Welcome to Sim Dump #1

Well, I have an eight hour drive ahead of me and a lot of packing and preparing to do yet, so basically, I have no mental energy. I'm addicted to posting whenever I get the chance, though, and even though I've only got internet access for a couple hours today, I figure I can post these pics here without having to write too much - I don't know what I'd say even if I wanted to, so it all works out well.

In the Monkeesim neighborhood, from time to time, there are sims that are removed from their home for one reason or another who I don't want to see drop from the face of the earth, and so, they are sent to a magical place called "Sim Dump #1" where they can still be visited or accessed by phone. The last name of the original residents was Fitch, so even though some of the displaced sims have different last names, I generally just refer to them as the Fitch family to keep things simple. First, we have one of the original residents of Sim Dump #1, Gia Fitch.


Gia scopes the room…and realizes it's a dump.
Gia, her dad Alec, and her brother, Revis, were the original three residents of the Sim Dump. After I first created the family and moved them to the empty lot, I was seized with the overwhelming lack of desire to actually create a house, so I just made a big brick box with some living necessities and called it good. Gia started out with a preference for dating other girls, which never fully went away even after she'd dated guys for a long period of time. This caused some problems for her and some other sims down the road. Below, we have her brother, Revis, and another friend and resident, Oscar.


Oscar: "No, I'm not a Zorro fan. Why would you ask that?"
Oscar was created as a temporary resident in another home, and wound up displaced and stuck with the Fitches. His favorite hobby is pouring suds into the fountain in the house and getting rejected for all sorts of interactions with the rest of the family. He's not terribly well-liked for some reason. Maybe it's the mask. Anyway, here, we've got a couple more of the residents, Alec and Rooster. Alec is the father of Gia and Revis, but I don't remember where Rooster came from originally. I'm not even sure if he remembers. Wherever he began life, though, fate has found him living with the Fitches (which is not to be mistaken for "swimming with the fishes").


Alec: "Watch out there, sonny, I might knee you in the groin!"
Not all of the sims who find themselves living at the sim dump are stuck there forever. Many of them eventually are adopted and find good homes. Remember Debbie Kearney who lived on Leon's boat with him? Well, she moved to the sim dump herself shortly after these pics were taken. Another sim who wound up at the dump temporarily was my brother's alter ego, Ronald Martin. Ronald had a thing for Gia, who had a boyfriend named Kwan before Ronald moved in, and Gia had a thing for both of them AND Debbie Kearney, who she was accidentally instructed to kiss when I was aiming for Kwan, with disastrous results.


Revis: "Tee hee…you're such a trickster!"
Gia eventually realized you can't date everyone, and after lots and lots and lots of slapping took place involving many different sims, she decided upon Ronald. Debbie got over it quickly enough, although she developed a lasting affection for Gia I tried to put the kibosh on but never quite could (she'd have fun explaining that one to Leon if he ever called her over again). I really wish there was a simpler way to get rid of those little pink hearts sims develop for one another in their relationship bar, because one little slip up and sims think they're in love. Sheesh…whatever…


Ronald: "What is it about the brick and bathroom stalls that's just so dang romantic?"
The big loser in the whole Gia/Ronald/Debbie/Kwan mess was Kwan. Debbie was able to move on, and Ronald and Gia hooked up more or less officially, but Kwan was left with nothing. He developed a very very bad temper, and began slapping people and little else. I was forced to build a little 2x2 room with a chair and nothing else called the "Kwan Room" to keep him in because he ruined everyone's moods otherwise. I had to turn off free will and let him out long enough to eat and stuff, but otherwise, he stayed locked up in the little room to think about his behavior.


Kwan sits in the "Kwan Room", moments before slapping me for taking this picture.
I did find it in my heart to send the residents of the Sim Dump out on the town a couple of times. Heaven knows they had the money for it, since every displaced sim who moved in brought $20,000 with them. Of course, they spent none of that, since the cab doesn't cost anything, and they went to Marty's where they just stood around and talked instead of ordering food or drinks or anything. Cheapos. There was some dancing, which I guess is something. Revis found amusement in another form, playing with Jimmy Thunder's green cat, Shartfield. It's a good thing he had that cat teaser stashed in his kiester to pull out at just the right time.


