Jiggy With the Wilsons

I got a credit card in the mail yesterday. I don't know why I got it, to be honest. I've never had one before, and I've resisted for all these years. I don't really have any credit history to speak of besides boatloads of college loans, so I'm not even really sure why the company approved me for it, but they did. It seemed a shame not to use it at all, and thus I bought the "Open for Business" expansion. That and "University" and "Bon Voyage" were the expansions I still didn't have, and knowing what I knew about OFB, it just seemed it would be the one I'd get the most out of (although the appeal of accessing the hidden Bigfoot in BV is very strong). So far, I've had some fun with it and set up an unsuccessful robot business (Andrews Automation), but I'm encountering some weird bug where employees change faces when they change into work uniforms. Messed…up…

It will be ages before we touch on the robot business, though. We're still like 20 posts behind based on what I have to post vs. what's actually up here. As usual, a very good thing. Now, back in the days of the TS1 posts here, we focused a lot on the Wilson family, in fact, I think they comprised the bulk of the posts from that era. To break it down even further, Marty and Kitty Wilson were usually the ones stealing the spotlight, in no small part because Kitty's career in Studio Town took so much of my time to manage. Well, since coming to the neighborhood, Kitty and Marty still have yet to achieve a very spectacular existence. "Marty's" is doing well and all, but the family still lives in a dinky trailer that doesn't lend itself very well to company or much in the way of fun. When we drop in on the family today, in fact, we find Kitty amusing herself jumping up and down in puddles in her bikini…


Marty: "Okay, Kitty…we really need to get you out of the house..."
Although some other sims have been featured there, Marty and Kitty had yet to pay a visit to the Woodland Heights community resort, and it seemed in Marty's opinion to be a great time to give it a go. The resort features quite a few accommodations - a gift shop, indoor dining area, outdoor swimming pool, a hot tub, an outdoor bar and dining area, a fishing pond, and cabins designed to offer opportunities for relaxation and a bath if needed. Basically, it has everything I could possibly cram into one community lot, while retaining an "outdoorsy" feel. Marty and Kitty were soon whisked away to the resort, and of all the possible ways they could spend their time there, they opted to head right to the gift shop and start spending money on perfume and video games.


Marty: "Uh…aren't we supposed to save gift buying till last or something?"
Marty and Kitty glanced around at the other stuff besides the computer games and perfume…there were also magazines (which I've never fully understood the use of), clothes, and pet collars to browse. In other words, a whole lot of nothing. We all know that Marty and Kitty never change outfits (which is odd, because Kitty of TS1 had a different outfit every couple of posts), and they didn't really care if Gizmo had a nice looking collar as long as it would serve to get him home if he ran off. Marty glanced at the magazines for a moment, then spied a nearby dressing room. I think I may have discussed Marty's aspiration a bit before - he's one of those dirty "romance" sims who can only think about making "woo woo" in every possible place known to man or sim, and the dressing room was not off limits…


Man, these sims may be pervs, but they sure aren't subtle about it...
Luckily, the whole "dressing room woo woo" process doesn't take a lot of energy or hygiene, because the couple had just arrived, and it was a little early to start thinking about having to leave and stuff. I do find it odd that the purpose of using a dressing room or photo booth or parked car to perform such activities is to get some privacy, and yet, every sim within a huge radius comes running and cheering when the fireworks start. There are a lot of other things I find odd about all that, but considering the sims also stand around and cheer if two pets are trying for a baby in the pet house, nothing surprises me anymore. Marty decided he may have been a bit hasty in passing over the magazines so quickly, and grabbed a copy of a rag called "Beyond Belief".


Marty: "Might as well see how 'Bat Boy' is doing these days…"
All that "woo woo" business builds up an appetite, which lead to the next logical stop, the dining area. This was an extra special occasion for the pair, because neither of them knows how to cook worth a darn, so most of the dishes available during outdoor dining were off limits to them at home. This is one area I've sort of failed at when it comes to introducing sims from TS1 into TS2 - some of my most talented sims from TS1 like Kitty hardly have any talent at all in their TS2 forms. I guess if you don't use it, you lose it. Anyway, Marty tried to delay the inevitable having to actually pay for food by ordering repeated glasses of water. Way to go, big spender.


