visited the Majoung Market for a game of majoung and some authentic noodle dishes. The boys kept whispering on thier end of the bar, but Lydia and I barely noticed. We were so involved in our own conversation. Lydia is very interested in finances, like myself, so we spent most of the vacation debating about the economic slump and ways to avoid it and overcome it.

It wasn't all serious talk, we managed to book a historic walking tour through some of the ancient, historic and most popular destinations in Kimikura. It was amazing, we managed to see ancient temples, vast forest lands, native animal species and more. We saw the most amazing sculptures including deities representing Nature and Wealth.

During our trip we stopped at the world famous Kimikura Tea House for a traditional tea ceremony. It was amazing. I have to tell Sazo about this tea, he needs to start stocking it in his business...or perhaps I could open an import store...hmmm. Oh, back to the trip. What I didn't know during the tea ceremony is that Ray was nervously planning a big surprise for Lydia. Julio had to distract me for a few hours and he chose the perfect way, a nice long soak in the natural hot springs. Later Lydia and Ray joined us and she was beaming and waving her hands about. In spite of her waving her hands about, I was able to see that she was wearing grandmother's ring. I remember our mom looking for that ring after dad's funeral. She said that Lydia was something special and wanted Ray to have the ring to give to her. Seeing the ring made me teary eyed as memories of mom and grandmom rushed back to me.

All too soon, the trip was over and I was waving goodbye to my brother and my future sister-in-law (I'll let Ray give the details about the proposal!)

Finally Moving

We'll be moving soon...again. We just moved into our new home when the hood council annouced that all families will be moving into gated communities. That's fine, it will help the residents become a bit closer, so we'll see what happens. Jadhira is eyeing the townhomes going up...I rather have a home with a yard, but if the woman of the house is unhappy then everyone is unhappy...so it looks like a townhome we shall be getting.

Not Bad

Our new home is not bad. We live next door to the Humphrey family, also the Warwicks. Thier daughter, S'Ahmisa has already offered to babysit Grace Elise whenever I want. Grace Elise is the only toddler here and she loves the set of Llama Riders that they have. *sigh* I wish I could have a younger sibling for her to play with...soon, she'll celebrate her child birthday and enter school...what will I do then.

I've been thinking about getting my hair done differently...maybe a new style would suit me better.

Finally a Mommy

I am the mother of a beautiful baby girl named Veronika Kent. She arrived a few weeks early, but other than being really tiny and having to spend a few days in the clinic to make sure her breathing was ok, she's as healthy as can be. She looks so much like her grandmother...I can not wait to see her grow up. Already Jesse is talking about another child and Bill has seen firsthand how hard caring for an infant is so maybe we won't have to worry about another scare from him.

New Lodging

Well, we moved into our new home...well, perhaps I should say my daughter's new home and my temporary stay until death comes my way. I am one of the last of the elders on this island and it's lonely to say the least. Li Sweeny wants to meet with me and discuss plans for a retirement community, bugger-she's asking the wrong sim. I would rather be in my lab than some old folks' home.

Pastoral Notes: Church Fees

Lyndon Humphrey
Instead of a raise, from now on fees for weddings and funerals will be paid directly to me. I will be paid 75% of the fee and the remaining 25% will go towards the upkeep of the church.

Blast from the Past

Found some old wedding photos in a box, decided to post them.

Losing Streak

I lost the election to Carmela Herendez. She called to have a few words after the election, not gloating, but very nicely saying that I had a great speech and campaign and if I had any concerns to let her know. She will do fine in the position, Jorge says not to worry about it, I would have been too busy anyway. That's not very comforting...then again, he did comfort me in a way that only he knows how.

I've been busy this winter, still packing for the move. We decided on a home. It's a LOT smaller than what we have now. Two bedroom, one bath home. Meaning that mom and Grace Elise will share a room and then when we have another child, they will also share the room. It should be better once Grace Elise is older and doesn't need her crib...or changing table anymore.