Revis: "A green cat…heh heh…yeah, cool!"
As I mentioned before, Ronald William didn't stay at the Sim Dump forever. No, sir, he found himself a nice used trailer to move into that was already completely furnished and everything (including leftovers in the fridge from the former tenants). But wait…that trailer looks a little familiar! Doesn't it? At any rate, Gia moved in with Ronald, and they got engaged shortly after. I don't blame her - the Sim Dump is nobody's first choice for a place to live if they can help it. Ron and Gia sat around all day playing video games and wishing someone would set fire to the carpet, paneling, and decorations in the trailer.


Gia: "I'd say I'm kicking your butt, but you'd have to get off of it for that to happen!"
Ah, yes. Fun times. Almost as fun as the time I'm having here at work, eating sunflower seeds and biting my lip in the same spot every five seconds. Ow!! Did it again! And I tried some chicken livers a bit ago, and they tasted like skunk crap! I really think that "liver" is just another word for "breaded crap", and I can't get the taste out of my mouth! But you didn't tune in to hear me talk about breaded crap or my lip or anything of that sort. That's actually all of the Sim Dump pics I have for now, so I thank you once more for visiting, and promise something more exciting than this post when I get back from vacation. See you then!

The Truth is Somewhere

Greetings, everyone, and welcome back to the one and only source of dope on the good "people" of the Monkeesim neighborhood (I'm sure there are a couple of good people there somewhere, the rest are complete lunatics). If you're reading this before New Year's, bravo…that means I found the time to get it done. At this moment, I'm leaving for Nebraska to see the in-laws tomorrow, and I'm not sure I'll even have time to get this blog done before I go. We shall see…

In our last episode of Monkeesims, we witnessed a strange sight as former enemies Tommy Wolf and Leon Jackson buried the hatchet and had a gay old time hanging out at Tommy's shack. The whole Rinoa incident is old news, and let's face it…neither of them really gives a rip about who or what she's doing at this point. They've both got better things going on. Tommy is married to Allyn, with a baby on the way, and Leon has his pal Moon Dawg and his boat. Oh, yeah…and his girlfriend Debbie. Sorry, we don't want to forget Debbie. As we first visit Leon's boat, we find Debbie unhappily assessing the shack Moon Dawg built on deck for he and Keri James to stay in.


Debbie: "…and why'd they have to use this stupid, ugly door?"
Let's face it, Debbie has been somewhat overlooked since the arrival of Moon Dawg. Heck, she hasn't even been given a change of clothes since she moved in with Leon, although that has more to do with his love of the maid uniform than anything else (she does get a little sick of people telling her to quit screwing around and start cleaning everywhere she goes). Despite falling for Leon, though, Debbie isn't stupid, and eventually got fed up with playing second fiddle to Leon's "bro's". And so, much to everyone's amazement, she packed all her invisible belongings, called up a cab, and moved out. Her and Leon could still be a couple, but she wasn't going to sit around on his dumb boat all day waiting for him to find time for her…no, sir…


Debbie: "Love Boat my foot…I'm off that garbage scow!"
As much as she hated being ignored, Debbie really, really hated that little shack out on the deck that Moon Dawg built. Actually, she hated the fact that the door was locked whenever there was someone in there, and she couldn't get in. What did she think was in there exactly? There's like a bed, two lamps, and a poster or two, and that's it. Actually, I should say "there was" instead of "there is", because as soon as Debbie had moved off the boat, the shack suddenly seemed a bit unnecessary. Moon Dawg and Leon decided they missed the old "view" for whatever it was worth, and the shack was demolished. I think Leon will probably be demolished as well the next time Debbie sees the boat and realizes the shack was torn down the moment she left.


Things return once again to normal…whatever "normal" is.
Now, in case you were wondering, Debbie left, but Keri James stuck around. If this all seems a little odd to you, don't worry, it is. See, Leon, Moon Dawg, and Debbie may have been able to squeeze three people into the main cabin originally, but that was because they were able to sleep two people on the pimped out bed with a third sleeping on the recliner. Well, that arrangement stayed the same, it's just that since Moon Dawg was the one with the girl, he automatically claimed rights to the bed, and Leon was assigned to the recliner. Talk about a strange change of fortune. Leon suddenly found himself feeling just a little lonely, and not very much like master and commander of his vessel anymore (the boat vessel, for all you sickos out there).