Kitty: "Oh, gross! I think I just drank a bug!"
It seemed to take forever for the waitress to come back after the first couple of times Marty ordered water. Gee, I wonder why…maybe she didn't foresee a really big tip in her future (or any, since I haven't figured out how to tip the waitress yet). When she did finally come back, rather than order anything right away, Marty decided to strike up a conversation. The waitress didn't seem terribly interested in pursuing the line of discussion, whatever it was. Now, I've never been a waiter per say, but I do know one of the basic rules is be friendly to your customer, especially if you want a tip when they go. Well, I'm not a terribly great judge of body language, but the waitress doesn't look like she's being too terribly friendly here…


Marty: "No, no…I was talking about a statue bust…not YOUR bust!"
Marty did eventually decide to shut up and just order some food, since that was why he was there, and was what the waitress was actually being paid for (not making delightful chatter). The thing they ordered looked like some kind of little half grapefruit. I don't remember what it was called. They ate it, and it barely filled them up at all. I guess that's what dining out is all about - paying a lot of money for something when you could have done better at home for cheaper (well, that's what dining at cheap restaurants is all about, I've never been to a good one). While the pair drank more water, I noticed the mail carrier, Kerrie Bradshaw, at the clothes rack, inspecting the goods…


Kerrie: "ANYTHING beats wearing the mail carrier uniform everywhere..."
Pools seem to be pretty cheap and easy to build in TS2, and as a result, even my cheapest families have a little hole in the ground big enough for a ladder and a little water. Well, not Marty and Kitty. As a result, they are among the few sims who actually appreciate the value of public pools, and it doesn't matter who's peed in them earlier that day. Marty and Kitty remembered the old saying that you should make sure you swim at least an hour after eating (wait…that's not how it goes, is it?) and hit the pool right away. Then they decided to lay around poolside without making use of the numerous chaises. That's what Marty and Kitty do best…take up space…


Marty and Kitty watch the skies for falling barbecues and fish tanks...
As much fun as the poolside lounging was, it was bound to start irritating late night bathers when they started tripping over the pair, so Marty and Kitty decided to take the act elsewhere. Of the two cabins on the lot, one of them was full of sims chatting away with each other and pets destroying the furniture (man, I really need to download that "no pets on community lots" patch), and the other was relatively empty. Marty and Kitty went for the obvious empty one, and decided to try relaxing for a while and conserving their energy for the following day. Well, they aren't very good at relaxing. The overwhelmingly romantic (and boring) atmosphere of the cabin was undeniable, and they just wound up fooling around again. Talk about your one track minds.


Kitty: "I think that dressing room is still unoccupied…"
Next morning did eventually arrive, and Marty and Kitty were a little worse for wear, but you know those fun loving sorts - they just never slow down. They did manage to relax for a few minutes before daylight appeared, and folks had begun wandering into the cabins already to use the coffee maker, read books, and watch Marty take a bath. I think I was inspired a little bit by the "Vacation" expansion from the first sims when I designed this lot, but the fact that you can't lock doors on community lots sort of destroys the privacy of the cabins. Come to think of it, I don't think there was really anything to keep random sims from coming into hotel rooms on "Vacation" either, but at least you could sleep in those beds.


Kitty: "Is it possible this cabin sucks less than our trailer?"
Well, I never imagined that this outing would turn into a two day affair, but it's not the first time my sims have stayed at a community lot all night long. Heck, most of the visits to "Marty's" turn into all-nighters for my sims. I can't help it if it's just so darn much fun. Of course, it takes a lot of espresso to keep going that long, but that's why all my lots come equipped with an espresso maker. At any rate, day two rolled around, and Marty and Kitty quickly set about searching for new and exciting ways to pass the time. Now there may not be an archery range with the expansions I have thus far like there was in TS1 Vacation, but that didn't stop me from developing the next best thing - an outdoor dartboard range…


Marty: "I was sort of hoping this place would have a soccer field somewhere..."
Another luxury most of my families in the Monkeesim neighborhood enjoy that the Wilsons do not is a little pond of some sort. The pond is a big money saver in the long run, because it allows families to fish, and one platter of salmon or catfish prepared properly can feed a couple of sims for many, many meals (I think the Andrews family honestly eats fish for basically every meal). Marty and Kitty have no experience with that, but that was something they hoped to change. As mentioned before, the resort has an expansive lake/pond, complete with chaises all around. Marty and Kitty quickly cast their lines out in the water and waited…and waited…forever.