Hello, Neil!

With the new gated communities opening up, new sims have been visiting the island to help with the process and wow are they cute! I met this one hottie...Neil and whoa wow a wow! What a hottie! Rich brown silk hair and a beautiful smile. I could tell he was totally into me as well...we exchanged numbers and he already left a message. I hope we become fast friends :)

Education Note: Economy and PAG

Johan Dawson Shazad
The economy has affected even PAG. It was noted earlier that PAG decided to build it's campus on another small nearby island instead of AV Metro. PAG is changing it's name to Pierce University that specializes in university degrees and the board has approved a plan for a local administration of the university. They offered the job as University President. My job duties will increase as Educational Director and thankfully I'll have a much better salary since PU will be paying me. Some immediate changes, thanks to the economic downturn, are increased fees and admission requirements:

Apple Valley Academy: §100 a SimYear (Hapar-Peacar) per student.
Application for Graduation from AVA: C average or better, score a 6 in one skill exam.

Pierce University: §1000/semester
Kimkura University: §4000/year

Admissions to Pierce University: A score of at least 15 on thier entrance exam and at least 15 skill points to enter.

GPA (3pts-A, 2pts-B, 1pt-C)
+ # Extracurriculars (1pt each)
+ # Skill points (1pt each)
+ # Hobby Points
+ # Years Work Experience

Each class is limited to four sims each.

Admissions to Kimikura University: A score of at least 15 on thier entrance exam, at least a 3.0 GPA, and at least 15 skill points to enter.

+ # GPA points (4pts-4.0, 3.9 pts-3.9, etc)
+ # Extracurriculars (1pt each)
+ # Skill points (1pt each)
+ # Hobby Points

Each class is limited to two sims each.

Any Day Now

Any day now the babies will arrive. We're excited, but nervous at the same time. Can we handle three tiny lives. Three times everything. Bottles, diapers, cribs, education fees, clothes, everything!

New Job

I got that job at The Peacock and now I work with my foster mother. At least the uniform is cool. Harvis was one of my first customers...it was weird waiting on him and he was so mean about it. Demanding more and more water! Gosh, I wonder about him...we shouldn't be near water and he's been drinking so much of it lately...

Legacy

I told the children that I am leaving a bit of money to be spent on Grace Elise's violin lessons. I don't know, nor do I care, if she has any talent. She will have to take lessons. The latest research says that playing the violin helps great minds become greater and I know that she's a very smart little girl and with some prodding will become the greatest mind ever!

Financial Strain

Yes, it's no secret that we're experiencing financial strain as of late. The IVF treatment was §5,000; then each doctor's visit is §500 and we still need to furnish the nursery and pay bills. It seems like the money doesn't stretch enough.

Taken!

Aghhh!!! They came for me!!! But Susie was right!!! They were the wrong kind!!! Horrible green aliens!!!! Agh!!! I must shower!!! Drink lots and lots of fresh water!!! I need WATER!!!!

Relationships

Faith and I went bowling at the new boardwalk in Apple Valley Metro. The ferry ride wasn't too long and the island is very walkable. Faith fell in love with everything. She wants to move to AV Metro once she graduates. Speaking of graduation, we have to start looking at our future...I mean, I'm pretty set on going to PAG which is about a three hour ferry ride away, and studying mechanics, but Faith...well, she may not even go! She's thinking about making her music her career and with her contract it's not like she needs a college degree. I was happy that our families let us out of the house, true her family was around us constantly, but at least I was able to see her besides during school hours.

Fruit

Will we ever get pregnant? Not to complain, but this is becoming a chore. It's no longer fun and games, but now it's "i'm fertile-let's go!"

My job is going away, so I need to find other work...I am thinking of joining a team that is excavating the ruins in the south end of the island. Some bones were discovered there and they need sims on the team. I submitted an application-so wish me luck.