Leon: "Hmmm…no, this just isn't quite right…"
Despite being top dawg at Pimp Harbor, Moon Dawg didn't let it go to his head. His priorities remained the same as they always had since Keri moved in - spend a lot of time with his girl, hang out a bit with Leon, then spend all night looking through the telescope for aliens. Contracting lycanthropy from Tommy Wolf helped with the telescope all-nighters, because the actual telescope using wasn't very energy consuming, and the burst of energy Moon Dawg received as a werewolf was enough to negate the need for sleep. I've often debated whether I thought werewolves or vampires had it better in the sims, but since a werewolf can also be a normal person by day, I don't think there's really any contest.


Moon Dawg: "Howling at the moon's so much better when you're zoomed in on it, mon!"
That's pretty much the routine Moon Dawg followed after his transformation to werewolf and household stud. Leon's activities varied a little bit more, but usually either involved drinking and the hot tub (thankfully, there was no drinking FROM the hot tub). Romance has always been a big part of Leon's life, though, and he was feeling the void Debbie had left inside him (which is weird, because they were still technically dating, but he never bothered to pick up the phone to call her). One night, however, Claire Redmond, Leon Hartman's former girlfriend, came by the boat to borrow some sugar. Moon Dawg had turned off all the lights on the boat to make for better telescope viewing, so it was dark, and…well…


Leon: "I got your sugar right here, babe!"
I can see how Leon could be confused, since Debbie and Claire are both blonde, and they're both women. I think the similarity ends there, though. Leon did eventually realize Claire wasn't Debbie, though, even with the lights turned off, but the damage was already done. Leon decided he liked Claire a bit better anyway, because her portrait in his relationship bar had TWO little lightning bolts instead of the one Debbie had, but he was hesitant to break up with Debbie just the same. Well, with Leon busy making out with the wrong woman and Keri soaking in the hot tub, it took everyone a moment to realize Moon Dawg had finally realized his dream - the little green men had come for him…


Leon: "…*sniff*…never another like ol' Moon Dawg!"
It was a tough time for everyone, even Claire, who pretended to be distraught but had never actually interacted with Moon Dawg since coming to the boat (maybe she was just so sad she'd never gotten a chance to meet him). There was very little that could be done…I think I was more worried than everyone else, because Moon Dawg's need meters kept going up and down, including his hunger meter, which bottomed out a few times (and that usually means death). In cases like this, the worst plan would be to do whatever it was that caused the bad thing to happen to the affected person in the first place, but that was just what Leon did - he ran to the telescope and started scanning the skies for his old buddy.


Leon: "I can't see Moon Dawg, but I can see Uranus!"
It seemed like a really long time that Moon Dawg was gone. If you'll recall, there hasn't been an alien abduction since Bobby Miller of the original neighborhood, and while he was gone for days, nobody really missed him too much (besides Peter Miller). When he returned, he just sort of dropped on the lawn with little fanfare and a satellite dish installed in his bum. Moon Dawg was an important part of the Pimp Harbor "family", and his absence sort of left everyone milling around not doing much of anything…heck, Leon didn't even feel like making out with anyone without his pal around. Well, the wait and anticipation of his return eventually ended, because…


Leon: "Whoa! Either Moon Dawg is coming back, or I've had WAY too much to drink!"
Moon Dawg was indeed being returned, and in a much flashier fashion than Bobby Miller had been. I was thankful for this, because the special events videos were turned off when Moon Dawg was first taken, and I was wondering if I was going to get to see the flying saucer - I wasn't disappointed. Either the aliens had finished their business, or realized that Moon Dawg was a werewolf, and didn't represent an accurate sampling of the human race, but they had no more use for him. And so, in spectacular fashion, Moon Dawg was ejected out of the saucer and onto the street. Geez, knowing what those aliens do to male abductees, you'd think they'd at least have bought him dinner or given him flowers, but no…nothing. Those aliens have no manners.