Marty: "If we could reel in some fried eggs right about now, that would be super..."
Well, Marty and Kitty didn't catch a single fish, but they did catch lots and lots of boots. I swear, I don't know what goes on around these ponds, but even the tiniest ones just recently placed on someone's private property are full of boots. I did recently discover that if you set them out of a sim's inventory for a while that they'll appreciate in value, and are worth a small but useful sum of money. That is, if you can stand having a bunch of old boots sitting around on your property. Anyway, Marty decided if he and Kitty couldn't catch fish, they might as well drink like fish, and headed on over to the little outdoor bar. Marty tried talking to some dude over at the bar, who seemed to insist on ignoring him. Filthy stinking snobs…


Forget about it, striped sweater guy…around here the chicks think about Marty...
True to life, after Marty and Kitty had had a few, they decided it was time to show off the dance moves they wished they had. This was good, because the rest of the bar patrons were starting to get a little bored, and having someone shaking it all crazy in front of the radio tends to give folks a pretty good laugh. Again, it's unfortunate that Kitty couldn't carry some of her body skill points over with her from TS1, because nobody would have laughed at her there…those were the days when she used to like to hop up on the speakers while singing karaoke and people actually paid to hear her sing. Last time she sang karaoke in the new neighborhood, the only audience was a cat scratching up the couch in the room.


The "kitties" are lining up to dance with Marty...
Despite the appearance of there being many outdoor activities available at the resort, it became apparent pretty quickly that there weren't really quite that many, and some repetition would soon be in order. Marty headed for the slide over by the pool and decided to give it a shot…again, and again, and again. Unnecessary, really, because that slide gives a huge "fun" need boost, and it really only takes one trip down it to fill it up. I guess if there's time to do something, there's time to overdo it, and that's what Marty is all about. Plus, who can deny the logic of going down a pool slide over and over after having several drinks at the bar? That won't make you sick or anything…


Marty does his hilarious "help, I'm drunk and sinking to the bottom of the pool!" routine...
Believe it or not, night time came around again, and Marty and Kitty were STILL at the resort. Bordering on exhaustion, of course, but when you get out as rarely as they have lately, you have to milk trips like this for all they're worth. Sure, they'd taken advantage of pretty much all of the attractions the resort had to offer by this point, but with one they were not yet satisfied - fishing. The lure (no pun intended) of being able to catch fish and save a few bucks on groceries was just too much to resist. They decided they might have better luck with a little "fishin' in the dark" than they had during the day. Well, they both caught stuff again, but not the same as one another…


Kitty: "I don't know whether to eat it or mount it!"
And then, of course, poor Marty…


Marty: "I don't know whether to wear it or mount it!"
Wow…that up close, that boot looks ridiculously huge! And the fish look to be to scale, so that means the boot is supposed to be too. Now, I wear a size 15 shoe, and I think the game says the boot is a size 11, so something is a little messed up here. Anyway, I don't really care that much…no sense being picky about that if I'm not going to be picky about the fact that it looks like the sims stash any fish or boots they catch between their butt cheeks. It's a strange, wonderful world. Well, eventually, in order to avoid the risk of dying and being buried on a community lot, Marty and Kitty decided it was time to head back home and have some fun with the gifts that they'd purchased. In addition to buying "Sims Bustin' Out", Marty also purchased a fetching bowling shirt. He doesn't bowl, but you can't deny the stylish nature of the shirt itself, or the fashion statement it makes (I think the statement is "I bowl").


Marty: "Now who said I never change my clothes?"
Jiminy Christmas…I didn't realize it from the start, but this post really has a boatload of pictures in it. It felt like it was taking a while there. Before you reach for that "Red Bull" brand energy drink (now in great tasting sugar free), I've got good news for you. This is the end, my friend. Enjoy the break while you may, because we'll be focusing on Marty and Kitty's offspring again tomorrow (well, Katrina is their offspring, not the rest of the family), and a series of unfortunate events that take place at their happy home. I'm off this evening to try to make something of the mess that is "Andrews Automation", my newest sim business. See you all tomorrow!