Hmmm…that looks like it's gonna' hurt...
The ejection was so spectacular, I captured it from more than one angle, and couldn't decide on my favorite, so here it is again…


That still looks like it's gonna' hurt...
Well, Moon Dawg got his wish, and had a close encounter with his little green friends from above…a very close encounter. So close, in fact, that he left as a werewolf and returned as a pregnant werewolf…and you can bet he won't be collecting child support from the father any time soon (well, the other father, anyway). Poor Moon Dawg. This is the most messed up a Jackson family member has been since Steve Jackson died, came back as a zombie, and got sprayed by a skunk, and he was never quite the same after that. Will all of the changes Moon Dawg's undergone drive away his girl, Keri? Will Leon work things out with Debbie, stick with Claire, or find someone else? Well, it looks like I'll be able to post this before I leave for vacation, and I'll actually have time for one more short, random post tomorrow, so drop in and check it out. Have a great day! :-)

Unlikely Amigos

*Yawn* I'm tired. And it smells live vanilla in here. And I'm probably one of a handful of losers actually back at work the day after Christmas (I know, I know…there were people working during the holidays who had it worse than me, but still…). This was an interesting Christmas to say the least - my wife and I didn't buy gifts for anyone, not even each other, which is a first for us. My wife loves Christmas, because it's her time of the year to give the most to other folks, but you can't really do that without money. Dang you, Uncle Sam, you greedy bastard! If you live outside the United States (or the state I live in for that matter) consider yourself lucky at this moment. I don't know who you've got reaching in your pockets if you don't live here, but they can't be as greedy as Uncle Sam (now, don't go deporting me or anything, I'm thankful to be here usually, and not some kind of disgruntled US hater). Anyway, that was an unexpected rant. Merry day after Christmas!

I had a scary moment this holiday season. See, I have several Sims 2 expansions installed, but the newest, Seasons, I had borrowed from someone who owns Bon Voyage and didn't need the discs. Well, they had to reinstall this vacation, and they live in a different city. In other words, I had to give the discs back, and had no way to access my sims *sniff*. Perhaps it was meant to be, though, because the temptation to spend time simming when I could be hanging with my wife over the vacation was never there. Speaking of hanging, and speaking of wives, let's get on with our Sim post for the day. If you'll think way, way back, you'll remember Tommy Wolf finally dumped Rinoa Hartman after finally ending their rocky relationship. Last we saw Tommy, he'd found love elsewhere and married Allyn Thomason. Well, let's check in on Tommy and Allyn and see how things are going...


Allyn: "I'm either pregnant, or this décor is making me violently ill!"
I might have mentioned it before, but usually when my sims get hitched, I let them try for a baby once or twice, and if it takes, fine, if not, no biggie. Most of the sims who do this though get pregnant on the first try, and Allyn was no exception obviously. Despite being a werewolf and generally being an incredible slob (which is part of the whole werewolf thing, since cleanliness points decay when a sim contracts lycanthropy), Tommy was a very supportive husband, and was always glad to clean the toilet after every morning sickness incident…especially since there was that slight chance that living in a house with shingles inside and outside might have been contributing to Allyn's feelings of illness. In other words, she was sick with a case of the shingles (thank you, I'm here all week!).


Tommy: "I'm just thankful to have the opportunity to earn all these cleaning points!"
Tommy's shack isn't exactly the ideal place to hang out and have fun, but for some odd reason, when it was just Tommy, and later, Tommy and Alfred, that never seemed to be a problem. I guess it's not if all you care to do is sit around and eat and watch TV, which was just fine with Alfred and Tommy. The house no longer had a fireplace, because Tommy tore it out to build he and Allyn's room, so there was one less form of amusement. Allyn was pretty resourceful, though, and she didn't have too much trouble finding things to do. She seemed to have a fascination with Tommy's telescope (don't be dirty, you know what I mean), but rather than use it to spy on Alfred and his castle, she used it to look around town at random boring stuff…and of course, spy on Justin the Jerk, like everyone else.


Allyn: "How come you have to use a telescope to find non-ugly furniture around here?"
I recently learned a little bit about what assigns a sim to be the one who gets spied on all the time, so it makes a little more sense that Justin the Jerk is the only one who ever gets looked at even though his house is nowhere near most of the sims who do the looking. I feel a little sorry for him now too since he's enemies with almost every sim in town as a result of always being the "poker", but he's not a sim I actually play as or anything, so it could be worse. Believe it or not, though, it wasn't until Allyn first spied on Justin that anyone thought to just run inside the house and lock the door to spare themselves the abuse, and it worked like a charm.


Justin: "Please! Unlock the door so I can come poke you!"
That sounds kind of vulgar too, but you know what I mean (maybe it's just me with the gutter brain today). Anyway, thinking "outside the box" (in this case, the box refers to Tommy's ugly box-shaped dwelling) opened Allyn up to yet another form of entertainment, one that also served a useful purpose - fishing. Tommy's entire front yard is mostly swampy looking pond, yet, I can barely remember him doing any fishing himself. For some odd reason, it seems almost every time I visit Tommy's house, it's winter, so that has a little to do with it (I confess I probably haven't spent an entire set of "sim seasons" playing the house, but look around inside - would you?). Well, having Allyn come around had melted the ice off Tommy's heart (awwww) along with the ice on the pond, so she took full advantage of that…


Allyn: "I hope I don't get pulled in…who knows what's in that pond?"
I'm not sure if this is true of all non-player sims generated by the game, but when Tommy married Allyn, he was surprised to discover that she had absolutely no skills in any category, nor did she have any talent badges, and she only brought one simoleon to the family (I'm not joking). It's a good thing he wasn't wanting to marry her for her talent or money, although that means he was just marrying her for looks and charm, which sounds a tad shallow. Well, Tommy may be a little shallow, but his pond definitely isn't, and despite having only worms to fish with, Allyn began reeling in some pretty decent fish. This is a very good thing, considering it only takes one plate of bass to fill a sim up vs. four or five helpings of pizza, which is what Tommy normally eats. Well, those bachelor days are over, pal…get used to it!


Allyn: "Ooh…a mutant pond bass! Now if only I knew how to cook!"
Having a pregnant wife who liked to spy on the neighbors and fish for mutant pond bass really put things into perspective for Tommy. It seemed like ages since he'd last parted ways with Rinoa, and even longer since that whole jealous mess with Leon Jackson, and indeed, it had been a really long time. Really, besides disagreeing over who Rinoa was dating (which even confused me from time to time), Tommy and Leon never really had a problem with each. In fact, they're really very similar in a lot of ways. Tommy decided it was time to put all that ugliness behind him, and invited Leon and his pal Moon Dawg over to hang out. Since their mutual rage toward one another had long ago subsided, the invitation was accepted.


Tommy: "Moon Dawg, you say? Is that anything like a werewolf?"
Unlike his last invite to Rinoa where he savaged her and turned her into a werewolf, there was no hidden agenda behind Tommy's invite to Leon, he just wanted to make it clear that there would be no slapping or drink throwing or brawls out back if they ever crossed paths in public in the future (notice nobody said there would be an end to belching in each other's faces, since they seem to find that funny). Most of the time, when Leon hangs out at home, he spends most of this time dancing to the radio out on his ship deck. Getting out to visit Tommy was a nice change from that, because instead of dancing to a radio on a deck, he was able to dance to a radio on a swampy front yard. Very few people invite Leon to their house, especially if they have a girl, so for him, every little invite is a special one…


Tommy: "…just look out for that cactus behind you, dude..."
For some truly bizarre reason, despite having an entire harbor at their disposal, Leon and Moon Dawg rarely do much fishing. I can't figure out why it is, but the game won't let them cast where there are obvious visible fish within grabbing distance, it just says they are "too far away" (every so often, when Leon or Moon Dawg fish on their own, they magically find a spot from which it can be done, but I can't). Anyway, the point is that Moon Dawg still found the idea of fishing amusing, and was quick to pull out his pole from who knows where and start angling for his very own mutant swamp fish. Like Tommy, Leon and Moon Dawg aren't known for their healthy eating habits, and a little fish would go a long way. Moon Dawg caught mostly boots, because as we all know, fish ponds of all shapes and sizes are a hub for boot disposal in the Monkeesim neighborhood.


Moon Dawg: "You never know! Those boots might be good eatin'!"
My former college roommate is an idiot. I spent years trying to track him down and now enjoy the privilege of being on his crappy forward list and nothing more. Just had to get that out there (and so glad I went to all that trouble). Anyway, fishing and dancing eventually got old, and everyone crammed themselves into Tommy's shack, which was looking smaller than ever since he added walls for a new room where the fireplace used to be. Luckily, there was still room for the old leather couch and junky TV, which were still the main indoor attraction. Ah, if that couch could talk…never mind…I wouldn't want to hear what it had to say (I have the feeling its perspective would be very "one-sided").


Allyn: "If I didn't live with a werewolf, I'd probably find these guys a little bit strange..."
Tommy Wolf is one of those sims that makes all the chicks swoon when he walks by, much like Leon Jackson, though to a slightly lesser extent, and Tommy and Leon also share a love for dancing to the radio endlessly (and probably not just because the radio is one of the only things to do at both their homes). What Tommy and Moon Dawg share in common is a love for discussing the paranormal, and they were quick to discover this. Moon Dawg had gone off on a serious alien kick since buying that copy of "Beyond Belief", and while he'd yet to actually encounter any aliens, he considered himself something of an expert on the subject.


Tommy: "Uh…you want to BE an alien? I can't help you there, bro!"
While Tommy does have an interest in the paranormal, he doesn't have a lot of experience with it besides being a werewolf. Well, okay, he did come back from the dead that one time and he did live with a vampire for a while, and has seen ghosts at other people's houses, but other than THAT, no real experience. He did have one thing that Moon Dawg wanted pretty badly, though, and that was the ability to turn folks into werewolves. Unfortunately, where vampires have the ability to politely hypnotize their victims then put a quick bite on them, werewolves have to rely on savaging any would-be future werewolves, which takes its toll on the whole friendship thing. But Moon Dawg knew what he wanted, and Tommy wasn't one to deny a curious sim his dream…


Leon: "Guys! I can't see OR hear with all that dust and racket!"
Obviously, the transformation took, since it never fails, and Moon Dawg was introduced to the wonderful world of werewolves (sounds like a National Geographic segment a little). Luckily for him, Tommy was keenly aware of the special needs of being a werewolf, and had pizza on hand for those post-transformation fits of insane hunger. If you've never handled a sim werewolf before, believe me when I say that the dip in hunger is no small matter - it caused the death of Felmer McNugget when he first transformed, and his ghost has been a "starved werewolf" ever since. Between the pizza and a few witty jokes from Tommy, the damage the whole savaging thing had caused was soon repaired, and Tommy turned his attention to Allyn.


Allyn: "I don't mind you giving me a backrub, just don't use your nails!"
With all the fun and excitement during Leon and Moon Dawg's visit, Tommy had barely taken time to notice that Allyn had begun to show the fact that she was preggers. It isn't that hard to notice in the sim world, since the first little bulge comes with a change of clothes, but maybe it's those dark sunglasses Tommy always wears. Leon actually seemed to take note of the fact, despite his glasses, because he started babbling on about pacifiers and baby stuff during his conversations. I have no idea what he was saying, but I am pretty sure Tommy and Allyn shouldn't be taking any baby advice from a guy who lives at the address "Pimp Harbor" on a ship called the "Love Boat", and who rarely has relationships that last longer than a Mento.


Tommy: "You think she's big now…pretty soon she'll be the size of a beach ball!"
By the time the whole visit was over, and Tommy, Moon Dawg, and Leon were best buds. This was a nice change of fortune for Leon, since it seemed lately the collection of people he could call "friends" barely qualified as a collection anymore (especially where the women folk were concerned). Tommy had other things to think about besides beating people up while visiting public places - he had a little Wolf on the way, and converting his crappy dump into a suitable den for a baby would take a little doing. There would be time enough for that down the road, though. For the Jacksons, events are about to take a turn for the dramatic…and weird. Join us manana for a heaping helping of bizarrity and dramaticness!

Jackson Party of Four

In case you missed it, I posted "The Grinch Steals New Years" earlier today, so go back and read it. It's the third and final Grinch poem for the Christmas/New Year season...

Hello, hello! How goes it? I'm doing better myself…no pickle juice or anything of the sort soaking my pants at the moment, so that's enough to make me happy. I'm pretty excited today - I have a can of "pondegi" (silkworm larva) my younger brother sent me when he was visiting China, and while I've tried a lot of exotic foods before, that one is new to me. Honestly, it sounds kind of gross, but me and a few of my team members at work are going to give it a go a little later this afternoon. Okay, update - I've eaten it since I typed the above. It looked like drowned roaches in green water, smelled like sewage, and tasted like manure. Now I have bits of bug shell in my teeth still to pick out with my tongue. Gross.

Our old buddy Moon Dawg was having a horrible time in our last post pursuing a romantic relationship with Katherine Shaikh, a local waitress he met at a party. He spent almost the entire last post trying to convince her just to visit the boat, then when she did finally come, she just basically ignored him. Well, when we pick up this time, we find that things are still not going too well. Moon Dawg tried most of the basic interactions with Katherine, but everything short of talking or telling jokes was just getting him the cold shoulder…in a big way…



Moon Dawg: "It was just supposed to be a friendly hug…what's your problem, mon?"
And that's the reaction he gets WITH the love potion he drank still active. I'm starting to think that crap isn't worth a thimble of moose spit (whatever that means) because this isn't the first time I've seen it have no noticeable effect. Maybe that's a good thing, because some of my sims were getting pretty lazy in the romance department, but for Moon Dawg's sake, it would have been nice if it worked. "Luckily", he was privy to another form of interaction enhancer that had yet to be tried by any of my sims - the aspiration reward shades. I'm not sure if the shades and the potion effects actually stack or not, but Moon Dawg decided it had to be worth a try. I'm not so sure…



Katherine: "Uh…have you even bothered to look in a mirror recently?"
Even with the tux on, the love potion active, AND the stupid blue shades, Moon Dawg couldn't even get a lousy hug…and this was with the short term relationship meter up in the 80's. There comes a point when even the most easy going types get fed up with rejection, and Moon Dawg is no exception. He was a little irritated at having gone to such lengths (and having worn such stupid looking glasses) for someone who wasn't even willing to at least grant him a mercy date. Of course, living with Leon, who all the girls love for reasons I've never figured out, probably gave Moon Dawg a skewed idea of the actual success rate for asking women out. Whatever the case, Moon Dawg finally got the message, and handled the rejection with dignity and maturity...



Moon Dawg: "Hope you don't have to go to work in those clothes any time soon!"
If you ask me, Katherine got off lucky. Most any other sim in the neighborhood would have resorted to some more drastic way of expressing irritation than a mere water balloon, but not Moon Dawg. Remember, it's all about the peace and love (and a little water soaked clothing doesn't violate either of those, apparently). Moon Dawg has never had any problem finding things to keep him occupied, and with his focus once again off women, he focused on the next best thing - the study of the paranormal. A few posts ago, he bought a copy of "Beyond Belief", and it seemed a great time to pull it out and give it a read…



Moon Dawg: "Bigfoot married the ghost of Elvis…crazy, mon!"
Moon Dawg began to develop quite the interest in the paranormal, which makes sense in the world of the sims, where weird stuff happens every day - it's just good common sense to be prepared. Moon Dawg found himself most fascinated with the discovery of aliens. After all, vampires, ghosts, and werewolves are as common as dirt in the Monkeesim neighborhood, one has only to go to the corner grocery store to see them (well, not the ghosts, but the other two). Aliens, however, remain an enigma. Many of the local sims use their telescopes at all hours of the day, but thus far, no abductions. Moon Dawg wasn't afraid of the unknown. Heaven knows, he'd seen enough weirdness just living at the old Jackson house…



Moon Dawg: "C'mon, guys…take me away from this crazy freak ship!"
Moon Dawg developed a new obsession with aliens and the cosmos, and began a cycle of spending every night out on the boat deck scanning the skies for little green men (well, their ships, anyway). He didn't wind up spending too much time with Debbie or Leon for a while, which didn't bother Debbie too much, and she kept Leon busy enough that he didn't have time to think about it. Night after night he spent with the telescope to the point of exhaustion, but no visitors took notice of him or were interested in picking him up for probing. Eventually Moon Dawg's social needs started to dip, and he decided he needed to spend some time with the beings on his own planet. Not entirely satisfied with the selection aboard the Love Boat, he decided to head off to the public pool for a while…



The taxi arrives for Moon Dawg…that's the pool on the left there...
Talk about your lazy sims. Now, the pool is a inexpensive and fun way to pass a few hours, and it almost never gets used - I don't know why. Granted, now that I have "Open for Business", I'm considering selling the lot to someone and adding a ticket machine. I know…it's all about the money for me. As usual, there weren't a whole lot of people present when Moon Dawg first arrived, but they started pouring in shortly after. It's just not a party till the first player controlled sim arrives. As usual, there was a big rush to see who would be the first to use the swing. I'm not sure what it is with these adult sims, but they always fight over the swing set first thing. Geez, people…act your age!



Moon Dawg: "No hot tub? This place sucks, mon…"
I've built a few different kinds of community lot before, and one thing I noticed is that sims don't always quite seem to understand my vision for a place. I try to keep things simple so they don't get confused, but there are those who don't seem to "get" the public pool, and that just blows my mind. By not getting it, I mean they show up and either stand around fully dressed talking for hours, sit at the little chairs over by the barbecue grill doing nothing, or never even enter the gate and just chat out on the sidewalk. It's a pool, people! Swim, for crying out loud! I can't talk, though - Moon Dawg didn't do any swimming during his visit. He was more interested in his newly formed friendship with Keri James, who he'd just met since arriving at the pool.



Elrond: "I just love coming to this place to hang…but what's with this big water filled hole?"
Well, where Moon Dawg and Katherine had the world's worst chemistry going for them, Moon Dawg and Keri had little double lightning bolts by each other's faces in the relationship panel, and were bonding very quickly. It was a definite improvement over before, but Moon Dawg was still taking no chances - he gulped down one of the potions he'd bought to try to woo Katherine, and it actually seemed to do something this time - added a third little "bolt" to his relationship with Keri. Moon Dawg was smart enough to know when the getting was good, and really turned on the charm. It wasn't very long before Keri was hopeless smitten. Oh, Moon Dawg…you dawg, you…



Keri: "Oh, Moon Dawg! I'm hopelessly smitten with you!"
Moon Dawg and Keri actually have quite a bit in common. He's a fun loving, easy going, carefree type from the islands, and she's a fun loving, easy going, carefree country girl. Granted, when you put two carefree, easy going people together, you usually wind up with a messy house with nobody wanting to clean it, but that was nobody's concern just yet. Moon Dawg started inviting Keri over regularly to hang out, and unlike Katherine, she actually accepted his invitations gladly. After some time, Moon Dawg and Keri had developed the best friendship relationship possible, but Moon Dawg was still trying to play it cool and decided to put off the whole romance thing for a while. Well, needless to say, that didn't last - the attraction between the two was irresistible.



Leon: "Hey! I handle all the PDA's on board this ship!"
Well, Keri has no job, and obviously Moon Dawg doesn't either, so they basically fell into a routine of Moon Dawg inviting her over to spend all day every day on the boat. It seemed sort of pointless after a while for her to bother going home for the three hours a night she was, but Moon Dawg didn't really have any place to put her up (it seemed rude to wait for her to pass out and sleep on the deck). Eventually, the wheels in his head started to turn, and he decided on a brilliant plan. Moon Dawg gathered together some building materials and used furniture, moved around some of the junk on the deck, and slapped together a little shack for he and Keri to call home. Suddenly, Moon Dawg's recliner in the kitchen didn't seem like nearly the inconvenience it once had.



Moon Dawg: "Just call be Bob Vila, mon!"
Yes, I think any attractiveness the outside of the boat may have retained was officially out the window. Not to mention they'd never be able to set sail with such a shack blocking the view from the cabin (not a real concern, since Leon had gutted the boat's actual controls to make room for his pimp pad inside). Leon and Moon Dawg had entertained the possibility that they'd wind up living together again at some point, but neither of them really envisioned this as the way it would turn out. Moon Dawg's old room at the original Jackson house wasn't that great either, but at least it was a real room, not some makeshift shack out on a boat deck.




Keri: "A couple nice floral arrangements, and this place could be darling!"
As you might imagine, Debbie remained basically silent during the whole courtship of Keri, and later, the shack building process. Obviously, she had some opinions, but Leon was still the "captain", and Debbie knew full well that he'd never stayed with just one woman as long as he'd been with her. Debbie had no problem with Keri or even Moon Dawg personally, but it was hard to ignore the overcrowding that was taking place, and Leon didn't even seem to care. She decided to keep quiet about it for a bit longer, and see what developed. She'd just pretend things didn't bother her, and see if maybe that would eventually be true. Oh, Debbie…don't you know that bad things happen when you bottle up your frustrations inside like that?



So much for any sort of view this place might have had...
All I can say without saying too much is Debbie isn't the most graceful at dealing with pressure, she just thinks she is…but she has her breaking point like anyone else. All the "secondary character" treatment was starting to get to her, with possible negative results. Is it true love for Moon Dawg and Keri? What about for Debbie and Leon? We all remember how well Steve and Doris's relationship went at Leon's old house…will there be similar problems on the Love Boat? You'll have to wait to find out! I'm pretty sure I won't have time to post tomorrow, and I won't have internet access again until December 26th, so if I don't post again before then, have a Merry Christmas, everyone!